Just Stop

It is time for the religious people to just shut up about things that are none of their business. Mostly I am yelling at fundamentalists, Catholics and Mormons who do not like the idea that two people of the same gender can love each other. Just. Shut. Up.

You jabber about how abominable it is to be gay. You go on and on about the evilness of "the gay agenda". If there is a gay agenda I think it is just to have the same rights as anyone else. This is the 21st century and it is high time to put away the Bronze Age myths.

Mormons have their very own scandal involving Boy Scouts and sexual abuse. The Church did little to protect children -- the same children that claim are harmed by having two parents of the same gender. That is sick. Perhaps to a bigot it s better to be raped than to be in a family with two dads or two moms.

There are any number of fundamentalists who have harmed kids. Mojoey has a huge catalog of their sins on his Deep Thoughts blog. We see that in many cases these ministers are serial abusers. And the churches cover up for them. Disgusting. And yet to these "godly" folks a loving family with same-gender parents is too horrible to think about.

Do I even need to say anything about the Catholic Church? If you have missed that scandal you have been a little out of touch. Many people have come out of the abuse closet to relate to the rest of us the appalling things done to them by priests. And the horrible pope knew what was happening; he could have prevented many rapes and yet he did not. How evil. And sickening. But this bastion of all that is holy is opposed to same gender marriage.

This fall there have been way too many (one would be too many) suicides of LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) teens. If these lovely god-smitten religious people had kept their mouths shut about homosexuality would there have been fewer deaths? I think so. The bullying of these young people is utterly inexcusable and yet churches say similar things.

Proposition 8 in California banned same gender marriage. Appalling. Since when do we in the USA vote to take rights away? A lot of the money used to finance this atrocity came from religious people and churches. There is an on line catalog of bigots so you can find out if you are doing business with haters.

It is time for the god-botherers to think about what they are doing. A school board member in Arkansas wanted to have gays die. He resigned over the flap but he should have thought before expressing that hateful idea.

So just be quiet about other peoples loves. It is none of your business to poke your religious nose into the lives of people who do not share your belief in a magic sky fairy. If your imaginary friend thinks you should not engage in gay sex that is between you and your imaginary friend. If gay sex offends you take Nancy Reagan's advice to "just say no" and don't do it. But please keep your nasty-minded bigotry to yourself.

The federal "Defense of Marriage Act" must be repealed. "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is ridiculous and must be repealed. What is so tough about giving our LGBT citizens the same rights the rest of us have? If your objections are because of the writings of Bronze Age mystics who didn't know what lightning was then you really need to keep them to yourself.

End the Shame on Victims of Sexual Assault

Victims of sexual violence in the Congo are protesting the use of rape as a weapon of war. Good for them! They are in a culture that devalues women -- especially if they've been violated. It is never the victim's fault!

The Congolese women are moving from victim to survivor with their actions. It will not be easy but many important things are not.

In the USA (and many other places) we must remove the shame from the victims and survivors of sexual assault. As long as we are unnamed in news reports it will seem that no one knows anyone who has been raped. No one should be named without consent but I believe naming victims will help end the shame. I am a survivor of the kiddie porn industry and I am open about what happened to me.

I have no shame because of what was done to me. None. Not a tiny drop. If there is shame and opprobrium let it fall on those who commit the crimes. That is where it belongs. It is never the victim's fault.

A bunch of years ago a friend and I were walking in the town where we lived. We happened to be discussing flashers and what to do if confronted by one. A flasher exposed himself to us a few minutes later and we -- without thinking about it -- burst out laughing. She pointed at the creature, we looked at each other and continued laughing. Tears ran down our cheeks and we had to lean on each other for support. The flasher shrank away. We never saw him again.

Our laughter gave us both a feeling that we were in control in that situation. Flashers generally want to elicit horrified reactions but we refused to cooperate.

I am not suggesting laughing at rape; it is too traumatic to laugh at, certainly. But victims who take the power over their feelings and then their lives will be able to more on to become survivors.

It is true that living well is the best revenge.

Guinea Bird Stew

Some birds just beg to get themselves eaten. We had such a guinea -- he was mean to our chickens who actually manage to pay their way. So that bird was turned into dinner.

My friend killed him quickly, bled him out and skinned him. The meat was darker than store-bought chicken and he seemed a lot tougher.

In a small saute pan I browned gently about 1 1/2 cups of pearl barley as though I were making pilaf. That went into the crock-pot first. Then the guinea bird stuffed with half an onion went in. The other half of the onion went next to the bird.

Because this was my first attempt at cooking guinea I wanted as much of the flavor of the bird as possible so I used water as my cooking liquid. Next time, and there will be a next time, I'll use white wine, and fresh sage and rosemary to season.

I set the crock pot on high for 3 hours then turned it to low. I had about half a pound of fresh mushrooms on hand so I sliced and sauteed those and added them when I turned the heat down. The barley was nearly done then and the bird was getting tender.

Total cooking time was about 6 hours. Guinea bird tastes a lot like home-raised chicken but the flavor is much richer.

Dear Politician SHUT UP

I hate robocalls. And it is primary election season here in the Land of Enchantment so the politicians are robocalling. In the last 5 days I have had over 20 calls from these ninnies who want my vote.

