Are Ya Hungry?

Tags

Pork, Recipes, tex-mex, wonton tacos

So, a few weeks ago, the Contrarian broke down and took me out to eat during a busy shopping spree in town. We decided on Applebee’s. We had a great appetizer called Wonton Tacos. If you haven’t tried them, do so, but read on.

Course, I assumed that I was the only one who so liked these that I would try to duplicate them myself. Duh. I actually found another recipe, based on Applebee’s format, but thought it rather tacky since it started with “purchased” barbecued pork.

I mean, that is not cooking, that is putting other people’s cooking together to form a dish. Okay, if you want to, feel free, but my recipe is not complicated nor messy as it might appear at first glance.

We made these last Friday and frankly they were not exactly what Applebee’s had, but close enough, and so delicious that the Contrarian swears mine were better. That may or may not be, but, take a look.

The Meat

pork brisket (my butcher said boneless pork ribs would suffice) 1-1½ lbs

salt, pepper, garlic powder, season generously

liquid smoke- 1 tbsp

oil- 1 tbsp

beef broth – low sodium – 3/4 cup

barbecue sauce – 2/3 cup

Add the oil to a large enough (cast iron preferred ) pot to accommodate the meat in one layer without crowding.  Season the meat and brown on all sides over med-high heat. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add beef broth and liquid smoke. Liquid should come up at least 1/3 of the way up the meat.  Cover and braise (very low boil) for at least 2 hours or until the meat starts to fall apart when picked up with tongs. Remove from liquid and set aside to cool. Pull apart into shreds with forks or tongs.

You can do this in the morning if you wish and then add the barbecue sauce near dinner time and reheat to just warm in the microwave. Mix the sauce into the shredded meat. The amount here is flexible. I would say you want the meat covered, but not sopping.

As to the barbecue sauce: Use your favorite homemade or bottled. It is better if it is not a sweet sauce, but heat of course is up to you. I like both Cattleman’s and Budweiser commercial brands.

 The Coleslaw

1/4 head of a medium cabbage

mayo – scant 1/3 cup

pepper 1/2 tsp

salt – pinch

vinegar – 2 tsp

hot sauce 1 tbsp or as you wish

sugar – 1 tbsp or to taste

You of course can buy the store bought stuff, but slicing it yourself is certainly not hard. I’d say about 2 cups. As to the dressing, I know there is store dressing, but I have never used it. The point of this dressing is that it needs to be sweet to offset the tang of the barbecue sauce, and not too vinegary.

As to amounts, please understand that I don’t personally use a lot of measuring when I cook, so I’m trying to estimate for you. The coleslaw when dressed should be quite a bit drier than you might normally like for regular coleslaw. It’s the crunch and the sweetness that you want more than the mayo. If you barbecue sauce is quite “hot” then you might want to lessen the heat in the slaw.

 The Wontons

One package – you will use only a fraction of the package. I froze the balance in three packages. Don’t know if it will work or not, but I couldn’t just throw them away!

Oil for deep fat frying

This is the tricky part, and frankly I puzzled for a long time. Wontons are square, so to make them like “taco’s” means to corner them, leaving a fillable pocket. Also we assumed we had to submerge the entire thing and so we were thinking fairly deep oil as well.

All this is off-putting, since I don’t like the mess of deep frying, but in the end, we found it was simple. After trying to make the “taco” shapes, we realized that we could do it faster and easier by ignoring that shape entirely. (The pic above is NOT ours, but Applebee’s)

Use a small-even a 6 inch is fine-cast iron pan. Fill with at least an inch of oil (canola). Heat to around 375.  Lay the wonton in the oil and immediately depress the middle with the flat of a wooden spoon or a gravy ladle. Hold for a few seconds until the form is set and then let fry for a few additional seconds. They take only about 1 minute per, so it goes fast. Remove with tongs and place on a paper towel lined cookie sheet. When all are done, place in a warm oven until you are ready to eat.

