Freedom costs two more lives

Those who would continue the exchange of freedom for security could well use this as exhibit 'N for Nazi' in arguing their case.

Known as "Prussian Blue" — a nod to their German heritage and bright blue eyes — the girls from Bakersfield, Calif., have been performing songs about white nationalism before all-white crowds since they were nine.

"We're proud of being white, we want to keep being white," said Lynx. "We want our people to stay white … we don't want to just be, you know, a big muddle. We just want to preserve our race."

Shockinly enough, the MSM didn't include this damning tidbit until the sixth paragraph. Unbelievable restraint.

April home-schools the girls, teaching them her own unique perspective on everything from current to historical events.

It is a shame that these girls are having such warped teaching injected into their vulnerable minds, but at the same time, it is the apex of moral hypocracy to say that the State should prevent teaching children anything that could be construed as intolerant. That dog don't hunt, for obvious reasons. It is just an ugly world out there, boys and girls. Your moral compass is only as good as the lodestone from which it is carved...

PA: We know better than parents

"Hard cases make bad law", and this seems to me to be just such a situation. Though not perfect parents, it seems the state should have a much, much stronger case before proceeding in this way. Yes, there may be more to this than Fox and Cnn report, and the ACLU is supporting the parents, which is a bad sign. However, the due process issues and prospect of ex post facto judgments scare me.

"Schuylkill County Children and Youth Services believes this child's physical and emotional health is in danger because of the abuse perpetrated by the natural father against other minor children," wrote agency attorney Karen E. Rismiller.

Of course, that was over twenty years ago, and he served his time. If, as part of his conviction he was sentenced to never being a father, so be it. But I doubt that it was. And then there is the problem of allegations:

Roper said the child services agency also raised concerns about the mother's alleged history of drug abuse. A closed hearing on the petition was set for Friday in Pottsville, 75 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

So, why do I find myself in the position of defending (on my blog, anyway) lowlife rapists and whores who are no doubt druggies and wholly incompetent to be parents? Because the contention behind the state's case here seems to be that the parents are bad parents before they have even had a chance to prove they are not. The implication is that children are all wards of the state, loaned to competent parents for a while. Aldus Huxley, anyone? And if this is allowed unchecked, the allegation of abuse or moral failing of any sort will soon be enough to remove any child from any parent until the case can be "worked out".

Once upon a time, in a future not too far away in time or imagination: a police officer pulls up beside a hybrid-electric minivan at a stoplight. After the light turns green, the officer pulls in behind and puts on his lights:

Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over? I noticed that one of your kids did not seem to be in an approved child restraint seat. I know that that model was on the approved list two years ago, but it is your job as a parent to make sure you check the recall notices. I also see that there is a pen within reach of the infant. That presents a choking hazard. I also notice evidence on the floor of McDonalds fries, a known cause of childhood obesity. Child protective services is on the way. They will take your children into protective custody for a day or two while you work with them to fix these discrepancies. Oh, I see you have an NRA sticker on your car window. Before the children are returned to you, your house will also have to be inspected to ensure all firearms are locked, and any other safety hazards are removed. Remember, these are your children! You have to treasure them and protect them. We are just trying to help you do that. No, you are not being charged with anything at this time, and I am sure there will be no other issues. I'd say you can expect to have them back by the weekend.

Have a nice day!

Oh, and one other thing

Despite the fact that the bum didn't bother to call and tell me, I guess I'll mention that Eli did OK in his latest competition.

Basic Melomel Recipe

Due to popular interest (Jonah), here is my basic recipe for Melomel:

Start heating a couple of cups of water until it can dissolve about 3 Tbsp sugar. Allow it to cool to about 100F (warm but comfortable to the touch). Add 1 packet dry yeast and stir well. Set aside.

In a big pot, boil water and 5 lbs of fruit, or a few quarts of berries...or a decent amount of whatever you are meading. With juicy, sugary fruits you don't need as much. With drier, tarter fruits, you need more. Boil, boil. Take a potato masher and mash while boiling. Sometimes I freeze the fruit in lieu of boiling. Both methods seem to work well.

Anyway, once the kitchen smells good, it is time to turn the burner off and begin mixing the honey. As a general rule, the more honey, the more sweetness and alcohol. If you use 10-15 lbs, you'll get a dry mead with little residual sweetness, and an alcohol of about 12%, depending on the yeast. If you use 15-20 lbs and a good yeast, you'll get closer to 16-17% and a sweeter mead. The best I have made so far topped out at 19% and was still pretty sweet. So if you like sweet, don't skimp on the honey. I tend to prefer too much honey over too little.

