RECIPE >>> FISHY HOT POTATO SALAD

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Fishy, hot potato salad (for two): SHARING ONE TIN (120 grams)

Ingredients:
SARDINES
Fresh garlic
Two large yellow potatoes
Head of romaine
8-12 cherry tomatoes
Mayo and Dijon mustard
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Powdered turmeric; black pepper
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Crush and peel one or two fat cloves of garlic, setting aside while prepping the spuds. Rinse and puncture both ‘taters, putting them on either side of the garlic teeth in the microwave on top of a wet paper towel, under a glass bowl; zap on high for 3:33 minutes. Next, flip the spuds being careful of escaping steam; add 4:44 more minutes. Meanwhile chop romaine and cherry tomatoes.  Put a potato in each of two bowls, and dice.  Add sardines, and dolps of mustard and mayonaise.  Mash the mixture.  Top with lettuce and tomatoes, dressing the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Dust with turmeric; grind on some black pepper. (Serve with a good nonalcoholic dark beer such as Negra Modelo 0%.)

I shared my recipe at NYTimes, Sept 14 2026:  (five likes; updated )

¿¿Will we defend our CONSTITUTION??

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Retired Federal Judge Michael Luttig (Conservative) saved our democracy just prior to J-6.

Judge Luttig persuaded Mike Pence to reject Trump’s fake electors.  HEADS UP:  An excerpt from his detailed essay about what’s likely coming in January 2027:

Trump and his Republican allies have been preparing for this final battle since January 6, 2021. For the past six years, they have embarrassed themselves and the U.S. with their preposterous, win-at-any-cost denial that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and their deceitful slander of America’s democracy. Since his return to the White House, Trump’s every unconstitutional act in his effort to seize control over the midterm elections—each hailed by his prostrate Republican Congress—has been toward the end of ensuring that Republicans retain a majority in the 120th Congress.

Trump told talk show host Dan Bogino on February 2, “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over. We should take over the voting.’… The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.’” The Republicans have dutifully fallen in line.

SOURCE:  https://www.rsn.org/001/the-final-battle-for-americas-democracy.html

(Note: this essay first appeared in The New Republic.)

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>>> DUAL CITIZENSHIP <<<

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My wife and I first visited Mexico in 2009 as a result of watching a food show with Chef Rick Bayless.  We had been looking for a winter retreat from the snows of Buffalo NY.  In 2013 we bought a home here.  We love the tranquility, the ambiance, the friendliness of the local population, but something changed a few years ago.  The politics of a certain northern nation became alarming, even threatening. There was talk of invasion, or missile strikes on suspected drug labs in the high plains. Lessons from the past caught my attention.

In 1938 Mexico ejected US citizens and other foreign workers, mostly petroleum technicians, after the US State Department meddled in their politics as a result of labor turmoil, regarding wage issues for Mexican petroleum workers, and union organizing.  (Mexico nationalized the oil platforms, claiming the resource to be the property of all Mexican citizens.) So, not wanting to become a victim of such ejection, I began to consider dual citizenship a few years ago to prevent a similar experience, potentially causing us to lose our home.

Gaining my Mexican pasaporte was an education which has me reflecting upon the nature and duties of citizenship.  I’m no expert on this topic, but I’m glad for the experience, and am delighted to be a naturalized citizen here, where I’ve been welcomed into the culture.  Yeah, it requires patience and adaptability, as no system is perfect; but dedication to citizenship contributes to personal improvement, and can benefit the wider community.  I continue taking a Spanish tutorial every week with a linguist, and that has enhanced the experience of living in a new culture. (But the “nanny state” up north still wants their bite.)

As Kermit the Frog once said: It isn’t easy being green — but I ain’t no greengo, no mo’ !   >>>

Foto by Roderick Sia, Unsplash

!! TROUBLE AHEAD again in JANUARY !!

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Ballot, 1926, NYPL digital collection

JOSEPH STALIN once said that it’s not who people vote for, but who counts the ballots.  According to research by David French, editorial writer at NYTimes (“Things that Keep Me Up at Night” July 23) — even if there is a landslide election of Democrats, the Republican “lame ducks” in the House of Representatives can challenge the seating of any of these newly-elected officials using lame claims brought by losing Republican candidates, regardless of ballots counted in precincts, by using the Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969!  (The plans are already in place.)  

