Benafiting from Hard Work...

Who wants to work hard to earn a living and build up wealth in today's work of government taxing the rich more heavily, and giving bailouts to anyone who fails or can't make it on their own?

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Maybe instead we should force people into our way of thinking with ideas of extremists:



Or just rush head on into socialism and let the government do everything for us and to us:

Conservative vs. Liberal Mentality.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he doesn`t buy one, but recognizes the constitutional right of others to own them.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed; followed by knives.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how best to defend against his enemies.
A liberal tries to talk their way out of it, or wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a conservative practices homosexuality, he quietly leads his personal life.
If a liberal flaunts it in front of everyone while demanding legislated respect.

A conservative understands that sex is a private adult matter.
A liberal thinks young kids need to explore their sexuality.

If a person of color is conservative, they see themselves as independently successful.
Their liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation; turning to his friends and local community for temporary support.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him, and thinks he deserves a bailout from the Federal government.

If a conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn’t go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it’s a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his and all the other poor people who can't or won't pay for it.

If a conservative slips and falls in a store, he gets up, laughs and is embarrassed.
If a liberal slips and falls, he grabs his neck, moans like he's in labor and then sues.

If a conservative reads this, he'll send the link to his friends so they can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended".

A Forgotten Holiday

Did you know that today is U.S. Constitution Day? Most people don't. No banks or government offices will be closed today, and most of us will spend nearly half our time laboring to pay taxes to the various levels of government. Even our politicians likely won't take notice of the day. Shouldn't we do something meaningful with this day?

We should be mindful of the role the U.S. Constitution has played in the success of our own lives. We live the freest and most affluent lives of any people on the planet, and possibly in history. The U.S. Constitution is now the oldest governing document in continuous use anywhere, and has been crucial to the success of the U.S.

The U.S. Constitution gives us a system of government with divided and explicitly defined powers. It allowed for a Bill of Rights with strong limits on government action. The politicians have waged a continuous and largely successful assault on these attributes of our Constitution, but even so, the Constitution has continued to protect us often enough to make it a very important, if unappreciated, contributor to our daily lives and personal well-being.

Most importantly it helped solidify the religious freedoms that the original anglo settlers came to the great land to find. This religious freedom allow many Christian religions to flourish that had otherwise been persecuted and oppressed by government sponsored and intolerant religious sects, and eventually provided a spring board for them to reach back into the rest of the world.

Wherever governments have less power, and the people more freedom, affluence, security, and peace reign. And wherever governments have more power, and the people less freedom, misery flourishes. The scriptures are full of examples of God blessing those who able to freely worship him. In the U.S. even our poorest citizens live as kings compared to much of the rest of the world. A strong case can be made that only the Constitution has very much to do with this.

The Supreme Court has many times declared some act of Congress or the President as un-constitutional, preserving our freedom and prosperity. A number of times Presidents have vetoed some over-reaching act of Congress, or when Congress has acted to curtail the power of the Executive. Likewise, the Senate has often blocked actions of the House, and vice versa. In this we see not only the genius of the separation of powers, but also the continuing efficacy of the Bill of Rights.

The separation of powers works. The Bill of Rights works. The Constitution works.

What doesn't work is a Federal government that has far overstepped it constitutional foundation. A house that ignores it's original design, without updating or re-enforcing it's foundation, will not stand when the rain descended, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon that house; and great will the fall of it be.

Ask not what the Constitution can do for you, for its gifts have already been conferred upon you in great abundance. Instead, ask what you can do for the Constitution. Speak up strongly on behalf of the Constitution's preservation and adherence. Please remind your Congressional representative that today is Constitution Day, and that they swore an oath to serve, protect, and defend the Constitution.

Spaldam's critique on Obama's Speach to the Kids

I personally don't remember a president addressing my while I was in school, but apparently it has happened a few times before.

Regardless, Obama's speech was very inspirational, though it did seem to have some undertones of his Liberal agenda in it.

Anyway, here it is:



I've actually enjoyed hearing Obama's speeches for one main reason. He is saying something I think the nation desperately needs to hear. Too many of us have expected too much for too long while putting in too little of our own efforts to achieve our goals. It truly does take hard work and perseverance to make something of one's self, and it also takes the hard work of many good individuals to make a nation truly great.

This same speech coming from a conservative president probably wouldn't have gotten any concern or scrutiny from all the concerned parents we keep hearing about, and most of that concern was centered around the questionnaire that was to be given to students after the speech; especially the one question that was thankfully removed which asked kids what they could do for President Obama. After all, a nation that is of the people, certainly isn't their to server their President; in fact it's quite the opposite in that the President, along with other elected officials, are there to server the people of this country.

I sincerely Hope his speech was inspirational and motivational to many kids that might otherwise not have been motivated. However, when you start to add it to many of Obama's agendas on "Green Jobs" that's was being lead by a self proclaimed communist, emergency powers to do unprecedented things during crises like pandemics, or knowing that socialized governments tend to bread lazy people, and you start to wonder if his speech was more of a conditioning of the upcoming generations to accept his "Fundamental Transformation of America".

Of course a single inspirational speech of this kind isn't going to brainwash anyone's kid, but from what I'm hearing, it's obvious that depending on the person's point of view and beliefs, his speech is and will continue to be interpreted in many different ways.

The Good news about ObamaCare

First the Problem:


What's the solution?



Governor Rick Perry of Texas ( and hopefully others) are fighting to gain back State's Rights under the 10th amendment.



"Blue Dog" democrats don't like some provisions in the bill, causing slowdowns.

We've been called to create a 10 Million Watchdog pack. - Glenn Beck has the solution to our blotted government problems.

Obama's approval ratings and polls on the health care plan are showing a downward trend.

If all else fails, there's always the option of another revolution.

Obama Steps in it....

Where's the Stimulus going?

Glenn Beck: Eye on the Stimulus - light sensors:

". . . when the government says they spent $24 million on an apartment building greening, they really only spent $59,000 and another $23,941,000 were left over. Nobody knows where that went . . . $109 million for one veterans home . . . In actually St. Albans is slated to receive only $3 million for the new light bulbs and light sensors. The government was only off this time by $106 million . . ."

LA Times: Some projects raise question: Where's the stimulus?:

". . . Aging bridges and roads are being repaired, providing needed jobs for construction workers. Money is going back to working-class Americans in the form of a tax cut . . . new renewable energy sources feeding into "smart" grids that reduce utility costs. . ." [I personally am now paying an extra few dollars a month for my "smart" meter that was forced upon me and likes to shutoff my power in the middle of the hot humid summer] . . .