With the heat off, stir in about 5 lbs of honey. Then another 5. Then, if it is still not too thick, another and another, keeping it warm enough to keep the mixture very fluid. As I said, you need a big pot. If you don't have one big enough, mix what you can in the biggest pot you have and then dump the whole mess into a 5 gallon bucket. Add the rest of the honey and stir well.

Add a couple of gallons of water, and check the temperature. If it is still too hot to be comfortable to your hand (above about 103) it will be uncomfortable to the yeast, add more water. If it gets too cool (close to body temperature) add warm water instead of cold. Once you have gotten the temp down to a nice level and filled it to the 5 gal level, add the yeasted water.

Stir, stir, stir.

Make sure there is plenty of air in there. If you have a big straw, blow some bubbles. Or use an egg beater. Then put the lid on and put the air lock in. In about 3-6 hours that sucker should be bubbling like mad. If not, wait about 12 and add more pre-mixed yeast. Let it go for at least 3 weeks, then rack it to the carboy, straining out the fruit goo that has settled to the bottom.

Let it sit in the carboy for about 3 months. When the bubbling has slowed to almost nothing, carefully rack to another carboy, throwing away the sediment (or lees). Let it sit a couple more months. By this time it should be clear (not foggy) but if there are still some suspended particles, sprinkle some gelatin in and let it sit for about a week.

Rack, bottle and enjoy!

File this under "Really Strange"

Computer chips that store music could soon be built into a woman's breast implants...

There are so many ways to go with this...

No, they don't have an agenda!

The MSM has done it again, and once again it is the blogosphere which has come to the rescue. Making every attempt to detract and distract from the ideas that the President wants to discuss, they do their best to put forth fables and images. Check out SGT Ron Long's account of this so-called staged event: They Call Us Doc

And now for something completely different

Mead. Nectar of the Gods. I make Mead, but I also make Melomel, Metheglin, Cyser and Pyment, but no one know what they are, I get enough curious looks when I say "mead" that I stick with that. I had nothing else to post tonight, and my brain is fried from class all day, so it is time for a post with links to mead making.

Google has a sense of humor

So, I was helping Tams with her newest blog and this was the result of the "Check Spelling" button in Blogger. I fell out of the chair laughing...

WSJ Shocker!!! Girlish Boys!!!

From the WSJ front page today, a long article, which begins:

In the 12th week of a human pregrancy, the momentous event of gender formation begins, as X and Y chromosomes trigger biochemical reactions that shape male or female organs. Estrogens carry the process forward in girls, while in boys, male hormones called androgens do.

Now scientists have indications the process may be influenced from beyond the womb, raising a fresh debate over industrial chemicals and safety. In rodent experiments, common chemicals called phthalates, used in a wide variety of products from toys to cosmetics to pills, can block the action of fetal androgens. The result is what scientists call demasculinized effects in male offspring, ranging from undescended testes at birth to low sperm counts and benign testicular tumors later in life. "Phthalate syndrome," researchers call it.

Whether phthalates -- pronounced "thallets" -- might affect sexual development in humans, too, is now a matter of hot dispute. Doses in the rodent experiments were hundreds of times as high as the minute levels to which people are exposed. However, last year, federal scientists found gene alterations in the fetuses of pregnant rats that had been exposed to extremely low levels of phthalates, levels no higher than the trace amounts detected in some humans.

I won't repost the whole article, but for those who like big and scary words, the link above should be good for a week. For the simple and direct among us, I will summarize it: boys exposed to make-up, hair sprays, mousse, nail polish and perfume end up being more effeminate and less 'manly'.

I'm...shocked?

Wichita Mountains

Yesterday we went to the mountains...or at least what they call mountains here. More like bumps in the prarie. But beautiful none the less.

In addition to the usual wildlife, we found a place where a tornado had come through the night before. There was a path about 100 yards wide where everything had been torn up and thrashed, and on either side of it no sign of violence except for the leg-sized tree trunks tossed there like matchsticks.

And although the buffalo we saw seemed docile enough, a picture of two stranded pioneer kids in the midst of a stampeed reminded us that our little Toyota Camry was no match for these beasts. Good thing it has a V-6. Run Away!!!

New House!

We have signed a contract on a house in Derby, KS! It is an older house, and it has a huge back yard (for the kids) and a well (so the kids can play in the water all summer) and a huge garage (f0r Max's toys) and a huge back yard (for Tamsey's sanity...or did I already mention that?). And it has a LOT of bedrooms. So come and visit! We'll be heading up for the home inspection next weekend, but until then, here is a picture, compliments of Google Earth. Note how close we are to the base, a bit different than our situation in Virginia.