Constitution: Article 1, Sec. 1-2

Article I - The Legislative Branch Note

Section. 1.

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Section. 2.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Constitution: Preamble

Since it seems that most of our Congress hasn't read the Constitution, and someone has to stand up and defend it (We the People), and, even though I've read it, I don't remember it that well, I thought I'd post sections a few times each week.  Right now I'm copying and pasting it into several posts and will read it along with you as it posts.  I do have the Preamble memorized, thanks to Schoolhouse Rock:

We, the People of the united States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the united States of America.

I was planning on discussing it, but think I'd rather do that in the comments.  It's not that difficult to understand and I'm not expert enough to teach others the finer points of it.  Please join with me in discussing in the comments.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

SDG!

Bread!

(This is for you, Cora!  If you have any questions, let me know!)

I started with a basic recipe and then researched how bread works and tweaked and tweaked and tweaked (I'm still tweaking, but the foundation is solid).  This is for the Bosch, but it can be cut down and made by hand (see instructions below).

Ingredients:

4 C warm water

2/3 C neutral oil (I use grapeseed or safflower)

2/3 C honey

4 eggs

3 1/2 T instant yeast

3 1/2 T dough enhancer

1/4 C wheat gluten

2 T salt

approx. 5 lbs. freshly-ground whole wheat flour (I like Prairie Gold best.)

Instructions:

Add all the liquid ingredients to the Bosch (set up with the dough hook).  Turn on low.  Add all the dry ingredients except the wheat.  Slowly add the wheat until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl.  Turn the Bosch to the second speed and knead for about 10 minutes (until a small glob of dough can be stretched thin without breaking).

Divide the dough into 6 lumps (mine are about 1-1/4 lb. each).  Using a rolling pin, roll out each lump on an oiled counter; roll into a loaf (similar to making cinnamon rolls) and place seam-side down in a sprayed or oiled, 1-lb loaf pan.  Cover with a tea towel and let rise until at least doubled in size (mine get even bigger).

Preheat oven to 325˚.  Place a metal pie plate or cake pan on the bottom rack.  When the oven is heated, toss 3 or 4 ice cubes onto the pie plate (the extra steam helps the bread to rise higher).  Bake loaves for 28 minutes.  When they're done, flip them out of the pans and onto a rack to cool.  When cool, place in bread bags.  I freeze whatever we won't be using in the next day or so.  Remember, there are no preservatives.

I sometimes brush an egg wash on the loaves and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  I also sometimes add 1/4 C non-instant dried milk for extra calcium.  

This dough can be used for cinnamon bread.  Make the dough as instructed.  Roll out enough for a loaf very thin; sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on the rolled-out dough.  Roll up and bake as directed.  (You don't want to put cinnamon into the dough itself as it will inhibit rising.)

I also add herbs and olive oil and sometimes substitute white bread flour for some or all of the flour.  I have a baguette pan that I'm eager to try.

By Hand:

To make without a Bosch, halve the recipe (it's pretty hard to stir that much dough by hand).  Place liquid ingredients into a large bowl.  Place all dry ingredients into the bowl (except flour).  (Even though most recipes tell you to proof the yeast in water and sugar or honey before adding the other ingredients, when I was first learning and doing it by hand, one of my recipes explained it the way I've explained it and it turned out better.)  

Add the flour a cup at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon until it's too hard to stir.  Dump it out onto a well-floured counter and continue to add flour until it's got enough (the amount of flour used varies, depending on your weather and the moisture content of your flour).  Once you have enough flour, continue to knead by hand, adding as little additional flour as you possibly can.  Kneading develops the gluten, which traps the carbon dioxide released by the yeast, which makes the bread rise.  It's also a great time to pray about worry or frustrations.

Oil a large bowl; place the dough in it and then flip the dough over.  Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm place until the dough has at least doubled in size (an oven, heated to 150˚ and then turned off works very well).  Punch it down.  You can either flip it over and let it rise in the bowl again, or you can go straight to forming your loaves.  An extra rise will make it more fine (less coarse).  Bake as directed above. 

SDG!

Pizza Crust

I've been thinking about posting this recipe for awhile, but have had a fire lit under me by a friend who lives in Tucson.  Thanks, Amy!  I don't remember exactly where I got this recipe (somewhere back in the deep, dark days just after the birth of the internet), but it says it's a knock-off of Pizza Hut's crust recipe.  I happen to think it's much, much better.  I've tweaked it a bit and we divide the dough into 12ths for individual pizzas.  [Edit: I miscounted - I split the dough into 16ths.  Those of us with smaller appetites have one, and we have extra for those of us (teen-aged boys) who have huge appetites.)  We also like them thin and crispy, so I roll them out thin with my marble rolling pin.  Since we like it thin, I've cut the yeast in half and we're planning to cut it again (possibly even eliminate it) to see if it makes any difference in the final product.  I'll post the recipe as written with my tweaks in italics.

