City on the Edge of Crawford, Part 2

Check out the graphic on Perrspectives.com. It would seem that the portal's out of adjustment because some comments almost seem to be contradictory the further one travels forward in time. The war seems to be occuring backwards! Or perhaps we are seeing a bizarre parallel universe infringing on our own.

Hmm. Something's not quite right here.

City on the Edge of Crawford

Eureka! I've figured out why BushCo hates what Cindy Sheehan is trying to do and they are actually trying to save the future!

Somehow, the Republicans have stumbled upon a time portal and discovered that if Cindy Sheehan is not stopped, the peace movement she began will continue to grow until the Afghan and Iraqi wars end, Democrats are elected in droves and control The Whole Enchilada, the deficit is once more vanquished, and Americans are happy with full health care, the world's best public education system, clean air and water, great jobs and nobody cares about sexual orientation, skin color, gender, religious affiliation or what political party one belongs to. The nation's motto becomes "We're all in this together" and nobody has to figure out if a politician is telling the truth, because, of course, they really want to tell the truth and are there to work in the best interest of everybody (even illegal immigrants) in the US.

Realizing the horrendous consequences of this reality, double super secret agents descend to make sure the future is safe for corporations, five week presidential vacations and conservatives everywhere.

Base Closings

I found this on the Christian Science Monitor today. It's an interesting read, and naturally I have my own opinion.

Base closings could signal disconnect from society for the military

But New England's experience is in many ways a barometer for the nation, as the military contracts into fewer and larger installations, analysts suggest. The concern is not so much one of security, but of society.

Some wonder whether the military, by leaving so many places where it has long been a part of the community, is becoming too remote from the very people it is charged to protect, This changes the calculus on everything from defense budgets to recruiting and retention.

"As the military goes for fewer bases, there is an increasing disconnect between the military and the community," says Jeremiah Gertler of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

I agree there is a disconnect between the military and the community. The Draft went a long way in fostering a very personal connection. As we no longer have a draft and rely on volunteers that connection has faded. For a young person, going into the military is a way to get their education paid for and health benefits he or she might not have if they are in a low income category or a minority. (More likely both.) It certainly isn't for the salary, which is incredibly low.

However, base closings seem (at least to me) that there is a serious disconnect between the government and the military. This whole base closing scheme strikes me as a corporate-style strategy to save a few buck at the expense of the workers (military and civilian) and national security. I could even make an entirely specious argument that aggressively recruiting minorities is the equivalent of foreign outsourcing because they will work for the lower wages. Think about it: how many recruiting offices do you see in upscale areas? Yes, they are out there, but the majority may be in less affluent areas. No, I don't have proof. Like I said, it's a specious argument. (Although if anyone does have the figures, I'd like to take a look at them. It's the geographer in me.)

What I'd like to see is how the government is planning on utilizing the military given the proposed base closings. I'd like to see if they've even thought about it! I should hope that our security isn't in the hands of bean counters.

Frantaglais blah-blah...

Frantaglais blah-blah...

I love to read. I love to read about people who love to read. And there are some great photos here, too.

I should really review my French language skills. I had two years in high school, and have forgot most of it. That shall be my next project, after I finish reviewing my Spanish. I had two years in college and have forgot most of it.

Hmm...seems to be a recurring theme here.

Can't Get No Satisfaction This Year Either

Damn. Absolutely none of the dates for the A Bigger Bang tour match up with my schedule. I haven't seen the Rolling Stones since 1981. Tatoo You. Yup, it's been awhile. What makes it more depressing is one of my friends has a son who is now married and a new father. And he was born 1982. When you look at it that way, you just feel old.

But heck, if the Stones can still keep on rockin and touring who am to complain? As my grandmother used to say about birthdays "you are only one day older than you were yesterday". I still feel like I'm in my twenties, but I wouldn't return to that age again for any reason. OK, well maybe to remember life without regular Clairol usage to cover the evidence, but still.