". . . Minneapolis . . . to spend $2 million . . . on a vacant 99-year-old theater that developers want to convert into a center for dance. . . [but only] $300,000 to a company that wants to open a solar-energy-panel manufacturing plant that would create 360 jobs by 2011. . . Federal guidelines say that stimulus money may not go toward "recreational facilities that serve a predominantly higher-income clientele."

INDYSTAR: Where's the stimulus money going?:


L.A. Now: Where's that stimulus money going?:

". . . the "Metropolitan Transportation Authority" wants to pursue securing $150 million for [expantion projects] . . . Other big projects . . . include the carpool lane[s] . . . and a plan to rebuild subway . . . $5.3 million for preliminary work on developing a positive train control system for Metrolink."

Sound Politics: Where's that federal "stimulus" money going?:

". . . ($180) million is going toward 5 Nickel and TPA projects that are already funded with the two gas tax increases approved in 2003 and 2005 . . . 30 on the state list are small repaving, rumble strips and guard rail projects . . . may result in a net increase of jobs but there won't be very many, they will be temporary. . ."

Glen Beck: Eye on the Stimulus - Turtle Tunnel:

"$3.4 million to tackling roadkill on U.S. Highway 27 near Lake Jackson . . . the government solution to the problem is to build a 13 foot tunnel under the highway to accommodate the more than 60 species of animals . . . Turtles are the most frequent victims on this road."

And did we all forget about the 2008 "Stimulous" checks we all got? Were's all that money now? I think mine now belogs to Visa. I think what we have now is a 1.1 Trillion Dollar Mess of unfairness and future obligations on our children (don't forget to account for decades of interest on all tha money too).

$2.8 million on New Mexico forest toilets.

Proposition 8 hits home

Proposition 8 survived the courts, but new lawsuits have already been filed that may find their way to the U.S. Supreme Court (FRC comments) where a potentially new "empathetic" judge could be waiting.

And the Homosexual agenda is being pushed in other states as well:

"New Hampshire lawmakers unexpectedly rejected a bill on [Wed May 20, 2009] that would have made the state the sixth in the United States to authorize gay marriage.

The state's Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted down the bill in a 188-186 vote, hours after its Senate approved the legislation 14-10 along party lines. An earlier version of the bill passed the lower chamber on March 26."

- Thomson Reuters 2009

What ever happened to what I used to hear a decade or two ago; that they just wanted tolerance? It turned into a plea for so called "equal rights", and is now ending up in a demand that we give them our blessing. It's one thing to tolerate something you find contrary to your core beliefs while having empathy for those who struggle with it, but it's quite different to be required to approve of the behavior.

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NARTH released a comprehensive overview of 125 years of scientific literature on this topic: "The evidence overwhelmingly refutes the claims . . . that change is impossible, attempting change is damaging, and there is no reason to change anyway, because homosexuality is harmless."

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My previous comments on this issue:

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The LDS Church just released a statement that It made no monitory contributions to the "ProtectMarriage.com Coalition", but did file a report showing "in-kind donations totaling $189,903.58".

Read the Full Press Release here...

Further, the LDS Church has posted commentary on it position over Proposition 8...

Also see this article showing that this is entirely about protecting Marriage and NOT about persecuting people because of their lifestyle choices.

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I grew up in a less then idea family setting. My mother was sick, and wanted nothing to do with my father who wasted all of his savings and our livelihood to help her; only to later have no choice but to end the marriage. My brother and I were deeply affected by it. I went looking for love in all the wrong places, and my brother has had a great deal of struggles in his life; including his choice for a homosexual lifestyle. I can't say for certain if his choice is directly linked to our troubled childhoods, but I can say that he, and I, have had many difficulties in our lives that likely could have been avoided, or at least lessened, if we had been raised in a better home environment.

I've never agreed with my brothers lifestyle choice, but I have always called him my brother, and always wished I could help him in some way. I've even at times wondered if my childish behaviors towards him, when we were younger, were to blame for some of his problems, but he once told me that they didn't. I sometimes wonder if we fully understand how our childhood experiences might have affected us.

My brother has been part of a group that wants our commonly shared church to change its views on same-sex marriage; which is something our church would never do as the very idea goes against some deeply held church doctrines. It's been one of the hardest things for my brother to deal with and certainly one of the biggest areas that we disagree with each other on.

More recently I found out that one of my cousins also struggles with homosexuality, but seems to me to be dealing with it better then my brother has been (not that it's an easy thing for either of them to deal with). My cousin has an interesting statement about the issues surrounding California's Proposition 8:

While I'm certainly a supporter of traditional marriage, I've often wondered what business government has in an institution that I believe should be purely religious in nature; however, I also feel that without the few laws we currently have protecting and supporting traditional families, we would be much worse off then we already are.

In the LDS Church's publication "The Family:A Proclamation to the World" it also warns of problems that come to society when families are destoryed: ". . . we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

It's understandable to me why so many in my own and other churches see homosexuality as a great threat to traditional families and society in general, but I also hope that we don't get so caught up in any of the threats facing all of us today, that we loose sight of how important it is to have a Christ-like attitude towards our fellow men.

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Was (s)he born that way? Was it environmental?

I don't know, and I don't believe focusing on those questions helps deal with the real issue. The truth is that we all have struggles in our lives; whether they are caused by environmental issues, physical traits, genetics, or even the personalities and desires of our spirits, we all have them (some more so then others).

I've heard of studies claiming to show that certain genetic traits "cause" people to be one way or another, but is that really an excuse for violent behaviors, serial killers, rapists, or even homosexual behaviors? Certainly it's clear to most of us that these things are big problems to a society trying to promote peace, tranquility, and good family values; however, is homosexuality really a problem and/or detriment to society?

In a secular society that tells us to "do what feels good" to be free and open with our sexuality and express ourselves freely, homosexuality certainly isn't going to be viewed as a problem, any more then fornication or "sleeping around" would be. So what's the problem with all of this, if everyone involved is a consenting adult?

I could argue about how more and more of our younger and younger children are being forced into knowing more and more about sex and so called "safe-sex" practices as they are bombarded by the sexual innuendos of our society as it tell us to "do what feels good", and I could talk about how pornography and disrespect for our bodies promotes many of the other socially destructive behaviors I mentioned before; however, I don't believe these arguments even being to tell the real story of what all this does to destroy our spirituality.

