Dog and Pony Show

An insult to dogs everywhere:


I've been down here in Orlando for the last few days and stumbled across this one. Only at Disney eh?

No lead in bullets...2

I was enjoying the comments to much in this article, I just had to share.

http://politics.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2010/08/27/nra-warns-against-new-gun-control-push--from-epa/comments/

Have a fantabulous weekend everyone!

No Lead in Bullets

Here they go again--the big-government, power-hungry, all-powerful, enviro-nazi progressives who are running this country are giving us another Nudge, this time to circumvent the Second Amendment.

The anti-hunting crowd (like Regulatory Czar Cass Sunstein) has a petition circulating looking to ban lead from ammunition and fishing sinkers. Hey, if air is hazardous to our health, then the lead in bullets must be wreaking havoc on the environment!

Interestingly, they used this picture of a dead Bald Eagle on the cover of their petition. It's my opinion that this beautiful bird died of a heart attack when he learned what these people are doing to America!

Turmoil in the Middle East and Jefferson's Favorite Psalm

They want to kill us.
They want to destroy Israel.

There are radicalized Muslims in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan--we'll just say most of the Middle East and much of the world--who are waging jihad on the Great Satan and the Little Satan, Israel and the leadership in America is bending over backwards to show how tolerant we are.


Our Muslim (sympathizing or just plain Muslim? --you decide) president....

....seems to think that going to Egypt apologizing for our existence, comparing the holocaust to "dislocation" of the Palestinians in Gaza, using NASA for Muslim Outreach, and bowing to the Saudi King, is going to make these radicals change their minds and all of a sudden love America--the Messiah is president after all.

Newsflash, leaders in the Muslim world see all this apology and tolerance as a sign of weakness and they are waging an all-out assault on our way of life. Beginning with this mosque at ground zero. While his wife Daisy is calling the treatment of Muslims in America "metastasized anti-Semitism", her husband Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is touring the Middle East on our dime.

It is past time for American's to wake up and realize that we are "tolerating" ourselves out of existence. Earlier this year, Christians in Dearborn, MI were arrested simply for being Christian at an Islamic festival. Many of these people aim to bring Sharia Law to America. I wonder how Rosie O'Donnell and her ilk will like life then? The enemy of your enemy is not your friend.

Then there is Israel, caught between a rock and a hard place. Iran is fueling their first nuclear reactor. Is Israel supposed to stand by and be tolerant as extremists try to bomb her off the face of the earth? The Obama regime seems to think so.

But what else would we expect? Our Muslim-sympathizing wannbe dictator has been snubbing our (former?) ally since he took office. Obama snubbed Netanyahu during his visit to the White House, he asked Netanyahu not to come after the first flotilla, then the "Messiah" called the flotilla raid tragic and asked for a probe! Little wonder Obama would side with the flotilla people on this one (and the next one); his friends are the ones behind the flotillas!!!

Friends, freedom of religion does not mean freedom for some and not others. It does not mean freedom for Muslims at the expense of Christians. It is controversial to say this, but our Founders saw freedom of religion as the right to practice whichever form of Christianity one chose.

On that note, I will leave you with Thomas Jefferson's favorite psalm:

Psalm 15
A psalm of David.

1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?

2 He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart

3 and has no slander on his tongue,
who does his neighbor no wrong
and casts no slur on his fellowman,

4 who despises a vile man
but honors those who fear the LORD,
who keeps his oath
even when it hurts,

5 who lends his money without usury
and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things
will never be shaken.

I was especially curious about the line "who despises a vile man"--since I see many vile men in power today--and researched it further.

I found this explanation:
[C]oncerning what a blameless man honors, the Lord says: he "despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD." To "despise a vile man" may seem easy at first sight, but many of us are guilty of honoring "vile" men. The Lord is speaking of those who are "vile" in His eyes, not our own. There are many who are wealthy yet vile, high-ranking yet vile, intelligent yet vile, beautiful yet vile, that are honored much by the world.

Georgia Association of Educators Endorses the Dems

Yet another reason I homeschool. The Georgia Association of Educators endorsed Roy Barnes for governor. Not just that--every single candidate they endorsed is a democrat!

Governor – Roy Barnes
Interesting since the teachers were so angry with Barnes' plans to revamp the school system in his first term as governor that they are partially blamed for Barnes' loss to Sonny Purdue (R) in 2002.

Lt. Governor – Carol Porter
Ms. Porter's husband was running for governor. Wouldn't that have been cozy? Beyond co-owning a newspaper and raising four sons, I could find very little about her. She did blame the Republicans for not collecting enough sales taxes.

State Superintendent of Schools – Joe Martin
This guy appears to want to throw more money at the public schools and hope something sticks.

Secretary of State – Georganna Sinkfield
From her voting history from her time in the GA Assembly, it looks to me like she sides with Environmentalists, and liberals and against conservative issues, gun rights issues and business.

Labor Commissioner – Darryl Hicks
When other people seem to be running from Green Jobs, Mr. Hicks is  proudly displaying his support of this job-killing scheme.

Insurance Commissioner – Mary Squires
This "peach" was endorsed by the ALF-CIO. Need I say more?

Attorney General – Ken Hodges
According to some in his hometown, this guy seems to think he and his cronies are above the law. 


You can't tell me that--with the GAE's universal support of democrat candidates and policies--our children are not being subjected to their leftist agenda in the public schools. Georgia is for the most part a conservative state with very Christian beliefs. It boggles the mind that our "educators" are so out of touch with the people of the state.

Call me a birther....

....but I'd still like to see a birth certificate.

Thanks Again, Sarah.

A little update on the GA gubernatorial race. Back in July, Sarah Palin endorsed Karen Handel in the primary. Her endorsement, which I still believe was largely based on Handel's gender, knocked front-runner Oxendine out of the race and resulted in a runoff between Karen Handel and Nathan Deal.

The run-off was very close and Handel ended up conceding to Deal. Here's the fun part. Now it seems that the White House is going after Deal.

Q: In the Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary, the winner in that race, Representative Deal, has actually dabbled in birther conspiracies. I don’t know if he is an avowed birther, but he certainly has pushed the notion that the President wasn’t born in this country. And I’m wondering if you — upon reflection, what do you think of the fact that the Republican Party has put forth someone to run a state who doesn’t believe in the President’s birthplace?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think if you look at what Nathan Deal is probably going to have to explain over the course of this primary, that might be some of the least of his concerns — in terms of some ethics investigations that are currently ongoing.
I think having — the last I checked, the results in that race were within a few thousand votes, which means even as you’re hoping to find a nominee, you have a very divided party, with somebody in Roy Barnes who has a track record that Georgians can be proud of.

Q: Handel conceded.

MR. GIBBS: But you still have a very splintered party. Again, I think you are hard-pressed to see, whether it is gubernatorial races in Georgia, Connecticut, Denver — I’m sorry, Colorado — and Senate races in Connecticut and Colorado, where Democrats didn’t have an extraordinarily good night and are faced with I think, quite frankly, candidates that are largely out of step with the states and areas that they wish to ultimately represent.

Thanks again, Sarah.

Homeschooling Update

The first day went great! The boys got a little restless in the third hour, but settled down when I told them that I would happily keep teaching until 3 o'clock--when 1st grade lets out in public school. That settled them down.

We got our core curriculum done in just under 3 hours then spent the afternoon playing with the birds, reading Dr. Doolittle and practicing our handwriting on the new dry-erase mats Grandma brought by (I'll spare you the details on the laundry, gardening and cleaning the cat box).

Another couple days like this and I will be able to reclaim my part in saving the Republic from Tyranny.

Oh, and for the first time, 6 eggs today!

I'm still here, sorta

Hey guys! Homeschooling starts tomorrow so I may be scarce for a little while. Keep up the good fight out there. I have faith in y'all!