______________________________________________________________
I'm currently listening to Mother's Little Helper by the Rolling Stones (Aftermath, 1966)

Pat Robertson Fatwa - Say What?

Pat Robertson occasionally takes the odd turn down Lunatic Lane and on his most recent visit he advocated assassinating Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuala. If that doesn't say wingnut, I don't know what does. Crooks and Liars does a good job pointing out that one group that has been silent are right-wingers who normally squawk fiercely whenever anyone says anything they disagree with.

Why the Silence on the right-wing sphere over Robertson?

It's so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Power Line, Michelle Malkin, (she's on vacation so her
subs) Hugh Hewitt, Roger L. Simon, and many more are all
silent on Pat Robertson's assassination statements so far. Anytime someone from
the left criticizes the war or the President we're deemed traitors, supporting
the terrorists while lowering the moral of our troops or just plain
anti-military, but having one of the biggest Christian leaders (who has the
President's ear) gleefully asking for a contract killing of President Hugo
Chavez that could send out a message to the Middle East that we are a nation of
religious zealot hit-men, dispatching our enemies with secret covert operations
(ala Alias) for our own political gain is ignored.

To read the full post click here.

So, Pat, I'm curious: if it's OK by your god to take out Chavez, is it OK for their god to take out ours?

Time Flies

Between feeling like I'm living in Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (that's the twirling teacups at Disney) and packing, only to unpack in the same space, it's been a while since I've had time to update this. Life is just downstrange at times. But now, I'm back.

b r a i n n o t f u n c t i o n i n g

My latest bout of Meniere's shows only the eencie-weenciest signs of abating. The humidity is picking up and that means things will pretty much come to a standstill again. It's incredibly boring. Reading is darn well impossible because the words jump all over the place; knitting has become a challenge; television is boring.

Well, it's not all boring. There are some things I do watch: General Hospital, Ellen, CSI (any city), and occasionally I'll turn to C-Span when I need a good laugh. Weekends are my favorite PBS viewing. Doctor Who reruns pop up, Mystery, the Red Green Show. You know what I really miss on PBS? Reruns of the Ernie Kovacs Show. Now he was a genius!

I'm desparately trying to stay upright enough to work on my little blog here, but it's a challenge, and I'm so desperately behind on the news.

And I'm trying to pack for a move back to Utah. I can hardly wait to get back there - I love dry heat and desert. And pie. Love that pie, especially from Village Inn. I've never understood my fascination with the desert. Maybe all those John Wayne movies when I was kid, but if there is one place on earth that I had to choose to to live in, it's Utah. It has everything. Not a lot of Episcopalians, though, at least not in the southeast corner.

Once Hank and I get out there, I'll actually put some order into chaos here and have a coherent blog. Maybe some pictures. More recipes. Music. News.

We'll see.

I'm upright!

I hate Meniere's disease. I don't have attacks very often but this one sent me to the ER. It was nasty. I still have tinnitus, especially in my right ear. Grrrrr.

I have made no soup lately. Actually, I'm grateful for instant mashed potatoes and canned peas at this point! Tonight I will actually be making some grilled chicken, the first real cooking, other than scrambled eggs, that I've done since the floor jumped up and hit me in the face.

I've fallen behind in news junkie reading. I know there's been things happening, but Antivert makes you not care. I did read that there's a new planet, or at least something going on out there in our solar system. I'm all for making whatever it is a planet: ten is a nice round number. I also heard on NPR that Doonesbury was pulled from a few papers for referring to Karl Rove by his nickname, Turd Blossom. John Roberts is only number five in terms of judicial hunkiness, but I want to find the site and find out who numbers one through four are. And finally, John Bolton is being sent to the UN via recess appointment. Jeesh. Makes me wish I had something stronger than Antivert.


Right now I am listening to: The Grand Illusion by Styx (The Grand Illusion, 1977)

Back Soon!

I have been sidelines by an acute attack of Meniere's disease. That is a nasty inner ear problem that makes you feels like you've been chugging beer and slugging down shots of whiskey while you are being twirled around in NASA's vomit comet and there's a balloon in your ear that's going to explode any minute. It ain't fun folks. But it's almost over. See you next week.

