Yikes! Prices are still falling…

Today I learned that Thomas Jefferson was a reputed atheist– not a deist. I’m not sure it’s true, but it’s a fact that Alexander Hamilton attempted to fix the 1800 election because of it.

From the Gazette of the United States, October 1800:

THE GRAND QUESTION STATED

At the present solemn and momentous epoch, the only question to be asked by every American, laying his hand on his heart, is: “Shall I continue in allegiance to

GOD—AND A RELIGIOUS
PRESIDENT;

Or impiously declare for

JEFFERSON—AND NO GOD!!!”

The story.

Fun Fact: It is against the law to run for office in Texas if you do not believe in a “Supreme Being.”

From the Texas Constitution, Article 1, Section 4:

THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1. BILL OF RIGHTS
www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us
Sec. 4. RELIGIOUS TESTS. No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office, or public trust, in this State; nor shall any one be excluded from holding office on account of his religious sentiments, provided he acknowledge the existence of a Supreme Being.

City buys land for $1.2MM, sells it to Catholic Church for $1, judge strikes it down. Thank god (hehe) for the First Amendment. Unlike the church, I can’t afford to be paying for stimulus packages AND church real estate.

How many of these shady deals are going unnoticed by taxpayers?

Here’s the story.

From the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli: “…the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion.” Whoa! I guess Fox News got it wrong. A rare miss…

Ingredients:

• Two large tomatoes
• One medium white or yellow onion
• One bunch of cilantro
• Sea Salt
• Crushed black pepper
• White Vinegar
• Chili powder
• Paprika
• Two cloves (not to be confused with two bunches) of Garlic (or one spoonful of minced stuff)
• One lemon
• One can of stewed tomatoes, preferably Italian recipe
• One medium Pablano pepper (should be waxy, without too many wrinkles)
• 4 Serrano peppers (should be waxy, not too many wrinkles) – less or more depending on spice level

Directions:

1. Dice the onion, pablano, and Serrano peppers.
2. Mince one generous handful of cilantro leaves (not stems).
3. Cut tomatoes in four, and remove the slimy seeds. Dice the remainder of the tomatoes.
4. Pour the juice of the stewed tomatoes into the salsa, then dice the stewed tomatoes.
5. Add a tablespoon (or so) of vinegar. (Not a problem if you add a little more.)
6. Add a couple tablespoons of paprika. (Being generous is not a problem.)
7. Add about a tablespoon of chili powder.
8. Add about 1 ½ tablespoons of black pepper
9. Add minced garlic.
10. Add lemon zest (using a microplane)
11. Squeeze the lemon, with the opening facing your palm, over into the mixture. (NOTE: The lemon juice will help remove some of the Serrano “spice” from your fingers.)
12. Add the salt last. Use one palm’s worth– about 2 Tbsp. DO NOT add too much at once!

After you add the salt, mix everything together thoroughly, then taste it. If you need to add more salt, do so sparingly, and continue testing until it’s good.

I just listened to “Misquoting Jesus” (from Audible).

This book is ostensibly for the layman of Bible history, but it has a big, fat, midsection that should have been better distilled. However, it will give you loads of very good arguments against those annoying evangelical friends who believe that Jesus dictated it word-for-word, stamped “King James” on it, then published it through Random House.

The premise of the book is interesting– how centuries of scribal copying of the Bible have altered its contents from the original manuscripts. However, the author belabors his points to excess. What was at first interesting became redundant and boring. After more than four hours of the book, I was happy that it would soon be drawing to a close… or so I thought. Much to my chagrin, there were another four hours left!

It starts with a good introduction of the author’s beginnings as an Episcopalian to born-again “fundamentalist,” believing the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. It is that belief that compels him to investigate the roots of it, ultimately finding just how inconsistent all the available manuscripts actually are. He then wraps up with an insightful point that, for true comprehension, all reading must be interpreted– just as the Bible was by centuries of scribes. In essence, we are all imperfect scribes of the Bible.

Whew! Looks like prices are back to dropping like a rock.

It appears the brief pause in falling prices is over. My index property is now valued at $192,000, according to Zillow.

According to Zillow, prices are now beginning to rise on my price index property.

Today’s price is $194,000– the same as it was in February, but according to Zillow, it is up $500 in the last 30 days.

Well, I am surprised by that, and frankly still skeptical. We’ll see what happens.