"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
Author: David
Over-educated Curmudgeon, Bit-Bucket Tuner and Budding Brewmeister.
. . .on Quora. (Of course. The site is almost as bad as FarceBook.)
“If removing the 300 million guns circulating in America is the only way to turn it into an Australian sanctuary, how would we do it?”
The first person to address the question did a pretty good job dealing with it, but I’d add a sidebar:
About that Utopian “Australian sanctuary. . . “ Since the Australian “gun ban” (although it’s not really a ban) in 1996, Australia has had well more than 10x the number of deaths per capita from single-actor massacres than the US—only a few of which were committed using firearms.
Yeh, Australia is not a violence-free paradise, and reducing the numbers of firearms in the hands of law-abiding folks has not reduced the per capita ratio of deaths from mass murders.
For anyone questioning my statement, just compare single-actor mass murder totals in US and in Australia since 1996 and run the numbers against the population of each country. If you have trouble with the math, go back to school and pay attention in class this time.
Anyone who has trouble doing a search for the basic data should go live in an “assisted computing facility.” (“Here, dearie, let me make that mouse click for you.”)
Back in 1959, in observance of Alaska’s new statehood (1958), the Southern Baptist Convention sponsored an evangelistic effort, partnering with existing SBC churches in Alaska. My dad obtained sponsorship from the baptist church in Seward, Alaska, along with its partnering churches in the lower 48, and spent a month as part of evangelistic meetings, clinics on church music and church education, and in personal evangelism.
I have copies of letters between him and the sponsoring church, copies of various agendas for meetings, and a very special “cookbook” compiled by students of Shishmaref Day School, Shishmaref, Alaska.It’s a little ~4”x5” typewritten booklet with a hand lettered cover that includes such “recipes” (descriptions of preparation, no amounts given; kinda like my “Not a recipe” recipes I post here now and then *heh* like
Eskimo Ice Cream
grate reindeer tallow into small pieces
Add seal oil slowly while beating with hand
After some seal oil has been used, then add a little water while whipping
Continue adding seal oil and water until white and fluffy
Some berries can be added to it
It might be difficult to come by reindeer tallow and seal oil, here in America’s Third World County™, but it’d certainly be “keto friendly.” 🙂
Writers trying (and failing) to fake literacy and their tendency to misuse words they _think_ they know the meanings of simply manage to spread subliteracy. Today’s misused word (out of MANY by noon, despite the fact that I have not been on the Interwebs longer than 20 minutes today before now): utilize. No, it does not simply mean “use” in more (unnecessary) syllables. It either means a chemical process wherein the uptake of a nutrient is effected or to effectively use a thing for a purpose for which it was not originally intended (Thus “utilize” is often proper referring to redneck reengineering of common items for new, and often unique, applications. 🙂 ) At least, those were _once_ the very useful distinctions between “use” and “utilize,” but as subliterates spread their “mass-man” (TY, Ortega) influence to other subliterates, a once very useful word is becoming simply a pedestrian means of distinguishing between literates and subliterates.
Oh, and an annoyance to anyone who wants to genuinely master English.
This year again, a Xmas meal I make every now and then: Green Chicken (or Pork) Stew. It’s a chicken (or pork) posole made with the following ingredients:
Cooked and cubed chicken or pork. Most folks would probably go with boned and skinned chicken breasts for the chicken, but that’d be a mistake. Use chicken breasts, if you must, but cook them skin on, bone in. Chicken thighs would be even tastier. Bone ’em when you cube ’em. Whether using pork or chicken, be sure to season the meat with salt, pepper, and freshly ground cumin seed (use a coffee mill or a mortar and pestle).
Sauteed chopped onions and minced garlic (use ghee or the rendered fats from the chicken or pork).
Green enchilada sauce and chopped green chiles (your choice of green chiles; everyday Xmas Stew can be fine with the canned stuff)
Condensed chicken or mushroom soup
Cannellini beans
WHITE hominy
A can of Rotels™
Dump the prepared ingredients in a crockpot on low for six or more hours. Served with baked corn tortillas, either whole or cut into wedges before baking.
You notice I have not mentioned amounts. That’s because it all depends on how much you want to make and how many you intend to feed, as well as how meaty/beany/corny/spicy you find you prefer.
Baked corn tortillas: Brush corn tortillas lightly with ghee, coconut oil or [BEST!] bacon grease. Place on middle rack in oven and bake at 375°F for about eight minutes. Ovens vary, so watch it and mod the time to suit your oven. If baking wedges, place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 375°F for about seven to nine minutes–again, watching them. Could be ten for either, depending on your oven, etc.
“Why do they do all this freakin’ paperwork for no reason? I just want to be with my dog.”
I can relate. When I was a kid, I always thought school was too much “busywork.” Got in the way of my reading (in class, at least; I generally just didn’t do my homework *shrugs* I had other things I deemed to be more important. I was a very bad boy. Until high school, I generally got away with this. 😉 ).
