Kintsugi – Page 28 – Billie's Back Porch

March 16, 2021

GOP Sen. Johnson says Capitol rioters didn’t scare him — but might have had they been Black Lives Matter protesters

By Amy B Wang March 14, 2021 at 11:01 a.m. EDT Several Democrats have called on Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) to step down after he said he didn’t feel threatened in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — but would have been concerned if the mob had been made up of Black Lives Matter or…

March 13, 2021

What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a non-theistic religion (no belief in a creator god), also considered a philosophy and a moral discipline, originating in India in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE. It was founded by the sage Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha l. c. 563 – c. 483 BCE) who, according to legend, had been a Hindu prince before abandoning his position and wealth to become a spiritual ascetic and, finally,…

March 13, 2021

Shaker Lemon Pie

Take 3 lemons which are heavy and juicy for their size. Scrub them thoroughly. Do not peel. Slice them see-through thin. Don’t use the little pointy ends. A good way to get really thin slices is to freeze the lemons, then slice them on a mandoline or the slicer side of a box grater. Put…

March 13, 2021

Extra-Creamy Scrambled Eggs

By J. Kenji López-Alt INGREDIENTS 2 teaspoons potato starch, tapioca starch, or cornstarch 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 4 eggs (see Note) Pinch of kosher salt PREPARATION (sounds weird, tastes great) In a medium bowl, whisk together starch with 1 1/2 tablespoons water until no lumps remain. Add half the butter cubes to the starch…

February 27, 2021

DARKWATER: Voices from Within the Veil by W.E.B. DU BOIS

These are the things of which men think, who live: of their own selves and the dwelling place of their fathers; of their neighbors; of work and service; of rule and reason and women and children; of Beauty and Death and War. To this thinking I have only to add a point of view: I…

February 27, 2021

The Challenges of Being a Woman Leader of Color at a Nonprofit

By Jim Rendon JANUARY 12, 2021 Women of color are less likely than white women, white men, and men of color to rise to leadership positions at nonprofits, particularly large nonprofits. But beating the odds and landing the top spot often opens the door to a whole new set of problems. Women of color who lead organizations are…

February 27, 2021

Your 2021 Tax Brackets vs. 2020 Tax Brackets

John Waggoner, AARP, Updated January 28, 2021 You might be filling out your tax return for 2020, but you’re living in tax year 2021, and tax year 2021 has substantial differences from 2020. Your tax brackets are slightly higher, for example, as is your standard deduction. You don’t have many options for reducing your 2020 tax…

February 27, 2021

America’s Changing Religious Identity

Executive Summary The American religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation. White Christians, once the dominant religious group in the U.S., now account for fewer than half of all adults living in the country. Today, fewer than half of all states are majority white Christian. White Christians now account for fewer than half of the…

February 27, 2021

500,000 dead, a number almost too large to grasp

Here are three ways to visualize the monstrous death toll of the coronavirus in this country By Artur Galocha and Bonnie Berkowitz Feb. 21, 2021 A year ago, covid-19 had killed just a handful of people in the United States. Now, the pandemic’s official death toll equals the size of a major city, more than the population of Kansas…

February 27, 2021

Texas Power Outage

“Yesterday, five board members who oversaw Texas’s power grid resigned. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas had been facing backlash after a winter storm left millions of Texans without power for days during some of the state’s coldest temperatures. The council ordered rolling blackouts to try and preserve electricity throughout the state. But it led to skyrocketing…