That’s a You Problem, Not a Me Problem

If the studies showing the decrease in empathy over the last several decades is in doubt, just go to FaceBook and you will see clear evidence of just how much we don’t give a shit about anybody but ourselves.

The current immigration situation nicely illustrates this point. So many people wanting to just make “those” people go back to where they came from. Umm, most of “those” people are of the brown persuasion. And I can’t help but wonder if the influx was of say blonde haired, blue eyed amazonion looking women, if we would have the same or similar outcry. Oh wait, we had HUGE influxes of Serbo-Crotian immigrants and no one said a word. We’ve granted asylum to numerous people from the middle east with nary a sound of protest. So yeah, umm, we just have problems with our brothers and sisters from south of the border.

Now, I’m not gonna tell you what to think. But immigration is a complex issue. Not only should we be concerned about lower level workers. You know, like migrants farmers so I can have my table grapes in the summer with my wine. Or housekeepers and nannies. But we should be concerned with what’s called the replacement rate. This is the number of babies that each woman needs to have to keep the population at zero. Just as an FYI, the United States is WAY below the needed replacement rate.

Now, lets think this through. Many countries are being over run with people from other countries. Most notably, those countries that are dangerous to live are experiencing mass exodus. And guess where they are going? Lots go to Europe. But MANY come to the United States. So, lets do some simple math peeps. Americans AREN’T replacing their population, we are declining. So those who are raised with our values are a diminishing number. Do you want them replaced by hard-working Catholic conservatives or crazy-assed other religions and cultures? Love Sharia Law? Then keep whining about Latino Catholics “invading” America. Umm, just no. And to be clear, I’m NOT advocating that we cut off all other religious people from immigrating to our country. But we should be really careful about demographics because WE ARE REPLACING our population with immigrants RIGHT NOW. What values do you want those immigrants to have? And I don’t want to hear that all Latinos are drug dealers. Cause that’s like saying all Americans are millionaires or we all get naked to survive in the wild. TV isn’t a good basis for basing racial and ethnic prejudices. Go talk to some Latinos in your community. Go talk to others of differing values. Make an informed decision. You’ll be surprised.

I find it mildly ironic that current US citizens are pissed about people coming to our country to have a better life. Like a better life can be divided up into small slices. Again, umm… just no. Having MORE workers contribute is a good thing. Because many Americans ancestors didn’t immigrate “properly” to the US in the first place. In fact, I bet there are several First American groups who would have several things to say about the first Europeans invaders to US soil and how those peeps NEVER “properly” stepped their toes on US soil. Now, in case you’ve wondered. I can trace one of my parents to “proper” immigration, and it ain’t my white parent. It was my Asian mother. My dad’s side is sketchy on how “legally” they “immigrated.” I put the word immigrated in quotes because many came to this country against their will back in the day. And not just outright slaves, but indentured servants, people who got left behind, who’d been shipped here as convicts, etc. I can’t tell from our family records on my caucasian side if and when and how we came to have US citizenship. And quite frankly, given the number of treaties we’ve failed to honor and enforce, any continued occupation by those not of First American descent might not be quite legal or proper. But good luck trying to dig out those here now. All we can hope for is that those with guilty consciouses to voluntarily give up their citizenship and go back to their motherlands. I’m waiting with baited breathe, y’all.

And here’s the thing, many of those “Mexican bastards” that many in our Southern states are working to keep out came from the First Americans who ROAMED the shit out of this land long before the white, yellow and black peeps stepped a toe on our hallowed ground. So our brown brothers and sisters have and ANCESTRAL claim and right to come back to those very lands. Just look at how often Texas and Southern California changed hands between the Spanish and the Not Spanish. lol Somebody’s claim in this mix in primary and it’s not those with colors that aren’t brown in their skin.

Now you might wonder about how empathy ties into this. Well, can you put yourself into their shoes? Wanting better for your family, work so you can buy food, and not so much crime and lawlessness? I can. My heart goes out to anyone who wants better for themselves and their families. Of course, I can understand that. I won’t touch the whole welfare aspect of these arguments because again, it just underscores the lack of empathy. Seriously, I get that many in our society don’t want to help our fellow Americans. I can’t imagine those same people being overly excited about helping out those who aren’t Americans yet. I get it. But, getting them in, having immigrants work AND pay into our system isn’t that hard to do. Or instituting a waiting period while paying into the system like Canada does wouldn’t be hard to do.

