Dealing with damsels

People around here waste nothing. If it grows, and it's not poisonous, it's edible. Left, damsons off the vine

This is the story of the damsel. That's the local name. The real name is damson, and it's a plum. but I found out about that part later.

I tried for a long time to find out about the damsel. This about-to-be-harvested-fruit was excitedly talked about by locals, and a box of them was shared around. I absconded with a large ziploc of the plum-like fruits. Now what to do?

A google search for 'damsal' or 'damsel' yielded nothing. Hmmm. I searched for Georgia fruits, and scanned the description of the names. It took a few pages but finally the damson seemed a match. Eureka!

Wikipedia says "The skin of the damson is heavily acidic, rendering the fruit unpalatable to some for eating out of hand (for which the "President Plum" variety is better suited). Because of this acidic, tart flavor, damsons are commercially grown for preparation in jellies and jams." Hmmm. I think I might substitute the muscadine recipe below for the damson.

Left, boiling them. A rich purple juice comes out. Romans cultivated damsons to use for the purple dye. Below, after the sugar boil yielding lots of juice and meat.


MUSCADINE CAKE

2 1/2 c. muscadines grapes
1 box white cake mix
1 box blackberry Jello
3/4 c. oil
4 eggs

Cook 2 1/2 cups muscadines in 1 1/2 cups water until hulls are tender. Remove seeds. Separate hulls and juice. Mix one box white cake mix, one box blackberry jello, 3/4 cup oil and 1/2 cup muscadine juice, add eggs one at a time. Beat until fluffy. Fold 1 cup hulls into batter. Pour into greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

TOPPING:

Bring to a boil 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup juice. Spoon over cake while cake is still hot.

Will let ya know how the cake turns out!

President Bush's Impeachment Hearing

D-OH Rep. Dennis Kucinich has tirelessly brought constitutional matters before the body. He is undeterred by the fact that his colleagues in Congress do not want to listen to him. Kucinich stands for truth, the Constitution, and integrity of the process, and for that reason I consider him a modern-day hero.

"Only one Congressman had the personal courage and the profound respect for our Constitution to stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and exercise his right and his responsibility to bring Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush - Ohio Representative Dennis J. Kucinich."

"Now, Americans who cherish our Democracy and the Constitutional principles upon which it was founded can stand up, speak out, and take action by signing the one official petition that carries the full and unqualified support of the one and only original sponsor of the impeachment resolution: Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich."

I watched 5 hours of the impeachment hearings held yesterday in the House's Judiciary Committee room. And it was excellent and thrilling. It was admitted even from staunch Bush supporters that there are impeachable offenses rising to the level of High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Several contended that there have been criminal acts, with existing weight of evidence for prosecution.

In May 2007 Kucinich presented articles of impeachment regarding Vice President Cheney but they were sent to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties and there they languished into oblivion.

Last year, CNN wrote: "Kucinich introduced a resolution to impeach VP Dick Cheney. But in November when Republicans tried to force a debate on the move, the attempt failed. Democrats voted to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee, where committee chairman Rep. John Conyers has taken no action on it.

This June 2008, Rep. Kucinich offered Bush impeachment articles from the floor of the House, reading them into the record. From there, the matter languished.

On July 10, Kucinich offered one article, and this time the matter was sent to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration!

The deliberations occurred yesterday and I watched them all on C-SPAN
The Committee heard testimony from its members. They heard testimony from Rep. Kucinich. They heard from expert witnesses in their field. John Dean was supposed to testify but illness kept him home. Instead, he wrote a legal treatise on the subject. Below, find some of the quotes from that five hour discussion.

Libertarian candidate for President, and former member of the Judiciary Committee Bob Barr: "There is a systemic problem. I think history will bear this out, that every Administration takes its power from the previous Administration and considers that a floor, not a ceiling. We must stop this upward trend."

Former Chief Counsel Frederick A.O. Schwartz: "In our zeal to protect ourselves, we have employed the very same tactics employed by our enemy. Regarding torture: We prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American soldiers in WWII."

Bob Barr: "Might I enter into the record the disappearing Bill of Rights."

Constitutional Law Attorney Bruce Fein: "This Administration is extra-monarchical because this Administration claims more powers than King George III ever did."

Rep. Dennis Kucinich: "Iraq is the main contributing factor to the destruction of the US economy."

D-Minn Rep. Keith Ellison: "Powers abused are powers lost. We could end up with an Imperial Presidency."

D-NC Rep. Brad Miller: "Excessive control of information is incompatible with a democracy."

President of High Roads for Human Rights Ross Anderson: "It's not about waiting for the goodwill of the next president to restrain himself. It's our duty to act."

It IS our duty to act, because the government rests with We the People. Click over to Rep. Kucinich's site and sign the petition. Find your Congressman here and call or write to state your opinion. The MainStreamNews did not cover these important discussions yesterday, and the few that mentioned them briefly distorted the issue. This alternative news article closely matches what I saw. Having attempted to depict this issue as the venting of a few disgruntleds, the news failed to mention that the Committee Judiciary room was packed, and there was not one but two overflow rooms, with hundreds making the trip to Congress to listen in person. And countless more watching live on C-SPAN, which covered the discussion in its entirety and then repeated the deliberations in their entirety later that evening. The blogs and forums are alive with the sound of passion for truth. Yet, if relying on traditional news outlets, one would never know this groundswell is occurring.

The Constitution gives us the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. It's up to us.

It's a honey of a honey

I bought it at the Farmer's Market last week. It's delicious! And the name..."Booger Hill Bee Company" is just great. Click and learn the legend of Booger Hill. If you dare. Bwa ha ha!

Executive power and the Bush Administration

They are inquiring into the excesses of the executive branch at last, thank God almighty, they're asking at last.

Hearings on on C-Span 1, the House NOW-while "Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) talks to the Washington Journal about today's Judiciary Cmte. hearing on the executive power and the Bush Admin. The hearing is partly based on a single article of impeachment he brought against Pres. Bush, and on alleged misconduct and unlawful expansion of executive power."

Meanwhile, a US court has confirmed Presidential dictatorial powers:

Gitmo "justice" for American citizens?

23/07/08 "ICH" -- - A conservative-dominated U.S. Appeals Court has opened the door for President George W. Bush or a successor to throw American citizens - as well as non-citizens - into a legal black hole by designating them “enemy combatants,” even if they have engaged in no violent act and are living on U.S. soil.

The federal Appeals Court in Richmond, Virginia, ruled 5-4 on July 15 that Bush had the right, while prosecuting the “war on terror,” to hold Qatari citizen (and Peoria, Illinois, resident) Ali al-Marri indefinitely as an “enemy combatant.”

But some of the court’s more liberal judges expressed alarm, saying the legal reasoning that denied al-Marri meaningful due process not only trampled on American legal traditions but could be used to lock up U.S. citizens as well.

Bigfoot found?

Oh, boy, ... here we go

Georgia cop claims to have body of Bigfoot

Matthew Whitton, a 28-year-old, who has been with the department for six years, and Rick Dyer, a 31-year-old former correctional officer, posted a video on youtube.com, last week, claiming to have the male Bigfoot corpse, alleged evidence that the much-hunted and often hoaxed monster, is a real, living species. The video shows black garbage bags draped over a formless hulk, and promises revelations are coming soon.

But his department chief issued a statement: "The Clayton County Police Department responded to the news with an official statement giving the department some distance. “That’s his own personal business,” said Police Chief Jeff Turner. “That has nothing to do with the business of the Clayton County Police Department. As long as he’s not engaged in any type of illegal activity, his business is his business.”

And "The Bigfoot Field Research Organization, a California-based group claiming there have been 61 Bigfoot sightings in Georgia, officially described Whitton and Dyer as idiots and clowns, and warned their claims are a scam to advertise their business"

full story at the link above. Clayton County is about 90 miles from here. Oy

Good morning

So I am sitting here at my 1950s Formica topped table with the chrome rim, looking out at the clouds and hoping we get some rain to ease this drought. At my right hand is a large mug of Maxwell House coffee with peppermint cremora and a quarter teaspoon of brown sugar.

On the floor in front of me is Abby, banging the accordion closet door in hopes that I will immediately get up and allow her in the closet, where she lays in peace, safe from her kitten brothers. Luke is crouched behind Abby, hoping to make his move and leap his older sister for kitten yuks. Bert is hunched by my left in front of the book case where he insists on pushing the latest milk ring, and then whines plaintively and looks at me, hoping I will immediately get up and retrieve the ring with the stick I have laid there for just such an occasion.

OK, I'm back. I let Abby into the closet and I swished out the milk ring for Bert, along with the other 6 that were under there. I've got my iTunes going and am listening to Emmylou Harris, "Boy from Tupelo." The day is waking up here at the ranch, someone just drove in, I don't know who, and soon after this likely some workmen will show up to do some project or other that the landlord has lined up in never diminishing priorities.

