"Wear Red Day"

I saw a lot of signs for Wear Red Day last week at work.  They were trying to raise awareness of heart disease, particularly among women.

I thought that I weird that I saw a sign about healthy eating habits which said "Go Red".  Below were a list of do's and don't's about diet.  One them said to eat fish twice a week.  I thought, "That would be great if you can actually get a fish at a reasonable price that has not spent its life wallowing in a toxic soup in some Chinese garbage dump."  I also thought that it was interesting that they said to eat low fat, whole grains, and avoid trans fats.  I think the same group that put up the sign frequently sells grilled cheese sandwiches made with cheap white bread and margarine made with partially hydrogenated oil. And finally they said to avoid red meat.  Hmm..."Go Red" by avoiding red meat?  Sounds very silly.

"Go Red" also makes me think of someone trying to get someone to become a Communist (or a Republican).

But what caught my eye more than anything else was a sign that said that heart disease was the number one killer of women in America.  I don't know whether the statistic was meant to include only adults or all females, but either way its misleading.  Half of all abortions are killings of innocent little girls. The number of little girls killed every year is about 500,000 which makes heart disease seem like a very, very, small problem indeed.

Today is Black Day

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Black History Month.  Nor does it have anything to do with the day after Thanksgiving, the day that retail stores make such a profit off of the Name of Jesus, pandering to the indulgences of an overfed and oversexed American public.  Nor is it a day of any apocalyptic significance.  But it is kind of like eating bitter herbs at Passover.

To celebrate Black Day, you eat jjajangmyeon.  It is a dish which is served in Chinese restaurants in South Korea.  (But Chinese people know that this has nothing to do with Chinese.)  It tastes terrible.  It is made according to the following instructions (Click here to see a picture):

1. Cook some sutamyeon (thick, handmade wheat noodles).

2. Make the jjajang

            Stir fry onions with ground meat or seafood and vegetables

            Add chunjang (a thick, very salty, black sauce made from roasted soybeans and caramel)

            Dilute the mixture with broth

            Add starch to thicken

3. Pour the jjajang over the cooked noodles and sliced cucumbers (optional)

4. Serve with raw onions sprinkled with rice vinegar and danmuji (a Japanese daikon pickle, daikon is a type of radish)

Why would you do this?  Well, this is a traditional South Korean observance.  You see in South Korea, they observe Valentine’s Day on February 14^th as Americans do except it is the women who are expected to treat the men to chocolates and candy.  But the men are then expected to give gifts to women on White Day which is observed on March 14^th.  But just so no one is left out, anyone who did not receive any gifts traditionally celebrates Black Day (April 14^th) by eating jjajangmyeon.

But I am thinking of a twist on the meaning of this day and making it more American.  Instead of being about sulking over not having a significant other, let’s make it relevant to the situation we are facing in America today.  Consider what has happened to America over the past two decades. 

The Republicans promised us a “Contract with America”.  They said we would have term limits, a Balanced Budget Amendment, and limited government.  During the 6 years of complete Republican control, not only was Roe v. Wade not overturned, but Congress actually when right on passing measures increasing the amount of money appropriated to Planned Parenthood, to the shame of the President and 99% of the Republicans in Congress.  And, of course, we did not get a balanced budget, much less a constitutional amendment guaranteeing it and no term limits or reductions in inflation.  The National Debt just kept going up and up as usual.

Then we elected a Democrat congress and Democrat President.  We elected them on the hopes that they would at least stop the wars and killing overseas.  We elected them in hopes that they would get the economy back on track, and that they would start creating shovel ready jobs with our tax dollars instead of using it to bailing out large corporations.  They did not stop the bailouts.  Obama did not stop the war in Iraq; it is still going.  He did not stop the war in Afghanistan; it is still going.  Not only that, but he has actually expanded the war into Pakistan, killing more innocent children with more predator drone strikes than even President Bush ordered!  And now he has gotten us involved in this war against Libya with no approval from Congress whatsoever!  Obama did not help the economy either.  The National Debt is through the roof!

If you feel you were lied to by the Republican Party, if you wanted a balanced budget, if you wanted a reduction in the National Debt, if Obama’s economic stimulus bill did not get YOU a job while the CEOs of AIG and other institutions got theirs, if you did not get anything from either party, then consider (as you are suffering through your last minute aggravations over your income tax filing) “celebrating” your (political) “singleness” by observing a political version of Black Day.  Don't worry if you get jjajang sauce on your 1040.  Just mail it in anyway as a protest.  The day before Tax Day is the perfect day for Black Day because that's when everybody else gets their "bailout" except you, the hardworking taxpayer.

And if anyone asks you why you are eating black noodles which taste awful, you can tell them this story and start conversation about how we have worshipped government as if it were God and tell them what is needed to restore our government to its proper place.  (And in case you don’t know what that is, it’s the Bible and the Constitution.)

What's the Best Diet

Today I want to talk about the Atkins’ diet. It promises weight loss and lower cholesterol. Is this true? If you did a statistical analysis, it might show that the Atkins’ diet has some benefit over a typical American diet. This does not necessarily mean that bread is bad. One of the things that is bad about the American diet is that the bread and starches that we mostly eat are highly processed, and lack the roughage and nutrients that God intended for us to have. Not only is this bread lacking in fiber and digestible vitamins and minerals but it is also quite tasteless. One can consume fewer calories and still be full by eating high fiber bread—it is more satisfying.
“God brings forth bread from the earth” (Isaiah 30:23) is an obvious allusion to Jesus’ Resurrection. He is the “bread of life”. The ones who come to Him will never be hungry. (John 6:35) Like the Atkins’ diet advocates, atheists point to statistics that show that you might be better off without this “bread”. For example, there are more divorces among Christians than non-Christians. Is this because most people who call themselves Christians are worshipping a processed Jesus, lacking in the roughage and nutrients of God’s Word, or is it better to do away with following Christ altogether? Do most Christians have only an illusion or feeling that they have been filled? Do they not like the savor (Savior) or mouth feel of stone-ground whole wheat? Would they rather have something blander? Isaiah 30:10 says, “…Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:” Some will say that politics doesn’t matter. Justice for the unborn is not urgent. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” The middle ground is the worst place to be. Don’t just read passages like John 3:16—read also ones like Revelation 3:16.

I find it interesting that the letters of my first name can be rearranged to spell “M T WHEAT” and that if you look up my last name in the dictionary it says, “n. one who owns or operates a mill, esp. a flour mill.”

Are you on an empty-calorie, flavorless religion? Are you Atheist Approved? Or do you really feed on the body of Christ? “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” (II Corinthians 13:5)