The oil can be saved. It is essentially perfectly “clean.” So the mess is minimal and you don’t use much oil at all.

Assemble by placing a tablespoon or so of the pulled pork into the “well” and then add about the same amount of slaw. Enjoy.

I think some sprigs of cilantro might be a nice addition if you like it. We didn’t think of that. You can also of course use chicken or beef for that matter. As long as the meat will pull, it will work.

We ate four apiece. You may want more or less depending on whether you have any sides. The meat will make about 16 tacos I would guess. We tried the remainder of the meat on Sunday on just hamburger buns. The Contrarian thought they were fine, but the crunch of the wontons really really adds to the dish I found.

Short Takes on the Day, 07/19/09

Tags

agnostics, atheists, believers, blogs, book reviewing, fundamentalists, nachos, Recipes, Sarah Palin, tex-mex

I’m layin’ back and enjoying the day, as best as I can, given it’s barely breaking 70 today. Not skipping church, if you were thinking that. I went yesterday, a first time for me. I was obligated to set up for our library book sale, so it obviously made no sense not to go to Saturday evening services. It was different. Not my cup o’ tea as they say. But as our priest said, “now you’ve been to one!”

So, I’m foot loose and fancy free as they say, or don’t as you prefer your metaphor.  I’m not sure what foot loose means, nor fancy free for that matter. Another of those things we take for granted and have no clue where they came from. Probably had something to do with the plague or something. You know that “ring around the rosy” got it’s start there don’t cha?  Yep.

***

Moving right along, I just wanted to announce that I’m a bona fide professional book reviewer. I’m sure you can tell the difference, when I passed through that portal into the rarefied confines of New York publishing heaven. Yes indeed, and the view is quite fine looking down upon the rest of you wannabes.

The proof of my new found status is that I received in the mail, U N S O L I C I T E D, my first book from a publisher. Now I was curious, and somewhat confused to be sure at first. I dutifully looked through my LibraryThing (located to the left down the sidebar), assuming it was one that I had checked off as wanting to review. No such find. I noted that it came from the Hachette  Book Group, which distributes for Little Brown & Co. I noted that the review I just did for “The Evolution of God” came from LB&C. So my interest was piqued.

I finally wrote an email to the distributor, and received a reply rather quickly. Indeed, they had thought I might enjoy the book sent, and would be most pleased should I review it. A cheesy smile encompasses my face, as I am back in the throes of “professional” something or other, albeit, no word of $$$ seemed to cross a lip either way. I’m not sure if money is required to seal the deal, but I’m choosing to revel in my new found glory. I assume of course that you are all suitably impressed and will announce this fact around your neighborhood, family, and professional associations as well.

***

Moving on to the short takes as it were. I was alerted via email by Shannon of a blog I should look at, a post in particular and found myself at “Caught a glimpse of Jesus down by the railroad tracks…”  This in reference to my mini rant of two days about  “What is the Message?”  Said blogger is in discernment for the diaconate in TEC, and runs a homeless shelter. Interesting and compelling reading, so take a look.

***

I ran across this piece and found it highly amusing and well, heck far be it from me to stop beating a dead horse. I say turn it into horseburger! Sarah, well known, for being the most incurious politician in America, unless the curiosity has to do with herself, is almost unintelligible as you well know. Her inability to capture a single thought and expound on it in any rational way are legend. This post from John Lundberg at HuffPo, shows just how easy it is to find the poet in Sarah’s words, if not any sense. Since poetry need not contain sense, well it all makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Enjoy. Few laughs are as cheap as this one.

***

A couple of atheists took me to task for my post last week about atheists and that I found them intellectually wanting. Seems at least one person agrees with me, lumping their “certainty” of no God as about as obnoxious as the “certainty” of fundamentalists. Now I hadn’t thought of that. Just a short piece by worth a gander. As I continued compiling this post, more was generated in comments to the above and so another post ensued. It makes for good reading if you are so inclined in the atheist-vs-agnostic-vs-believer saga.

***

And just cuz it’s been forever since I posted a recipe, I thought I’d do one that makes my mouth water, nachos! Good homemade nachos are priceless in the Tex-Mex inventory, and this one just says, yowie, that’s a spicy nacho! As with all nachos you can add or subtract ingredients here and there as your taste dictates. Let’s hear it for Spicy Chicken Nachos!

I think that next week, we shall be trying some of these! No need to thank me for helping you with menu planning! lol.

***

Okay, go out and enjoy what’s left of Sunday. And bring back the sun and some heat. I’m sick of fall weather in July.

Latin Fling

Tags

Arroz con Pollo, carribean, chicken, Latin, Recipes, rice, tex-mex

Yesterday, I spend the day at a church retreat as a special Lenten kickoff. We had a wonderful time and it was a good beginning to the season. We were blessed to have with us our former diocesan bishop and he offered much wisdom and lots of useful techniques to help us explore our relationship with God in a deeper way.

Following that, I ran off to collect some food for dinner, but was delayed again in arriving home by stopping to help a man who had accidently left a gate open. Two nice quarterhorses were viewing the world from the highway. I was able to be of some minor assistance in collecting them and giving him time to lead them back to their pasture. It was nice to get my hands on a horse again!

So, what that all meant is that I was tired and not at all interested in posting yesterday. So I thought I would post today the recipe for Arroz con Pollo I mentioned the other day. I got the recipe from Cook Magazine’s Test Kitchen show, shown on PBS. It turned out fabulously and we loved it. As there are about as many recipes for chicken and rice as their are chickens, you can feel free to substitute. Many of the photos I found clearly had green peas in them, so you might add that, but I would only do so at the very end, since they really don’t need cooking.

~~~

Traditional recipes start with a whole fryer cut up. This recipe called for only chicken thighs. I think that works better because not all pieces otherwise need the same cooking time.

6 thighs ( trim excess fat, but don’t remove skin yet)

Place in a marinade of:

6 cloves garlic mashed, or minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 oregano

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 pepper

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Marinate at room temp for 15 min. If longer, in the fridge.

Meanwhile:

In a oven ready pot:

1-2 TBSP oil

Add 1 lg. onion, 1 green pepper, and 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes

Cook until softened (omit the extra chili peppers if you don’t like a little spice.

Add Chicken to the pot, skin side down, brown lightly at medium heat, turn and do other side.

When this is complete, add:

1 3/4 c. chicken stock

1/4 c. H20

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 TBSP cilantro, chopped

cover, reduce to a low simmer and cook for 20 min.

Add:

3 c rice

1/2 c pimentoed olives

1 TBSP capers, rinsed,

return to a simmer while heating oven to 350.

When ready, put in over for 20 min. Then stir, and if needed add a bit more water, and cook another 10 min.

Remove from oven and removed chicken.

With spoons or forks, remove meat from the bones and place in a separate dish. Discard skin.

Add to this:

1tsp olive oil

2 tsp vinegar

2 TBSP Cilantro chopped

1/4 to 1/2 c roasted peppers chopped roughly.

Mix and then add back to the rice and stir, and let sit a couple of minutes to rewarm.

Serve with tortillas. I’d say it serves about 6 comfortably.

Enjoy!

Short Takes on the Day 11/13/08

Tags

2nd Amendment, Bush, Casseroles, chocolate, Desserts, environment, Greek history, guns, Literature, NRA, psychology, Recipes, religion, Saints, sociology, tex-mex, turkey, Women's history

It’s simply shockingly sad. Bush is doing his level best to help out his business friends at the tail end of his disastrous presidency by trashing the environment. All the plans, regulation loosenings and so far are designed to help industry make money, and reduce the protection of lands and animals now in place. It will take much time and effort by the Obama people to undo this. It was said that Clinton was only able to undo about 13% of what Daddy Bush did at the end of his presidency. True, Clinton did the same and Dubya could only undo 3% of the Clinton environmental protections. Why this evil man is intent on destroying the earth is beyond me. He has his, why can’t he let us at least exist? AlterNet has the story.

