Allyson

In the play Pygmalion (and later, in the movie My Fair Lady), there’s a quote that has come to mean an awful lot to me.

“Oh! if I only COULD go back to my flower basket! I should be independent of both you and father and all the world! Why did you take my independence from me? Why did I give it up? I’m a slave now, for all my fine clothes.” – Eliza Doolittle, Act V, Pygmalion

When I grew up, I lived in a house that was not political. It was a lot of things… abusive, alcoholic, nasty, obsessively clean… but it was not political. I learned nothing of politics from my parents. I don’t know that either of them ever voted. When I met Chris, I met someone who had an interest in politics, and who talked about it from time to time. I began to learn, both by talking to him and by talking to other people. I learned that I leaned Left, and over time I came to see myself as a “big el” Libertarian. I also learned that almost all of my friends were what would now be considered “far Left.”

I tried to listen to as many different viewpoints as I could. I listened to Chris, and people he suggested. I read about the Libertarian party’s platform. I listened to Gary Johnson speak, and was impressed (and sadly, it was the last time I was impressed by the Libertarian Party). I found out where Aleppo was before most other people. I educated myself.

When I lived on my own, way back when, I was a flower girl like Eliza Doolittle. I was not educated. I was independent. I didn’t have to look at the news and get that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t have to face backlash from the Left, and concern over the Right. I just blithely lived my life, ignorant and free. And I ask you, why did I give it up? Because I am a slave to it now. And I often wish I could go back to my metaphorical flower basket. But I know too much, and you can never put the knowledge genie back into its bottle.

I don’t have to list the ways that the Left is imploding. It’s all over the news, every day. We’re all aware of it.

But Monday night, I ran into Trump’s announcement about Tylenol. According to Trump, “There is mounting evidence finding a connection between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism — and that’s why the Administration is courageously issuing this new health guidance.” Being the person I am, the first thing I did was go and look up the cited studies, because I’ve been watching this stuff (as a parent to a handful of kids with autism). What Trump said is … while it’s not an outright lie, it is definitely stretching the truth beyond belief.

The studies cited (you can find them all on the WH site) mention correlation. They do NOT speak of causation. That’s because causation hasn’t been proven. And WE ALL KNOW THAT CORRELATION DOESN’T MEAN SHIT.

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I love tomato soup. I love roasted tomato soup and plain tomato soup. I love it thick and thin, and with a variety of toppings and additions. This is my newest version of tomato soup and I’ve fallen in love with it.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz bread, cut into 1″ squares
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¾ tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 1 (28-oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 (15-oz) cans cannellini beans, rinsed, drained, divided
• 1 tsp oregano
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 3 cups packed baby spinach
• ½ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• ½ cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. On a baking sheet, toss bread, oil, oregano, garlic powder, and a large pinch of salt. Spread in an even layer. Bake the croutons, shaking the pan halfway through, until golden and crispy, 15 to 18 minutes.

In a large pot over medium heat, bring the oil up to temperature. Add in the onion and cook, stirring until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the onions are coated and the paste slightly darkens, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, broth, and 1 cup of beans until combined. Add oregano and red pepper flakes; season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and flavors have melded, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and carefully puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Alternatively, transfer soup to a standard blender and blend, stopping to allow steam to escape very carefully every 10 seconds, until smooth. Return the soup to medium-low heat. Add in the spinach, Parmesan, cream, and remaining beans. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and cheese is melted and incorporated, about 10 minutes more.

Divide the soup among bowls. Top with croutons and more Parmesan.

Notes:

To make this vegan, use vegetable broth. Add most of the beans to the soup and blend them in, and only add a few unblended ones for mouth feel at the end. Cannellini beans make the soup much more creamy feeling. Instead of a half cup of heavy cream, sub in a half to a cup of Forager plain unsweetened yogurt. This will give the creaminess the soup demands, without watering it down or having to resort to using a roux to thicken it (undesirable with this type of soup). Instead of actual Parmesan, use one of the vegan options such as Violife brand.

This tastes incredible when served with grilled cheese (or vegan grilled “cheeze”) sandwiches!

So I ran into this dude, Kaizen, a few days before Charlie was assassinated. I think he speaks a lot of truth. I wanted to share it with you guys, see what you think of him. This is today’s video:

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17ap4aXUbb/

And this is his substack, for those who use it:

Thatskaizen.substack.com

Enjoy…

I’ve said book knowledge is not as good as practical skill, and I stand by that. However, I also believe that book knowledge is better than no knowledge at all.

