"When dawn spreads its paintbrush on the plain, spilling purple... ," Sons of the Pioneers theme for TV show "Wagon Train." Dawn on the mythic Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico, looking toward Raton from Cimarron. -- Clarkphoto. A curmudgeon artist's musings melding metaphors and journalism, for readers in more than 150 countries.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Blessings, on a Mountain, for eternity

A Campo Santo in rural New Mexico

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
 Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
 Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
--Rabbi Jeshua, "Sermon on the Mount"

1 comment:

  1. Is it true that the Pioneer Woman blog is required reading?

    You know, I used to be a Pioneer Woman fan too and read her blog on a regular basis, but something wasn’t ringing true for me. She held herself out as just a “little ol’ ranch wife” but the truth is, she wasn’t even close. When I learned in reality she was married to one of the largest landowners in the US and had built a custom television studio on their property, which she cleverly concealed as a “lodge remodel” on her blog, I had to stop and ask myself, how many ranch wives have the means to do that? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with having money, this is America after all. But when you mislead your readers and misrepresent yourself as something you’re not, intelligent people’s radars go up. Most people don’t like being made to feel like chumps.

    I also learned that she has tons of hired help, tutors for homeschooling the kids, maids who run errands and tidy up her multiple homes and an entire cadre of people who help her manage her blog. Rumor has it she even has butlers for miscellaneous chores. In reality, there is no Pioneer Woman. All this "little ol' ranch wife" BS is nothing but a fake internet persona manufactured by Ree Drummond and her Madison Avenue publicists. Ask yourself, how many bloggers are represented by United Talent Agency? Are you?

    And the fact Ree has lifted most of her recipes from church and community cookbooks without crediting her sources is lame. In 2012 alone, Drummond became embroiled in not one, but two plagiarism scandals. Instead of acknowledging the incidents, Drummond simply deleted the offending posts and acted like they never happened. One such incident involved an Etsy artist. Ree’s cowardice and the fact she never apologized made it appear she was trying to cover up the entire incident.

    These sites have all the background on the Drummonds. Interesting reads and hilarious to boot:

    http://themarlborowoman.com
    http://pienearwoman.com

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