I recently read a book called “Deep Economy” about how we might revision our economic mantra of “growth is good.” It dealt largely with environmental issues, but did make the point that studies show that Americans are deeply unhappy overall as compared to much of Europe and many other countries as well. Money and buying stuff does not make us happy it turns out. A World Health Organization now places the US first in those countries whose citizenry is depressed and otherwise mentally ill. Read more, and discover that if you are stressed with not enough time, not enough leisure, you are very much not alone.

While much against the theology of Augustine can be argued with, there is something very right about a guy who asked God to cure him of his sexual needs, but “not quite yet.” He became a very human being for that statement in his Confessions. That being said, his birthday is today, and I think we should all pause and remember this great Father of the Church. If you would like to read more about this incomparable man, link to Gill’s Ancient History Blog.

You might enjoy this aside: Being a blogger, we all get used to our private and overused phrases. Much as John McCain drove us insane with “my friends” we all have our peccadilloes when it comes to language. Britannica Blog gives us “the 10 most overused and useless expressions in English.” Did you find one you use? Numbers 4 and 5 were ones I think I use a bit too frequently.

Uncovering women’s history is always fascinating. Every heard of a woman by the name of Cynisca? Probably not, but she was the first woman to compete and win an Olympic event, and we are talking about 396 and 392 BCE. Read this fascinating tale with tons of historical background at Rogueclassicism today. G,wan, get a little knowledge, your brain will thank you for it.

Speaking of birthdays, yesterday’s was Grace Kelly. That wonderful biographer Elizabeth Kerri Mahon at Scandalous Women does her usual top notch job and presents you with a lovely reflection on this American Princess.

If you are a history buff, you might find this new blog fun. It’s called Histatic! The history blog for all your inquisitive needs. Give it a look see and bookmark if it suits your fancy. I’ll be picking up the feed and checking it for good posts that you might enjoy.

I had a co-worker when I was a lawyer, who used to go to magazines like Bon Appetit and others of that type and make their entire holiday menu. I have never done such a thing, and frankly won’t because we have found the perfect Thanksgiving menu on earth, all from different sources. But if you want to do something different, Baking Delights has a full menu for you with all the recipes. You might not choose to make it all, but you might find a recipe that you do like. I think I should try to post the incredible stuffing recipe we used last year. First time we ate every drop of stuffing I tell you, and I will never do another turkey that isn’t brined either. Enjoy!

Simply Recipes gifts us with a great Tex-Mex dish. It’s similar to enchiladas, but she says without the trouble. It’s often used as a breakfast food. Give it a look if you love Mexican food. This looks like one I’ll add to my repertoire. Full directions are given for Chilaquiles.

And just to close out the recipes, here’s one you should not miss. Easy as anything to make, elegant for the holidays, and it is Chocolate! Now that combination is not to be missed. Called Chocolate Purses, you can wow your guests and also adapt easily to your own particular tastes. What could be better? Our thanks to Uncommon Artistic Endeavors.

This next story has been on the news in the mainstream media for a few days. Partly it makes me just laugh and partly it makes me sick to my stomach. The NRA has done an excellent job in making up a scare story that Obama is gonna take away guns, and gun sales have skyrocketed. That’s the funny part, the scary part, is the gun sales have skyrocketed. What kind of world are people living in that they have to run out and buy $1000+ assault rifles before they are banned? What kind of nut wants one? The winners are of course the NRA and its beloved gun manufacturing industry. Once again the idiot poor does the bidding of the rich. Crooks & Liars has the story.

Oh Goodie Goodie, DistributorCapDC has a quiz for couch potatoes and prizes too! Hurry on over and take it, win win win, I never win a thing. Maybe this time!