Benny's Journey Moved

I have moved my grandfather's stories to http://bennysjourney.blogspot.com/. I thought it would be better that way - if you are reading it you don't have to sort through all the soup!

Posole time!

I love posole! Posole is corn that has been soaked in lime water. You can get it canned in grocery stores, usually in the Mexican food section. I made a soup today that turned out really well. I'm beginning to think I should have named this blog "Chasing Waves of Soup"!

Anyway, on Thursday just threw together cubed grilled pork, a box of Pacific chicken broth, a can of posole, a can of fire roasted tomatoes. I sauteed an onion, a green pepper and two jalepenos and tossed that mix in with some cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and just let it cook on slow in the crock pot until that evening. I guess it had about 6 hours of cooking. Turned out really good.

Spent the day listening to all my Queen tapes (CD player has died), supplemented with Pink Floyd, B.B. King, and Garrison Keillor's "Songs of the Cat". My taste in music is definitely eclectic. Now if I can only find my Van Morrison tapes...

July 16, 1988

It wasn't until Saturday morning that the doctor came to see my grandfather. Dr. S was waiting for test results. My grandfather's fever had gone down but the thrush had become much worse so now he had that odd tasting medicine to swish around in his mouth.

I don't remember all the test results obvious but two stood out. Bamps' t-cell counts were extemely low and the pneumonia appeared to be something called PC. Dr. S gave us the full name but PC was just easier to remember, not to mention say. Dr. S didn't have a great bedside manor, so after he left he asked one of the nurses to explain what he said. She said it looked as if he had immune problems, but more tests would be needed.

Later that afternoon a pulmonologist came in. After 60 years of smoking, my grandfather's lungs had been severely damaged. The PC was damaging them even more. Dr. R said that right now, the best thing was to get the pneumonia cleared up and to begin respiratory therapy. Dr. R had seen my grandfather before, when he was operated on in 1985 for the aneurysm. He explained he was afraid that my grandfather had been received tainted blood and been exposed to AIDS. It would certainly explain his symptoms and the test results.

So now, more tests and waiting, until at least Monday. In the meantime, my grandfather asked me to smuggle in some good chocolate ice cream and a Snicker's bar. The stuff the hospital called ice cream just wasn't chocolate enough. (I tried some and it obviously was from some previously unknown species of chocolate plant that tasted like milk of magnesia and chalk mixed with frozen Ovaltine. Well, more chalk...) A day didn't go by without him having his ice cream and Snickers! He was even called the "ice cream man" by kids in the neighborhood who knew if they came by at about 4 pm, he'd share the ice cream with them!

By now all his friends knew he was in the hospital and were coming to visit. The most common complaints I heard though ran something like "gee, you can't see what the girls look like in this getup!" and "what run-over animal did they try to feed you today?"

One of them even smuggled in a double Manhattan in a thermos for him that night, which definitely did not go to waste!

Bastille Day, 1988

Links and other things are down at the lower left hand side of the page - I'll correct that tonight...

The dated entries are a diary of my grandfather's illness. His journey began in 1985 after having eleven pints of blood transfused over a three day period, following surgery for an aortic aneurysm. He symptoms (fatigue, weight loss, sores that wouldn't heal) began in 1987, but were very subtle and were dismissed as part of aging.

On Bastille Day of 1988, my husband and I took my grandfather to the hospital. He had recently lost a few pounds, which I thought not unusual for him during the summer since he was outside in the garden or riding his bike to the store. He was very short of breath though and had a fever of 102. Even without a stethoscope it was obvious his lungs were raspy sounding.

We waited in the emergency room for only a few minutes because the triage nurse thought my grandfather (who I called Bamps) looked very pale and ill. About 20 minutes after waiting for word from a nurse saying my husband and I could come back to the examining room, a nurse did come out and said my grandfather was being admitted to the progressive care unit, into an isolation room. He appeared to have pneumonia, and possibly some sort of bacterial infection of the lungs as well. He would have more tests, the results of which could take a couple of days.