On the docket today is to attempt making Squash Casserole. Also fruit salad. Squash is in season and so is cantaloupe. I am trying out Southern recipes to perfect and subsequently bring to wakes, covered dish suppers, and the shut-ins. The squash casserole I will split and bring to an 83 year old friend who is a cook, but is weakening so the offer will accomplish two things: asking her to professionally rate my result, and leaving it there so she won't have to cook a meal in her weakening state and in this heat.

I finished Joel C. Rosenberg's Dead Heat yesterday and I am in that hole left behind when you finish a really good book and haven't started another one. That's on the docket too, start another book. And laundry- a friend invites me to their house to do laundry which is WAY better than the un-air conditioned laundromat in town. We have fresh picked salad and fruit and we talk. Much more pleasant than the fly-swarmed dirty laundry place at the intersection in Comer. Though I DO appreciate that there is a laundromat nearby.

Time to get started with the day! I've been staying up till midnight, watching Jon Stewart's The Daily Show and then Colbert Report, and as a result the mornings have been getting later. But the guys crack me up so much!!

Nope to Obama hypnosis

I am not a John McCain fan. I am not a Barack Obama fan. I don't like any of them who ran, except Ron Paul. However, as a news woman, I have been concerned and perplexed by the media attention toward Obama, that now quite obviously swings hotly in favor of pure bias.

This week, half the known world is trailing Obama's every move in his rock star swing through Europe and the Middle East. Meanwhile, McCain submitted an Op-Ed piece to the New York Times to rebut an earlier piece they had published about Obama, and the NYT rejected it, claiming that they were looking for something that more closely "mirrors" what Obama had written.

And though I feel only revulsion toward a man who would say such a horrendous thing about his wife in public, I did feel a twinge of pity at this headline:

"LONE REPORTER GREETS MCCAIN PLANE: “In Manchester last night, there was just one reporter and one photographer waiting for McCain..."

Today, the McCain campaign released a clip of news anchors crying, swooning, following, and loving Obama. There's Chris Matthews feeling that ole thrill up his leg, Tucker Carlson's 'I have a crush' claim, and all the others. It is apparent we have lost any semblance of a free press.

Un BEE Lievable, Redux!

A truck containing 6 million bees overturned and spilled its load. Authorities tried to contain the buzzing haul. Get a load of the video of all the bees! Now's the time to call the bee wrangler!

--------------------------
Sticky situation in I-90

ST. CHARLES, Minn. (KTTC-TV) -- Quite a buzz Tuesday morning on I-90 near St. Charles and Lewiston.

A flat bed truck overturned around 6:45 a.m. carrying 150 bee hives. Each hive contained 30,000 bees.

Millions of the bees escaped and created a wild situation.

Professional bee keepers were asked to come in and help contain the bees, while the State Patrol tried to clear the scene.

Winona County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Ron Ganrude says there were "bees everywhere." He says the driver was briefly stuck and passers-by tried to help, but there were too many bees. He eventually crawled to safety, but was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester with injuries and later released.

Never say "It'll be a cold day in..."

Who knows if this is really true...but it originates from the Austrian Times and is now being picked up by other outlets in several countries. It's amusing to think it might be true, anyway. Photo at link, it's worth it. And the puns, my goodness, the puns!

Toilet rained giant hailstones to fill building

An Austrian man is demanding substantial damages after he was blasted off the toilet when hundreds of thousands of hail stones exploded out of it.

Martin Bierbauer said: "I heard the pipes rumbling a bit, and suddenly hailstones the size of golf balls started exploding out of the toilet like it was a popcorn machine.

"There was an avalanche of ice that quickly filled the toilet, then the entire flat, and eventually the entire building."

"I ran down the stairs with the hailstones following me, and other residents did the same."

Another resident, Silvia Streit, said: "I grabbed a board and put it over the toilet, but the pressure was so great, I ended up sitting on the board as the hail flowed through the flat and down the stairs."

Freak weather has led to temperatures of over 35 degrees centigrade in Austria which a few days later plunge to near zero as freak hail storms batter the country.

The incident at the block of flats in Eisenstadt, the capital of the province of Burgenland, was caused by hailstones flooding into a local drain during a torrential downpour, which became blocked.

Local council spokesman Wolfgang Leinner said: "The pressure was too great, the hailstones had to go somewhere and they came out through the toilets it seems."