2 packages dry yeast (I used 2 T instant yeast, but have recently cut back to 1 T and will try 1/2 T tonight)

2/3 C warm water

2 T and 2 tsp sugar, divided

2 C cold water

3 T corn oil (I use olive oil)

1/4 tsp garlic salt (I use fresh chopped garlic.)

1 tsp salt (I like sea salt.)

1/2 tsp oregano (We're big basil fans, so we skip the oregano and use fresh basil if we have enough, or dried basil if we don't.)

6 1/2-7 C all-purpose flour (I don't measure in the Bosch and tonight I'll be using fresh flour, finely-ground from Prairie Gold wheat)

In a large bowl, add 2 tsp sugar to the warm water, then stir yeast into the sugar solution.  Let stand until bubbly (about 5 minutes).  Add the rest of the liquid ingredients.  Add the garlic, salt, and herbs to the liquids.  Slowly add in the flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition, until you can no longer stir the dough.

Empty dough into a floured counter and begin to knead, adding more flour as necessary.  Knead until the dough is elastic.  Place the dough into a greased or oiled bowl, flip it over so the oil coats the top and cover with a tea towel; let it rise until about doubled in size.  The bowl (if it's heat-proof) can be placed in a warm oven: heat the oven to 150˚, turn it off, then place the dough in the oven.

When dough has doubled in size, oil your fist and punch it down (from here on out, you don't want to add more flour to the dough, so use oil, but a little goes a long way).  Split the dough in two and roll out on oiled counter into two 15" round crusts.  Let rise for 20 minutes.  Bake at 450˚ for 20-25 minutes on oiled pizza pans or stones that have been sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

Top your pizza and bake until cheese is melted and toppings look just the way you like them.

The way I do it: place all ingredients except the flour into the bowl of the Bosch with the dough hook.  Mix together and begin adding flour, until it cleans the sides of the bowl.  Knead until the dough is elastic and stretches without breaking (about 10 minutes).  

Divide dough into 12 pieces (some of mine are larger and some are smaller, but my kids are also larger and smaller, so it works).  Roll out each piece very thin; poke holes with a fork to allow steam to escape.  If the dough doesn't want to roll, let it rest for 10-20 minutes, then roll it out.  Grill or bake on pizza stones at 500˚ for about 5 minutes each.  Allow each person to 'decorate' his pizza and place back in the oven (at 400˚) or onto the grill until cheese is melted.  Using a pizza peel, we put the pizzas directly on the oven racks for this second baking or directly on the grill.

Slice and enjoy.

This is a great dish to make when having people over.  Our favorite times of hospitality have been when we've invited new friends over and we put them to work in the kitchen.  It's so fun to cook together.  Working together seems to break down barriers to relationship better than almost anything we know.

SDG!

Socialized Medicine: Disaster or Opportunity?

The recently-passed pork package 'Stimulus bill' contained several provisions to start us on the road toward socialized medicine. As wrong as I think this is on a philosophical and Constitutional level, our family still has to deal with the fall-out of this decision.

Caring for the sick is a mandate from Christ to his people. Up until the 20th Century, life spans were short and hard, filled with pain and suffering.

As the church matured, caring for the sick became an important focus of ministry. According to Wikipedia:

The adoption of Christianity as the state religion of the [Roman] empire drove an expansion of the provision of care. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. urged the Church to provide for the poor, sick, widows, and strangers. It ordered the construction of a hospital in every cathedral town. Among the earliest were those built by the physician Saint Sampson in Constantinople and by Basil, bishop of Caesarea. The latter was attached to a monastery and provided lodgings for poor and travelers, as well as treating the sick and infirm. There was a separate section for lepers.

Health care, in the context of the Christian church, was viewed as an opportunity for ministry.  Just as we will always have the poor with us, so we will always have the sick with us, simply because we live in a fallen world.  This attitude, that caring for the sick is a ministry, continued on for most of history.  Think about the country doctor who would deliver a baby in exchange for a couple of chickens.  He lived among those he ministered to and, even if he didn't become rich, was held in high esteem by the community.  His care wasn't just technical; it was ministry, based on love and compassion.  (edit: A friend told me Sunday evening that he knew doctors who worked like this up to the 1980's.)

Then someone, somewhere, suggested that, if we wanted more doctors of better quality, we should pay them more and medical care became a business. This lead to people entering the medical profession for the money, not for the sake of ministry and compassion.  Doctors became businessmen more than ministers.  (Do I have to say it?  Okay.  Not all doctors are in it for the money - I know those who aren't - I'm speaking in general terms.)

