lummi island wine tasting Oct 31/Nov 1
Hours this weekend: 4-6 pm Friday & Saturday
our first date, Halloween ’81
This Week’s Wine Tasting
Juggernaut Chardonnay ’22 Sonoma $17
Barrel fermented; aromas of apple, Asian pear and lemon meringue open to rich, lingering flavors of stone fruit, honeysuckle, and yellow plum, with finishing notes of vanilla, butter cream and hints of clove.
MAN Vintners Pinotage ’22 South Africa $14
Aromas of dark coffee beans, red berries, nutmeg, and vanilla spice turning to dark berries and smoky plum; rustic yet silky and juicy, with smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and comforting intensity.
Domaine de l’Amauve La Vigne de Louis ’23 France $21
Youthful nose offering freshly crushed berries, mild spices, and garrigue. Rounded and supple palate with fresh red berry flavours and a vibrant finish..
Economics of the Heart: Historical Jesus & Project 2025
“Christ in house of parents” Tate Britain, London John Everett Millais c 1850
Over many centuries scholars across the planet have studied and analyzed countless scrolls, tablets, and artifacts related to the historical Jesus and concluded that yes, Jesus was a real human guy who actually did lots of the things the gospels talked about. He lived at the right time in the right place, enough to convince centuries of scholars that he was a real human being known to a lot of people and actually was crucified by Pilate and died. Many of the narratives of the gospels correlate with verified facts.
The same cannot be said of his divinity, his virgin conception, hosts of flying angels in Bethlehem, his resurrection, or his ascension to heaven. Nevertheless over the next 2000 years the religions created in his name and centered around all of those deliberate superstitions eventually spread across the entire world, acquired vast wealth, power, and influence, and maintained a vast following.
The reality of this moment in American history was captured by the elusive author of the oft-quoted warning that “when Fascism comes to America, it will be “wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” In a 2024 article in the Daily Montanan, retired lawyer and former Montana Supreme Court Judge James C. Nelson wrote a prescient article with the same title, in which he described his experience at the Feb ’26 CPAC meeting in DC where “right-wing conspiracy theorist” Jack Posobiec openly greeted attendees with: “I just wanted to say, welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it…because all glory, all glory is not to government, all glory is to God.”
So let’s be clear: these politically motivated so-called “Christians” have nothing to do with the life or teachings of the historical Jesus or devotion to any God. They are the culmination of a decades-long conspiracy to overthrow our 250-yr-old Constitutional government and replace it with an autocratic-authoritarian state. All power will be concentrated in the hands of a small, self-selected number of multi-billionaire white men who will remain completely above the laws they will be using as weapons against all who resist.
As we have discussed before, the Project 2025 objective is complete control of this country by dominating the Seven Mountains of Education, Government, Religion, Family, Business, Media, and Entertainment. Their well-funded and well-organized game plan has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with the wanton destruction of Constitutional democracy. Watching these videos makes coherent sense of the deliberate 24/7 chaos of the last ten years of MAGA politics and the last forty years of targeted media propaganda from Republican politicians, news networks, and media celebrities.
lummi island wine tasting Oct 24-25 ’25
Hours this weekend: 4-6 pm Friday & Saturday
Here’s our new “bread protection” awning…
improved structural design and adds some color!
This Week’s Wine Tasting
Decoy Chardonnay ’23 California $16
Blended from several CA central coast vineyards; aromas of sweet mandarin orange and white peach; juicy and vibrant palate of tropical fruit flavors with a hint of oak from its time in barrel.
Tenuta Sant’Antonio Monti Garbi Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore ’21 Italy $21
Spicy and intense, with hints of crushed ash and smoky black cherries; silky texture and pure, with notes of sour wild berries and salty minerality; long, energetic, spicy finish of blackcurrant & mocha,
Angels & Cowboys Proprietary Red ’22 California $22
Attractive nose of red berries, orange peel, spices, and crushed stone; medium to full-bodied and succulent, with silky, mellow tannins and lavorful finish.
Eddie Bauer Wool Shirt, Light Gray Herringbone Found in Wine Shop Oct 3
…Looks like someone’s comfy favorite,
…give us a call to claim!