How does homosexuality play into all this? We'll any kind of sex out-side of marriage is called Fornication. It's a sin spelled out in black and white in the bible (see: Exodus 20:14; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20. Also see: Alma 38:12; 3 Nephi 12:27–30, and look up Chastity). So would allowing same-sex marriage fix that aspect of homosexuality so it's no longer a sin?

It might if it weren't for one other very important thing: the nature of Marrage as ordained by God (see: Gen. 2: 24, Matt. 19:4-5, 1 Cor. 11: 11, Eph. 5:31, and D&C 131:2). Marriage is clearly stated through out the bible, and other scriptures, to be between a Man and a Woman, but it's much more then that (or at least it should be). It is a convent that is also made with God. One that can lead to great happiness, not just in this life, but in the life to come. Two men together, or two women together, cannot obtain this level of exaltation. One must have a spouse of the opposite gender to truly enjoy the eternities. Why? Because this is the way families work. They will not endure the eternities in any other way.

In fact, when it really comes down it, it truly is all about family, and not just our families here on this earth, but our larger family that we are all a part of, resided over by our Father in Heaven. A family we were part of before this life as spirits, and one we will continue to be a part of after this life, if we chose so.

- We are not mere mortals trying to have spiritual experiences, rather we are spiritual beings having a mortal experience.

The Airport For No One

The Tax Tea Party

Just as the Boston Tea Party showed the distaste many had for the taxes that were being unfairly placed on the North American Colonies, we today have a chance to speak out in our local communities and states by having a "Tea Party" of our own:

Tax Day Tea Party
Glenn Beck's Tea Party
Tea Party on FaceBook

Tea Party Pictures:

Fairness is Not Dead

From NewsMax 26 Feb. 2009 by Jim Meyers:

"The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved an amendment banning reinstatement of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" that would threaten conservative talk radio.

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina attached the amendment, called the Broadcaster Freedom Act, to a bill giving the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House. It passed by a wide margin of 87-to-11"

[However...]

"Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois also won approval for an alternate amendment ordering the Federal Communications Commission to encourage radio ownership "diversity." It passed by a vote of 57 to 41."

What's worse is that these amendments aren't part of a Bill about the FCC, or use of radio waves, or some other media or broadcasting related bill. It's part of Bill dealing with giving Washington D.C. representation in congress.

So is the Fairness Doctrine really dead, or was it merely re-named?


From the Free Press Fairness Doctrine debate a "distraction" By Julian Sanchez 25 Feb. 2009:

"The new paper rejects the idea of a "political conspiracy" behind the renewed push for localism, noting that no censorship is involved because "no 'balance' of competing views is necessary, just attention to local concerns by the broadcaster licensed to use the local public airwaves to act as a public trustee of the community." But the 2007 paper argued that conservative programming was disproportionately prominent precisely because "the removal of ownership limits created artificial economies of scale for syndicated programming (dominated by conservative talk)" and because the erosion of "policies fostering local responsiveness" had facilitated a "move toward lowest common denominator syndicated programming." (Exactly what makes these economies of scale "artificial" is unclear.)"


"In his book "The Good Guys, The Bad Guys, and the First Amendment," former CBS president Fred Friendly quoted Bill Ruder, an assistant secretary of commerce under President Johnson: "Our massive strategy was to use the Fairness Doctrine to challenge and harass right-wing broadcasters and hope that the challenges would be so costly to them that they would be inhibited and decide it was too expensive to continue." President Richard Nixon also instructed his staff to use the doctrine as a whip against those attacking his Vietnam policies." - Politics and the Fairness Doctrine by Robert Zelnick 7 Mar 2009


Clearly there are those who wish to see more "Fairness" in the media; however, I've found the notion of how fair our radio waves, TV broadcasts and print media are, to be more an issue of opinion and biase rather then fact. After all, the whole notion of Conservative vs. Liberal, Left vs. Right, or something in between tends to change based on an overall consensus.

All my conservative friends are always complaining about how liberal the media is. All of my Liberal friends are always complaining about how conservative the media is. So which is it? Do we really want to the government passing legislation, holding congressional hearing, and threatening the operators license of our favorite radio station because they failed to mention someone else's obscure point of view on one particular topic?

Certainly that wouldn't happen would it? Well it actually already has happened, when the Fairness Doctrine what enforced by the FCC back in the 50's and 60's. During that same time McCarthyism was also used to destroy many otherwise innocent people's lives. Do we really want that happening again? Thanks to Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, we just might.

- Posted by Spaldam

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House Passed a Hate Crimes Bill that equates to another form of the "Fairness doctrine".

http://www.fighthatecrimes.com/

Lincon vs. JFK

http://news.upickreviews.com/featured/10-things-abraham-lincoln-and-jfk/comment-page-1/#comment-1379

- Posted by Spaldam

Mormon Temples on Nightline

Mormons Open Doors to Discuss Religion:

"Ever since the first Mormon temple was built more than 150 years ago, they have been the subject of speculation and suspicion. The temples are imposing structures where private and sacred rituals are performed, and where outsiders are almost never welcomed.

But this week, two of the church's 12 apostles invited ABC News to tour a new temple in Utah. Elder Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin Cook, who are at the very highest level of the church, also sat down for an unprecedented interview.

"We want to be understood, not misunderstood," said Ballard, "and people are defining us in the wrong way. They're defining us without having the facts.""

Full Story here . . .

- Posted by Spaldam

2009 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree

I was at the 2009 Lone Star Toyota Jamboree this last weekend. Just like last year, I got a lot of photos and had some good fun.


I was originally going to head out Thursday afternoon, but after spending too much time getting ready, and taking care of other things at home (not to mention it was going to be a cold night) I decided to sleep in my warm bed one more night and leave Friday morning. Well I was slow getting going Friday morning, but eventually got to Gilmer and then up Barnwell Mountain.


After getting registered, I when to the pavilion to find a beginners class in progress, so I listened in, and then volunteered to take up the rear in a caravan to tour the park. After I found the same camping spot I was in last year, unloaded the firewood I had brought with me, and made my bed in the back of my FJC, just as I have always done on overnight off-roading trips.


We had a "chilly dinner" / "meet-n-greet" that night, and the next morning was the drivers meeting but not before eating some donuts.