~K

The Obama Vacations

I am sick to death of the First Family jetting around the world at the taxpayers expense. When the wannabe dictator isn't living it up on my dime, he's chilling on the golf course-- or doing both at the same time!

This week, Queen Michelle and one of the first daughters packed their Louis Vuitton and set off to Coastal Spain for some some five-star fun with 40 of her closest friends and photos with Spain's royal family. The cost of Air Force Two alone is estimated at almost $150,000! Add in the cost of the Ritz ($500-2500/night), secret service detail, meals and other expenses and there's no telling what this little trip cost Joe Average. At the same time, Princess Pelosi is calling congress back to Washington for an emergency, multi-billion dollar bailout for teachers (*cough* teachers unions?) I wonder just how many teachers could be employed by the cost of this trip alone. But this isn't even the tip of the iceberg!

Queen Michelle dipped her toes in the surf in Panama City Beach, FL last month, and apparently liked it so much that the first family is going there again on August 14-15. Do us a favor and leave the Redneck Riviera alone.

July 16, 2010, the First Family needed a break from the Washington heat so took a jaunt up to the coast of Maine. You wouldn't really expect them to ride on the same plane as a dog, would you? Good, because the first pooch got his own ride.

In June, Queen Michelle and the First Daughters hit the left coast! After some time at Camp Pendleton, they visited Lucques for a sustainable dining experience. Then the American Royal Family (including Grandma) checked out the 6th game of the NBA finals. What did those tickets set us back?

For Memorial Day, the Wannabe skipped out on tradition, deciding instead to head home to Chicago for the weekend. Perhaps he needed to meet with Ayers or burn a few skeletons in the closet. Either way, his trip was rained out and he was heckled on a bus. (Oops, looks like that video was scrubbed, wouldn't want to tarnish his image). Bummer, Obummer, looks like the trip wasn't all you'd hoped for.

Michelle, Grandma and the girls jetted off to NYC for spring break (March '10). Living it up in the Big Apple they hit Broadway, visited the Statue of Liberty (wonder if they spat on it), and toured the Empire State Building.

I'm not much for the cold and apparently neither are the Obamas; they decided to spend Christmas '09 in Hawaii. Nothing like sandy beaches and tropical waters to energize a person to destroy, I mean transform a country.

Before this, in December '09 the Wannabe hit Copenhagen (again) for a climate change conference.

The first trip to Copenhagen in October '09 was meant to bring the Olympics to Chicago. The mission was an utter failure, but cost the taxpayers an estimated $10 million.

August '09, the First Fam beat the heat in Martha's Vineyard.

And don't forget that $250k NYC date night the King and Queen had in May '09.



That is 11 vacations in just over a year! I'm not even counting all of Obama's official trips which amount to little more than a continuation of his campaign.

While the rest of us have tightened our belts and are praying to keep our jobs, the President and his wife are living it up like royalty. Obama, do like the rest of us and STAY HOME, we're tired of footing your bills!

Velociraptor in the House

Peg lays GIANT eggs. Most of which have 2 yolks. There are hers from the last two days. The one on the right is as big as my palm!

I'm going to have to keep this last white grocery store egg around just so I can continue to compare!

Health Care Law: Worse than we thought

Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX) and his staff have compiled a review and a flow chart of the law. It's actually worse than we thought. Brady's team admits that they could not fit the whole thing on one chart--this represents only about a third of the complexity.

According to their findings, the law includes:

• $569 billion in higher taxes
• $529 billion in cuts to Medicare
• swelling of the ranks of Medicaid by 16 million
• 17 major insurance mandates
• the creation of two new bureaucracies with powers to impose future rationing: the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and the Independent Payments Advisory Board

The law gives almost dictatorial powers to the HHS secretary whose judgments "can’t be challenged either administratively or through the courts."

Don't even get me started on Donald Berwick, Obama's recess appointment as the new head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This guy admits that Government health care is a redistribution of wealth and is in love with the British system--the British system that is failing and is going to be cut drastically this year.