And to close out, just a personal observation. Sarah, our dear Sarah is being called the gift that keeps on giving for Democrats. She is making more of an ass of herself, now that she is out from restrictions and can do things her way. Although she claimed many of her woes were the result of the left wing media, she is courting that media for all it’s worth these days. She is granting “exclusive” interviews nearly every day. True to form, she says nothing, and says that nothing in such circular fashion that one can but weep with joy that the girl hasn’t lost her stupid touch. You might have thought she would bone up a bit, but word is that her latest foray on Larry King resulted in answers about the federal economic bailout that were “stunning” in their lack of any knowledge of what it entailed.

Miss Palin continues to adhere to the idea that politics is a piece of cake and requires no real knowledge of anything. Since she is apparently interested in virtually nothing, this works well for her so far. Her press conference at the Governor’s meeting consisted of 3 questions and then was closed down. The other governors felt a bit left out as you can guess. She was not wanted there in the first place so we are told. Sarah is that annoying fly that you cannot swat and cannot evade. It will soon be time to bring out the assault spray and overkill the land in order to make sure she gets her fatal dose.

I know this sounds weird, but a bunch of political bloggers and others have set up a food network site. You can find it here, called the “Internet Food Association.” Some of our favorites, such as Simply Recipes are on board. Who knows who might be next. Bookmark it and check it out if you love food and new recipes.

Have a greater day than ever before!

Lil Bits of Rancor or Not 9/19/08

Tags

Archaeology, cake, chicken, cookies, dessert, Election 2008, energy, environment, fundamentalism, gay rights, Greek history, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Spain, tex-mex, voting

Starting out with good news, it appears that the bloom is definitely off the flower as regards the Palin candidacy. The cracks are there, and the buckling is starting to occur. Nearly 1500 gathered to denounce her candidacy in Alaska (that is a huge number for Alaska folks). The media seems to be ready to fight back at last, and there are plenty saying that only the most rabid racist hate mongers among us will be voting for that ticket in November.

Oh, I just love Tex-Mex if you hadn’t heard. And one of my favorites at the restaurant anyway is Chimichangas. Baking Delights  has a wonderful recipe that doesn’t require deep frying which is such a mess and since her brisket recipe was SOOOOO GOOOOD, I’m assuming this will be a hit too. These are for chicken but I’m sure you could substitute about any meat you like.

In a tour de force, the NYTimes  has vetting Ms Palin themselves, and boy what they have turned up is enough to curl your nose hairs as they say. It’s all cronyism and strong arm tactics and plenty of secrecy. Sound familiar? Believe me this is one damning article and you should read it. I’ve been saying that Palin would be relegated to a closet in a McCain administration. I may have been very wrong. It may be McCain who is shoved in the corner. This woman is an egomaniac on a mission to be president herself.

Oh boy, and don’t miss Frank Rich’s op ed in the Times  on the 13th. It is simplya scathing indictment of Palin and the weak McCain who now holds onto her coat tails hoping she can drag him into the White House.

We seem ruled by polls these days. And they seem to go up and down and round and round with little agreement. Distributor Cap NY  tries to make some sense out of them, and tries to explain to us how they should be viewed. I’d take a look and read his analysis and then you will understand why they are not the things to place too much credence in.

The mere mention of the word chocolate and I am there! So here is a lovely recipe, reprinted at Epicurious  from Gourmet Magazine. Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Tart  is easy to make and will soothe the savage beast of a chocolate addiction. Don’t miss it.

There is a new website called Women Against Sarah Palin. You should take a look. Impressive response by women in America. They have an email and you can give you views of Ms. Palin some of which will be printed on their site. Email them at womensaynopalin@gmail.com. Please do so and make your voice heard. The tide is beginning to turn. We need your help.

Remember when Sarah and John told us that she was qualified to handle the economy since Alaska produced 20% of all US energy? WRONG. According to experts, even under the broadest definition, Alaska contributes at best 7.5%, and under traditional definitions, they produce only 3.5%. They lie it seems about everything. Alaska is 9th in production behind states like Texas and Wyoming. This was fact checked by the Washington Post  and brought to us by Ezra Klein.