In my hallway, the one that leads from my inside door to the exterior door and the garage door, there is a large bookshelf. The bookshelf contains a variety of books on different topics. There are books on basic house carpentry, midwifery skills, cooking over a campfire, emergency survival manuals, and the Foxfire series (minus the really new ones that came out in the last decade). Inside the house are MANY bookcases, often with duplicates of the books on that outside shelf. We generally don’t touch the books on the outside shelf, though we do reference them once in a long while. Most of the time we use the inside versions. Or I use the versions I have on my phone, because I also keep digital copies on an old cell, that I can access even if the grid goes down.

Every time I find a book that covers a broad topic that isn’t already touched on, I get a new book for that hallway bookshelf. That is the bookshelf that contains enough information to live comfortably after a collapse of civilization. How to barter, how to set a broken bone, how to make cheese, how to find clay on a riverbank. Everything I can think of. The bookshelf is always growing, because there are always more things I can add, more knowledge that might be important someday. The bookshelf isn’t just a collection—it’s a strategic resource, organized by the levels of knowledge needed for survival.

There are different levels of knowledge, from an emergency or prepping standpoint. The first level is what you KNOW. This includes stuff you’ll need to just be able to pull out of your brain in an average emergency. If you don’t have at least some practice with the first level of knowledge, you’re just fooling yourself about being prepared. Everyone should know how to assess an injury (even if they don’t know how to treat it), and how to make someone more comfortable if they go into shock. Everyone should know how to start a fire, cook over it, boil water on it, etc. Everyone should know how to cobble together a shelter. Everyone should know how to connect with their people in case the grid goes down and you can’t communicate electronically.

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Charlie made Turning Point USA, and I love it. It flows off the tongue, and it speaks to so many people. But it is religious, and not all of us are. Nor should we be! We are not a hegemony, and I don’t want us to be. It’s antithetical to the founding documents of our country.

So I suggest… “Perspective Forge.” It holds the idea Charlie had, when he asked, “change my mind,” but it also brings to mind the birth of things. A forge is where metal is strengthened, shaped, molded, and made better, and perhaps we can make a place where our country and/or our people can forge their own opinions, shaped and made better and stronger by questioning themselves and others in polite debate.

I am not the person to run this. I have so little time… But if someone wants to work with me, I can throw ideas at your wall. Like this:

A secular version of Turning Point USA, accepting everyone, leaving the choice of religion (or lack thereof) to the members. “Turning Point USA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk. The organization’s mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government. (Union University)” Therefore, Perspective Forge’s mission would be to educate and organize people and enable them to debate while promoting the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government.

And when I go and look up those three things (freedom, free market, and limited government), I run into some very interesting things. They are considered the hallmark of “classical liberalism.” Our Founding Fathers considered a free market to be one of the main ways to maintain freedom from tyranny (though they differed in how they get there). Safeguarding the right to acquire and own property was considered vitally important, as it shielded individuals from government overreach. James Madison called for the protection of one’s “faculties” (skills, talents, and abilities), which give rise to property rights, “the first object of government.” Whew. What that boils down to is that Madison thought that the government’s main purpose, first purpose, was to protect the skills and abilities of its constituents, so that they could excel in whatever “faculty” they liked. When government does that, he feels it automatically protects We The People from a rogue or tyrannical government. I’m not sure I totally understand that one, but the idea is interesting.

I would love to see this exist. I would love to participate in it. If nothing else, perhaps on Charlie’s Day (Wednesdays), I will ask everyone to “challenge my view” (rather than change my mind). I’ll pick a topic, and state my viewpoint on it, and you can join in the debate. Feel free to toss topics my way, because I’m not always great at thinking of good ones.

Vaccines are a hot topic right now. A lot of states are removing mandates about vaccines. It’s a topic that’s come up often between Chris and myself, as I struggle to come to terms with damage. Chris has said, and I suppose this is true (though I still struggle with it), that I believe most people are too stupid to make good decisions about vaccines.