Nancy Pelosi said congress would have to pass the law so we could find out what's in it. The more we find, the more it stinks.

Google Earth Used To Find Unlicensed Pools

Can you say Big Brother? A Long Island town is using Google Earth to locate unpermitted pool and throw hefty fines at the property owners. According to this article  they have found approx 250 pools and collected about $75K in fines.

Revenues are down so these government busybodies find new and creative ways to stick it to the people.  I am reminded of the police our town has park under every bridge on a little-traveled freeway, running their A/C on 101 degree days, attempting to collect from anyone who pushes the speed limit. Crime is up, we have a rapist on the loose and a gang of smash-and-grabbers who are taking on car windows in the broad daylight---but where's the revenue in catching them?

I digress. I've found Google Earth a little spooky since I first played with it and looked up a friend's apartment building...in Serbia. Now it is being used to invade what little bits of privacy we may still have. It was only a matter of time before the government found a way to use it to their advantage (in the private sector, we would call someone a crook for using Google Earth to extract money from others).

I imagine it won't be long before Google Earth is used to find unpermitted additions, non-ecofriendly landscaping, windows that don't meet energy standards, etc.

3 Eggs, 5 Yolks!

Thanks for the chicken's comment, Odie!

Monster Egg

We got a HUGE egg this morning. This picture doesn't even do it justice. That's the last of the large supermarket eggs next to it. I wonder how many yolks it will have....poor chicken.

Is Obama High?

I've read articles, many from psychologists, who speculate that the president may be under the influence of some controlled substance.

I found these videos interesting.






Finally, this video is hysterical, but NOT family friendly.

Will Washington's Failures Lead To Second American Revolution?

This is for-sure not warm fuzzies for the weekend, but was such a good article, I'm compelled to share.

Will Washington's Failures Lead To Second American Revolution?

By ERNEST S. CHRISTIAN AND GARY A ROBBINS Posted 07/30/2010 06:30 PM ET

The Internet is a large-scale version of the "Committees of Correspondence" that led to the first American Revolution — and with Washington's failings now so obvious and awful, it may lead to another.

People are asking, "Is the government doing us more harm than good? Should we change what it does and the way it does it?"

Inside Chelsea's Wedding

I can't resist. I read this article and several things made me go "WHAT?". So today you're in for a little tabloid at the Mishmash.

"Ferociously bright, Chelsea studied history at the Ivy League Stanford University before taking a masters in International Relations at Oxford —"

Do we have proof of her intelligence?

"In 2003 she returned to New York to work for management consultancy McKinsey & Company, and later a small hedge fund run by one of her father’s major supporters."

So Daddy got her a job and at a hedge fund at that. Libs seem to love hedge funds. According to Reuters, "The big winner in the Obama administration’s financial regulatory reform package is the beaten-up hedge fund industry. Hedge funds get a particularly “light touch” when it comes to government oversight in the Obama plan"

Mishmashed News

Democrats Not likely to Give Up Lame Duck Session

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) offered a resolution on the house floor asking congress to skip their lame duck session.

“Americans are sick and tired of their elected leaders making backroom deals to ram through unpopular, 2000-page bills that no one has read,” said Price.

In true government fashion, the Democrats chose to delay the vote.

Confidence at All-time Low

In related news, Americans' confidence in the federal government has reached an all time low.

When it comes to more 2000-page bills from a lame duck congress...if you ain't got nothin' you got nothin' to lose.

Obama Chooses a Crook

We all know that's something he's good at! Obama picked a Charlottesville, VA woman to stand beside him as an example of why the unemployed need more federal handouts. The problem? The woman was convicted last year of prescription drug fraud and in 2007 was charged with felony grand larceny.

Obama: African Americans are "sort of a mongrel people"

What!?

The President, B. Hussein Obama appeared on The View this morning and called African Americans "sort of a mongrel people".

Can you even imagine the outrage if Bush had said such a thing? The libs would be clamoring for his head on a platter.

