Froth Slosh B'Gosh

A Baptist Speaks Up

I'm pretty critical of religion when I see it intruding in places where it doesn't belong, so its refreshing to see this commentary by a Baptist seminary student who defends Jessica Ahlquist.

While fundamentalists quote the Bible and bemoan “secularization,” Ahlquist and others simply want to get back to reading Harry Potter and not have religion they do not subscribe to being shoved down their throats. Who can blame her? I doubt that those same Christian citizens would want a Muslim prayer adorning the wall of their school.

The greatest irony of all is that in all of this, the Baptist voice stays silent. If fundamentalist Baptists want to preach hell-fire-damnation, the Constitution entitles them to do so. Those that pronounce, “We are a Christian nation,” however, don’t seem to realize that if they had done that in Roger Williams’ day they might have found themselves meandering through the wilderness alongside him.

Baptists, Catholics and atheists don’t agree on much, but they share a common story: religious oppression. Our forebear believed that faith and God were big enough that they did not need the sword of coercion or the endorsement of a government.

If we had more theists with such beliefs as Mr. Bailes, we wouldn't have so many problems between various beliefs and non-beliefs.

(saw it at Alethian Worldview on FreeThoughtBlogs)

Florida Primary Time

I guess the only real question is if the result will knock Santorum out of the race.  Newt says he's in for the long haul, and I cannot see Paul with his rabid fan base dropping out either.  But in the end, even if Willard does win big today, does it really matter, except in the horse race narrative that the media adopts?  Asuuming Mittins wins big, he'll still have something short of 50 delegates.   I plan on being asleep by 8:30pm, so I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning.

Christians Preferred

That's the message of a PA House resolution declaring 2012 as "Year of the Bible."

Would Harrisburg seriously consider a "Year of the Koran" or a "Year of the Bhagavad Gita" while encouraging Pennsylvanians to "study and apply the teachings" of those religious documents in their everyday lives?  Somehow, I think not.

English Only?

So, proficiency in English is now a legal requirement to hold elective office in Arizona?

Judge John Nelson of the Yuma County Superior Court ruled late Wednesday night that Ms. Cabrera be struck from the ballot because she did not know enough English to do the job. In removing Ms. Cabrera, Judge Nelson agreed with the recommendation of a linguist who had conducted tests of Ms. Cabrera and found her English skills lacking.

I'd agree that an inability to speak English could be a liability for an elected official, but isn't that an issue for the voters, not the courts to decide so long as the candidate otherwise meets the qualifications for the office? 

Did You Know....

That today is Holocaust Memorial Day?

Well, This Is A Surprise!

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court threw out the Republicans' redistricting plan.  Surprising because the Court's makeup is 4-3 in favor of Republicans, but Chief Justice Ronald Castille joined the Democrats in sending the redistricting plan back.

It looks like the Court is only addressing the reapportionment of state house and senate seats, and not Congressional district boundaries, but still, I'm agog. 

New Plant Hardiness Map

The USDA revised their plant hardiness map, the color coded map used by gardeners (like me) to judge what plants will grow in a particular location.  My home in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was situated along the line separating the warmer Zone 6 from the cooler Zone 5 on the old maps.  On the new maps, all of Allegheny County is in Zone 6a, with the river valleys listed as a slightly warmer Zone 6b. 

Zone 6 now includes almost all of Butler and Armstrong counties, counties that were previously Zone 5 areas.  Across the national maps, the warmer zones are creeping northward.  If you click on the link above, you can access the interactive map and check out the new zones for your state, or if you enter your zip code, the USDA will show which zone you happen to be in.

This of course is further evidence that climate change is a hoax and that Al Gore is fat, also too!11!!

Whack-A-Mole

Here we go again, this time in Indiana.

An Indiana Senate committee on Wednesday endorsed teaching creationism in public schools, despite pleas from scientists and religious leaders to keep religion out of science classrooms.

Senate Bill 89 allows school corporations to authorize "the teaching of various theories concerning the origin of life" and specifically mentions "creation science" as one such theory.

Geocentrism is also a theory.  Its also wrong.  Just because you have a theory, doesn't mean it should be taught in a science class, especially if its clearly wrong and has no evidence to back its conclusions.  I'd also recommend that the elected officials in Indiana take a look at Kitzmiller v. Dover.   The only concrete thing this legislation will do if it becomes law is waste a bunch of taxpayer dollars defending the inevitable lawsuits resulting in the declaration that the law is unconstitutional.

Dim Sum

Here's something I made as an appetizer to go along with the roast on Sunday.  The nice thing about dim sum is that there are literally hundreds of ways to make it.  I just did a basic pork dim sum.

I took about a pound of ground pork and mixed it with chopped green onions, a tablespoon of soy sauce, a quarter teaspoon of ground ginger, and a little sesame oil. You can add anything else that you might enjoy, some garlic, bamboo shoots, chopped spinach, water chestnuts, etc.

I then spooned a bit of the mix on a wonton wrapper. 

I then wet the edges of the wrapper with a little water ( I just wet my finger in a small bowl of water, and then ran my finger along the edges of the wrapper), and sealed it up to make a little package.  There are many ways to fold dim sum, but I'm not terribly dexterous, so I do what works for me.

I then lined my bamboo steamer basket with cabbage leaves.  The leaves keep the dim sum from sticking to the basket.  You could use bok choy to line the basket, but bok choy is $2.99 a pound, while green cabbage is 59 cents a pound.  I'll use the cabbage, thank you.  I then covered the steamer, and placed it on a water-filled wok.  I like the water to just cover the bottom edge of the steamer basket, to keep the basket from scorching.  Cover the basket, bring to a boil, and steam for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Done.

 

Asian Style Beef Roast

I got this recipe off the series of intertubes (food.com, to be exact). We need:

About a 3lb roast

Salt and pepper

2 tbl veg oil

8 green onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

about 2 tsp fresh ginger root, chopped

1 tbl soy sauce

1.5 oz chopped cilantro

2 finely chopped green chilies (I used serranos)

1 stalk finely chopped lemongrass

30 oz coconut milk

juice of one lime

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, and then seasoned both sides of the roast with salt and pepper.

I then browned the meat on all sides in a frying pan with one tablespoon of oil.

I put the meat in a roasting pan.

The remaining oil went into the fry pan, along with the onions, garlic and ginger.  Saute until the onions soften.

Then, in with the soy sauce, half the cilantro, chili, and lemongrass. 

Add the coconut milk and lime juice, stir to combine.

Pour the sauce over the meat, cover, and put in the oven.  Roast for 2.5 hours, turning the meat every 30 minutes.  When nice and tender, remove the meat fromthe pan, and let rest for about ten minutes.  While the meat is resting, you can reduce the sauce down in a saucepan.

Slice the meat, put it in a serving dish, top with the sauce, and you're done!  Served this up for the family for Sunday dinner, along with homemade dim sum, rice, and stir fry style veggies.  I'll show you how I made the dim sum tomorrow.