There are many solutions that can work to make these issues not be so important. Sticking kids in concentration-like camps, having military based enforcement, having random US citizenship stops NOT AT A BORDER, and many of the other CRAZY-ASSED actions we’ve been taking isn’t the way. Not at all. A little compassion, a lot of reasonable discourse, and picking and choosing the best of what others are doing are ingredients in the recipe to not looking like those of us who have the coveted US citizenship are hoarders preventing others from having the same opportunities. In other words, stop being dicks.

Manday Monday

10245503_291129514389185_4244344872282290332_n

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted. But I thought that a some man candy would help y’all forgive me, or at least get over it. 😉

Just take a look at that profile of a most awesome side view of a man abs. Yummo!

A Tale of Two Pies

It’s summer. So it’s hot. And it might not seem like the time to bake, getting your kitchen all steamy and what not. But with all the delicious fruit available at farmer’s markets and grocery stores, well, pies are really the answer to a mid-summer dilemma.

Pies have always had an old-fashioned connotation. A cook’s staple. There’s a reason they’ve been around so long. They’re fucking yummy. Add ice cream and viola… sweet warm fruit pares with frozen cream to make something fab, y’all.

One of my fondest memories is of my Aunt Jessie’s rhubarb pie. The tartness combined with fresh from the cow that morning cream adding just that right touch of sweetness t make the tart stand out. I’ve tried to recreate that pie. To no avail. They either come out too sweet or not sweet enough. So I moved on and discovered strawberries in my rhubarb go together just fine. Those pies never seem to come out too sweet or not sweet enough. They one out just right.

The tale of the second pie stems from how great the strawberry rhubarb version came out. I liked the tartness of one thing melding together with the sweetness of another. So I looked. And looked. High and low, I looked. Nothing seemed to catch my fancy. Until I stumbled onto a recipe for peach raspberry pie. Holy Smokes, Batman. That combo sounded fab-u-lous. Raspberry with their tart and tangy taste. And peaches. Oh my goodness. I used to live in Georgia. Back in the day. Way back, yo. If you’ve EVER lived in or near Georgia in the summer, peaches became your best friend. I love them. Off the vine, cut up, in Bellinis, in cobblers and in pies. So I made magic in the kitchen.

So ends my tale of two pies.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

1¼ cups plus 2 tsp. sugar

By: Brandy

â…“ cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
3 cups halved and hulled strawberries
2 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
2 tsp. milk

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.  Mix together 1¼ cups of the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, then add rhubarb and strawberries, tossing well to coat evenly.

2. Fill bottom crust with rhubarb–strawberry mixture and scatter butter on top. Cover with remaining pastry round (discarding wax paper) and crimp edges together to seal. Score top to allow steam to escape, brush with milk, and sprinkle with remaining 2 tsp. sugar. Place pie on a baking sheet and bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. If edge of crust browns too quickly, cover edge with a strip of aluminum foil to prevent burning. Allow pie to cool for 1 hour before serving.

 

Peach Raspberry Pie

â…” cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

By: Laura

â…“ cup flour
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. peach schnapps
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
6 large peaches (about 1 ¾ lb.), peeled and cut into ½″-thick slices
1 cup mashed fresh raspberries
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425°. In a large bowl, toss together sugar, flour, brown sugar, juice, schnapps, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and peaches; set aside.

2. Roll one dough disk into a 12″ circle; fit into a 9″ pie plate. Pour half the filling into pie shell and cover with raspberries. Pour in remaining peach filling, and then dot filling with butter. Roll the remaining dough disk into a 12″ circle, place over filling, and trim dough, leaving a ½″ overhang. Lift edges and fold under to form a thick rim around the pie. Cut 4 slits in top of pie crust, brush with milk or melted butter, and sprinkle with more sugar. Bake until golden brown and filling is bubbling in the center, about 45 minutes. Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.