Soooo.... the kids have decided that dinner Christmas Eve will be pies -

For the vegetarians : quiche with pearl onions, spinach and mushrooms sauteed in butter and garlic, then sprinkled with swiss cheese

For the carnivores - the same plus sausages?

Dessert apple pie, egg nog pie, what else is Christmasy? Not mince meat, i don't think i could sell that. Chocolate cream with peppermint sprinkles? Something with coconut made to look like snow?


I should add - we're working on something that starts with a crust of mashed potatoes, I'm thinking Duchess potatoes nicely browned on top to get a crisp layer, topped with green bean casserole with french fried onions..... That'd be for Christmas Day. It's based on my youngest's preferred thanksgiving left-over feast!

I have several chronic illnesses only partially addressed by accepted pharmaceuticals,

so I am always interested in hearing that this or that vitamin or supplement is useful. Many autoimmune disorders and depression are associated with and/or exasperated by vitamin deficiencies. I always go to a reputable site like NIH or Mayo clinic or WEB MD to check my info. I don't trust the claims of someone who just happens to be selling the stuff. But I am very frustrated by the type of study I see all too often:

"Many patients with X suffer from a deficiency of Y. It has been reported that by supplementing Y, patients with X improved.

We gave 50 patients with X so many mgs of Y for 50 days and another 50 patients a placebo.

At the end of the test, supplementation with Y did not show a difference compared with the placebo.

Therefore, we conclude that Y does not improve the condition of patients with X."

Now - do you see what is missing from the model? Although many patients with X have a deficiency of Y, we have no idea if the patients involved in this particular study had a deficiency of Y. No one measured their serum levels before the protocol began, no one measured serum levels at the end of the study. We have no idea if these people had normal levels or not, nor do we know whether the supplementation was sufficient to bring them into normal levels.

Vitamin D is now recognized as very important in preventing and/or modulating many chronic illnesses. But today the recommended dose is something like 2000IU. A lot of older testing was done with a dose of 400IU, and it was concluded that Vitamin D wasn't a factor. It was only when the dose was raised to bring blood serum up to a certain point that the effects of Vitamin D could be seen.

Oh, please!

This is popping up on my Facebook:

"Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this
piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .



The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.


My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing yet?

Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Pass it on if you think it has merit.

If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,

Ben Stein"


http://www.snopes.com/politics/christmas/ornaments.asp

Day after turkey sandwich

Which do you really look forward to:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Canonically Dismisses Roy Bourgeois

Source: Christian News Wire

MARYKNOLL, N.Y., Nov. 19, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on October 4, 2012, canonically dismissed Roy Bourgeois from the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, also known as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. The decision dispenses the Maryknoll priest from his sacred bonds.

As a priest during 2008, Mr. Bourgeois participated in the invalid ordination of a woman and a simulated Mass in Lexington, Kentucky. With patience, the Holy See and the Maryknoll Society have encouraged his reconciliation with the Catholic Church.

Instead, Mr. Bourgeois chose to campaign against the teachings of the Catholic Church in secular and non-Catholic venues. This was done without the permission of the local U.S. Catholic Bishops and while ignoring the sensitivities of the faithful across the country. Disobedience and preaching against the teaching of the Catholic Church about women's ordination led to his excommunication, dismissal and laicization.

Mr. Bourgeois freely chose his views and actions, and all the members of the Maryknoll Society are saddened at the failure of reconciliation. With this parting, the Maryknoll Society warmly thanks Roy Bourgeois for his service to mission and all members wish him well in his personal life. In the spirit of equity and charity, Maryknoll will assist Mr. Bourgeois with this transition.


Confirmed by a Facebook notice by the Women's Ordination Conference. It's not clear to me, but it appears that Father Bourgeois is no longer allowed to be a priest by the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican has been less and less willing to accept any dissent. This is bad news for all Roman Catholics.

Edited to add: Father Burgeois has fought for years to close the School of the Americas.

Read more: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/2523770927.html

Father Bourgeois expelled by Maryknollers

From the Women's Ordination Conference Facebook page:

"Friends, we received sad news today. Maryknoll announced this afternoon that the Vatican has dismissed Fr. Roy Bourgeois from their order. We will share more as we can. Please keep Fr. Roy in your prayers."

That Microsoft ad for "Surface"

I thought it was a bad ad because it has so much going on I couldn't figure out exactly what the product does. Then I saw a longer version of the ad which features a fast clip of some school girls in uniform doing a little march. Am I the only one that finds that part a little creepy?

Walmart and Hostess - are the plutocrats under siege?

I've seen a lot of info on these two companies the last few days. Now, i am connected to a lot of lefty sites, so I'm not surprised by the info or to be receiving it. But if this info is getting out into the mainstream, people may finally connect the dots.

The Vegiducken: