Barring catastrophe, I will be moving to Texas next week so this will be my last post. Over the weekend, I will be shutting down completely. When I started QCE over four years ago, my expectations were modest; I figured I would provide a forum for a few like-minded people who were disgusted and disgruntled [...]

We’re all working angles on some level, so it should come as common knowledge that this next piece of jargon really means: Good Deal\ˈgu̇d\ˈdēl\ adjective: an affirmation that you, sucker have played into the hands of the puppet master. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I say this all the time in my house, so a [...]

Here are 28 pieces of the “ObamaCare” healthbill. Which of these do the Republicans want to cut first? IMPROVING QUALITY AND LOWERING COSTS 1. Offering Prescription Drug Discounts. Seniors who reach the coverage gap will receive a 50 percent discount when buying Medicare Part D covered brand-name prescription drugs. Over the next ten years, seniors [...]

Friends,I am bringing this update on behalf of Zion Lutheran Church in Clear Lake, Iowa.  This congregation and these pastors are walking through deep water with their synod.  Their first vote to leave was rejected by the elca on a technicality.  Their second first vote won easily at 80+%.  Their first second vote, lost by 2--they needed 319 and got 317--the people figured it was a done deal, but the bishop of that synod has actively marshaled the opposition.  They are now facing their second, second vote--there is nothing in the constitution that says that if the ...

if this picture is any indication, we're gonna have a good timePlease check out my new blog, Higher Healing!You've found my old blog, Messy Cucina. I started Messy Cucina in the fall of 2005 as a newlywed who had just moved to Iowa from the Pacific Northwest.Fast forward 5 years and he's in Spain and I'm in Albuquerque and we're no longer married (we are, however, friends).In a moment of anguish over the fall of my marriage I took down Messy Cucina-- a pretty popular food blog at the time. The blog consisted of stories and memories from a relationship that no longer existed and I was ...