So, this begs the question: “Who are the real American communists?” — A:  the oligarchs who bought the Republican Party:  Musk, Ellisons, Kochs, Thiel, Bezos, et al.  “One [person], one vote” no longer holds, since SCOTUS said, in Citizens United, that money is speech .  (They who gave millions now own the game, and the politicians. “Your representative” now works for them.) Sorry, you lost the election!  (Note: FDR was a “social democrat” who ushered in the golden age of America.)

Sadly, we’ve been brainwashed into believing in “checks and balances” and the brilliance of our Constitution, which was always a flawed document, beholden to slave-owners.  “Just say it ain’t so, Joe.”  (The election cheaters are not illegal aliens, but ultra-wealthy bullies and thieves.). But the buck doesn’t stop in your district. It’s going to Washington DC in January.  “We the people” have been bought and sold!  November will be a yawn, even if it’s a landslide >>> So be prepared for a silent coup in January! “Some people rob you with a six-gun, others with a fountain pen.” (~Woodie Guthrie, in Pretty Boy Floyd.)

 

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BOOK  >>> LOVE THY STRANGER <<<

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Professor Ehrman’s book LOVE THY STRANGER is a guided tour thru the early centuries of Christian practice.  He argues compellingly that the example which Jesus provided greatly altered the structure of western civilization regarding our social safety net. 
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Christian ethics? Or Christian theology?  Which?  Ethics is about practice. Theology is suggestive of belief: (“Who was that masked man, Jesus of Nazareth?”)  :  What did Jesus teach and illustrate?  OR, Who do you believe Jesus, this Jewish rabbi without a degree from a yeshiva, was?  The difference in framing these two questions is major.  One invites us to imitate a Master; the other sends us down a rabbit hole or causes us to chase our tail.  

If I am arrested and charged with being a Christian, will there be enough evidence to convict me?  Ehrman reminds us that a wealthy man asks Jesus how he might attain immortality.  The reply (see Mark 10:17)— sell everything, giving proceeds to the poor, and come follow me. (We should not despair; more importantly, doubling down by reading this book to gain some insight on praxis!)  Critical thinking, engagement with the Bible texts, and spiritual appetite, are more vital than institutional attendance.  

Ehrman’s command of scripture is inspiring.  (Note: he tells us bluntly that he has left “the church” while saying “thank God for Christianity”; but is apparently no stranger to “the Kingdom”.)  This is one of the best books I’ve ever read on Christian ethics. 
For those who may not know of it, there was a popular novel about ethics written in 1896 titled IN HIS STEPS: What Would Jesus Do?  Ehrman’s very accessible book is a “sequel” of sorts — a nonfiction historical-version showing us how far we’ve progressed over the centuries since the crucifixion, (and what we are at risk of losing, presently, to the DOGE crowd). Tearing down our social safety net is no answer!

>>> OUR ROLLING COUP <<<

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FAIR USE.

OUR WAKE-UP CALL!

I will not return to my beloved country for any reason until we have regime change, as I am probably on a watch list for protesting here, in writing, of  presidential over-reach. WHY?   This! — after serving four years (as a highly-decorated sailor, E-5, for my professionalism; and defending our Constitution) — I will not surrender my liberties to a punk, draft-dodging dictator! —

Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, et al, issued a MEMO naming domestic protestors as enemies of the state, thus suspending our First Amendment freedom of speech!  (And the “supremes” say he can do whatever he wants, while the cowards in congress hide, mumbling “Amen”, hoping he won’t look their way.)
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EXCERPT from a message by two former elected US Congressional officials:
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Consider what happened in plain sight over the past nine months. On September 25, 2025, the president signed a directive called a National Presidential Security Memorandum known as NPSM-7 (titled “Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence”). Its language designates as targets of federal counterterrorism authorities Americans whose sponsors are labeled “anti-American,” “anti-capitalist,” “anti-Christian,” or “hostile to traditional American views on family, religion and morality.” No statute authorizes the federal government to treat protected political speech as terrorism; NPSM-7 does it anyway.
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On September 30, 2025, the president stood before nearly 800 senior military commanders at Marine Base Quantico, an assembly without modern precedent, and told them that the United States was “under invasion from within.” He said, “the enemy is not in Beijing or Moscow. The enemy is domestic,” adding that US cities should serve as “training grounds” for troops to target domestic “enemies.”