When asked about his background, which includes a black father and white mother, Obama said of African-Americans: "We are sort of a mongrel people."
"I mean we're all kinds of mixed up," Obama said. "That's actually true of white people as well, but we just know more about it."

I'm so sick of the double standard and the race baiting. Barry seems to feel about his race(s) as Karl Marx did about his Jewish heritage. Must be hard to hate oneself.

So many eggs!

Five birds have laid so far today. This is the most I've ever gotten in a day and I still expect an egg from the barred rock who hasn't laid in 2 days.

Sunday sang the longest egg song ever!

So long that Peg decided she didn't need to sing at all.

Pie Time!

I'm sick to death of politics (like the ruling on the AZ Immigration Law today)and of being disgusted by what is going on in this country. I actually was sick on Monday and now it's 100 degrees out and I just don't have the energy for any of it.

So the Mishmash is going to get a lot of warm fuzzies today -- and maybe for the rest of the week. I think we all need 'em. I know I do.

I promised months ago and I'm actually going to come through today with How To Make Pastry!

Today's recipe is Rhubarb Custard Pie.

Going after the bloggers

Gotta love an entrepreneur. Normally I do--small business fuels America. I'm making an exception for this guy though.

Steve Gibson has a new business plan. He has started a company that is buying newspaper copyrights with the sole intention of suing bloggers who use the material.

What was it Nancy Pelosi said about Health Care? We'll go around, go through, pole-vault over? Until the regime can get Net Neutrality and/or an Internet Kill Switch, this guy is doing their dirty work. Way to go Steve.

Chicken or Crow?

Poor Frizz got caught in a rain storm. This is the first time in her life that her feathers have laid down.

Chicken Pot Pie

"Sunday" dinner?

'Lose Christianity or face expulsion'

Augusta State University graduate student, Jen Keeton has been told to drop her Christian beliefs on homosexuality or face expulsion.

"Anderson-Wiley confirmed that Miss Keeton will not be able to successfully complete the remediation plan and thus complete the ASU counseling program unless she commits to affirming the propriety of gay and lesbian relationships if such an opportunity arises in her future professional efforts,"

At the same time, our touchy-feely Left feels the need to protect Muslims and side with Islam at all cost. 

I have a theory that leftists have an inability to connect the dots. They go right from A to D without considering B and C. I wonder, have they considered Islam's take on homosexuality?

Same-sex intercourse carries the death penalty in five officially Muslim nations: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan, and Yemen.  It formerly carried the death penalty in Afghanistan under the Taliban, and in Iraq under a 2001 decree by Saddam Hussein.

Dictator of the People's Republic of America

The eggs have nothing at all to do with this post, but I needed something in here that wasn't so utterly depressing. Again, the white one is for comparison.

Today, I got a monster-sized egg and found a smaller brown egg which must have been from Tuesday since that's the last time the birds had access to the space where the egg was found. I'm guessing the dark brown eggs are from a barred rock based on the black petticoat feather I found stuck to the big one.

That's all the fluff, I have today.

I don't want to sound overboard here, but I am truly scared for this country. I believe we are closer to a dictatorship than ever before and I can only hope and pray that we can pull out of this somehow.

What makes me think we are in big trouble?

Two more eggs!!!!

9:30 am No Eggs

11:00 am No Eggs

2:15 pm Two Eggs! A dark brown one in the nesting box and a light brown one on the floor.

The white one is a large supermarket egg for size comparison.

Where are those birds this time?

Time for some much-needed warm fuzzies around here.
A few days ago, Woody was crowing his head off so I went out to investigate. Here's what I found:

Everyone lined up for a nap on the deck.

NationalPopularVote.com Pays Kristin a Visit

The folks over at NationalPopularVote.com decided to stop by my blog and post their entire mission in my comment section.

Of course, that made me dig a little farther into who these people are.

A quick search of the website shows that they are supported by the League of Women Voters. We just love them here at Kristin's Mishmash, the LWV and their support for climate change legislation, the DISCLOSE act, Nationalized Health Care and about everything else that I am fighting against!

