Hello! If you're new around here, you'll need to read this.
1. I cuss, I try not to, but if you're sensitive to that, there's your warning.
2. I blog stream-of-conscious, generally, which means there will be typos on occasion. I ain't bovered.
3. I don't mind lurkers, random comments, etc. Feel free to chat it up with others.
4. Those Twilight/Sparkledammerung posts? They got HUGE. I no longer reply to comments there [well, sometimes I do] it's just too much to keep up with, sorry. But please enjoy, comment to others, etc.
5. I do try to reply to comments, but life (children, pets, my tush) take priority.
6. Come, go, reply, lurk, delist, I never mind.
7. I'm a former Master Gardener (I had to let my membership lapse, woe) and if you catch me at the right time, I love to help people enjoy their own gardens more. Feel free to ask questions, or for advice.
8. I've had my Spock mood theme for several years, now, and no, it's not shareable. Thanks for appreciating it, however. :)
9. Let this serve as your warning: you may need to not drink while you're reading. I am not responsible for replacing monitors or keyboards. ;)

Texas Polygamist found GUILTY in SEX ASSAULT ON A CHILD.

One down, 10 more to go. Assholes. Not in my state, brother. The State has amassed a ton of evidence and the FLDS has just been stupid - they keep thinking they're in Utah with all of their relatives. HA HA, SUCKERS.

I'm starting to have horrible, detailed, labyrinthine dreams about the FLDS ranch, so this is it for a bit (plus, I'm going out of town Thursday.) Lemme answer some questions here, and then someone show me where the Less Than Zero slashfic is. (Dude. How could I forget how hot Spader and Robert Downey Jr are in that? Jamie Gertz and Andrew "Bug Eyes" McCarthy? Not so much. I need Rip/Julian fic STAT.)

1. I am not polygamous, neither are my parents. Anymore. (Okay, my dad was modern-day polygamist, meaning he was married in heaven to two women, not legally on earth, and this is no longer the case.)
2. My distant family *is* polygamist, and my g-grandfather was one of the first men publicly called to polygamy by Brigham Young.
3. Yes, I said polygamy and that's the word I meant because it's the word the LDS church uses. It's the common-understood vernacular. Also, it specifically means MORE THAN ONE SPOUSE, and is usually used in reference to: you guessed it. The F/LDS.
4. Hey, I get the need to correct me. I'm the type that flinches when people interpose "venomous" and "poisonous" and use "impact/ed" when they mean "affect/ed."
5. I also meant the word "polyandry" to refer to NON-LDS poly-relations. Because obv. Also, I meant to ALSO use polygyny, even though the vast majority of people aren't familiar with the term. I mean, this is my LJ, not a published book, y'all. This is my rant zone, and I just slap that shit up here, as was the case yesterday. I'll add an addendum to yesterday's post.
6. I'm starting to feel very exposed and it's making me feel weird. I don't mean to be snippy, I'm just... baffled at the response. (I mean, come on. I've been beating the drum about this PARTICULAR sect for almost 2 decades. Now people listen? It's... overwhelming. It's also great, but overwhelming.)
7. I need to figure out how the hell to get a literary agent, as that's evidently how you go about selling a book. (I'm completely uninterested in a vanity press. No offense meant.)
8. I have no donuts or muffins in my house. This could be remedied by the aforementioned links to Less Than Zero fic. *smiles helpfully at you all*

:) Have a lovely day. I'm going to bugger out and breathe fresh, clean air and hook up with bu_doodlebug for headshots, because during all of this, I'm still trying to get more acting jobs. Feel free to cluck your tongue at me for having too many irons in the fire. Or send Julian/Rip fic. Either. (Comments might go unanswered. Again: see # of irons in fire)

I'm surprised I'm not bald yet, from all the hair tearing I'm doing. ( FLDS/YFZ Ranch talk for those interested )

Let's be clear: religious freedom does not supersede basic human rights. It does not override the basic (AND FIRST) principle of the United States of America, that being the freedom to life, LIBERTY and the pursuit of happiness. How can you know happiness if you live in a cave of fear and lies? When you're not allowed beyond the "sacred" doors of your cave? When you're threatened with "eternal damnation" - which, let me explain how it's different in the Mormon/Fundy religion. It's not Hell with Satan torturing your soul, it's being cast into Outer Darkness. Or rather, your soul is destroyed, horrors! *eye roll* Freaking religion. Anyway. Back to the rant. ( And now the poor mothers - who only have sons, let me make that clear - are crying about how poorly their babies are being treated by CPS. Not true, one, and maybe you shouldn't have FLAGRANTLY BROKEN THE LAW, two. )

(which is me, or at least, I'm determined to be very busy today.) I was pretty amazed by my hit counter to see how many people went back to read my Mormon and Polygamy tags. (Maybe there is a market for this book after all...) Whoops, bullet points!