When my husband and I went to his room, before we could go in we had to put on a gown and mask as a precaution. The doctors weren't sure what he had yet. Bamps' spirits were still good, although he was very fatigued, and really just wanted to sleep. He was also adamant that we not hover around him in the hospital. Since visiting hours were limited, our hovering ability was greatly reduced.

It was early evening by the time he settled in and the doctors said all they could tell for sure is he had pneumonia (what type they weren't sure yet), some odd skin lesions, and thrush. Dr. S, my grandfather's primary physician, said that by the next afternoon they would have some answers. In the meantime, my grandfather would be in isolation, receiving IV antibiotics and fluids, along with a host of other medicines.

Hank and I went home and I called my mother to give her the news. At this point all we could do is wait.

Chili Time, the Sequel

This is nothing to do with chili.

I've decided, especially after talking with my sister, to not mention my mother's conversational memory lapses to her when we talk. She's extremely aware that the Alzheimer's is causing changes and there is nothing she or her doctors can do about it. So, I'll just accept the lapses; if she forgets something she said two minutes ago or forgets who it is she's on the phone with I'll just remind her and carry on like it's no big deal. It's going to take a while to get used to it. I do tend to be impatient and this is going to be a good way for me to work on that particular area.

I don't really care when she starts repeating stories. I'm going to start taping them. She's got tons of stories about growing up and since I was raised by my grandparents (her parents) it's always interesting to hear them because I can see my grandparents through new eyes. She has most of the family photos and it would be interesting to put together a CD presentation. Give me a chance to learn some new skills here!

Karl Rove

It's becoming obvious that Karl Rove had a hand in outing Valerie Plame, whether or not he actually spoke her name or referred to her as "Joe Wilson's wife" or any variation of that theme. Semantics schmantics! So what is George Bush going to do about it? Is he going to bull-headedly support Rove at the expense of what little remains of his credibility? Rove needs to step down as he has managed to become the main attraction in the bizarre sideshow that is the Bush administration. Rove should be investigated, and if deemed necessary, prosecuted under the Identities Protection Act of 1982. Period. And so should anyone else in the Bush administration who participated in this.

One thing is for certain: KR has managed to become the choice entre in the the media feeding frenzy. The question is, did he manage to offer himself up on the chum platter? I can hardly wait to hear more of what comes out of the grand jury room to find out.

Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth?

When something horrible happens, it's really hard to know what to say at first. Usually most people say something like "Oh my God, how can this happen?" or utter a four-letter word gasped in disbelief. Some just stand or sit, wordless. Within a few hours shock turns to anger and we want to know who perpetrated the heinous act, why didn't our government stop it, are they lying to us; the questions and conspiracy theories rage go on and on.

I knew someone who died on Flight 93, the United Airlines plan that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11th, 2001. I didn't find out until two days later, when I saw his face on the local news. The pit in my stomach that had been been growing since that sunny and terrible morning suddenly suddenly became a sinkhole. I didn't know him well at all, but seeing a face belonging to someone I had talked to less than a week before suddenly shocked back to life the feelings fear and disbelief.

It happened again while watching the news broadcasts about London. I realized that time and time again this scenario is going to be played out throughout the world: normal people going to work, going shopping, simply doing things they do every day - until suddenly there is a horrific, unexpected event which rips across the fabric of thousands and millions and tens of millions of lives, slowly tearing apart a world we once felt safe in.

To have this happen in war is one thing. We've got thousands of years of experience of dealing with war. But terrorism is different. Who do we fight back at? What is the face of the enemy like? There are only a few faces we associate with 9/11 and terrorism in general. There's no specific country to attach blame to. News reports I've seen say that a group called the Secret Organization of al Qaida in Europe is responsible for the London bombings. No one has heard of them before as far as I can tell. They are, like most of al Qaida, a group that transcends national boundaries and operates in the shadows, stepping out long enough to cause horror and grief. Their reasons for it are based on their own brand of ideology, which we can't seem to relate to on any level, and I'm not sure I'd want to. They claim the Koran is the basis for their beliefs and the justification for their actions. But I know many Muslims, and the actions of these extremist groups are abhorrent to them and they are antithetical to the Islam they live in their everyday lives.