In addition to the LWV, they are endorsed by the NY Times, the Chicago Sun Times and the LA Times. Their founder, John Koza says so himself. Are we getting warm fuzzies yet? Digging a little deeper into John Koza, I find that his claim to fame is scratch off-lottery tickets and his support of far left and socialist party candidates.

“When people complain that it’s an end run,” Dr. Koza said, “I just tell them, ‘Hey, an end run is a legal play in football.’ ’’

Primary Day in the Peach State

It's Primary day here in the Peach State and as I posted a few days ago, Sarah Palin's endorsement of Karen Handel has got me worried.

Today I see this:

“…Karen Handel’s extremely liberal record on abortion. As commission chair of Fulton County, Karen Handel voted to give over $400,000 to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.
“Karen Handel also sat back and watched an additional $800,000 go to this despicable organization. For the pro-life cause and the unborn children in Georgia, Georgia Right to Life asks you to reject Karen Handel on July 20. Thank you.”

Bypassing the Electoral College?

A bill is working its way through the Massachusetts state legislature that would bypass the electoral college and give all electoral votes to the candidate who won the national majority. Illinois, New Jersey, Hawaii, Maryland, and Washington already have this kind of legislation.

Is it any wonder that these states are the states among those that most approve of Obama's performance?

First Egg!

I stumbled out to the coop while the coffee was brewing this morning to let the birds out. They fluttered out into the woods and I started back to the house. About halfway down the path, I realized that I should check for eggs and padded back to the coop.

Top nesting boxes....nothing.

Bottom nesting boxes....wait, did I really see that? It's not a golf ball.

My egg is the pretty little brown one. The white is a large egg from my last supermarket dozen. Chicken experts say that the eggs will get larger over the first year.

And here's Trevor checking it out. I have no idea which bird gave me the egg. It's either my 19 week Barred Rocks or Red Sex Linked.

Obama's Golf Addiction

I came across this article this afternoon and just had to share.

Barry has played 41 rounds of golf since becoming president.

41!

The article breaks that down to five work weeks spent on the golf course.

For the "Blame Bush" crowd, Dubya played 23 rounds total.

Palin Endorses Handel....

I endorse Oxendine.

Last week I reviewed some of the candidates on the 2010 ballot in Georgia. In that post, I said I liked both Oxendine and Handel for governor.

Handel and Oxendine have essentially the same platform and beliefs. I actually like Oxendine's platform slightly better because of his desire to eliminate the income tax in Georgia and his commitment to the Fair Tax.

In my eyes, Palin endorsed Handel solely because she's a woman. (Pet peeve here: Handel's signs are green. Come on lady, really!? When do you ever see the guy with the green sign win?)

I believe Oxendine is the only candidate who will beat Democrat Roy Barnes in the general election. A Mason-Dixon poll that ran in yesterday's paper matched up candidates in the general election:

Ox vs. Barnes 42-42

Handel vs. Barnes 34-45

Deal vs. Barnes 28-46

We've seen Barnes before. We don't need to do that again. Sorry Sarah, but I wish you had looked into the race more before endorsing a candidate because she wears a skirt.

White House issues new Health Care mandates

The wanna-be dictator strikes again. Yesterday, the White House announced that insurers must offer many screenings, preventative care and counseling at no cost. Some of these treatments include: vaccines, cancer screenings, well-child visits and even counseling to help quit smoking!

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday issued new rules requiring health insurance companies to provide free coverage for dozens of screenings, laboratory tests and other types of preventive care.

Ignoring the fact that the Constitution gives the government no right to have even passed this healthcare law, what gives Obama the right to give these mandates to private businesses?

Welcome to socialism, people. The government controls everything for the "public good".

Taxpayer Money to Fund Abortions

Only four months ago, the Liar-in-Chief promised by executive order that taxpayer money would not be used to fund abortions. Just like "no tax increases for those making less than $250k/year", many of us saw it for the lie it was. I believe Obama would promise anything to get his way; the ends justify the means, don'cha know?