I believe childhood vaccines are important. I have friends (now passed away, sadly) who couldn’t have kids because, as children, they’d had chicken pox that scarred their ovaries so badly that they weren’t capable of bearing children. Their adopted children were vaccinated; they all have kids of their own. Yes, we treated “common childhood diseases” as no big deal, but I don’t believe that was correct. It WAS a big deal, but we didn’t have a good way to deal with them.

As an example, when Ed Jenner discovered milk maids who’d had cow pox as youngsters didn’t get infected with smallpox, he came up with the general idea of vaccination. He gave pus from someone with smallpox to an 8 year old child, James Phipps. The child didn’t die; instead, he had a mild case, recovered, and went on to live a normal life. That whole thing led to us finding the vaccine for smallpox. At the time when Jenner did it, there was nothing better, and infecting Phipps with the disease in a controlled manner was the best he could do. Many people did it. You got sick, yes, but you didn’t die of it. I think that a lot of the “measles parties” and such were an extension of that desperation that caused Jenner to infect a healthy child with a deadly disease.

But we DO have vaccines now for measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, and others. I don’t think we’ve had a tetanus death in the United States in years, because of the vaccine. Shingles, HepA and B, Yellow Fever, Diphtheria, and others are all well controlled (though not eradicated) by vaccines. All these vaccines are well tested, with 40+ years of use and reporting behind them. The handful of severe reactions to them are noted, and reflected in information given to people getting the vaccines. The chances of getting a disease and having a severe reaction to it is much higher than the chance of having a severe reaction to the vaccines.

When I was growing up, I was taught that vaccines don’t make you immune. They boost your immunity, meaning they make it much less likely that you’ll get a disease, and if you do get it, it will be much more mild. This is what I’ve always believed. That’s what my immunologist friend told me during COVID, too. It’s why I like to get a flu shot when I can, because when I do get influenza, I get it very badly and it puts me out for weeks. If I’m vaccinated, my likelihood of getting the flu goes down exponentially (in fact, the years I got shots, there’s only twice that I did get the flu, and both times it was relatively mild, if bothersome). Not everyone has that reaction to the flu, and there are enough people that get the jab that it’s neither here nor there whether anyone gets it or not.

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I don’t know how much I can speak “from behind enemy lines” at this point. I’m no longer there. As of this week, I’ve pretty much slammed the door shut on the faces of those who would like to see me dead or silenced or have my rights ripped from me at gunpoint. The scales have fallen from my eyes, and all that crap. I’ve also stood up, and for those who ask, I’m no longer hedging about my political stance.

I am not “announcing” that I’m conservative. That’s for a few reasons. First and foremost, politics is not my main pursuit in life. In that, I am definitely NOT Charlie. I write cookbooks, vampire novels, and fantasy stuff. I don’t want to make a career out of political writing or talk. That’s not where I’m called, and I know Charlie would understand that you have to follow your own calling, not someone else’s. On the other hand, I write here, and it’s very important to me, and so I also have to follow Charlie’s lead in my style of communication. Second, I’ve never liked people who led conversations with, “I’m a liberal” or “I’m gay.” Good for you Karen, whatever. I want to know WHO you are, not what you are. Therefore, it would be disingenuous for me to lead in a similar way.

However, I am also not hiding anymore. I posted stuff about Charlie. I have made it clear that if people think bullets are a good answer to words, I will both report them to the authorities, and block them. I don’t need that kind of crap in my life. So it’s becoming obvious, at least from a leftist viewpoint, that I am indeed conservative.

I maintain… only in a crazy world would I be considered conservative. I’m polyamorous, pansexual, kinky, pagan… these are not hallmarks of conservatism. I do believe in being fiscally conservative, though, along with smaller government (possibly moreso than many of you reading this), traditional values (to a point… I don’t care who makes up a family, so long as there are at least two adults involved in every child’s life, and if they’re same sex, no biggie, and if there’s 3 or more, no biggie, etc), and individual liberty (your right to freedom ends at my nose, and vice versa). There are some points I’ve always been conservative about, at least since I became a functioning adult (which didn’t happen until I was in my 30s, but there you go). Other things I cling to, because they feel right to me, and they meet my spiritual and religious morals and ethics.

Still, I find myself asking all the time now, what would Charlie say?