How do we end this scourge? Invading Iraq certainly didn't help. In fact it has added fuel to the burning hatred these people feel against the West, particularly the US and Britain. The terrorist groups certainly won't talk to us and our government uses the threat of future terrorism to justify their own questionable actions in the name of freedom.

All I know for sure is that I grieve. I grieve for all those who have lost friends and loved ones in these barbarous attacks. I grieve for the prisoners in Abu Graib and Guantanimo Bay who might be innocent but who guilty only by association. I grieve for the innocent civilians killed in war the that our government justified with false evidence.

I grieve for the military families who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq. I grieve for our men and women in the military who are in Iraq and Afghanistan, doing their jobs willingly, then come home to be insulted by a few of their fellow Americans who call murderers and babykillers, like Viet Nam all over again. Even if you disagree with the war, these men and women are patriotic and brave enough to carry out their missions they may not necessarily agree with in hopes of helping the people in these areas rebuild their countries.

Most of all I grieve for the loss of truth. Truth has been a casualty killed by both sides. There were no weapons of mass destruction to justify the war. al Qaida twists teachings of the Koran to justify their actions.

Sadly, I can see no end. At least not now. I fear that it will take an event so horrific, so obscene in scope and cruelty to bring about the end of this cycle of violence.

In the meantime we are left only with hope. Hope that truth and justice shall prevail over all the dogma, politics, greed and ignorance that allows terrorism to exist.

To the people who are promoting this hateful darkness, know that while you may cause chaos for a short time, you will be stopped. If not by us, by the god you so perversely invoke.

It's Chili Time

This is the recipe for the chili that I inherited from my grandmother. Due to the lack of room in the crockpot, I didn't put any beans in it, which is really the way chili should be. I'm saving those for the red beans and rice dish I'm making this afternoon. This recipe is sized for a medium (two and half quart) crockpot.

TOOLS:

One medium crockpot, one large skillet, a colander and the usual knives, spatulas, spoons, etc. You'll notice the measurements are not entirely exact. It's just the way I cook.

FOOD:

• About three pounds ground beef. 20% fat has the best flavor. Just drain the fat off in the colander after cooking.
• 2 28-ounce cans of crushed whole tomatoes.
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped.
• 1 large green pepper, chopped.
• 2 to 3 jalapeno peppers chopped and seeded. If you don't like your chili too hot remove the white membranes. That's where the heat really is, not the seeds. You can up the pepper content to your liking.
• 1 small head garlic, minced. Yes, that's head, not a clove, of garlic. Of course you can use less. But why would you want to?
• Chili seasoning, whichever generic one you like.
• Kosher or sea salt. I prefer kosher salt.
• Fresh ground pepper. If you don't have a pepper grinder, you can use course ground pepper. Regular fine ground pepper disappears tastewise unless you really load it up. Don't do that, it just a bad idea. It just won't taste right.
• Olive oil, one - two teaspoons.

ALLEZ CUISINE!

Here's what you do:

C hop the onion and green pepper. Mince the garlic. Finely chop the jalapenos.

Y'all pay attention now: Jalapenos can pack an unwelcome wallop if not prepared with care. If you take care when you are preparing them, or any other member of the capsicum genus, you can enjoy them the way they are meant to be, and not have to worry about "hot eye" or mouth syndrome.

Here's some guidelines: If you have disposable food gloves (and every cook should), put them on and the oil won't get on your hands and transfer the hot goodness that should go into your mouth into unwanted areas, like your eyes.

When you chop your pepper, slice off the stem, then slice the pepper in half lengthwise. You'll see the seeds look like the seeds of the green pepper you cut earlier. Now the hotness is not concentrated in the seeds...it is in the white membrane, the ribs of the pepper! If you want a totally mild chili, take your knife and remove all the membrane you see. I can never remember doing this myself, but others might not like the amount of heat I do.