NPSM-7, the sweeping federal directive issued by the White House, orders federal agencies to aggressively investigate and disrupt groups or financial networks associated with political violence and domestic terrorism. It tasked the FBI, the IRS, and the Treasury Department with tracking the funding sources and supporters of organizations suspected of directly or indirectly facilitating political unrest, with no reference to the First Amendment.

Soon thereafter the FBI organized a Joint Mission Center, drawing hundreds of personnel from 10 federal agencies to identify and prosecute the targets of NPSM-7.  […READ MORE…it gets worse!]

SOURCE:  https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-rolling-coup/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

NOTE:  The authors of the message excerpted above are : (former) Senator Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri); and (former) Senator Timothy Wirth (D-Colorado).

BOOK : : BEYOND BELIEF

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Perhaps you’ve had the experience of tuning into a show or movie already underway, trying to figure out what has already happened?  Church history can be like that.  Why do we accept what we’ve been told to believe?  

Professor Pagels tells of her early acceptance of evangelical belief, until a young friend died in a car crash; and her church friends decided he was in hell, because he was Jewish, and hadn’t been saved. This set her on a quest to figure out what to believe. She studied Greek in college which has helped her examine and grapple with secret gospels which had been preserved by heretic monk(s) who sealed them in a six-foot jar, after the books had been condemned by a bishop — and hid them in a cave hundreds of years ago.  (We should back up a bit to notice that the word heretic comes from Greek meaning to choose. That choice preserved early writings of close encounters with Jesus.) 

<<REWIND<< to the beginning, and we will be reminded of early stories about belief, in the book of Genesis.  And after the crucifixion we will encounter an accuser named Irenaeus, who claimed to be the only  “correct” teacher while condemning those who deviated from his instruction.  A few centuries later, a young whippersnapper/careerist bishop named Athanasius demands that teachings about the nature of the person known as Jesus of Nazareth, other than that he was fully God and fully human, caused the written gospel-records of other Christian believers to be jarred and buried until modern times.

Solid research and accessible storytelling throughout. And yet today we still believe much of these dogmatic teachings about what happened and how to worship. It’s a lazy way to avoid doing our own thinking.  But here’s a steady guide to help us choose for ourselves, based on considering something about how it got started. BEYOND BELIEF: The Secret Gospel of Thomas. (The book is in the collection at Merida English Library.)

I’ve linked a free translation of the Gospel of Thomas, 114 verses.

BOOK : : THE MATTERING INSTINCT

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Do you matter? Do I?  “It’s all futility” according to the biblical author of Ecclesiastes.  Yet we press ahead attempting to find mattering and meaning in our lives.  So this author, Rebecca Goldstein,  (a professor of philosophy at Princeton) has taken a deep dive into the question, and shared some compelling stories of people famous, infamous, and virtually unknown, to illustrate her map of personality-types, which is something of a cross-border venture for a philosophy professor, into the territory of the psychologists.  She’s compiled a treasure map, across four “continents” of her own charting. You might find yourself amused, edified, stimulated, redirected, informed.  Her voice on the page is inviting.  I suggest taking the free Kindle sample for a spin.  You might even encounter yourself!  NB:  “The map is not the territory!”  (Does it matter that I wrote this mini review? Dunno. But I’m glad I read her book!)

BOOK : The Girl Who Baptized Herself

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photo by MeridaGOround

Reading too much church history might harm your faith — but once in a while somebody with a fresh and courageous voice sidesteps doctrinal conventions and pokes holes in ceilings to let the light back in. If you’re afraid to ask hard questions about the Bible — you needn’t be a pewsitter to question  — and you should consider rejecting glib or authoritarian responses from anyone saying “it’s a mystery” — maybe spending time in thought with both books? 