I didn't brave quite the same level of trails I did last year, and ended up feeling somewhat unchallenged, but I also didn't want to take as big of a risk as I felt I did last year.


I felt a little disappointed Saturday morning with the trails I had been on, but Saturday afternoon we took some that were a bit more challenging. Maybe next year, if I've been able to at least upgrade my tires by then (not likely as they seem to be wearing quite well), I'll feel more confident with some more challenging trails.


And of course there were those with the really built out trail vehicles that did some timed competitions:


Finally, Saturday night we had a BBQ dinner and a raffle. I didn't win anything this year, but one guy seemed to win about half of the items.


One more night of camping, and I was headed home.

Back to Negro's Home Page

- Posted By Spaldam

We will accept Socialism?

Ezra Taft Benson was President Eisenhower’s Secretary of Agriculture. Benson once hosted a visit from the Soviet Union’s Communist leader Khrushchev and here is the report he shared with America that should be a plague hanging inside every American home as a warning:

“I have talked face to face with the godless communist leaders. It may surprise you to learn that I was host to Mr. Khrushchev for a half day when he visited the United States, not that I’m proud of it. I opposed his coming then, and I still feel it was a mistake to welcome this atheistic murderer as a state visitor. But, according to President Eisenhower, Khrushchev had expressed a desire to learn something of American Agriculture — and after seeing Russian agriculture I can understand why. As we talked face to face, he indicated that my grandchildren would live under communism. After assuring him that I expected to do all in my power to assure that his and all other grandchildren will live under freedom he arrogantly declared in substance:

“‘You Americans are so gullible. No, you won’t accept communism outright, but we’ll keep feeding you small doses of socialism until you’ll finally wake up and find you already have communism. We won’t have to fight you. We’ll so weaken your economy until you’ll fall like overripe fruit into our hands.’"

- Posted By Alex

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Video of Ezra Taft Benson's warning of Dangers Facing America.

Video of Mitt Romney & GOP candidates listening to Benson's above comment.

- Posted by Spaldam

Polygamy in Politics

The Associated Press released a story this week about Polygamy and Elections in Utah; specifically for the office of Utah Attorney General. I found two source for the article, and I'm sure there are more:

Comcast
Bay News 9

I've posted a few comments of my own on the matter of Polygamy and how it relates to "Mormons":
LDS vs FLDS
And a number of other posts back when I was actively involved with Delphi Forums that I need to find and re-post here (if anyone has a paid Delphi account and can search for all my old posts and provide me direct links to them, I would greatly appreciate it).

I was living in Utah when Attorney General Mark Shurtleff was first elected, and I most likely voted for him too. What I remember most about him is that he's always, from the beginning, been asked what he was going to do about the "Polygamy Issue". It's a question that's been asked in politics since around the time the "Mormons" moved west to settle Utah and escape persecution and threats of extermination.

Being a member of the LDS church, the polygamy issue is one that hits very close to home, and for many of us, it's something many of us wish we could put further behind us. One would think over a hundred years would be enough, but with radical self proclaimed "Fundamentalists" (like those in the FLDS Church) still lurking around in the tens of thousands, it's certainly not something that's easily dealt with, and that is miss-understood more often then not.

I remember Mark himself saying he would do what he could when he was first elected, but has on at least two occasions that I can recount, give a disclaimer that it would take time and wouldn't be easy to get the evidence needed for a conviction of the FLDS leaders; Texas is a good example of how difficult it can be to properly prosecute such secretive groups, when hundreds of kids taken from the FLDS's compound were ordered to be returned because of the improper procedures taken by the Texas Child Protective Services.

As I watched that tragedy of injustice unfold, I couldn't help but think how the children were being victimized by the State, rather then the State going after the true criminals and child abusers; not to mention that the Child Protective Services agency did a very poor job of verifying the claims; especially considering the third hand source of information they were given.

Today, the FLDS sect leader, Warren Jeffs, has now been in jail for a few years. Many other FLDS leaders are also now facing criminal charges in Texas. It seems that Mark is making a dent in this group, but with tens of thousands of people he's certainly going to need help from other States and federal authorities.

- Posted By Spaldam

Anti-Bailout vs Anti-philibuster

You don't want to vote for the "bailout" supporters. You don't want to allow the Democrats to gain "rubber-stamp" power over the government. So who do you chose? It almost comes down to voting for the one you fear the least, but is fear really the right thing to base such an import decision upon? Will voting out of fear allow your voice to truly be heard? I say it wont, and have a better solution:

What if Obama won the election by a large margin, not because he got a lot of votes, but because John McCain got relatively few? What if all those other votes when to someone else; anyone else? Wouldn't that send a clear message that real the conservative base (not the "neo-cons") of the Republican party was fed up and refused to support a party that no long allowed their voice to be hear?

If this happened, the Republican party would either have to realize they need to come back to their conservative base, or they would fall apart and leave room for a truly conservative party to rise up in its place. Would such an idea just end up causing you to throw your vote away? Perhaps, but is that worse then throwing your voice away?

Until we stop worrying more about who's going to win then we do about having our true voices and opinion be heard, we will never get our government back from our corrupt representatives who have taken it from us. Yes, it will be hard to deal with a rubber-stamped Democrat controlled government, but what will be even harder is to deal with is a corrupt congress emboldened by a vote re-instating most of the incumbents after they have clearly shown how little the care about the voice of he people.

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Ever since John McCain secured the Republican Party Nominee, I've felt alienated from it. I've also noticed that many others feel the same way. Unfortunately I don't believe the Republican Party has much of a chance at wining very many elections this year; especially after getting falsely blamed by Senator Clinton for the very unpopular "Wall Street Bailout".

The answer to the problems with our government will not be fixed by Obama, despite what he wants us to believe. We all know how well socialism works in the rest of the world. With all the problems he is going to inherit, he, and his Democratic friends, are going to end up looking very bad four years from now; and likely the rest of the nation with it.  How good will traditional conservative values look then?

If the Republicans loose big this election year, they will only come back bigger and better four years from now, or they will be replaced with something else; likely something much better.

- Posted by Spaldam

Life's Little Influances

I was at the hospital the other day, talking to a nurse about child birth, and she mentioned how the full moon has a tendency to make for a very busy night for the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital; especially among the "crazy people" as she put it. It reminded me of some friends I had a few years ago, and I had to agree with her that a full moon can certainly have an effect on certain people who are sensitive to those sorts of things. She conclude by saying she wouldn't have believed it herself if she hadn't done some research on it while she was in school.