…Sadly it’s just a little small for us..! 🙁
Economics of the Heart: Christian Nationalism vs American Democracy
Bombardment of Fort Sumter – 1861 Currier Ives
Every day makes it increasingly clear that the current, ongoing, years-in-the-making assault on American democracy is the product of some 40 years of planning, scheming, conning, lying, and stealing by a tight coalition of billionaire “Christian Nationalists.” They began by patiently built a nationwide coalition of mega-churches through which they conned millions of people out of billions of dollars by convincing them that Democrats were merciless Satanists and perverts that killed and ate children and had to be Stopped.
In the late 80’s they launched a massive, 24/7 media attack on all things Democrat via Fox News (et al.)) and an nationwide army of angry radio and TV talk show hosts across the nation that has continued nonstop, all day every day for over 30 years. Heavily funded by billionaires like the Koch brothers, Leonard Leo, and other ultra-wealthy white male supremacists, their long-term goal has been to replace our Constitutional democracy with a Christian autocracy run by and for them alone. Voting would be only for show, with results predetermined. Women would not work except to have children and manage the home. Make no mistake: in the Utopia of these self-styled, self-centered psychopaths, no one matters but them.
Everyone paying attention in our nation, like the 8 million of us who protested around the country last weekend (yay!!) is being increasingly activated by the ongoing cruelty of this ultra-Fascist movement. The guys running this coup intend to do away with the Constitution completely. A small group of hateful, angry people are actively assuming the authority to commit any crime, any time, against anyone they want to punish. It’s already happening, despite ongoing delaying tactics in lower courts.
The great wisdom of our Founders to give everyone freedoms of/from religion has successfully protected us for 250 years from the tyranny of religious oppression. As we all know, religious freedom is now directly in the crosshairs of Project 2025, which is already well down the road toward its dystopian autocratic vision for our country. Our Constitutional government has survived many assaults in 250 years, and what is happening right now is the new Civil War by the same sort of self-entitled, slave-owning, wealthy plantation owners that started the Civil War. This coup is their new Ft. Sumter.
Out of curiosity, I browsed online yesterday for any critiques of Christianity’s use of Old Testament interpretations to justify wars, brutality, and murder and according to AI found they often center on its methods of interpretation, theological contradictions, and ethics issues within the text. You can read the fascinating response here. \
lummi island wine tasting oct 10-11 ’25
Hours this weekend: 4-6 pm Friday & Saturday
click for photo of Padilla Bay dramatic sky
This Week’s Wine Tasting
Novelty Hill Stillwater Creek Chardonnay ’22 WA $22
Aromas of lemon verbena, thyme and apple blossoms; creamy fruit flavors of mango, lemon curd, pineapple, and crème brûlée.
MAN Vintners Pinotage ’22 South Africa $14
Aromas of dark coffee beans, red berries, nutmeg, and vanilla spice turning to dark berries and smoky plum; rustic yet silky and juicy, with smooth tannins, balanced acidity, and comforting intensity.
Idilico Tempranillo ’21 Washington $19
Aromas of leather, forest floor, and balsamic notes wrapped around a core of red fruit, notes of fresh dried herbs, sweet spice and red currant; medium bodied with juicy mouthfeel, soft tannin, and a lingering finish.
Shirt Found in Wine Shop last Friday
click link for photo : found in wine shop last week…
Economics of the Heart: National Guard and Illegal Orders
“Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown today (10/8) led a coalition of 24 AG’s and governors in an amicus brief supporting Oregon’s court challenge to the Trump administration’s attempts to illegally use the military for civil law enforcement…”Every day we’re witnessing tactics by the President of the United States that have been used by fascist leaders across the world — sending the military into cities, threatening to jail political opponents and trying to intimidate into silence the media, academia, law firms and any other perceived critic,” Brown said. “Our Founders never envisioned this for our country, and the law simply does not allow it.”
Joining the brief are AG’s from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, and the governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
2. According to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute, “if the United States, or any of the Commonwealths or possessions is invaded or in danger of invasion by a foreign nation; experiences a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States; or the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States, “the President may call into Federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws, BUT: “ Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the Governors of the States or, in the case of the District of Columbia, through the commanding general of the National Guard of the District of Columbia.”