This new attitude brings us to our current situation.  Health care is big business.  But it's not really a free market.  Because of tax laws that don't tax health insurance benefits, to save money and attract high-quality employees, employers began offering health insurance as an extra benefit.  However, those who were covered forgot that their health benefits were part of their pay, earned just as their paychecks are earned.  Because costs of health-care weren't coming directly from their own pockets, they stopped comparison shopping and considering if certain tests and procedures were truly necessary and beneficial.  We haven't had a free market in health care.  (There are exceptions in certain specialties that aren't covered by insurance, such as cosmetic surgery, and the free market has worked well, encouraging competition, comparison shopping, dropping prices, and higher quality.  No, I'm not planning on cosmetic surgery - it's simply an interesting microcosm of what the free market could do for medicine in general, if it were given a chance, although it wouldn't solve every problem (more below).)

With the nationalization of health care, rationing will be the order of the day.  The first thing done was to create a national committee to oversee health care (signed into law today in Denver).  You may pay for a procedure or a medicine (either out of your own pocket or through your insurance company), but this committee can and will call your doctor and tell him not to do the procedure or to stop the medication, all in the name of cutting costs.  Doctors who try to buck the system will be fined and fined heavily.  They won't be able to do what you and the doctor together think is best, but will have to abide by decisions of an unelected (and thus unaccountable) bureaucrat in Washington.

Nationalized medicine is a very bad thing, but it could turn out to be a golden opportunity for the church.  The church must step back in and care for the sick as a ministry.  Families should be prepared to care for their own.  When there is no family available, or if the family is unable to care fully for their own, then the church should step in to help.  At this point, we won't be able to offer medications (there's even a drive to make medicinal herbs available by prescription only), but we can offer comfort, compassion, nourishment for body and soul, a human touch, and love.  These are vital components of caring for the sick that have been largely lost in the rush to make it a business instead of a ministry, components that the family and the church can and must offer.

We will be learning how to care well for someone who is sick: how to change bedsheets while someone is in the bed, how to avoid bed sores, how to feed the sick so as to help and comfort them, possibly light massage to help ease aching muscles.  I'm going to work more on my kids' ability to read aloud well, in preparation for caring for someone who needs human companionship, to hear a human voice, yet who might not be up to conversing.

And yes, I've got some selfish motivations here.  As cost becomes everything, euthanasia will grow, not all of it voluntary (do a little research on euthanasia in the Netherlands for a peek at where we're headed).  My kids have assured me that I won't be left to the vicissitudes of a bureaucrat's arbitrary decisions regarding whether I live or die if I ever become simply a 'worthless eater'.  They plan to care for me at home out of appreciation for my work in caring for, educating, and raising them.  Now that's a health care system I can believe in.

SDG!

Vocational Reading: Motherhood, Home Education

Motherhood:
Edith Scheaffer's What Is a Family?
How to Raise a Healthy Child … in Spite of Your Doctor, by Dr. Robert Mendelsohn
The Five Standards for Safe Childbearing, by David Stewart
Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Ted Tripp
Age of Opportunity, by Ted Tripp
Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood, by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
A Full Quiver, by Rick and Jan Hess
A Mom Just Like You, by Vicki Farris

Home Education:
Norms & Nobility, by David Hicks
The Trivium, by Sister Miriam Joseph (I haven't read this through, but I've been dipping in as I re-work my approach to rhetoric and composition, logic, and grammar.)
The Case for Classical Christian Education, by Douglas Wilson
The Seven Laws of Teaching, by John Milton Gregory (haven't read this one yet, but it's on my shelf.)
Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning, by Robert Littlejohn (I haven't read this one either, but it's on my list and has been highly recommended by those I trust.)

Add to the Home Education list biographies, history, science, logic, literature, math, economics, philosophy, etc.

SDG!

Vocational Reading: General & Marriage

I originally set up a list of 'vocational' books that have had an influence on me through the last 20 years, but the list ended up being absolutely huge.  I decided that it might be better if I divided the list out by topic. Some of these may be considered 'controversial', and you may not agree with everything written on every page, but that's okay. They've all had a rôle in shaping me. I hope to add to these lists as time goes by.

Womanhood in general:

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, by John Piper and Wayne Grudem

Discipline: The Glad Surrender, by Elisabeth Elliot
Feminine Appeal, by Carolyn Mahaney
Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
The Way Home: Beyond Feminism and Back to Reality, by Mary Pride
Missing From Action, by Weldon Hardenbrook (primarily for and about men, but his discussion of the industrial revolution's effects on the family and the subsequent rebellion of feminists against something that was much different than biblical womanhood is spot on and eye-opening.)

Marriage:

When Sinners Say 'I Do', by Dave Harvey
Love That Lasts, by Gary and Betsy Ricucci
On Marriage and Family Life, by Saint John Chrysostom (haven't read this yet, but it's sitting in my Amazon cart and the author comes highly recommended ;-D)

NB: if you decide to purchase any of these books, please put it in your Amazon cart directly from the link given. If you go to another page and come back to the item, it will no longer have my associate's code linked to your purchase. I've been an Amazon associate for a couple of years (meaning I receive a small percentage of every purchase of items I've linked to) and have yet to receive anything.

Coming up next: lists about Motherhood, Home Education, and Housewifery

SDG!