Learning is fun, but quite often school is a boring waste of time.
I ran into a problem with my installation of some “snap and click” laminate flooring. Uneven floor combined with some heavy furnishings (in the latest case, a refrigerator1) caused some problems with planks not quite matching up, leaving a very small gap and a ridge.
Not good. I had already placed and glued together the pieces under the fridge (the flooring is water resistant, but still, using a waterproof glue in the joints that might be exposed to water was definitely the thing to do) So, what to do? Move fridge out again, only detach the line for the ice maker and unplug it in order to get it far enough away to allow installation of more planks, without the mismatch caused by the weight of the fridge?
Nah. Six-inch plastic ruler, carefully wedged under the lowest point, to bring the plank back level. New plank fit in slick as goose grease.
Three cheers for “redneck engineering”!
1Moved the fridge out, installed “waterproofed” laminate flooring, moved fridge back. Weight of fridge over piece of flooring at front caused a very , very slight depression I could not get another piece to match.
I caught a very strange sound, in passing as it were, from a made-for-TV “Xmas movie” that jarred me into stopping and paying attention for a moment. Yes, indeed some idiot had elected to have a “caroling choir” sing “Greensleeves” as a processional for a “Cmas wedding.” No, not the Xmas carol lyrics to “What Child is This?” but to the actual lyrics of Greensleeves.” As a supposed wedding processional.
Yes, as the “bride” made her way down the aisle, the “caroling choir” sang,
“Alas my love you do me wrong
To cast me off discourteously. . . “
*head-desk*
My brief attention turned immediately to mocking. Someone should give a dopeslap (using a brick bat) to every moron involved in that production.
. . .but since it’s Mit Hjerte Alltid Vanker, we’ll let that go, eh? 😉
Sing along and restart the mp3 file enough times to get through, if you wish.
Mit Hjerte Alltid Vanker
1. Mit Hjerte altid vanker
I JEsu Føderum,
Did samles mine Tanker
I deres Hovedsum:
Der er min Længsel hjemme,
Der har min Troe sin Skat —
Jeg kan dig aldrig glemme,
Du søde Julenat!
2. Du, mørke Stald, skal være
Mit Hjertes Fryde-Slot;
Der kan jeg daglig lære
At glemme Verdens Spot;
Der kan jeg bedst befinde,
Hvori min Roes bestaaer;
Naar JEsu Krybbes Minde
Mig ret til Hjerte gaaer.
3. Men ak! hvad skal jeg sige,
Naar jeg vil tænke paa,
At Gud af Himmerige
I Stalden ligge maa:
At Himlens Fryd og Ære,
Guds væsentlige Ord,
Skal saa foragtet være
Paa denne slemme Jord!
4. En Perle, der forgjettes,
Saa nøie ledes op;
Den blanke Demant sættes
I gylden Krones Top;
Man kaster ei en Drue
Blandt tørre Grene ned:
Skal jeg min Gud da sske
I saadan Usselhed?
5. Hvi skulde Herresale
Ei for dig pyntet staae? —
Du havde at befale,
I hvor du pegte paa —
Hvi lod du dig ei svøbe
I Lyset som et Baand,
Og Jordens Konger løbe,
At kysse paa din Haand?
6. Hvi lod du ei udspende
En Himmel til dit Telt,
Og Stjerne-Fakler brænde?
O store Himmel-Helt!
Hvi lod sig ei tilsyne
En mægtig Englevagt,
Som dig i Silkedyne
Saa prægtig burde lagt?
7. Nei! JEsus faaer sit Leie
I denne gode Juul,
Hvor Betlere de pleie
At lægge sig i Skjul;
Det var end ei hans eget
Det Høe, hvori han laae —
Han havde ei saa meget.
Han kunde ligge paa.
8. Den Sag kan ei begribes.
At JEsus, Gud og Mand,
Saa meget hart indknibes
I Verdens Jammerstand:
Han, som med Guddoms Vælde
Al Verden dømme vil,
Ei har det, han kan hælde
Sit arme Hoved til.
9. En Spurre har sit Rede
Og sikkre Hvile-Boe;
En Svale ei tør lede
Om Nattelys og Roe;
En Løve veed sin Hule,
Hvor han sin Roe kan faae:
Skal da min Gud sig skjule
I Andres Stald og Straae?
10. Ak, kom! jeg vil oplukke
Mit Hjerte, Sjel og Sind
Med tusind Længsels Sukke,
Kom, JEsu, dog herind! —
Det er ei fremmed Bolig,
Du har det selv jo kjøbt —
Saa skal du blive trolig
Udi mit Hjerte svøbt.
11. Jeg vil med Palmegrene
Dit Hvilested bestrøe:
Min Brudgom, dig alene
Jeg leve vil og døe.
Kom! lad min Sjel erlange
Sin rette Qvæge-Stund
At kysse tusind Gange
Din søde Rosenmund.