There should now be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Project 2025 is completely committed to hijacking US military forces to help them destroy democracy. In the war against immigrants we have gone from “they’re eating the dogs!” to grabbing people off the streets at gunpoint and disappearing them to foreign countries (even Florida!) with no legal process or paper trails, to using our military to bomb from the air (on camera!) random small boats at sea and killing everyone aboard with undocumented assertions that they were smuggling dangerous drugs into the U.S. That is just plain old vicious, unjustifiable, literally unwarranted Murder.
You can draw a straight line from these expanding threads of irresponsible murder, kidnapping, and brutal ICE raids all over the country directly to the current effort to invade major Blue cities and states with heavily armed police, soldiers, and masked ICE agents creating deliberate chaos in American cities, especially Blue ones. This is where the brutality starts following even more faithfully the models established by Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, and other Fascist, Nazi, (name your dictator) rulers.
What you can do: If you have a friend or relative in the military or National Guard, remind them that they have both a right and a responsibility to refuse to obey illegal orders.
The more service members that understand their obligation to refuse to be part of an insurrection, the safer we all will be.
lummi island wine tasting Oct 3-4 ’25
Hours this weekend: 4-6 pm Friday & Saturday
This week’s wine tasting
Garzon vineyards, Uruguay
Garzon Single Vineyard Albarino ’20 Uruguay $34
Medium-bodied white with dense texture, rich, elegant aromas, and succulent flavors of pineapple, lemon zest, chamomile, sea salt, and stone fruits, with bright, tangy acidity, pleasing creamy texture and deep flavors.
Idilico Monastrell ’22 Washington $19
Known as Mourvèdre in France, Spanish monastrell typically has notes of dark cherry, pepper, and a bit of gaminess, bright acidity, and freshness and low alcohol levels. Fermented on the lees and aged in neutral barrels.
Perrin CdR Rouge Réserve ’20 France $16
Fresh, bright and fleshy GSM Rhone blend shows peppery aromas and flavors of black cherry and raspberry, finishing warm and long. Excellent value!
Economics of the Heart: The Silence of the Generals
https://www.stripes.com/
My first reaction to the Tweetster’s summons of America’s top military leaders from across the planet for a face-to-face meeting with him and so-called SecDef Hegseth was a certain paranoia about security. The way the ongoing Project 2025 coup has been going, with roving gangs of anonymous, masked “ICE agents” rounding up and disappearing thousands of people with no legal process, no records, and no accountability, if you’re not a little paranoid, then you haven’t been paying attention.
So it has been easy to imagine various Maga scenarios comparable to Hitler’s Reichstag fire, where in one act of terrorism his Nazis burned down the building that housed the government, suspended civil liberties, and pursued a “ruthless confrontation” that “removed” enough of the Communists (the opposition party) from government to give Hitler dictatorial control of the entire government and set the stage for the international horror of WWII.
Any sudden gathering in one place of pretty much all of our top military leadership from far-flung positions around the world should raise lots of security alarms. But right now we are already up to our waists resisting a long-planned, targeted assault on our Constitution by a coalition of autistic billionaires and white/racist/sexist/male/neo-Christian/anti-abortion nationalists, as we recently discussed here and here.
It was a relief to see that standard military protocols were intact during what turned out to be more the Tweetster’s audience with the nation’s military leaders, not the other way around. Besides the ongoing wreckage of his moment to moment exposition, he also seemed genuinely puzzled by the absence of his cheering, interactive Maga-Rally groupies. These guys were not his usual puppets, and neither he nor the so-called SecDef was prepared for the formal silence of their audience.
All in all it was reassuring to this graybeard Navy vet to observe the quiet formality of these highly experienced and decorated officers at this bizarre event. One comes away with some tentative confidence that our senior military leadership will continue to prioritize the Constitution and the rule of law over the ongoing coup. Most of these people have served in the military for at least 25 years, studied international politics and institutions, are highly trained and experienced, and are well-briefed on our security around the world.
Their contrast with the mindless nonsense from the Tweetster/Hegseth team is deeply encouraging.
See, for example, this thoughtful analysis by Moira Donegan in The Guardian.
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