Are We Foolin' Ourselves?

I continually wonder how we liberals can expect President Obama to enact any liberal leaning legislation, when the majority of the country appears to be Teahadist in nature. 

Think about it:  All we hear on the news is the latest state enacting hateful laws; anti-women laws, anti-union laws, anti-gay laws.  More states are passing laws to do bad things to minorities and immigrants and working class people, than the pitiful few states who are legalizing gay marriage or decriminalizing marijuana use.

If the majority of the country were reasonable, were logical, were able to distinguish between laws that are good for our country vs laws that take away our rights and civil liberties...if the mainstream really supported most of our causes as we keep thinking they do (all those polls must be correct!) then...

How is it that all the people we vote into office are fucked in the head.  Seriously?  I think we're foolin' ourselves.

TGIF 10

I saw these guys live at the Knitting Factory in Boise.  It was an awesome concert, partly because of the company I was keeping, partly because the band was very dynamic.  This is a great accoustic rendition of the first song on their latest album "Love Notes and Letter Bombs".

                                    Submarines....Shoelaces

Chain Dining and Gay Rights

Trust Clark Howard to bring us highlights (and low-lifes) in chain restaurant dining.  He's sampling some of the August Consumer Reports magazine fare (who knew they did this?)

In-N-Out Burger, the best
McD's and BK, yuckiest

Chick fil A, the best
KFC, almost the worst of every fast food restaurants, period.

Papa Murphy's Pizza got the 2nd highest score of all restaurants.  Presumably that made them the top pizza place, too.

I like Papa Murphy's just fine.  KFC, McD's and BK, not so much.  In-N-Out, I like them just fine too.  

But Chick fil A, I will never eat at, until they change their prejudicial ways. 

They've been so careful in how they word things since their sponsorship of a group meeting that is anti-gay marriage, blew up in their faces.  But until they actually support marriage rights for everyone, just saying they respect everyone is a lie.  They want to get your business, and they won't come out and virulently or hatefully attack your desire to have a gay marriage.  But until they offer to send any married gay employees to their marriage seminars, as they do their straight employees, it's clearly all smoke and mirrors.

They can't dance to that rigid Christian piper and expect us not to boycott them for calling those bigoted tunes.

Ada Co Public Hearing

In these tough economic times, people have been laid off from private companies, or been forced to take pay cuts or retire.  Government employees have faced similar reductions in force and frozen salaries, too.  Programs and services have been cut, and the idea was, if you wanted to stay in for your pension, you toughed it out.

There was a hearing to be held last night about the proposed Ada Co budget for the next year.  It isn't a lower budget, it's actually 11% higher.  Almost 2 million of the proposed increase is for a 2.5% raise in pay for county staff who have gone without raises for 3 years now. 

I wish I had gone to that hearing, I bet it would have been interesting.  I am also betting that if the pay increase flies, all the other counties and cities and maybe even the state employees will be expecting some similar loving to show up in their paychecks starting next year.

I'm also betting, any raises will be more than offset by increases in health insurance expenses.  And it looks like the days of no property tax increases may soon be over. 

Did you go to the hearing?  What happened, if anything?  I can't find any mention of it today, was it just a non-issue?

What's Cookin' (6)

Golden Gazpacho


3 ½ cups chopped seeded yellow tomato

2 cups chopped seeded peeled cucumber

1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

½ cup chopped red onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 T chopped fresh mint

1 T chopped fresh cilantro

2 T white wine vinegar

1 T honey

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 T salt

¼ t ground cumin



Combine first 7 ingredients in blender; process until smooth. Add mint and remaining ingredients; pulse 5 times or until well combined. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or overnight.

 Yields 6 cups.

Debt Ceiling Games

I'm annoyed with the charade going on in Washington.  I want President Obama to call the bluff of the Republicans and let the country go into default.  I want teahadists to not have their Social Security checks in August (who says Social Security is welfare?  The Retirement, Survivors, and Disability portion of RSDI goes along with the word INSURANCE, which is the "I" at the end.  Title II benefits, paid into by the working slobs in this country.  Those are not welfare benefits.)