Garrison Keillor gives us his take on the remade Republican party. Just forget the past  (and our responsibilities for it) and write a “new narrative” as the people who are going to clean up the mess we made. As always, nobody says it quite like Mr. Keillor. Enjoy the ride.

More bad news for McCain. It seems his pundit buddies, Richard Cohen, and now David Brooks are jumping off the trackand saying, “gone too far there John, we’re done with ya.” His colossal dishonor in picking Palin is just a tad too much for even some of his former supporters.

Joseph Welch? Remember him? He is the guy who finally put an end to the McCarthy hearings with the well placed words, “Have you no sense of decency sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” History News Network  says this campaign of McCain’s is simply stunning in its use of lies and deception. If this works, then there facts and issues no longer matter at all, it’s just about skillful manipulation of facts to distort character. The answer, a well placed Welch remark in the debates. I hope it happens, and I’ve been predicting that Obama will push the buttons of Mr. McCain until he erupts. And that shall be that as they say. End of campaign.

If you are tired of the old rhetoric of gotcha politics, head over to Institute for America’s Future where they make a fine attempt to actually discuss the issues. There is a forum there as well. I haven’t had time to look it over very carefully but I got the tip from Hullabaloo.

Maureen Dowd  has a not to miss article this week. She slams dear Sarah for her non-thinking approach to running the world. Just platitudes and well, Sarah is sounding more and more like Dubya than Dubya did. Not a McCain clone at all, she’s a carbon copy of our dumb boy Bush himself. And we know where that got us don’t we?

I know you, like me, are always desperately happy to learn more about Troy. No not where I live, but where the whole Trojan Horse thing came about from. You know, Homer, Illiad? Ringing a bell? Sure, I knew it would. Well there are ongoing excavations going on there, and so I thought you would appreciate an update. Go to rogueclassicism  and read all about what they are learning these days.

A reader of this blog, Shannon, brought this to my attention, and I think it’s one of those things that we all should bookmark and read whenever we get depressed during this never ending election cycle. Anne Lamont offers us sage advice on how to deal with the insanity generated by the McCain campaign.

Two excellent entries from Scandalous Women today. One is a scandalous biography ofthe woman pope, Olimpia Maidalchini. No she wasn’t elected pope, but her brother was, and the word is she wielded the real power. And the second, right below, is a list of 100 of the best history blogs. So if you love history, check that out.

Lots of baking in the fall, as the kitchen is cool. You might want to try these Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies. These seem rather unusual and well, nuts and chocolate just go together. You can of course substitute white chocolate for any of your liking. I generally prefer bittersweet myself, but heck,  who are we kidding, there is no bad chocolate.

We of the liberal persuasion all know that if Barack Obama had Sarah Palin’s “qualifications” or did the things she and John do, he and his family would be vilified in ways that are too disgusting to relate.  Acts of Hope  has a fine piece that she got from Tim Wise on what it means to be White Privileged. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, stop by now and do so. It is very true. And I need to thank a number of folks like FranIAm  who have done similar whatif’s.

I’d recommend Susan Posner’s column, The Fundamentalist  this week at American Prospect.  She has a good perspective on the evangelical wacko right and how they have infiltrated and control the McCain campaign platform. They see Palin as their best hope of controlling McCain, whom they have always been suspicious of. They see her choice as their return to firm power. I suspect they are right. Let’s hope they don’t win.

Good news for gay marriage proponents. Prop 8 in California is losing steam and now trails by 17 points in the polls. I find this so wonderful and delight frankly in the fact that the wingnuttery right is gnashing their teeth over this development. They continue to tout that they are giving voice to the majority, but I submit that this isn’t the case! Bravo to Californians.