• I watched a report last night on the YFZ ranch that shocked even me (and Carolyn Jessop and Dorothy Soloman, etc.) They had multiple beds lined up in a special room in their temple to consummate the marriages instantly. (More about this after the jump, for those curious)
• I know that some of you expressed frustration with not being able to do anything, and wanting to help in some way. Go H E R E to Texas' DFPS page and you'll find a list of ways to help the women and children. This is the largest case of this type in US History - there's bound to be some weirdness, and anything you can do to help (I'm pitching in, too) will help get these poor folks out of the mindset that they're cattle. (Keep in mind this is in the beginning stages - they're still trying to assess what all will be needed.)
• Keep in mind that these folks are old school - they'll work to feed themselves, clothe themselves. They'll just need the resources to get started. (And my hope is the mothers will get some job training to help them have tools to get out and stay out of this culture. FLDS: putting the Cult in Culture since 1840!)
• ION, I've been crutch-free for 36 hours and have a zombie-quality to my shambling about the house. (I should stop moaning and frightening the children, huh?) I plan on wearing an old fashioned, Jules Verne-esque diving helmet until I can walk correctly, to protect my precious brains from you ever-vigilant zombie-killers. (Are you ever-vigilant?! They could rise up at ANY MOMENT, zomg!!)

[ETA] This appears to be the original affidavit filed? I'm still reading it.
[ETA 2] I'm slow on the uptake. The reason they're taking names for volunteers is they are afraid that people that secretly left the compound will "volunteer" and ferry away wives and children. Makes sense. There's a hotline for people to call that may have lived there but left, too. Very smart. (1-800-252-5400.) Get an electronic collar on them. I love my home state, y'all.

( the F/LDS temple bidness... )

Long time readers of my polygamy rants (click here to read back-posts, or read my Mormon rants) are most likely NOT surprised by all the stories coming out since yesterday's release of the Gag Order on investigators to the Yearning For Zion Ranch in El Dorado, Texas. Did you read about the pre-teen girls being pregnant? What did I tell you two days ago? [Insert "I told you so" comment here.]

The thing that's upsetting me the most is that I feel in my bones that the original 16 year old girl that called in abuse is dead. (Let's hope she's just been banished to Bountiful, Canada and the Blackmore plyg clan.) Warren Jeffs originally had a high-temperature furnace installed on the property, with the instructions that it would burn hot enough to destroy DNA evidence. The original engineer of that furnace had this to say on the (apparently) secret blog of a former YFZ/FLDS member ( under the cut, and more rants and links for those interested. )

Warren Jeffs gets 5 to Life, will serve at least 10 years. It's a start. A super good start.

Something else to be thankful for this year. *beams* (If you have no idea why I'm so happy, hit any of the tags for this post.)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! (And sorry I missed the Canadian one. Wait, did I? Oh, well. Whoops!)

ETA: Oh my god, I missed this article. Huh. Trying to get sympathy so he wouldn't get a max sentence? Hmmm.

Warren Jeffs has (justly) been convicted of two counts of rape and is going to jail for a looong time. *pumps fist*

Under the cut are "doctrines" the Mormon Church STILL HAS in their "standard works," which the FLDS (Polygamists) run their "religion" by. This is what created the world that Warren Jeffs ruled. ( Shedding Blood of the Innocent/Multiple Wives )

And now everyone is a little more knowledgeable on the situation out there; maybe some change can happen. Like these women not remain their husbands' chattel.

Speaking of entitlement, (hee) the Warren Jeffs trial was underway yesterday, and they FINALLY convinced the Key Witness to get back in the game. (She was terrified and went underground for a bit.) I'm following this like it's the '69 Moon Landing. Um... that may be a bit of an exaggeration. (That link is for the Mormon owned paper in SLC. They've... got an interesting "I didn't do it!" stance. Which is laughable.)