I want chaos.  I'm tired of this pretense at civility, only to have the Democrats give in at the last minute and we get a washed-out, tired and timid action that makes no one happy and makes the Dems look stupid.  I want the sheeple to figure out they're being screwed and make an intelligent decision as to whom they intend to vote OUT of office in 2012.

I'm a little on edge today.  I love the Dakotas and the badlands, and I traveled home from there yesterday after a rushed trip to clear my head.  I should have stayed another week, actually.  Crazy Horse is going to be awesome.

Right-Wing Rhetoric

Norway is reeling, weeping and in shock. They are a progressive country, but even in an enlightened place, darkness dwells. Rhetoric of hatred, of exclusivity, of superiority over certain others. Rhetoric that in the name of free speech incites much lone-wolf activity, because it feeds and inflames their particular brand of mental illness.

The Christian Right Wing has a great deal of power in this country, and they make a great deal of noise, politically.  Yet they don't see themselves as domestic jihadists.  They don't see the parallel between themselves and the Islamic extremists in the Muslim countries.  They see lone wolves as mentally ill and deranged but refuse to acknowledge the part their rhetoric plays in empowering these people to take drastic and horrifying action.

Religious warriors have wreaked havoc all throughout history.  The Bible is rife with references to entire cities being wiped off the map, every man/woman/child, in the name of Yahweh.  The Crusades were  the Christians against the Moors (Islam).  The Catholic Church conducted its Inquisition and these days, zealots continue to murder their perceived foes in the name of their God. 

Free speech says we allow the rhetoric to continue.  But common sense says we don't give it as much power as it wants.  Leave it in the back rooms, the plain-paper wrapped mailings, the poorly-mimeographed and tattered meetup sheets tacked to the bulletin boards at laundromats.  Don't give it broadcast power, newschannel power, audience and ratings power.  And the only way to take away that power is to show it for what it is:  hateful, inflammatory and shameful. 

TGIF 9

What better song to request to be played at your funeral?  Such a sweet request for our friends and loved ones.

                                 Keep Me in Your Heart For Awhile 

Miscellaneous Musings

I missed the Rachel Maddow show today, she recently had as her best new thing in the world the news media struggling to report on the "Haboob" that hit AZ (specifically the Phoenix area).   Since today was "Return of Haboob", or "Son of Haboob", or "Haboob 2" or "Haboob Redux"...I wonder if she did something on it today?  I may never know...

I was tickled by the "Rachel Madcow, Lesbian Vampire" video she played (somewhere in the last year) by Billy Bob Neck.  I have always liked him and Roy Zimmerman, and when Roy posted one of their videos I decided, what the hey.  I sent a friend request to both guys and now I'm FB friends.  Ha!

Tiger's ex is dating.  Good for her, why not? 

Google +.  Any of y'all using this?  I'm thinking on it, but all the forums I'm already in, it seems a little much to add that, too.

What's Cookin' ? (5)

Oatmeal Cake

½ c shortening
1 c brown sugar
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/3 c flour
1 t cinnamon
1 t soda
½ t salt
1 c quick oats
1 ½ c boiling water
½ c raisins
½ c nuts

Pour boiling water over oatmeal and set aside for 20 minutes.
Cream together shortening, brown sugar, sugar and eggs, add to oatmeal. Add other ingredients.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.


Topping:

¼ c butter
½ c brown sugar
¼ c cream
1 t vanilla
1 c coconut
1 ½ c chopped nuts

While the cake is baking, mix together the ingredients for the topping in a saucepan and simmer. Pour on cake while cake is still hot and place under the broiler until golden brown.


Now, I happen to love the topping and so I double the recipe for it from what is listed above. I sometimes use a little bit of nutmeg also, it makes it really good. Enjoy! ;-)

Jane Velez Mitchell

Do you also see the Nancy Grace wanna-be in that woman?  Ugh.  It was never more apparent than when she was broadcasting from the point that Casey Anthony was released, and she was one of the jackals waiting there at midnight for the golden moment.