Today, my wife and I were talking about how women tend to get in-sync with their monthly cycles, because a mutual friend of ours was thinking she might be expecting. I wondered if there was a reason why women do tend to do this; was there some purpose behind it? Did it somehow fit into God’s plan?

All this got me to thinking about all the influences we have in our lives from worldly pressures, pier pressures, natural phenomena, and other subtle things we rarely even notice; like the ones I saw in an animated movie about an unusual penguin that went on an adventure to save his fellow birds from the horrible humans taking all their sea food. The movie was rich with subtle innuendos about how our elderly and religious leaders shouldn't be trusted or believed, and how it was ok to be so different that you can get away with behaving irrationally and in socially destructive ways.

The few people I talked to about the movie thought I was reading things into it, but I believe those who are the most oblivious to these things are the most likely to be unconsciously influenced by them; instead of filtering them out and recognizing them for what they are. If we do nothing more than "go with the flow" these influence will surly end up controlling our lives, and taking us where ever they may.

All this makes me thankful that I have a belief system in my life to helps me stay in control of my decisions and my life; instead of losing my ability to choose for myself. It also reminded me of the importance of making decisions about whom and what you are before being faced with an otherwise difficult decision. If you already know your moral value system, these decisions are no longer difficult, but become increasingly black and white as your moral values and beliefs become more solidified.

I'm not talking about choices such as a career or what to eat for dinner, as these things become almost meaningless when viewed with an eternal perspective. Such a view is not easy to come by in this life, as it has a very finite beginning and end points for everyone, but when you realize that what is truly important to come away from this life with, are not the physical possessions we have (really, you can’t take them with you) but the spiritual progression and heavenly treasures we have obtained, you start to see how important it is to be in control of yourself and your life; while heading in the right directly.

Thanks to the Saviors Atonement, God allows for course corrections, and U-turns.

- Posted By Spaldam

9-11, 7 years later

I was posed the question today as to what has changed in my life since the tragic attack on the U.S.A on September 11th, 2001. The more I thought about it, the more I started to realize that the events on that infamous day, as a singular event, did not have a big affect on me personally. Don't get me wrong, I was just as shocked that morning as the next person, and I'm certainly glad that we went into Afghanistan to break up the terrorist strong holds of Alkita and the Taliban. I just wish we'd spent more time finishing the job, instead of refocusing our efforts so strongly in Iraq. Don't get me wrong there either, I'm glad Saddam is out of the picture, but I also think it should have been handled much differently. Even while Bush was trying to make his case, I was glad to see the extra pressure on Saddam, but never felt we had a strong enough case for a full on invasion; however, there's really nothing we can do about that now, and I'm glad to hear my friends in the Military reporting that we are doing very well over there now, they did find mass quantities of chemical agents hidden in the ground at various locations, and even have the new Iraqi government working with us on an exit plan. Of course we'll more then likely keep a functioning military base in that strategic location that will be especially good for protecting Israel from Iran.

But to get back on the main topic, let me reminisce. . .

That fateful morning, I was sleeping in bed, as I worked an afternoon-evening shift. I was a bachelor at the time and had a few roommates paying the mortgage on my condo for me. They came and woke me up with an incredible story about terrorists flying plans into buildings. What a terrible plot to get me out of bed I thought. What's was going on in my condo!??

I must have sat on the couch in front of the TV for an hour; almost as if in a trance, not believing what I was seeing. I think I was in shock for the next few days, and never really felt all that angry about it, though I certainly observed a few people who were. I was probably this way because it was in a place thousands of miles away that I had never been to, and probably because I had known from my youth that great and terrible things had and would come to pass in these Latter-days:

". . . you also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled, for all I have told you must come to pass; but the end is not yet . . . " - JST Mathew 24:23

There would actually be a number of other events to come shortly there after that would have a much greater affect on me. The first and biggest would be getting married the following year, and shortly there after the Enron scandal hit. I didn't think much of it at the time as I was getting a promotion and a big raise at work, but the events to from the Enron fallout ended up having a much bigger affect on my job then anything else that went on these last seven years. It was all thanks to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). As if dealing with HIPPA regulations wasn't enough, we now had people scrabbling over, and over-reacting to, a law that really only requires you to document why you do things the way you do them.

One might say the affect 9-11 had on the economy affected Enron in a big way, but Enron was on it's way out one way or another with all the crazy, underhanded, and manipulative accounting they were doing. It's probably better they went under sooner, then waiting until latter when the fall could have been much greater; like the Fannie Mae issue we are seeing today.

What is for certain, the issues at work, along with many other things going on in my life at the time, contributed to my wife and I moving a couple thousand miles to Texas. That too had a very big affect on my life.

Here's some people who's life it has probably affected much more then mine:
http://happygilmores.blogspot.com/
http://gr8e.blogspot.com/

- Posted By Spaldam

An Atheist's Questions to Mormons

From: https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=25462359&postID=114424765259683521


Daniel Womack has got some great answers to your questions, though I have to agree with others and say that debating these kinds of questions will not help anyone understand one bit what "Mormon's" actually believe. And I put "Mormon's" in quotes for good reason; it's a nickname. Personally I prefer to be called LDS or Latter-day Saint.

In my experience, questions like this tend to come from people looking for reasons not to believe in the Book of Mormon. Why wast your time? There's a much better way to get answer to that question; Ask God (see James 1:5).

Are LDS people really so bad that people have to go out of their way to try and put them down and produce rumors about them? Sure they may believe some things that are different from other Christens but that doesn't mean they deserve the long history of bigotry, persecution and slander they have endured.

If you truly want to know what's in the Book of Mormon from the persecutive of an individual who has taught from it, check out my blog at:

bookofmormonstories.info

Here's my personal answers to your questions:

1- Why Did Brigham Young teach the Adam-God theory in the Temple?

I've never heard of this doctrine, and I'd suspect that I would have by now if it was truly official doctrine of the LDS church. Brigham Young is often quoted by many anti-mormon individuals as having said any number of non-doctrinal things, as if they were true LDS doctrine. Some of them I've found to be made up, others I believe were his personal opinions; though I'm sure much of what he said was important and beneficial to the church. I've even seen Joseph Smith quoted to say something to the affect that a prophet is only a prophet when he is acting as such. Meaning, he's free to have his own personal options, and he's still a flawed man like the rest of us. After all, Jesus was the only truly Perfect person to ever walk the earth that I know of.