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Narcan Weaponized: Homeless San Francisco Residents Turning Lifesaver Into Tool of Harm – by Tyler Durden, 14Sep2025
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/narcan-weaponized-homeless-san-francisco-residents-turning-lifesaver-tool-harm

Alleged bomb plot near Charlie Kirk assassination lands Pakistani native and son with terrorism charges – by Joseph MacKinnon, 15Sep2025
https://www.theblaze.com/news/pakistani-native-and-son-face-terrorism-charges-after-explosive-device-found-under-news-van-in-utah

Patel Reveals Shocking Note Left by Kirk’s Assassin, Debunks Claims He Wasn’t Driven by Leftist Ideology – By Rusty Weiss, 15Sep2025
https://redstate.com/rusty-weiss/2025/09/15/patel-reveals-eerie-note-left-by-kirks-assassin-debunks-claims-he-wasnt-driven-by-left-wing-ideology-n2193956

Democrats Get Amnesia on Party’s History of Political Violence – by David Catron, 15Sept2025
https://amac.us/newsline/politics/democrats-get-amnesia-on-partys-history-of-political-violence/

This Kind of Rhetoric Is the Problem: Crockett Compares ICE to ‘Slave Patrols’ as Violence Escalates – by Jason Cohen, 12Sep2025
https://www.westernjournal.com/kind-rhetoric-problem-crockett-compares-ice-slave-patrols-violence-escalates/
(Apparently, she is desperately trying for a seat at the DNC table, since she would have to run in a competitive district now – jlr)

Trump Threatens to Declare National Emergency After DC Mayor Caves to ‘Pressure from the Radical Left’ – By V. Saxena, 15Sept2025
https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-threatens-declare-national-emergency-dc-mayor-caves-pressure-radical-left/
… D.C. Mayor Bowser suddenly changed her tune and announced last week that the city’s police would no longer work with federal immigration authorities…

DNA Evidence Links Tyler Robinson to Charlie Kirk Assassination, Confirming Political Motive – By Noah Stanton, 15Sep2025
https://istandforfreedom.com/dna-evidence-kirk-robinson
…I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody…

Where do we go from here? We go smart. – by Ian, 15Sep2025
https://thelawdogfiles.substack.com/p/where-do-we-go-from-here
…Your public persona needs to become “Polite, but prepared”…Do not go looking for trouble — trouble may come looking for you, and by all means deal with it, but do not go looking for it…Seek training. Training in fighting, in weapons, in first aid, in preparedness…If you’re physically fit, get fitter…Stop supporting the idiots…If your local school has a teacher being stupid — write the school an open letter — be cold, courteous, calm, and come correct with your facts — and pull your children and your funding…Legacy Media is not your friend…Stop tolerating idiot politicians…You want to see things change? Get them in the wallet. Take away their prestige. Send them into the obscurity of retirement…

Stephen Miller’s Wife Responds After Leftists Try to Intimidate Them in Their Own Neighborhood – by Nick Givas, 15Sep2025
https://www.westernjournal.com/stephen-millers-wife-responds-leftists-try-intimidate-neighborhood
Katie Miller responded with a video of her washing the messages away, and a post that read: “To the ‘Tolerant Left’ who spent their day trying to intimidate us in the house where we have three young children: We will not back down. We will not cower in fear. We will double down. Always, For Charlie.”

College Cancels Charlie Kirk Vigil Over ‘Credible’ Threat – by Jack Davis, 15Sep2025
https://www.westernjournal.com/college-cancels-charlie-kirk-vigil-credible-threat/
A post from one Bowdoin student suggested he did not buy the official college explanation

This Is The Most Evil Reaction To Charlie Kirk’s Assassination That I Have Seen – by Michael Snyder, 15Sep2025
https://michaeltsnyder.substack.com/p/this-is-the-most-evil-reaction-to
video – 00:01:23 – https://youtu.be/KV3mSyetVdc

You People Need to Watch Your Tone When We Shoot You – ny Chris Bray, 15Sep2025
https://chrisbray.substack.com/p/you-people-need-to-watch-your-tone

Man Arrested for Vandalizing Charlie Kirk Memorial While Wearing Same Shirt as Alleged Assassin – By Noah Stanton, 15Sep2025
https://istandforfreedom.com/man-vandalizing-memorial-shirt/

Suicide Pacts forming in Youth Social Media Groups – Discord, Reddit, TikTok – by Sarah Westall, 15Sep2025
https://sarahwestall.substack.com/p/suicide-pacts-forming-in-youth-social

“Friends” are falling away like dead leaves. I’m trying to take my cue from the falling autumn leaves… it’s okay to let go of the past, and sometimes it can be beautiful.