Thanks to petzipellipingo for sending me a link to Entertainment Weekly's report on Big Love and its accuracy. In other words: it's juuuust like I told y'all. Crazy people, fer seriouz. ( Polygamy and Big Love talk, for those interested )

I realized that a lot of you watching Big Love might not get the second half of the opening sequence, and what all of that "sealing" nonsense was in the show last night. ( My former religion: Let Me Show You Them )

Today is underwear/shoes/paper and folder purchasing day. One week until school starts for us! \o/

Note to new flisters: I don't normally post more than once a day - I have fear issues re: spamming your flists - but today is a two parter. For I have Horse Soap Opera Fic, and lordy lordy, I've been so happy writing it. On to the other stuff!

( Big Love discussion - SPOILER HEAVY )

Happy Tuesday! Now to finish up some writing.

I was all prepared to go off on a Denis Miller-esque rant this morning, and then I flubbed while wearing my "Rocket Scientist" t-shirt (asked a grocer how much something cost when there was a massive sign overhead with the price. DERR.) and am laughing at myself too hard to be perturbed any more. But I will post a snarky poll under a cut to get my message across, because I enjoy the snark.

( If you feed a mouse a cookie... )

In other news, Big Love!! I have crazy love for that show, even though I think it's a misstep that the Henricksons don't wear garments. I mean, they WERE LDS, even though they've clearly gone off into fundamentalism. (Which is more common that you might think.) [ETA] WHAT THE HELL, LJ??? It just screwed up all that I wrote to the point that I have no idea what I was even TRYING to say. BAH. Show = good. I had issues with a few things that most people won't care about. WHATEVER. *grumpy as shit, now*

I just finished a re-telling of Dorothy Allred Solomon's memoir about growing up in a major polygamist family (her father was murdered by a rival "prophet") and I found it interesting how much she redacted in her second book. The original, "In My Father's House," was pulled from the shelves, incidentally. Taken out were her husband's experiment with polygamy after promising her to be monogamous, in addition to a bout of wife-swapping during the sexual revolution after Vietnam. *cough* She and her husband are active LDS members now, and I wonder if that has anything to do with her "remembering things correctly with the passage of time?" Uh huh. Also, the story itself is compelling, but the over-wrought imagery that all of these LDS (and ex-LDS) writers use wears me out. But the story is fascinating.

I have loads of writing I need to do today. This is both a good and bad thing. :) However, I did just fill my freezer with popcicles, so... Life is pretty sweet over all.

To say that I feel vindicated in a way is an understatement. (See?! I've been telling y'all all along about this stuff! I wasn't making it up! You CAN'T make it up!) I've also been grinding my teeth and headachy, bah. Those roots run deep. Another long discussion, feel free to question, comment, disagree, make paper hats. (For those unable to watch it, it is online at PBS.org here.)

( And it came to pass... )

Well, I hope you know I had a LOT to say about the PBS 2-parter, "The Mormons." Those of you that have read my other posts on Mormonism (and as a side topic, polygamy) and watched last night's show hopefully caught a lot of the topics I've gone on and on about. Go under the cut, grab a drink, hit the head, and settle in, it's not short. *g* (And if you missed it, it's going online at noon today.)

( 'We are a peculiar people.' ~Brigham Young. Well no shit. )

Part Two of this discussion is continued here.

Continued from here. (And the last post today, swear.  Man, I'm spammy lately.  Sorry...)
( Am I the only one that thinks he looks like a Simpson's character? *shudders* )

I don't want to make some big political statement about Katrina. We all know (or should know) that the government failed the Delta. Again. From the city gov't to the feds. When I was there in June, there were still cars in trees. There were still houses upside down and four blocks away from their original foundations. Not much has changed. People can't come back without schools for their kids nor without hospitals operating.

So without getting off on a rant and getting upset, I'm just going to put some links out here if anyone is still thinking of contributing in any small way. It all helps. Operation Kindness is a NO-KILL shelter here in the DFW area that took in hundreds of abandoned cats and dogs from NoLa all the way to Gulfport. Some pups and cats are still in the shelter, waiting for adoption. That's over 10 months. (A few of the dogs were found locked in sheds, almost 2 months after the storm hit.) If you don't have the ability to adopt, they can take financial donations to help support medical treatment and living expenses for these animals. It's a great organization.

Without schools, New Orleans can't function. Only 20 schools remained standing of the original 120. Only three elementary schools are open for residents who have stuck around and are trying to rebuild New Orleans. They can use donations for school supplies, clean-up (there is toxic mold in some schools that needs to be eradicated), and teacher support. Warren Easton high school is a historical charter school in the center of NoLa, predominately black, and the only school in NoLa that received an excellence rating. (They also have a top-notch Special Education program.) They can use help, too. We all should know by now that Louisiana had some of the lowest rated schools in the US. The schools were woefully underfunded and supported. Any contribution that can go directly to the students is a boon.

A lot of people were worried about donation money being squandered. I remember last year hearing people complain about the Red Cross, etc. Here's a list of grassroots volunteer organizations, how to donate, and where your money is going. It includes direct assistance to people with HIV/AIDS, mold abatement, the Acadania Outreach Shelter (a great organization for abused women and children among other things), and direct rebuilding of homes and small businesses. That link will pretty much cover all small organizations seeking donations, and have all been checked for fraud.

I swear, if I see Bush smiling and saying it's a job accomplished today, I'll scream. I'm grateful to all of the faith based organizations that did FEMA's work for them. It's no excuse, Bush. 2 more years, people, and he's gone.

[ETA] OFF TOPIC, BUT OH MY GOD!! Warren Jeffs - polygamist leader the Big Love "Rulon" is modeled after - has been taken into custody!! I'll be watching this story like a HAWK. ( And updating under a cut for those who don't care )

In case you didn't see on the news two days ago, Warren Jeffs, the leader of the largest faction of polygamists in the US is now on the FBI's top 10 Most Wanted list. This is who the Roman character (Harry Dean Stanton) on Big Love is based on.

Here's a news clip about him, with an audio clip of him preaching. kita0610? You asked a while back if they were like the Taliban. Well, they don't make them cover their faces, but it's pretty close. Nice racist remarks in that clip, too. Here's an article about him in the Salt Lake Tribune. 14th paragraph: see how he treats his wife publicly. There's also an entire section in the SLC paper devoted to polygamy. (There's an inset on the right with the locals' reactions to HBO's Big Love.)

I wonder if they'll work in the exile of Warren Jeffs. They have the real estate business in the show, which in RL is Jeffs' purchase of thousands of acres in Texas and South Dakota. Hmmm.

I wanna talk about last night's BIG LOVE - holy Nacodotches was there inside stuff!!

( BIG LOVE - warning: facts about the Mormon church that can be incendiary - sorry. )

Okay, I have a thousand more things to talk about, books, magazine articles from the latest Harper's that have FLOORED me, but I am being to freak myself out with the sheer volume of spazz-matazz happening in my head and fingers. Heh. *sheepish* and Mr. S is gone for a MONTH, then home for two days, then gone for ANOTHER MONTH and he is being accompanied by armed guards at his new location and I can't sleep and I should lay off the caffeine.

You're scrolling aren't you? Not even going to try- Oh. Hey. Good morning! Day 7 of my Avoiding Reality Tour. Watched HBO polygamy satire last night, had to chew on it for a while before I decided ( something revealed under the LJ cut because I am EVOL )

( ENRON. Holy crap I STILL get angry over this. )

But seriously, I'm not angry today, so don't reply with "breathe" or anything like that. I will look at you askance. Heh. Now I wait for the fog to lift so I can go exercise...

[ETA]: Oooh! poshcat sent me an ecard that made me laugh! YES! I WILL HAVE A HAPPY SUNNY DAY. (I seriously love the animation, Posh. Keeeyoot.)

Okay, not entirely, but... I'm getting ahead of myself. Anybody catch HBO's hilarious! and satirical! and sexy! show about "Mormon" Polygamy? Hahaha! Because it's all that, and more! Lemme be upfront with definitions, so I don't get a lynch mob after me:

POLYANDRY/POLYAMOROUS relationship: brought about by a group of people interested in forging a relationship due to love, sex, admiration, large house and sturdy sheets. I have no problems with this. You're grownups, have at it, and take a multi-vitamin. What, you don't need a B Complex? You'll thank me later.

"MORMON" POLYGAMY: relationship brought about because "God" or the "prophet" has told this man to marry such and such women. Women have no property, no title, no worth other than to bring about a Righteous Dominion on Earth, and can be taken and passed around should the husband do something displeasing. This begins as soon as a girl is capable of menstruating.

( Women Have No Power, Voice, Say, LIFE. )

*I say "Mormon" polygamy, because they outlawed it publicly in 1892. Although the President John Taylor did pull men aside and told them to practice in secret. I know this because my Great-great Uncle was one of those men, and if there's one thing Mormons know, it's genealogy and to keep a record. The LDS church excommunicates for the practice today.