2- What is your understanding of DNA and the Book of Mormon.

If you take a bucket of water from the Ocean, and it has no fish in it, do you conclude that the ocean is void of fish?

The Book of Mormon has a number of references to many different people migrating to the lands we now know as the Americas. A few dozen recovered corpuses that pre-date Book of Mormon times, showing asian decent have been found. What does that mean to me? Nothing. It's like pulling a few people out of a crowd in China Town, New York and saying that all of New York is populated with Chinese people. It's just not a definitive test.

Another thing to remember is that the Jews in Israel were decedents from Judah, the Nephites in the Book of Mormon were descendants of Joseph; two completely different tribes of Israel, many generations away from Isreal/Jacob himself.

3- What do you think about Joseph Smith having relations with 14 year old Helen Mar Kimball without Emma knowing. This occurred after the president said Helen and her family would be saved in the afterlife for this arrangement.

I really like Daniel's answer [especially the part about how 14 year olds commonly got married in the early to mid 1800's], and I'm not sure I can improve upon it. I will say that polygamy is something that has always been a very limited practice throughout history and only performed by God's people when specifically directed to do so. There's more references to it in the Old testament (40+) then in the Book of Mormon (only 1), and I've even heard some people say that it may have been in some New Testament books, but was latter removed before making it into the a canonized form.

Another thing you might want to consider is that many of the women Joseph Smith supposedly married, actually did what's called "Sealing for the Dead" where they essentially married Joseph in the Temple, after he was dead. This was soon stopped, and now these Sealing can only be done for people who were previously married in life, but it often is used to make Joseph look like he was married way more times then he actually was while he was alive.

4- Why doesn't the translation of the Egyptian papyri found in 1967 match the text of the Book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price?

I don't know much about this claim, so I'll revert to what Daniel said. He seems to know a lot about it [because Joseph Smith did not use these papyri to translate the Book of Abraham].

5- Why do you think Book of Mormon has old English when it was originally written in "reformed Egyptian"

Because most of the people Joseph was going to teach were more familiar with the Bible's "old English" text then they were with "reformed Egyptian".

6- Why does the Book of Mormon contain King James translations and spelling errors?

I'm not sure if I completely understand this question, but I think I answered it in #5. Hopefully Daniel's answer was sufficient as well.

7- Why did Joseph Smith give African Americans the priesthood? Then years later Brigham Young took it away.

The way I heard it was that Joseph Smith asked the African Americans to not practice the priesthood he had given them, and then stopped giving it to any more of them. I've never heard that it was Brigham Young who took it away, but I could be wrong.

Try looking at it from another perspective:

The LDS church has never advocated or condoned slavery. I've heard that every slave owner who converted, was required to free their slaves.

The most convincing argument I've personally heard, and I have no idea how accurate it is (because I don't know what Gods plan was), goes like this:

Up until the 1970's both "Mormon's" and people with dark skin, endured a great deal of persecution. Being both at the same time would certainly have been very difficult in the 1800's. Perhaps the LDS church wouldn't have survived if it fully embraced those with a dark skin color because of the horrible stigma that came with it at the time. God had promised that his church in these latter days would not be taken from the earth.

It might also be helpful to point out that it wasn't about membership, but about holding the priesthood. Of course you could argue that without the priesthood, membership for a man is not much of anything in the LDS church.

8- Why are the "signs and tokens" in the LDS temple the exact same signs and tokens that the masons use. They are the same grip and even some of the same wordings.

I've never seen what the Masons do, so I really can't answer your question. I have heard the Masons are derived from people who helped build and maintain the temples in ancient times, so maybe it's really that they copied God's symbols and not the other way around. Maybe Joseph needed to be a Mason so he could learn these symbols.

Again, I really don't know the answer to this question.

9- One last kind of a hard hitting question. Do you know about the “Kinderhook plates” that are talking about in an early church newspaper?

I've never heard of them. It sounds like a rumor to me, with no real factual basis behind it.

Again, feel free to check out this blog "bookofmormonstories.info" and other blogs posted by LDS members (not those pretending to be "Mormons" or pretending to know what the "Mormon church" believes and teaches - there's technically no such thing as the "Mormon Church"). If you want the real truth, go to the real people who make up the real church, and find out how they live their lives, and what they personally believe.

- Posted By Spaldam

Oil Crisis? Why?

Ever Heard of the Bakken Formation? Well you have now.
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=1911

We actually have a great deal of oil reserves right here in the good old USA. So why aren't we using it? Could it be the same reason the democratically controlled congress has refused time and again to allow energy legislation in this country to even come to a vote?

"On the Senate floor Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) offered several Unanimous Consent requests to lift the ban on offshore drilling for oil. The Democrats objected. Senator McConnell continued to ask, "how much do American citizens have to pay for gas for the Congressional Democrats to change their mind? $4.50? $5.00? $7.50?" Finally Senator McConnell asked if the Democrats would allow a vote if gas prices were to reach $10 a gallon? The Democrats continuously objected and said no!" - https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL08H01&f=AL08H01&t=e or https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=AL08H01&f=WA08H11

No wonder there approval rating is now at an all time low. - http://www.gallup.com/poll/108856/Congressional-Approval-Hits-RecordLow-14.aspx

Maybe it's truly time for change as Barak Obama has been saying. But in this case, Barak is actually not in favor of change at all. - http://www.gop.com/news/NewsRead.aspx?Guid=24e094b9-da5e-4220-bd43-5c5adf0e2e27

Who is? Well McCain of course. And don't forget the Libertarians, and Constitutionalist; they are certainly for less government and a free market that is able to do its own oil exploration.

I though the Democrats were the party of the "little people", the poor, and the average hard working citizens that are hurting the most because of these high gas prices? Apparently they don't care about the overall inflation in prices we have seen this year especially not these higher gas prices. Do they think they are somehow helping the people by keeping prices high, or are they more concerned about the environmentalists? The same environmentalists that want $5 a gallon gas (can you say "Al").

Personally, I think we are fools to put so much reliance on any other countries for our most basic needs, including food, energy of any kind, and our ability to maintain our own infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities. We need to be more self sufficient, not only as a nation, but also as individuals.

On the other hand, what if oil is the life blood for our planet and we are slowly sucking the life out of it?

- Posted By Spaldam

Thanks to Microsoft, We all know how to play Solitaire

When Microsoft Windows first came out, and computers started to become a household item, we didn't always know how best to use our new toy. Some of us had modems and dialed up to on-line services like the one I use to run (the most popular of which was AOL).

The biggest problem with the on-line world at the time was that not everyone was connected to each other thru the Internet, so you had to establish a sperate connection to each on-line site you wanted to visit; using your phone line and their phone number. Of course us geeks didn't see this as an obstacle or problem that made it too un-user-friendly to use, but rather as a fun way to use our new computers.

Back then, most people got a new computer to serve a specific purpose. Perhaps they needed a word processor, or an accounting program, or maybe they just wanted the latest in trendy, expensive, big-boy toys. When they were done using their word processors and other programs, however, what did this big expensive piece of electrons have to offer? Well thanks to Microsoft, we all found ourselves playing Solitaire.

I first used Windows at version 3.11 in the mid 90’s, which came with some wonderful new networking tools. Of course I stuck with using my top of the line 28.8kbs modem for most of my amusement, but I also found some new fun games to play, including Solitaire and Minesweeper. The hours I wasted playing solitary could have been spent so much more productively, but there I was mindlessly addicted to playing this new game that seemed so amazing at the time.

Yesterday, I was sitting around in a waiting room, with my Palm Treo 700p, and what was I doing with it? You guessed it. Playing Solitaire. I stopped for a second and thought about it. Did I really like this game, or was I just so use to playing it that I was habitually drawn to it out of boredom? I started to realize how stupid this game really is. It was a boring, stupid, mindless game that even the most skilled players cannot possibly hope to win at it even half of the time.

I had gotten so use to playing it that it was almost like an addiction, a habit, or even a reflex. Was this Microsoft’s marketing strategy? Give them a small free something to make the computer seem fun? Make Windows seem like the best operation system out there despite it's inefficiencies and instabilities, by giving you a dinky little game that made you feel the need to use your Windows operated computer whenever you were board; to the point that being on the computer was a habit, or even a reflex.

Thanks Microsoft. Thanks for nothing.

Mac’s Rule!!

- Posted by Spaldam

Merging of Technology

As the web continues to emerge from a monolog into a dialog, my thoughts turn to other technologies. Will TV, Phone, Computers, and Internet all eventually merge into a single platform for information, entertainment, and communications? Many people are already receiving all of these technologies from a single carrier threw cable or fiber optics being run into their homes.

I see a vision of a day when we’ll all be carrying around our portable communications device everywhere we go. This device might even be used as a sort of e-commerce and self identifying device that can be swiped passed a reader at you local store or government office, much like the new "PayPass" technologies being used with Credit Cards or how Bluetooth on cell phones is used to buy items from vending machines. This all-in-one device would have a camera and microphone for communicating with others, taking pictures, or making video and voice memos. It could also display or play your Multimedia files. You could even take it home, plug it into your home "computer" (that will have become more of a glorified docking station and backup/storage device), and use the portable device's capabilities to provide you with internet access, or to watch videos on a full sized screen that you download as you wish instead of waiting for it to be aired; then comment about it on the providers blog.

One might be concerned that such a portable device would be easily stolen, but such crimes could be thwarted by imbedding microchips under the skin in the palm of the hand; or forehead if you don't have hands. This microchip, much like the one’s used to identify lost pets, would be required by the device to insure you are an authorized user of the device. Reprogramming the device would automatically wipe its encrypted memory, so that if stolen it would be impossible for your personal information to be stolen as well. These devices could then be required as a tamper proof identification system, required for all transactions. It would be the end of identify theft, or at least make it much harder and greatly reduce it’s occurrence.

It will contain GPS technology so that it can be tracked down to locate anyone simply by obtaining a warrant from any judge willing to sign their name to it. It would become impossible for anyone to leave it behind because they would be instantly arrested if they were not in possession of it, or they would be defaulted to a life of exile, unable to involve themselves in any legal transaction without the device.

Of course Evangelical Christians will protest it, and call it the mark of the beast. Technology, just like anything else, can be a great help or hindrance depending on how we use it. Often times it is seen as a way to simplify our lives, and yet it seems that the more of it we have, the more complex our lives become.

(Don't get the wrong idea, I really don't believe in 666 and/or the mark of the beast, but I know other people do).

- Posted by Spaldam

The Government vs. You

From: http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/2008/may/09/government_vs_you

"In 1871 the city of Chicago burned to the ground. There was no FEMA or large federal funding to rebuild it. Instead, the people of Chicago rebuilt their own city and in short order it soared to new heights.

In 1906, after a major earthquake, the city of San Francisco also burned down. There was no FEMA or large federal funding to rebuild it. Instead, the people of San Francisco did it themselves and the city was soon restored.

In 2005 a large part of the city of New Orleans was destroyed when a levy, designed, built, and maintained by government, proved inadequate to protect against a hurricane that was far from the worst that could have struck the city. Private Citizens and businesses such as Wal-Mart rushed to the city's aid, but were largely blocked by federal officials. FEMA and large federal funding were there to rebuild the city, but today much of New Orleans still lies in ruins.

We see the evidence all around us, where government seeks to help, harm often follows. Education, food, energy, and medical care are all areas where the government alleges it helps you, but all are areas where prices are rising faster than in other sectors.

Government doesn't work, because government has no incentive to succeed. Instead, government prospers by failing -- constantly gaining new power and resources because of the crises it creates.

Meanwhile, we see companies like Wal-Mart working effectively to lower the cost of prescription drugs, and Walgreens is opening discount medical clinics in thousands of their stores to lower the cost of routine health care. We see home schoolers providing vastly better academic results. And we see private innovation that will lower the cost of energy and protect the environment . . ."

- Posted by Spaldam

How Inflation affects Prices

I keep hearing inflation rates are only 2%, but I keep seeing sky rocketing energy costs, food costs, and don't forget the rest of the commodities market.

The Dollar keeps loosing value on the international market, while the Fed and government continues to produce more and more money through deficit spending, extremely low interest rates, and pumping money into failing financial institutions that caused their own problems through programs that are more gambling then investment strategies.

All these new Federal Reserve Notes being pumped into the economy and we wonder why things are getting more expensive? Actually the truth is that things are actually getting less expensive through technological advancements, but the dollar is losing its value many times faster.

Changes in the price of oil vs. other currencies and Gold:
http://www.downsizedc.org/_i/8ajy8ad.gifhttp://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/oil-gold-commodities-47041507http://www.goldmoney.com/en/commentary/2008-01-02.html

Compared to Gold the value of Oil is actually the same as it was 7 years ago.

Most things that do go down in cost do so because manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers find ways to make move and sell them cheaper. When you truly compare quality to quality versus the dollar, you'll find that handmade high quality products similar to the one's you might have bought 60 years ago (before the gold standard was dropped), are much more expensive today than they were back then. But compare them to other things like their equivalent value in Gold or silver, and the cost is usually very similar.

More information on this issue can be found here:

http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/2008/may/13/fighting_the_inflation_tax_with_gold

- Posted by Spaldam

LDS Temples of the World.

Operational Temples & Dates Dedicated

1 St. George Utah 06 April 1877
2 Logan Utah 17 May 1884
3 Manti Utah 21 May 1888
4 Salt Lake 06 April 1893
5 Laie Hawaii 27 November 1919
6 Cardston Alberta 26 August 1923
7 Mesa Arizona 23 October 1927
8 Idaho Falls Idaho 23 September 1945
9 Bern Switzerland 11 September 1955
10 Los Angeles California 11 March 1956
11 Hamilton New Zealand 20 April 1958
12 London England 07 September 1958
13 Oakland California 19 November 1964
14 Ogden Utah 18 January 1972
15 Provo Utah 09 February 1972
16 Washington D.C. 19 November 1974
17 São Paulo Brazil 30 October 1978
18 Tokyo Japan 27 October 1980
19 Seattle Washington 17 November 1980
20 Jordan River Utah 16 November 1981
21 Atlanta Georgia 01 June 1983
22 Apia Samoa 05 August 1983
23 Nuku'alofa Tonga 09 August 1983
24 Santiago Chile 15 September 1983
25 Papeete Tahiti 27 October 1983
26 Mexico City Mexico 02 December 1983
27 Boise Idaho 25 May 1984
28 Sydney Australia 20 September 1984
29 Manila Philippines 25 September 1984
30 Dallas Texas 19 October 1984
31 Taipei Taiwan 17 November 1984
32 Guatemala City Guatemala 14 December 1984
33 Freiberg Germany 29 June 1985
34 Stockholm Sweden 02 July 1985
35 Chicago Illinois 09 August 1985
36 Johannesburg South Africa 24 August 1985
37 Seoul Korea 14 December 1985
38 Lima Peru 10 January 1986
39 Buenos Aires Argentina 17 January 1986
40 Denver Colorado 24 October 1986
41 Frankfurt Germany 28 August 1987
42 Portland Oregon 19 August 1989
43 Las Vegas Nevada 16 December 1989
44 Toronto Ontario 25 August 1990
45 San Diego California 25 April 1993
46 Orlando Florida 09 October 1994
47 Bountiful Utah 08 January 1995
48 Hong Kong China 26 May 1996
49 Mount Timpanogos Utah 13 October 1996
50 St Louis Missouri 01 June 1997
51 Vernal Utah 02 November 1997
52 Preston England 07 June 1998
53 Monticello Utah 26 July 1998
54 Anchorage Alaska 09 January 1999
55 Colonia Juárez Chihuahua México 06 March 1999
56 Madrid Spain 19 March 1999
57 Bogotá Colombia 24 April 1999
58 Guayaquil Ecuador 31 July 1999
59 Spokane Washington 21 August 1999
60 Columbus Ohio 04 September 1999
61 Bismarck North Dakota 19 September 1999
62 Columbia South Carolina 16 October 1999
63 Detroit Michigan 23 October 1999
64 Halifax Nova Scotia 14 November 1999
65 Regina Saskatchewan 14 November 1999
66 Billings Montana 20 November 1999
67 Edmonton Alberta 11 December 1999
68 Raleigh North Carolina 18 December 1999
69 St. Paul Minnesota 09 January 2000
70 Kona Hawaii 23 January 2000
71 Ciudad Juárez México 26 February 2000
72 Hermosillo Sonora México 27 February 2000
73 Albuquerque New Mexico 05 March 2000
74 Oaxaca México 11 March 2000
75 Tuxtla Gutiérrez México 12 March 2000
76 Louisville Kentucky 19 March 2000
77 Palmyra New York 06 April 2000
78 Fresno California 09 April 2000
79 Medford Oregon 16 April 2000
80 Memphis Tennessee 23 April 2000
81 Reno Nevada 23 April 2000
82 Cochabamba Bolivia 30 April 2000
83 Tampico México 20 May 2000
84 Nashville Tennessee 21 May 2000
85 Villahermosa México 21 May 2000
86 Montréal Québec 04 June 2000
87 San José Costa Rica 04 June 2000
88 Fukuoka Japan 11 June 2000
89 Adelaide Australia 15 June 2000
90 Melbourne Australia 16 June 2000
91 Suva Fiji 18 June 2000
92 Mérida Mexico 08 July 2000
93 Veracruz México 09 July 2000
94 Baton Rouge Louisiana 16 July 2000
95 Oklahoma City Oklahoma 30 July 2000
96 Caracas Venezuela 20 August 2000
97 Houston Texas 26 August 2000
98 Birmingham Alabama 03 September 2000
99 Santo Domingo Dominican Republic 17 September 2000
100 Boston Massachusetts 01 October 2000
101 Recife Brazil 15 December 2000
102 Porto Alegre Brazil 17 December 2000
103 Montevideo Uruguay 18 March 2001
104 Winter Quarters Nebraska 22 April 2001
105 Guadalajara México 29 April 2001
106 Perth Australia 20 May 2001
107 Columbia River Washington 18 November 2001
108 Snowflake Arizona 03 March 2002
109 Lubbock Texas 21 April 2002
110 Monterrey México 28 April 2002
111 Campinas Brazil 17 May 2002
112 Asunción Paraguay 19 May 2002
113 Nauvoo Illinois 27 June 2002
114 The Hague Netherlands 08 September 2002
115 Brisbane Australia 15 June 2003
116 Redlands California 14 September 2003
117 Accra Ghana 11 January 2004
118 Copenhagen Denmark 23 May 2004
119 Manhattan New York 13 June 2004
120 San Antonio Texas 22 May 2005
121 Aba Nigeria 07 August 2005
122 Newport Beach California 28 August 2005
123 Sacramento California 03 September 2006
124 Helsinki Finland 22 October 2006
125 Rexburg Idaho 10 February 2008

- Posted by Spaldam