Today, CNS News is reporting that "the Health and Human Services Department is giving Pennsylvania $160 million to set up a new high-risk insurance pool that will cover any abortion that is legal in the state."

Michelle's NAACP Speech

Breitbart.tv » Michelle Obama Tells NAACP America Still Unequal

Yet another video I can't seem to embed. Here's Michelle O in Kansas City today. Be sure to read the comments.

These progressives will never realize (or admit) that it's their own policies that have destroyed the black family and they've done it on purpose.


Last summer, I visited the Martin Luther King Jr. museum in Atlanta. As I walked through Sweet Auburn and his family home, I was struck by the importance of family to the Kings and their contemporaries.


We don't need more government, more reparations, more affirmative action, more distribution of wealth. We need more family, more value for human life and above all, more God.

New Toy

I'm probably going to be MIA the rest of the day. My dear husband bought me an iPod touch yesterday and I'm trying to figure out what all it does.

Took me 3 hours to find iheartradio....you don't know what to look for when you don't know what exists.

Kristin joins the 21st Century.

The Other Side of Freedom

I wish I was able to embed the Forth of July message from Pastor Andy Stanley, but alas, I'm just not talented enough to figure it out. Please click the link and watch. It was fantastic! (there's also a free podcast) The message is about how the Founders realized that religion was essential to the Republic.

The Other Side of Freedom

My birds, my birds

And since we all need warm fuzzies after that last post, here are the latest pictures of my birds. 

This is one of my five reds. They are about 18 weeks old now and I expect eggs anytime.

Buffy and Flag. They are two girls from my younger flock. No eggs from them until September or October. Since naming them, I have discovered that every chicken owner with Buff Orpingtons names one Buffy. I'm so original. The second most popular name seems to be Nugget.

This is Dinner, I mean Woody. He earned himself a 2-week stay of execution last weekend when I decided he wasn't quite big enough. Unfortunately he's been such a good boy this week, I'm having second thoughts about eating him. His brother Roosty will have to go first.

Last picture for today: one of my 2 Barred Rock girls. These birds make the most nasal sounding clucking. I wonder if all Barred Rocks are like that or if mine have deviated septums or something. I know, I know, chickens probably don't have nasal septums like people. I'm off to ponder that one for a while. 

Have a nice weekend, peeps!

Carbon Police taking it too far

I just stumbled across this article out of Belgium.

The EU is reviewing proposals from Belgian undertakers who wish to dissolve bodies in caustic solutions instead of cremating them. The undertakers claim that 573lbs of Carbon Dioxide is released with each cremated corpse.

Eww. To me this is a sanctity of life issue. This kind of treatment of a body seems disrespectful to the person who once occupied that body.

If Chickens Could Talk....

Thank you for to my bestest friend for the commentary from the pullets.

This is my Blue Marans Cockerel, Sliver and his girls, Flag, Buffy and Frizz.

  

buffy: what the hell is he doing? 

frizz: hmmm looks fun 

buffy: should we help her? 

frizz: naw, just glad it's her not me

"Slap-yo-mama" Blueberry Crumb Pie

As promised, here's my blueberry pie recipe. We attacked it like a pack of hyenas (or hungry chickens) and this is all that was left for me to photograph.

I promise I will do a tutorial on homemade pastry one of these days, but for the sake of this recipe, I'm just going to trust you to make your own.

Filling:

• 5c fresh blueberries
• 1/2 c + 2T sugar
• 3 1/2 T flour
• 1t cinnamon
• 1 1/2T lemon juice

Topping:

• 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2T butter
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Place pastry in 10-inch deep dish pie plate. Trim edges.

In mixing bowl, gently combine all filling ingredients.

Pour evenly into pie plate.

Combine flour and sugar for topping and cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle evenly over filling. Use your fingers to put nice big crumbly pieces on top.

Bake approx 50 min until filling is bubbly and crust is lightly browned.

Cover edges with foil if pastry is browning too quickly.

Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream!