Lauren...Lauren Uminski?

So I started to write this on a message that included all my family on Facebook, but the thing was a) it was a thread my little brother started advertising his online mini-series about Utahnian floozies so it wasn't even germane, b) it's an interesting enough story i thought a few people might like reading it, and c) maybe you can even help...

k this has NOTHING to do with this thread, but i figured since the entire family was on it anyway, might as well use it instead of creating my own...so i was working in the temple last week in the baptistry, and this girl who is helping hand out towels is like 'uminski...are you related to...' and while she was saying that, i was trying to anticipate which of my siblings she knows, but then she blurts out 'lauren' and im totally shocked...i must have made a face cause she apparently thought she offended me, but i was like:
'lauren? lauren uminski? spelled u-m-i-n-s-k-i?'
'yep, i knew her from school (byu or byu-i, i can't remember)'
'so she's a member?'
'yeah'
'lauren? i have three sisters, elizabeth, kati, and margie, and it wasn't one of them?'
(keep in mind that just down a few steps from where we're having this conversation, saving ordinances for the deceased are being performed with the priesthood of God)
'no....no it was lauren' now she had the offended look
'wow, as far as i knew, we were the only uminski's in the church. my parents joined, and there's hardly any of us in the country, let alone the church'
'that's what i figured'
'wow, lauren uminski?'

i wanted to find out more about this lauren, who she was, what was her geneology, when did her uminski line come across the great waters, when did they join the church, is she single, how closely related exactly are we (it would make things pretty simple with the whole last name changing over process thing), what was her major, what are her ambitions, life goals, dreams...but then i remembered...right...saving ordinances going on just a few feet away...so i decided that wasn't the place.

alas, i never did get to restart that conversation, so if anyone knows of any other uminski's in the Church, please do share for now I'm genuinely intrigued...not that i wasn't on saturday...but...you know...whatever

God Bless America...seriously, we need all the help we can get

I'm worried...And I know I cannot be the only one out here worried about the state of our Union, but what I am worried about are the elitist idiots driving this crazy train thinking this is what the majority of America wants. The ones who feel like its a 'patriotic duty' to pay more taxes but for some reason have trouble paying any taxes at all. The ones who love to throw down the race card but look the other way or chuckle when their friends pray to God on behalf of the entire country that 'brown can stick around and white embrace what's right.' The ones who feel the need for regulation to ensure 'fair and balanced' commentary because voices like Limbaugh, O'Rilley, Beck, and Hannity are spewing what they deem as hate and bigotry. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition. The ones who believe the state can raise families better than parents, control the economy better than the free market, and give away health care like candy at a parade. The ones who have stressed the need to free the upper echelons of government of lobbyists, yet every time I turn around another one is placed in positions of authority.

I'm tired...I'm tired of the seemingly endless charade of our leaders helping their friends or their pocketbooks or their mortgages at the expense of the American people. I'm tired of receiving disappointed looks when I say anything against the Anointed One and the shocked looks when I have the audacity of calling him a Marxist. I'm tired of going the same way Europe has despite we have case after case after case that proves social democracy does not work. It only leads to high taxes, economic stagnation, weakened international power, inflation, and mediocrity. I'm tired of so many treading the Constitution under their feet all in the name of progressive ideology. I'm tired of hearing that this can all be fixed if we simply give away our national sovereignty, spend our way into oblivion, and ramp up political correctness.

I'm lucky...I'm lucky I work for the world's largest defense contractor. We make and sell the tools that nations around the world use to protect and maintain freedom. Does it make me a monster when I see Israeli F-16s--that were built 200 yards from my cubicle--taking out another terrorist cell and beam with just a little bit of pride? I'm lucky I live in the greatest state in the Union. A state where the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is still upheld and reverenced. A state where a housewife knocks out a burglar with a big ole candle while her husband shoots him with his own gun to protect their kids asleep in their rooms. A state that actually applauds instead of condemns them. A state that believes I know how to spend my money better than it does. A state that exclaims "Come and take it!" to anyone trying to deprive us of our rights and liberties. I'm lucky I have the faith I do. A faith that expects I contribute my time and talents. A faith that expects sacrifice. A faith that expects self-dependence. A faith that provides strength, stability, and security and is as much personal as it is communal.

I'm optimistic...In a time where we are always looking for the easy way out, we should be looking back. If John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Geroge Washington took the easy way out we would be singing God Save the Queen instead of My Country Tis of Thee. Even though we are entering uncharted waters in many ways, as the video below illustrates, I still believe the American spirit is alive and with a bit of pain and effort and sacrifice we will pick ourselves up and remain the standard of freedom.