Merely the Imposition of Religion. What is Wrong With That?

Note Priest on right.Notic all the people getting tortured.

Vatican Investigating Girl Scouts for Links to Safe-Sex Education Groups

Catholics should be embarrassed and the rest of us should be really pissed off. Why? Just who the hell does the Vatican think it is, investigating the Girl Scouts? None of their damn business. Personally I think the Vatican should be investigated for all kinds of infractions of human rights. Kind of like an Inquisition in Reverse.

You see, this is the kind of thing that happens when one religious group thinks they have a monopoly on “truth”. They try to impose their values on everybody else. Burn Christians that disrespect the Quran. Pass anti-abortion laws to punish women who don’t believe in their narrow view of the world. Investigate the Girl Scouts for gods sake. Jail “Pussy Riot” for 2 years for blasphemy. The list goes on. I have railed against the imposition of religious views on people who don’t want them. I will always do that. On the other hand, wouldn’t it be SWEET to have a Scientology majority in the house and senate so they could impose their ridiculous ideas about dianetics on all of us? I didn’t think you would like that. So why impose your ideas about creation or “a day of rest” or Christmas? Sure, atheists love to get the holiday vacation, but what if they want to work on the 25^th of December and their PUBLIC OFFICE is closed? Imposition of religion again. What if Jews took over the government an outlawed Sunday holidays but enforced Saturday ones? Or made it the LAW that all males got clipped? I didn’t think you would like that. And what about laws that exempt religious organizations from paying property taxes? That means you pay a subsidy for the Jewish Temple, the Islamic Mosque, the Mormon Temple and many others. Like that? No, I didn’t think so.

So think twice before you so easily impose your religious beliefs on others. You may be next.

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGZAjzvdZFcC7m-iMkN6lbZ3gAbtWG9MbLsf2ZdgZZLDXrzxXbfRuyeNjN_eMcG6FtxB3WjD1wyKAuS2bhwmZQWYQ74I-b9f3rmDkLWYvwldojWW2I1bIPtW9R2VZ-vvxGoFXj6iMNY-1c/s1600/inquisition.jpg

Asheville Really Is “Beer City USA”!!

At the Pisgah brewery

This past weekend Sally and I went to Asheville to visit family. Of course the real reason was to visit some of the breweries in this “Beer City” mecca. (Just kidding kids.) We didn’t have much time so we passed up the Highland Brewing Company, the home of a nice IPA called Kashmir IPA (1). We had quite a few pints of that tickle our throats in past trips and we were anxious to try some others.

Ever notice how you can tell you are in an authentic brewery by the beards, hats and attitudes of the people who work there? Well, the three we visited were no exception. And I have noticed over the years how many craft breweries are located in out-of-the-way old warehouses. Hard to find but worth the effort. So we started our quest looking for the French Broad brewery in Asheville. Sure enough: old warehouse and not easy to find. Beards, hair etc. We tried several brews including the Wee Heavy-er Scotch Style Ale, Anvil Porter and the IPA, and the Ryehopper Rye Pale Ale.  They were all nice to the pallet, the Porter particularly smooth, but the IPA was just a little sweet at first taste so the Ryehopper got our "IPA" nod. No surprise huh?

Next we stumbled on the Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company (2). Situated in an old building in down town Asheville on a side street makes it hard to stumble on. Usual folks in evidence. We sat in the outdoor seating area and while we drank our brews we were treated to an animated game of “Corn Hole”.  We only tried the Shiva IPA since we were well on the way to happiness when we arrived, and were not disappointed. Nice color, head and at 69.3 IBU a nice long hoppy finish.

Next day, Sunday, we set out for the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, N.C. Hard to find, warehouse, beards, the whole nine yards. We got there about 15 minutes before they opened, but got in and started on the IPA. Nice. Really nice. They were out of Wet Hop Ale, a fresh hopped ale that I really wanted to try, but the IPA was enough. They also had a Framboise Lambic on tap that was very tasty (not theirs, but an import). After a few pints we wended our way home to get ready for dinner and whatever. In a really surprising turn of events, the Italian place we went to for dinner, Nona Mia Ritrovo, had a brewery, the Altamont Brewing Company, in the adjacent space. Not theirs, just another craft brewery. We didn’t have time to sample their wares, but will put that on the list for next time.
All in all, Asheville well deserves the title “Beer City USA”.
 
1. http://www.highlandbrewing.com/craft-brews/style/kashmir-ipa

2. http://www.ashevillebrewing.com/

3. http://pisgahbrewing.com/beer/whats-on-tap