She said later that she'd been up for more than 24 hours and was operating on pure adrenaline and was determined to keep going.  She was desperately milking that story for everything she could get out of it.  Goddamn, she represents everything that is horrible about our media.

Sorry to be so grumpy, but a week in Tornado Alley, nervously shuttling from hotel room to conference room, and no laptop afterwards (forgot to take it with me, THAT won't happen again) will do that to me.  I'm home for a month now (barring any sudden issues) so I'm expecting peace and quiet and tranquil posts will flow (ha!)

On Hiatus until July 17th

Just figured out how to get to this from my mobile phone.  I've been on the road for my consulting business for a few days now and forgot to post some stuff ahead of time.

I should be back home Sunday night, sorry for the empty nest until then!

TGIF 8

The Smiths.  Was there a more angsty group in the 80s?  More representative of bored, disenfranchised working-class youth?  My goth children loved this group, along with The Cure. 

This song seems to be the perfect relationship song, with bizarre lyrical declarations of  "I'll gladly die with you under awful circumstances".    

                            There is a Light that Never Goes Out...

Women in Combat

I believe in young people having to serve a mandatory period of time in service to our country.  This time could be in peaceful service such as AmeriCorps, or in the military service for the protection of our country. 

And I believe that women should be able to serve in all functions of that military. This includes combat.  If we must engage in combat, it's only right and fair to allow our daughters to fight alongside our sons.

Here's a petition you can sign if you also agree with the idea that women should be allowed to join in combat situations. 

Per the site, the petition will go to Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Adam Smith (D-WA) who head the House Armed Services Committee and Carl Levin (D-MI) John McCain (R-AZ) who head the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as the President since he is the Commander in Chief.

Let's stop the notion that women are inferior to men.  As an enlightened and modern country, we are better than that. 

What's Cookin' ? (4)

Chicken with Green Olives

• 4 T butter
• 4 T olive oil
• 6 pieces chicken (I used thighs and legs) with skin
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped into large pieces
• 1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained well and chopped
• 1 cup white wine
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup whole green olives
• 12 oz linguine, cooked al dente

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large ovenproof skillet or dutch oven, melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown on both sides. Remove chicken to a separate plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, garlic, and green bell pepper to the pan. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in wine and stir. Add chicken pieces back to pan, cover with lid, and place into the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and remove lid. Add whole green olives and heavy cream (drizzle evenly over the top.) Put on lid and shake the pan to “stir” in the cream. Return to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes to thicken the sauce. Remove from oven and keep lid on until ready to serve.

Place pasta into a large serving bowl or onto a large serving platter. Arrange chicken pieces on top of the pasta, then pour all of the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and shaved parmesan, if desired.

Happy Birthday, USA

I have spent the last week listening to the neighborhood explode things.  Tonight will be a mega-version of that joyous need to make noise.

Patriotism is well and good, it's like having a favorite sports team.  You cheer for it when they win, crazy giddy in the winning seasons.  But you also cheer for it when they lose, sadly resigned in the losing seasons.

You stand by it year after year, and you feel a sense of ownership with that pride.  So you also groan when they hire a terrible new coach, or make a terrible draft choice on the line. You speak out, you don't just suffer in silence.  You want your team to succeed.

So Happy Birthday, USA.  You're my country, and I am compelled to help keep you honest, help my fellow fans, and help you continue to be the best country possible.

All You Fascists Bound to Lose

Woody Guthrie was an American Icon.  He spent his time trying to rouse up the common man against The Man.  He wrote incredible songs that inspired and united those whose spirits needed uplifting.

I found this on facebook.  It's a pretty cool song.  I hope you like it!

TGIF 7

My buddy TuBob-orino is crazy in love with this band and promotes this one song as the most awesomest song ever recorded in the history of all the known universes, but he says it in SO MUCH MORE FLOWERY LANGUAGE (his wordskills I am not fit to pretend to be able to emulate).

I had never heard of this band but he's linked to the YouTube versions of this song so many times, I feel as if I must do my bit and pass it along to y'all...now you done been SERVO-d...

                                     Brian Jonestown Massacre