Like I am ever going to vote for someone who annoys me. Oh, wait. That'd be all of them.

My phone is mine. I pay my bill every month so I can have land line service. My best buddy lives 1100 miles away and we talk a lot; never could I afford that many minutes on a cell plan.

The "Do Not Call" list has spared me a lot of telemarketer calls but charities and politicians are exempt. The politicians who exempted themselves should be tarred, feathered, flogged, painted with bacon grease and staked out on an ant hill. But it'd be cruel to the ants to put such a toxic mess on them; they are a natural part of the ecosystem.

No, I will not just shut off my phone; I do not feel that I can. My son is 24 years old and a Staff Sergeant in the US Air Force. He is in South Korea right now and that may not be the best place to be. There are some phone calls a parent never wants to get but those are the calls you really don't want to miss so my phone is left on. And I hate robocalls.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream together:
1 pound of butter
4 cups brown sugar {dark or dark/light mixed}

Beat in:
5 eggs {6 if they're smaller}
3 or more TBSP real vanilla {don't use fake stuff!}

Sift together:
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt {or a little more}
2 tsp baking soda
a little nutmeg if you like it

And add to the butter sugar egg mixture. This will be a very stiff
batter.

Add:
4 cups rolled oats
4 cups Wheaties cereal {or wheat-based equivalent not cornflakes!}
2 pkg chocolate chips {semi-sweet or milk choc. or mix...}
Nuts if you like them {1 1/2 cups walnuts or pecans} Mix thoroughly.

Use about 2 TBSP batter per cookie, 12 to a std. sized sheet. Bake
8 - 12 min {or a little longer if necessary} at 350 deg F. Makes a
bunch but they never seem to last...

Frittata Sorta

This recipe makes a huge batch.

2 - 3 slices bacon chopped, browned, drained
1 onion chopped fine
6 - 12 crimini mushrooms chopped
1 cup artichoke hearts (we use marinated ones) chopped
1/2 cup dried tomato
Steamed potato cubes -- 1 - 2 cups
1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
spinach -- be generous
cheese slices to cover the top. I use sharp cheddar but any good cheese will work.

18 eggs
1 cup milk
3 TBSP flour

You will need a big pan; mine is a 12 in. skillet and this pretty much fills it.

Brown the bacon and drain off most of the fat. Brown the onion and mushrooms. Add the tomato, artichoke hearts and cook them till the tomato begins to soften -- just a few minutes.

Then add the potato, broccoli and spinach. Let those sit in the pan while you prepare the eggs.

Beat the eggs and milk thoroughly with the flour. Mix into the pan and bake at 365° for about 35 - 45 minutes. It is done when a knife inserted comes out clean.

You can add any number of other things to this. Garlic and fresh herbs are nice. Ham, sausage or chicken blends in well. Chopped mild red chiles are good or you can use bell peppers. Grated carrot, celery, frozen mixed veggies ... there are really no limits on what you can put into this.

Gee Thanks

Thank you, republicans (sic) for trying to save us from the horror that is Obamacare. You just want everyone to be healthy don't you.

Thank you for saving thousands of women from the indignity of the annual Pap test and mammogram. We know those tests are really uncomfortable and messy. We understand how you want to save us from that. Sure. You are also saving many women from early diagnosis of cancer when treatment is most effective. Yeah, if we women really wanted to live like normal folks we'd never have been born female.

Thank you for saving me from the terror of the ophthalmologist exam that might tell me why my vision in one eye is blurry. If I had wanted sight for all my life¹ I should have been born a Rockefeller, I know, please don't rub it in.

Thank you for saving me from the utter misery of the asthma medications that I cannot afford. Breathing is way overrated and everyone tells me that I look good in blue. I don't think that's exactly what they meant, though.

Thank you, republicans, for nothing. I'd never wish any of the illnesses suffered by the uninsured on you, I think I am above that. It would be nice, though, if you had learned a little more from your kindergarten teachers about manners, the truth and compassion.

¹ I have a family history of macular degenration and a few symptoms that might indicate the early stages of that condition. It may also be a mild bout of optic neuritis. Or it may be something else. I'm saving up for a visit to the ophthalmologist.

Easy Bread

My no-knead bread:

4 cups +/- whole wheat flour mix (I add gluten and flaxseed meal 1/4 cup each to this)
3 - 4 cups water
2 tsp yeast powder (active dry)
2 - 3 TBSP sugar or equivalent of honey
4 tsp salt (it helps the yeast)

Mix half the flour (be sure the gluten is in this part if you're using it and the sugar, salt and yeast) and most of the water. Mix until it looks ragged and sloppy. Add the remaining flour till it makes a shaggy looking dough. you may need to play with it a little. Mix it pretty well; I like to stir like crazy as the texture is better.

Cover it and let it rise until it has doubled. Squooge it into a large skillet that you've rubbed with a little oil or sprayed with a no-stick spray. You can bake this in standard loaf pans if you want.

Cover it again and let it double. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. It may take a little longer if you are using loaf pans.

It will make an interesting focaccia bread with a smaller batch and larger skillet. And the focaccia toppings.

Sometimes I add regular oatmeal to this; it goes in with the water and first half of the flour and it usually takes more water.