Commentary

You would think being raised in the back woods of Goldonna by parents who believed in growing big gardens and filling the freezer with deer meat and squirrel, that I would love fresh yard eggs. Well, I do not.

I can spot a yard egg from a mile away. Now mind you, my mama raised chickens and kept the refrigerator stocked with fresh yard eggs during my childhood, but I never ate them. Instead, she would go to the local grocery store and get a dozen of those beautiful pristine white “grocery store” eggs especially for me. When my daddy and I would load up our walker hounds for a night of fox hunting, mama would have a lunch box ready for us before we drove off. In it would be scrambled egg sandwiches. Mine would have an “S” on them for Stacey.

This week U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel after a second batch of classified documents was found inside the garage of President Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, home. The first documents were found inside the Washington, D.C., offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank.

What do we know? Well, to begin with, what this latest Biden scandal underscores, yet again, is the corrupt nature of the FBI raid on President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago home in Florida on Aug 8, 2022. A raid that reportedly included 30 agents—including SWAT teams—in 20 government vehicles swarming Mar-a-Lago in the Palm Beach darkness.

When can we expect the FBI raid on Biden’s Delaware home or his D.C. think tank to further investigate the mishandling of our National Security secrets, a discovery known by the DOJ several days BEFORE the midterm elections and yet covered up from the American people?

There are times when we find time on our hands and are looking for things we can do. When it comes to volunteering, we search for a way we can serve others through the skills we have, and by doing things we already love to do. If gardening is on that list, consider starting a Community Garden.

If there isn’t one already in your community, it may first require a visit to a Town Council meeting, or to an individual who owns a section of land suitable for a Community Garden. Before you submit your request to the Council or individual, scout around for at least 3 places inside and outside the city limits that would be suitable for a Community Garden. If one says no, another may just say yes.

With everything we have been through lately, we need a few money-stretching ideas for our meal plans. A great way to do that is to create meals that will allow for creative uses of leftovers.

We love ham, almost anyway you can prepare it.

Baked Ham

1 whole Ham 2 cups Water Pineapple rings, if desired Place ham in a baking dish. Add the water. If using pineapple, place them across the surface of the ham, using toothpicks to secure. Cover with foil. Place in a 350-degree oven and bake for one hour. Remove foil and return to the oven to bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Other Ways to Use Ham Sandwiches Ham and Corn Chowder Leftover ham can be cubed and placed into an omelet. Don’t forget to add chopped onion, bell pepper and some grated cheddar cheese for extra deliciousness.

Although we traditionally use sausage, chopped ham can also be used in a Breakfast Casserole.

Substitute ham and pineapple in a Spinach Chicken Salad.

There has been much news this past week regarding the choosing of the next Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was considered the likely choice and has now become Speaker.

McCarthy, or any Speaker candidate, needs 218 votes to become speaker if all Members of Congress are present. Republicans have a slim majority of 222 lawmakers, so McCarthy could only afford to lose four GOP votes. The House adjourned Thursday evening after eleven attempts to elect a speaker, began its fourth day of votes Friday and McCarthy managed to gain the necessary votes in the 15th round of voting.

My point is that, in one of its frequent overreactions, the national “media” breathlessly proclaimed that “the U.S. House hasn’t failed this many times to elect a speaker since the Civil War.” Or that the failure to immediately elect a speaker resulted in “chaos.”

I respectfully disagree with those characterizations.

Sometimes there are things in life where all we really do is touch the surface. We enjoy them. We bought the supplies. The first project or two are completed. But for some reason, we never take it to the next level.

When you begin living a Simple Life, often times, we think all we have to do is clear our calendar, cook at home, and maybe create a few handmade items. Although that is a good start, if you just dig a little deeper, your life can be so much richer and fulfilling. If you are still stuck on the surface, here are a few things you can do to dig a little deeper: Gardening – growing at least part of your own food can be fun. But don’t just stop there. Try growing heirloom plants and saving the seeds. This not only gives you a deeper sense of accomplishment but can save you money as well.

Following his early training, Simons was sent north to San Francisco where he was assigned to the Philippines Sea Frontier, a commando operation to secure beachheads. From there they moved on to Fort Pendleton where training included hand-to-hand combat. It was July 4 when they went into town, only to return to grab their gear and get aboard another troop train. He received six immunization shots (including the Black Plague) and the next morning got six more.

(Bob Holeman conducted this series of interviews with local World War II veterans as a lead-up to Veterans Day 2011. Virturally all of those 34 American heroes have passed away during the decade following these interviews). When Gen. Douglas McArthur and his forces were driven from the Philippines by the Japanese during World War II, he vowed, “I shall return.” And when he did return, news film footage showed him boldly stepping ashore through the shallow waves to the beachhead.

But one young Navy radio operator from Franklin Parish knew a lot about farming and could realize when some wool-pulling was being done by the military’s media. The general with his corncob pipe faced no danger in his actions. “I’d been delivering mail to men on that same beachhead for three weeks,” declared Navy radio operator James Simons, now of Winn Parish.

He promised he would. For months before the actual consummation of the sale that gave him ownership, Elon Musk vowed to return free speech to the massive social media platform that is Twitter.

And there have been some discoveries that are as stunning as they are unnerving.

The release by Musk of internal emails highlights Twitter’s 2020 censorship and suppression of the New York Post story a month before the 2020 presidential election. These revelations make undeniable the blatant conflicts of interest, influence peddling and likely crimes of Hunter Biden and the incestuous complicity of his business partner, ‘The Big Guy’—then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

But Twitter suppressed the New York Post story and shut down several prominent Twitter accounts, including that of the New York Post itself, that would have circulated the story.

Domestic violence is never an isolated issue that only affects individuals and their immediate family members. There are, in fact, effects that extend outward to the rest of society. Children who witness violence committed against one of their parents are at a higher risk of developing behavioral problems in the future. There are approximately 3.3 to 10 million children in the United States exposed to violence each year. These children are likely to have higher hostility, anger, anxiety, and mental health instability. Now, imagine this huge number of children growing up and starting their own families. Domestic abuse is a learned behavior. Male children who have witnessed their mothers being abused by their fathers are at much more risk to grow up and do the same thing to their partners. Domestic violence at home quickly spirals into a domino effect that travels far and wide without discrimination as to its next target.