The author of this book, The Girl Who Baptized Herself, describes her own self as an “outsider” admitting she’s been called  a “whore” a “witch” or worse.  She’s got credentials as a scholar and she’s a good storyteller, unafraid to get naked and personal about difficult stuff. [See Heb 4:13 NRSVu]: “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”  ¿Ready to get naked? (Don’t be ashamed!)
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Meggan Watterson has a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School; and an M.Div from Columbia U, but has avoided ordination.  She writes powerfully instead of preaching. She also speaks at various symposia, as detailed at her blogsite: MegganWatterson.com . 
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I studied in the same graduate program as she, at Harvard, dropping out 20 years before she arrived; I still study the Bible most days, self-identifying as a Judeo-Christian heretic – as did Jesus – but his worship community executed him. He took punishment which could also have been mine. I guess humanity has progressed somewhat from crucifying or burning such at the stake, for announcing that “the leadership is naked”. 
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Well, Meggan’s dynamic look at an ancient extra-biblical fragment, evidenced as early as first and second centuries, traces a story about a young woman listening to “St Paul” – earlier known as Saul of Tarsus, a strident religious hardliner – a Pharisee of the Temple cult of Jerusalem. (“Hit’em over the head with that scroll, Saul” – arrest those heretical “little christs”!)  
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The main character of the fragment is Thecla, a girl listening to Paul preach, in a life-changing event which has her refuse her family’s marriage arrangements. Big trouble! (No spoilers from me.) But get my hint that myth can be truer than history; and canonical gospels can be sacred myths, while extra-biblical gospels should not be utterly dismissed.  Radical rejection is recounted and interwoven throughout Meggan’s own story and scholarship. Hey, Jesus said that we must receive the kingdom of God as a little child (see Mark 10:15).
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Both accounts, Thecla and Meggan, remind me of a book by another Harvard author, Joseph Henrich, The WEIRDest People in the World, arguing that the reason the west has been economically successful is that westerners have rejected family dictators. But Meggan digs deeper into the past of this topic. 
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There’s so much to be digested in the stories of these two women, one ancient and one modern.  I’ve made so many marginal notes in my copy that I don’t know where to begin. But new beginnings offer us all a fresh start, if we’ve got courage. They start with dying to self, which Paul advocates, saying “I die daily” (ICor15:31-b) — and presumably he is reborn daily, too. “Practice makes perfect.”  ¿Are ya dead yet >>> “dead” to self; alive to the anointed One? — your true Self, your Soul. 
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In the famous new-birth account between Jesus and Nicodemus, N asks if he must return to his mother’s womb to be reborn. J says no, you must be re-begotten. (There’s a phrase there about “water and spirit” which is crude street-language rarely translated for publication or heard in churches: “spiritual sperm”. (We all detect nuance.) Example: we overhear rough guys saying, one to another” “did ya catch the melons on that babe?” — and immediately we know they are not discussing fruit or babies. Jesus was not subtle! He knew his audience. 
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Well, it takes two to tangle, (double helix), and we might deduce that this is a joint project of our Father-Mother God which requires after rebirth that we return to our current life — new-born, metaphorically-naked, without a vestige of our former egoic-selves, letting all of our acquaintances see us as complete, upright, whole, free, holy, healed — as ONE in-and -with God’s holy family — humanity’s community, “church” –ekklesia.
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NOTE: For about 15 years  I volunteered nearly every Saturday doing a nondenominational (Judeo-Christian) Bible study, a “stealth ethics course” really, at a men’s prison near Buffalo NY. I would often tell inmates to do the trade-in of a lifetime —by pushing your former junker-life onto the Dealer’s lot, coming away with a brand new ride. (But you can’t park your old life in an alley, or behind the barn, for weekend partying!) A few guys actually called me to say thanks after they got out.  That classroom, and those inmates, taught me so much. We all need to come out of our cages! (We have a Patient Teacher!)
 

photo by MeridaGOround