Chopping the jalapenos, and any pepper, is easiest when you chop the skin side down. For jalapenos, I usually cut a quarter inch strip lengthwise and then bunch them together and cut into quarter inch dice.

When you are through cutting the jalapenos, take off your gloves and using your knife, push the leftover membrane and seeds are left into one of the gloves. Fold it over and shove it into the other glove, tie it off and discard. Toss in the garbage. That way if a child or pet gets curious about garbage while you blink, at least you can snatch it back safely. If you have a garbage disposal, put the seeds and membrane down that. Better yet compost them.

If you get the oil on your hands, soak them for about three minutes in milk, and discard the milk. If you get the oil in your eyes, daub 2 cotton balls in milk, put your feet up and the cotton balls on both eyes. What, the oil's only in one eye? C'mon...as long as you are doing one eye, do both. It's relaxing! Two minutes usually does the trick. (Unless you've had a very hectic day, wink, wink!)

And now back to the show...

Heat the pan and add the olive oil. Saute the pepper, onions and jalapeno together over medium heat until they are barely soft but not translucent. They will cook more in the crockpot. Set them in your crockpot.

Saute the hamburger in the pan you sauteed the veggies, adding salt, pepper and about a tablespoon of chili seasoning. Cook until all the pinkness is gone. Drain fat off in colander, and make darn tootin sure you was that baby good afterwards!

Add one can of crushed peppers to the crockpot then add the hamburger. Using a sturdy spoon or a clean hand (one of the most versatile kitchen tools ever) mix ingredients together thoroughly. Add a heaping tablespoon of chili powder, the second can of tomatoes, and repeat. The crockpot shouldn't be completely full or it will boil over. If it is, remove enough of the mix to leave a one inch space below the rim. You can cook whatever you removed in a small pan on the stovetop for a quick "I can't wait until the chili is done" treat (covered on medium heat, 20 minutes or so).

Put the lid on the crockpot, turn to high and cook for one hour. Check your seasoning at this point, add more if you want and turn the heat to low. Cook for another three hours. About 30 minutes before serving check the hotness. If you want to add more chili powder, do it now and remember: you can always put more in but you can't take it out. Add a little at a time until you are happy with the flavor. Cover, let it cook for another half hour, then serve.

There are all sorts of things you can serve on the side or on top of this: chopped onions, peppers, jalapeno slices, sour cream, guacamole, tortilla chips, cornbread, even chopped pineapples. (Don't knock it unless you've tried it.) Keep some Tabasco sauce around so people can add more heat if they want. Heck, why not start a collection of different hot sauces? You never know what culinary mood might strike you!

You can make this entirely on the stovetop, but the long cooking in the crockpot really makes it flavorful!

This is the basic recipe that I use when I'm working around the house and want a quick chili. I have lots of other recipes in the vault!

G8 Summit

Good for them! The G8 Summit is staying put.

London Terror Attacks

I just checked the BBC America site and found out about this. I've had the classic rock digital channel on all morning. I had gone to site to find out what was happening with G8 and Lance Armstrong. After a few minutes digesting the gulp in my throat, here we all are.

I understand anger, rage, frustration, even hatred and a whole of other negative emotions. I cannot understand how anyone can think putting those emotions to work in the form of terrorism. All it does it compound the negative image toward them and mobilizes people against them.

Can't we all just get along!

It seems that's too much to ask these days. Some people would rather cause pain and destruction, whether on a one-to-one level or on a world wide level. As Nany used to say "whatever you do, good or bad, always comes back to you." All the suffering that these people cause will come back at them, and if the Wiccans are right it will be three-fold. Will they learn their lesson? Probably not.

My heart is heavy with the thought of the suffering this is causing.

I haven't seen anything so far, but my guess is the G8 summit is might be cut short, although they shouldn't do it. It'll make it look like governments can be manipulated into doing whatever the terrorists want.