Austrian Times

The Shack is a devilish deception

Undoubtedly you are aware of The Shack, the runaway bestselling "Christian" book by William P Young. I discovered it because it is discussed, reviewed and endorsed on Ken Davis 's blog (Davis of Lighten Up! ministries). Davis puts it up there with CS Lewis's work, and writes that if you read it, "It will change your life." It may just do that. Change it for the worse.

It is being sold through LifeWay (albeit with a very weak warning). It was even touted at the Christian Booksellers Association as the next great thing, but this book is dangerous heresy. It is doing its part to help water down biblical theology, impose wrong thinking, and ushering in Apostasy.

I give this book no quarter.

I had heard heard Davis preach a solidly biblical sermon at Praisefest, so on that strength I bought The Shack. Its first 80 pages are a literate person's thrill, well-written, sensitive, and extremely readable. However, the moment the main character opened the door to The Shack to where he has been invited by "God," the open door of invited trouble began. I continued to read for a while, but was increasingly uncomfortable with the un-biblical teachings in the book and eventually threw the book n the trash after the last straw at around page 130. A bare list of but a few heretical statements and principles in this book:

That God is represented as a woman
That a man can see God's face and live
That the Trinity is equal, all three operating in equal in part, none subservient to GOD
That the Holy Spirit is represented as a woman
That, when asked if Jesus is the only way to heaven, a reply "Jesus is the best way"
That when asked about sin, God replies, "I don't punish sin, sin itself is punishment enough"
Pantheism: ‘God is in all things’
And many more!

A concern is also in the sly ways the book chips away at solid biblical principles with craftily written statements such as, "the dusty old King James Bible" or church attendance is "religious conditioning" or that the term "Christian" is outdated, as uttered by the book's "Jesus", "Who said anything about being a Christian? I am not a Christian" that people may not even be consciously aware of haveing read but are influenced by them anyway.

The book has many examples both overt and covert of biblical un-theology, and I don't care that it is represented as fiction. It is touted as a Christian book, is sold at Christian outlets (Lifeway and CBA among others) but it holds UNchristian teachings, fiction or not. And it is affecting a great many of millions. The author was even interviewed on BBC America Friday night.

My concern is the terrible sweep this book is making over the world, more than even a Course in Miracles. At least with a Course in Miracles, Christians railed against it, readily identifying it as New Age cultism and occultism. However The Shack has gained the acceptance of previously solid (or perceived as solidly) Christian outlets such as LifeWay and the CBA.

This book is a Satanic deception that is now infiltrating even among our own!

Here is a recap about the reception of the book's author from a Christian bookseller who attended the CBA:

"William Paul Young, author of the runaway bestseller, The Shack, attended and spoke to convention attendees at a breakfast on Wednesday morning. You might be aware of Young and his book: the novel, which details a man’s search for emotional healing after the brutal murder of his daughter, has generated controversy due to its odd depiction of the Trinity (for example, “God” is a large black woman; Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah are rumored to be in the lead for the inevitable film role)."

"Young didn’t reveal much about his theology during a discussion format. Instead, he talked about his own narrative, something vastly popular today. No longer do religious speakers present theology and doctrine to audiences. That’s considered hopelessly outdated."

"Instead, one’s own life journey is all the rage. And Young’s poignant story of suffering sexual abuse as a child moved the audience to collective tears. Nothing else mattered, not the questionable elements in the book or Young’s ties to liberal thinkers. The real bottom line is the bottom line. Christian stores are struggling against the giant retailers, who can offer deep discounts for books. Therefore, whatever nominally Christian book which sells big is treated like royalty."

"When Young finished speaking, he left the stage and was embraced warmly by CBA President Bill Anderson. Several attendees rose and applauded." Ugh

DECEPTION! HERESY! SEDUCTION! OUTRAGE!

Here is a link to a solidly theological review by Christian reviewer Tim Challies. Challies' review is gaining acceptance as the go-to review for many online pastors who recognize The Shack as a deception and simply link to it. Challies made his review into a .pdf, it's 17 pages and downloadable. I have a copy and it is worth reading in its entirety. It is is on Tim's web page here.

I worry for unsaved people who read this book and believe that Jesus is only the best way to heaven and that there are others. There aren't. I worry for our saved friends who may taste this book only to open the door to a satanic deception that is sweeping the country and deceiving non-Christians AND Christians. I advocate for a public warning and an exposure against this book from among all who would be so inclined, so I am doing my part. It is obvious that radio pastors, the CBA and Lifeway cannot be trusted as appropriate gatekeepers.

We must hold the gates of the Truth of the bible firmly shut against creeping deceptions, and help each other remain firmly aware, forewarned, and on guard.