One of the rough ones happened this morning. Opening up FaceBook to do some author stuff, and I run into someone I thought was a friend, posting up the entire of the “ciao bella” song that Kirk’s shooter had on one of his bullets. Just that, just the words of the song and nothing more. I realized that’s basically a threat right now. I didn’t hesitate to delete and then block him, but it hurt.

Another wasn’t Charlie specific. A very old friend (r/l tho we don’t get to see each other very often and interact more online) posted about “why can’t they learn that their stupid 2A stuff isn’t as important as the kids that were just killed?!” I admit… I hesitated. I thought long and hard. She didn’t threaten anyone directly. But then again, she IS threatening. When someone is telling me that my protected Constitutional rights are “not as important,” you’re giving someone tacit permission to use weapons to take my rights away. And that’s not directly violence, but it’s definitely the precursor to it. And so I deleted and blocked her, too.

When Charlie got shot, I ran out of fucks to give. There are no more chances. I don’t care if you’re liberal, but if you glorify the death of someone (and that includes schoolkids) then I don’t need you as my friend. If you want to have the government take away my personal rights, then you obviously don’t want to be my friend.

On the other side of that line, though, other things are happening. A friend’s wife, who I’ve known online for a while but never really met, introduced herself at a wedding I attended on Sunday. She took me aside and said she wanted to make sure I was okay, because she knew so many people who were hurting over Charlie. She calls herself a liberal, but said she’s been desperate for a conservative friend who is willing to talk and listen and debate (gently). We’re going to get together and have some chats, and go over some ideas and such. There are some parts of conservatism that I consider myself qualified to speak on (1A and 2A, for instance), and others where I will likely reach out to friends for help. I explained that I’m squeaky brand new… and that I’m also only conservative right now (imo) because the mid-line has moved so far left because of leftist stupidity, and that in any sane world, I’d be considered slightly left of center, a moderate. It was a good conversation.

It was also good to show up at a wedding, escorted by my boyfriend (who was packing), only to find myself surrounded by a handful of people who were also packing, and one who was very much open carrying a beautiful 9mm. I complimented him on both his sidearm and his holster (which was very nice), and he smiled and said in times like these, it doesn’t pay to be unarmed. It felt good.

With the arrival of cooler weather, soups are definitely back on my go-to list of meals. I love soup, because I can have All The Flavors without all the damn calories. When it comes to soups and stews, a little goes a long way. Roast veggie soup is one of those “make it with what you have” recipes. There’s no one right way to make it, and pretty much anything you put in will make it yummy! This is my version of Roast Vegetable Soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• peppers (mix of whatever colors/heats you like), large diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and coined
• 1 red onion, large diced
• 2 large or several smaller tomatoes, whole
• 1 head garlic, most of the paper peeled away and the top cut off
• 1 to 2 cups of any combination of the following: cauliflower, kale, leeks, red skinned potato, celery, parsnips, turnip, chard, or whatever else you like
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp to 2 tsp each: cumin, thyme, oregano, paprika, marjoram, and rubbed sage
• 4 to 6 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef stock
• 1 can white beans, well rinsed

Preheat your oven to 400°F. Cover a large baking tray (lipped) with some parchment paper, then add in the potato, peppers, carrot, tomatoes, garlic, and other vegetables. Drizzle it all with olive oil, and sprinkle the vegetables with the spices. Toss it all together using your hands. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, then flip all the vegetables over and roast for another 10 minutes. Add in any onions and/or leeks, stir well to cover them with the oil and spices, and continue to roast for a further 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and slightly caramelized. Remove them from the oven.

Set aside a small selection of the vegetables to add whole to the soup. Remove the tomato skins (they should simply slip off) and squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and any vegetables you don’t want whole to a large soup pot and add in the stock. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about five minutes. Turn off the heat, and blend the soup with an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, you can add it a bit at a time to a regular blender or food processor, but be careful because it will be hot.

Add in the reserved vegetables and the white beans, and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes to a half hour, to allow the flavors to meld. If you like dairy items, adding in a few pieces of parmesan rind at this point will make this a much more earthy, rich soup.

Serve in warm bowls topped with a drizzle of good olive oil, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and a sprig of fresh thyme or some croutons.