Strangers in a Strange Land - Immigration, 1860

Here is one more view of Mormon immigrants in Carson Valley from our correspondent to the San Francisco Herald, July 25, 1860:

Considerable number of immigrants have already arrived in this country from Salt Lake; but I regret that they are not generally of a class that we can welcome, being mostly Mormons, or apostate Mormons. As far as I have been able to observe in a three years’ residence in Utah, I see but little difference between the regular Mormon and the apostate; they are all, or nearly all, of the very lowest class of English, Welsh and Danes.

Identity Crisis

My government ID expires this month. It says so right on the front, "NOV2014." I need it to enter the federal building without going through security check like they do at the airports but without the special lines and exceptions. Basically, an undocumented federal employee. So, you might think I would be getting a new one. The answer is . . . maybe.

You see, I agree 100% with the President's goals in documenting the previously undocumented people who live in the U.S. I think our borders should be as open as possible. My idealism says, "Open them all!" But the practical in me agrees with the President's new bumper stickers:

DEPORT FELONS NOT FAMILIES

DEPORT CRIMINALS NOT CHILDREN

But Mr. President, why now?

The Mormon Threat

Going through a source for information on the critical years of 1857-60 in Carson Valley, now Nevada, seeking to resolve some family history issues, I came across this:

Genoa, Carson Valley, U.T. July 11, 1859 . . . . The Mormon Imbroglio

Poli-Sci 101 - How the Republicans Won

Not being one of the 5% that can hire their own lawn service, I was out mowing (hopefully for the last time this year). My boy was kind enough to rake up most of the leaves.

And it came to me. This last midterm election was a classic. Here's a simple explanation for what seemed like a very complex situation.

First, each party's themes are laid out with their explanations.

REPUBLICANS

Obamacare:

The closest I could find to Groucho's "Boogity, boogity!" scene
Here's a link provided by elg below: Boogity link.

"Boogity, boogity!"

Obama:
"Boogity, boogity!"

Benghazi:
"Boogity, boogity!"

Ebola:
"Boogity, boogity!"

ISIL:
"Boogity, boogity!"

Government in general:
"Boogity, boogity!"

The Munchkin Vortex

Don't get me wrong, I've always loved the Munchkins. I just wasn't sure they should be in charge of the government.

Dorothy escaping the Vortex.

The Munchkins won big the other night. But they are caught in a conundrum. The mandate was from a still angry and unsatisfied electorate, most of whom, do not like the President even if they could never beat him in a general election. Yes, a lot of Dems didn't vote in the off-term or they could have prevented this. It's not like we're an organized party or anything.

Graveyard of a Surprising Hero

Free use courtesy of Jim Herman - Many thanks!

Elinor Jenkins Vaughan could be here! We know that her daughter died and was buried in Jacks Valley - also in an unmarked grave. It is very likely that Elinor was too. The earliest grave identified in this beautiful cemetery is from 1860. There is plenty of space and apparent depressions for lost grave sites.

More Family Totems

A couple of weeks ago, I was at my parents' house. And having delivered to my dad a few framed pieces (he prefers a particular framing shop in Salt Lake City), I followed him around seeing some of his work and attempted a few more photos. I don't know what he thought I was doing, but I share here some important, family totems even if the first two weren't by him:

St. Francis by Ben Ortega

Lightning Pattern, Navajo Rug

Ben Ortega is now deceased, so I think the one I gave to my Mom a while back has probably increased in value. It's not like you should be placing values or buying and selling in St. Francis carvings. It sounds rather disrespectful to me and missing the whole point of the Santo.

On the right, is one of many Navajo rugs my parents own. Price is more invaluable as they seem to belong with my parents ever since they fell in love with Santa Fe in 1966. We earned some points with them for our nine years of residence there.

And now back to my dad's work, back to the very earliest days of his good art work. The first is a piece he did just after graduating from Brigham Young. I would have been about four months old. It hung in our house for all the years I can remember in my youth. It's good to have a photo of this one:

(c) 1957, Larry K. Vaughn