Closing Thought–24Dec20

The big day is coming…..

Tomorrow is a big day….you decide in what way…….and there has been a food warning issued for those that participate in a holiday tradition….the delicious sounding ‘cannibal sandwich’.

“Cannibal sandwiches” are a holiday tradition in Wisconsin, and if the name alarms you, the state’s health authorities say you’re on the right track. The sandwiches involve raw ground beef, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services on Saturday issued its “annual reminder” that eating raw meat is never a good idea. Indulging in the sandwiches, also sometimes called “Tiger Meat,” “poses a threat for Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, and Listeria bacteria that can make you sick. (And, no, it doesn’t matter where you buy your beef!)” the department warns. A Milwaukee historian has previously explained to Fox 6 that German, Polish, and other ethnic communities in that area have been indulging in the sandwiches at festive gatherings since the 19th century.

USA Today reports eight outbreaks in the state have been linked to eating raw ground beef since 1986, and the USDA said in 2018 that hundreds in the Midwest get sick each year after eating the sandwiches. Versions are also made with raw venison, lamb, or bacon, and are sometimes topped with raw egg yolk. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that same year took a look at the, er, delicacy, in which “freshly ground raw beef and raw onions” is sandwiched between slices of rye bread. “We want 100% lean beef, super fresh, no injections, no chemicals in it,” said the owner of one restaurant that brings someone in to grind the beef as sandwiches are ordered. “We let people season their own. Usually they’ll get the onion and the salt and pepper and a nice beer.” The USDA suggests people use the same spices and onion and simply cook the beef: “You may be surprised to find that it tastes better.”

Sorry but it sounds like something I would avoid even without the warning issued.

Please enjoy your day tomorrow

May you enjoy all the joys of the season.

Merry Christmas my friends.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–22Dec17

Happy Holidays!  Or do you prefer Merry Christmas?  Why?

It is that time of the year when there will be that silly notion that there is a war on Christmas…..a story that flows around the net because Right wings are just plain moronic.

Seriously…..what does it matter if people say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays?  As long as people truly mean it then it matters not….that is unless you watch FOX News then you probably are foaming at the mouth about now……

How about a little history to go with your day…..(of course you knew that history lesson was lurking in my words, right?)…..

It’s the most wonderful fight of the year: the annual tussle between Christians who bravely defend “Merry Christmas” and the godless liberals who want to impose “Happy Holidays” on all of us. Or so the story goes on talk radio. But while President Trump promises to restore “Merry Christmas” to American life, those who insist on using the phrase as a sort of flag for conservative Christian culture misunderstand its history. Rather than religious, its origins are secular and commercial, even profane.

For most of its history, the Christian church regarded Christmas as a small event on its calendar not requiring much observation. Puritans in England and later the American colonies went one step further, banning the holiday altogether since they could find no biblical support for celebrating the day. As the historian Stephen Nissenbaum has explained, the Puritans imposed fines on anyone caught celebrating and designated Christmas as a working day. These strict rules were necessary since so many men and women engaged in the drunken carousing that accompanied winter solstice festivities, an ancient tradition that the church had failed to stamp out when it appropriated Dec. 25 as a Christian holiday.

Read on…….

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-young-merry-christmas-origins-20171222-story.html

Hope everyone has a evening and a great weekend….see ya later…..chuq