News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Sunday April 28th 2024
Save Money – Eat Your Weeds
By MARY ELLEN KALUZA
Eating well is expensive even without high inflation. Save money by foraging around your backyard, neighbor’s yard, or other overgrown areas. A small pile of free greens can easily save you $5. Here are a few common weeds that are delicious and nutritious. (Always look up the plant to safely identify and prepare. Harvest in areas you know are not treated with chemicals. Get permission, if necessary. Rinse thoroughly.)
Lamb’s Quarter: My neighbor turned me on to lamb’s quarters years ago with quesadillas stuffed with them. Yum! They are also quite tasty on their own, lightly steamed with a little salt and pepper. Lamb’s quarters contain oxalic acid and you don’t want to eat too much of them raw. (Cooking removes the acid.)
Purslane (verdolagas in Spanish): Purslane can be a pesky weed in the garden. Or in your sidewalk cracks. I get particular pleasure eating this weed because its stubborn tap roots and bazillion seeds make it hard to control. The plant is delicious raw or cooked with a light lemony flavor, eaten around the world. I recently had a green chili stew with purslane and it was the BEST green chili stew ever!… Read the rest “Save Money – Eat Your Weeds”
RETURNING: CHAPTER 21: GO BACK!
By PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL
The two men on horses did not wear cowboy hats or chaps or boots; they didn’t have belts of bullets crossing their chests; they weren’t drinking rotgut or chewing on a blade of grass or smoking the butt ends of cigars. In other words, they were not born out of a common psyche determined by movie moguls.
They weren’t hallucinations either. Or ghosts. Or bits of undigested beef in Luz’ or Angel’s stomach. They were visions that each of them held, deep within them; united in their common lineage, and united in their desperate search for their dear daughter.
So, what did our beloveds see in these two figures?
There is a saying in Spanish, taken originally from a poem by 17th century Mexican poet Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz: “Todo es de acuerdo al color del cristal con que se mira.” That is: “Everything you see depends on the color of your lenses.”
What were the lenses our loving couple had on? Rose colored glasses? They had lost those a long time ago. Mirrored sunglasses to project an image of invulnerability while hiding fear? Nope.
What they saw was the beginning of the blessed, twisted lineage they shared.… Read the rest “RETURNING: CHAPTER 21: GO BACK!”
Right to Life
Raise Your Voice
By Peter Molenaar
In the space of this paper, many years ago, a “marine sergeant” opposed me with the declaration: “I will fight to the death in defense of the U.S. constitution.” My goodness… Given all the varied and contentious interpretations, should we commend the man for his commitment? Would he consider the words of John Locke, the philosopher precursor to the founding fathers? Locke spoke of the right to make revolution, i.e., the right of a revolutionary people to write their own constitution as needed.
A side note:
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of property” became “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as per Thomas Jefferson. But hey, Locke said “pursuit of property” as long as it is earned, whereas, most property in the modern U.S.A. is unearned!
Now, regarding Roe v Wade, we must consider the establishment clause of the First Amendment…
It was Jefferson who declared: “when the American people adopted the ‘establishment clause’ they built a wall of separation between church and state.” As no reference to a specific church was made, logic dictates: “to be constitutional, a statute must have a secular legislative purpose, it must have principle effects that neither advance nor inhibit religion, and it must not fodder an excessive government entanglement with religion.”… Read the rest “Right to Life”
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