Tenth Circuit Upholds Religious Marriage But Not Polygamy!

Probably not the headline you were expecting today. While this blogger supports the Family Proclamation, I wish to note some interesting aspects of the decision in the Federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upholding the Federal District Court in Utah in ruling that Utah's Amendment to its State Constitution on Marriage is invalid under the U.S. Constitution.

As I had predicted, this ruling has no effect on anyone's religious beliefs or practices regarding marriage. The Court seemed to go out of its way to so state:

Fake Brigham Young - Real Wyoming Plains

My boy is going on Trek. I am so grateful not to be going. OK, maybe I am a little jealous because they are going on a real piece of the trail just west of Ft. Bridger. But having lived in Southwestern Wyoming for a year (that seemed like at least ten) I have had enough experience on the high plains.

Up there, they measure the snowfall on the sides of houses. They spread coal dust instead of salt on the roads. There are only two seasons- Winter, and if your lucky, July. In July, the afternoon winds whip up the dust, then the thunderclouds rain mud. You have no idea how much improved Rock Springs is now that they have a Walmart! Oh yeah, I love Southwestern Wyoming.

Currently, my aunt and uncle are serving as church missionaries up there in support of Stake Pioneer Treks. I've warned both them and my boy in case they find each other. Actually, this is one of my dear aunts who is like a big sister to me. Her husband is a retired judge and not a bad guy. They posted a picture of what the trek trail looked like last week:

Yup. That's Midsummer in Wyoming

Still with the Prez

Yes, I still like President Obama. With his unfavorables down into "heckuva-job-Brownie" territory, someone needs to stick up for him.

Let's see... Obamacare is working and exceeding expectations in some areas. Even the Governor of Utah has a plan to take the Medicaid expansion if the Munchkin legislature doesn't sink it. It works best in states that have cooperated (funny how that is) with maybe the exception of Oregon where their tech expertise somehow got lost in the woods between the Redmond Valley and Silicon Valley.

Iraq's a disaster. We elected Obama to get us out of there where we never should have been. And he simply followed the W agreement to get us out because Maliki refused to sign one allowing for any US troops to stay. So, that's fine by me. If you want to keep following the Cheney Doctrine, go right ahead. I simply note that their answer is to go into full warrior mode again with no expectation that it won't get worse than they have already made it.

To Whom Shall We Go?

Anonymous D and I have been exchanging a lot of emails on the latest issues tearing up the Bloggernacle. Also inspired by the post on these themes at another friend's Keepapitchinin, Mormon History blog, I share some excerpts from Anonymous D's thoughts with regard to the sound and the fury:

None of them mean anything. Not one addresses the central issues we deal with. They are all momentary distractions from the central questions and facts. We are all going to die, then what? Do you have an answer supposedly-LDS-blogger? Do the things you are ever so concerned about answer those questions? If I (which I am not in the slightest, tempted to do) follow them, am I happier? No. In the end, I've had experiences I can't deny: experiences about Jesus; experiences about the Book of Mormon, multiple times; experiences and testimonies about the Temple; experiences about my family in the Temple; These weren't imaginary things.

Bastardy Re-Revisited

We're ready to call it. Rees Price, tailor of Glasbury, is the father of John the B born 1789. We have broken through the brick wall of illegitimate birth.

[Even thought we heard back from our researcher in Wales that the 5th piece is inoperable as a strange coincidence of names (it was a different village, different mother, and apparently a different "Rees Price"), we still think the first four are enough. We'll keep looking, but we may never find anything more solid.]

It's still only a circumstantial case, but all the pieces fit. Here are the parts. You can tell me if you think we got it wrong.

1.  6 March 1789, John, bastard son of Hannah Vaughan, christened in Hay, Breconshire.

Bastardy in Britain

It was tempting to title this "British Bastards," which, as a son of the American Revolution could have its relevance. And as this is principally about my Welsh Ancestry, it could also be "Saxon Bastards" as an attention generator expressing the millennial frustrations of my Cymraeg heritage.

The real purpose, however, is to explain what I have learned about the laws pertaining to illegitimate children in England and Wales because of the circumstances of our paternal surname beginning with John Vaughan, bastard child of Hannah Vaughan, christened 6 March 1789 in Hay, Breconshire, Wales. We could also use my cousins' endearing name for him, "John the B." (Well, he also was a butcher.)

Four Things I Will Never Do

1. Answer the question: "Is my wife perfect?"

2. Answer the question: "Is my church perfect?"

3. Make a list of what is possibly wrong with my wife.

4. Make a list of what is possibly wrong with my church.

I love my wife and my church. I have committed and covenanted to be with them for my whole life and even beyond. The four things listed above are entirely irrelevant to the love, commitments, and covenants that sustain me.

The Bigger the Tea Party, the Smaller the Munchkin

Soon to be former House Majority Leader

¡Hasta la vista, Eric Cantor!

Tea Party Member

A very small percentage of Virginia voters has just thrown out the Republican House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor. He lost his primary to a tea-party challenger.

Yes, the tea party is not dead yet, it's just killin' the party formerly known as the Republicans. Democrats aren't doing so great with terrible approval ratings for the President and a likely 2016 front-runner that a good portion of the country just loves to hate - again.

This all does help establish the ultimate point that if government is the problem, then it must be disrespected and destroyed by any means.

Disneyland Diversity and Familiarity

Disneyland is still a lot of fun - especially when your son works for the studio and has guest passes. It is expensive otherwise. Still, you get the value of the expense because it is, well, Disneyland! It would be my wish that every kid or kid-at-heart could go even if only for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The reality is, Disneyland is a middle-class family place.

I think that is the reason why the demographics have changed over the years. The middle class has expanded in the U.S and around the world giving more people economic access to places like Disneyland. IMO, Disneyland is one of those middle-class touch stones that aspirants target to have an American experience.

On my two lucky visits in the 1970s, Disneyland seemed pretty white. Here's some evidence for that in this 1970 vid:

When I like Daniel Peterson and the President all in the same day

OK, I'm going to Disneyland today so I really don't care about the world's troubles. And I haven't been reading or blogging on much news because I'm just tired of it all. But it's worth a blog post to note when I appreciate one by the generally annoying Daniel Peterson, the Mormon apologist and political conservative, who loves to go ad hominem, even on yours truly at times. He stood up for the President today - at least to the extent of dispensing with some of the crazy, Islamic-conspiracy fanatics out there. Peterson is an expert on Arabic and Islam. Just click on his name above and check it out.