Shotgun

Here is one story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89476130 But I think you have to look beyond the current situation in TX and look at the recent history of FLDS to see that there is a good chance that sexual abuse was happening at the Eldorado compound. I think there are several posts in here already that point to some of that info, but I'll give you some more links later if I have time.

Interesting... All the information I've heard has also been from news websites, and it seems to me that they have quite a bit of evidence showing that underage girls in this group have been forced to marry and have sex with older men.

One of the cars is orange. And I picked that one because it's the prettiest. I know nothing about either of those cars, so I could only choose by the looks.

It was probably Sunshine!

Then you must not have heard much about it.

On her myspace page. I have no idea what you're talking about.

Here's a picture of Daisy that you might like... (No nudity, but maybe NSFW?)

i'd watch that. I'd be like the chick who got eliminated because she drank so much that she was passed out during eliminations. But that's ok, because it would save me from ever having to make out with Bret Michaels. Actually, I don't think he's bad looking. But I don't think I'd be attracted to him either.

Are you sure you didn't get that story from The Onion?

No. I would probably drink myself to death within 2-3 days if I was living in that house.

I was drooling over the hotel rooms they had in Cancun, with the bed on the private balcony overlooking the ocean. That place was nice. Oh, and just for the record, I'm not wearing any underwear.

Yes, and different people are more prone to becoming addicted to different drugs. And of the three types listed, I don't think that any is "more addictive" than the others. They are all highly addictive, so it just depends on a person's preference. They can also be physically addictive, having withdrawal symptoms similar to alcohol withdrawal.

There used to be a commune/cult called Zendik Farm outside of Austin, TX. They were there for a long time, and I'm pretty sure the police never bothered them. They seemed to have a pretty big following, with sort of "out there" ideas (they even preached non-monogamy, I believe), but I think they were left alone because they weren't doing anything illegal. (Well, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them smoked pot, but unless they were growing and selling it, the cops probably didn't care too much.) There seems to be quite a few sexual abuse cases related to the FLDS group, so I have a hard time believing that they're all just made up. There are plenty of ex-residents who have spoken out about the group, and they seem to have the same story that the government has (forced marriages, sexual abuse, etc.).

Yeah, I showed him the pic. He said he felt violated. But he gave me permission to post it. And he helped me take some more today . . .

Well, I didn't paint it, but thanks.

I snapped one of Rich while he was asleep on the sofa last night. (I have no idea where his other hand was!) But I'll try to get some better pics when I have some time. Oh, and you could probably use CD covers to do the same thing.

Thanks for the info. I'm more interested in the train trip just because I've never done that, but I'm wondering now if it would really be fun or if it would just be like a really long crowded bus ride. Maybe a shorter trip along the coastline would be better, rather than going to SF.

Ah, so that explains your PM. Been snorting vodka?

I've got several hundred albums laying around. I love the sleeveface stuff! I'll bust out the camera later.

OK, thanks. Is she taking the train from L.A.?

That is the first show in YEARS that I actually make a point to watch every new episode. And I have no idea why. I think Daisy will win, but I'm really not sure.

Oh, OK. Well then maybe they haven't actually taken ANY children into custody. Who knows!? If 70% of what they're reporting is wrong, then there's really not much point in paying attention to the news. But I'm sort of thinking you're pretty far off with that percentage. Well, if their faith involves sexually abusing teenage girls, then I guess they are being persecuted for their faith. As they should be.

Will this be a G rated, or R rated vacation? Well, that depends on what I find out about what to do there. Though I do have a couple of things in mind . . .

I remember someone telling me once that the train ride from L.A. to San Francisco was really nice, but I can't remember who told me that. Has anyone on here ever done that? I've never taken a trip on a train, but I'd like to make that particular trip sometime soon. So I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions for which service to use? I've also never been to San Francisco. Any suggestions for what to do or where to stay?

I went to a psychic once for a school research project. I was surprisingly amazed at some of the stuff she told me, but once I got home and had time to think about it, I could see that most of it was pretty general stuff that would be easy for her to guess about. So I don't really believe that she was psychic; I think that she was just really good at reading people. All of the "accurate" things that she brought up were things that were going on in my life at the time. The few things that she mentioned about my future didn't come true. She said that she saw me doing something with surgery for my future occupation, and I'm pretty sure that will not happen. But I can see that I could have let her put that idea in my head and gone in that direction, because it was certainly along the lines of what I was studying in school (and she knew that because of what I had already told her). And if that had happened, I might have looked back years later and thought, "Wow, this is exactly what that psychic said I would be doing."