We reported yesterday that Old McCain got confused when being interviewed by a Spanish radio stationperson and didn’t apparently know who Jose Luiz  Rodriguez Zapatero was. Randy Scheunemann claims that of course that is wrong, he knew perfectly well who he was, but in his own bumbling round about way, he was just suggesting that he was going to continue the snub that Bush has started for the Spanish leader, when Zapatero withdrew his troops from Iraq. Well, okay, if you want to buy that rhetoric which is obviously silly, go ahead. So McCain is once again promising a continuation of Bush policies. That works! (So why did he say he would be happy to meet with Zapatero merely five months ago?) I just want to thank McCain now for screwing up relations with another ally. Good going there big guy. Ain’t senility a bitch?

Sorry, but the old dude is not to be believed. In trying to drum up voter support for his off shore drilling mantra, the dull one touts that oil rigs are safe and come through hurricanes just fine, and “fish love them.”No explanation for the latter remark of course, just the usual nonsense that pops into the old guy’s head. But the bit about oil rigs having no problems with hurricanes is simply absurd. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina destroyed 113 rigs off shore, and three rigs simply disappeared and their whereabouts is unknown. Untold spills were also the result. As they say, yes, and telephone wires are essential to the habitat of birds too. Caretakers, come in and clean up another one for da loony boss.

Okay, so I have to finish with AA. Today is a special, his love letter to  his wife. I know you will enjoy it, and you will recognize perhaps some things about your own spouse. Might be a good time to mention one or two. 🙂

Lil Bits of Rancor 9/05/08

Tags

abortion, astronomy, casserole, chicken, Christianity, Election 2008, John McCain, religion, Reproductive Rights, salad, Sarah Palin, science, tex-mex, Women's issues

Let’s start right off with a recipe today. A Mingling of Tastes has a lovely recipe for coleslaw, called Cabbage/Radish Slaw. It uses some jalapenos but also uses sour cream instead of mayo for the dressing. It’s definitely for a Tex-Mex meal, but I thought it was a nice change of pace. See what you think by following the link.

I think Essential Estrogen  makes an excellent point about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. According to Sarah Palin, Bristol chose to continue her pregnancy and keep her baby. John McCain has said that should this happen to his daughter, she would choose as well. Neither apparently thinks that the rest of American women should be allowed choice however, since they both are for a ban on abortion. Jon Stewart made the same point Wednesday night on his show.

I’m not talking a lot about Sarah Palin’s speech. It was effectively given, I’ll grant her that. It was long on nasty personal name calling and short on any real substance of WHAT THEY WILL DO, (other than shake up Washington, which is hard to see happening because even if they win, they will surely face a strongly Democratically controlled Congress). Worse yet, much of any substance was actually not true, such as her claim that she squashed the “bridge to nowhere.” Just more of the Rovian big lie approach. Ezra Klein  has a reasoned critique of the speech and you can read it here.

A list of FactCheck.org  corrections:

• An ad running in Iowa and no doubt other places, suggests that Democrats are to blame for the deficit and that Obama and Democrats will bring painful new taxes to the middle class. This is just a patternof McCain’s in distorting Obama’s tax plan. Of course Obama’s plan doesn’t increase taxes for the middle class, but significantly reduces them.  FactCheck calls McCain for engaging in a pattern of deceit. Obama’s claim that his program would cut taxes for 95% of American families is essentially true according to the non-partisan economic experts FactCheck used. Comparing the two plans, Obama’s average person would gain almost $800 more than McCain’s in tax savings.
• In regards Iran, McCain isolated statements of Obama’s and then twisted them to mean something quite different than they clearly meant in context. McCain claims that Obama called Iran a tiny  country of no real significance or importance. Of course the context was that the usage was in relation to Russia. Obama was making the claim that the Soviet Union posed a more significant threat to American interests in the past. He said in other speeches that Iran was the most significant threat posed to Israel and the region.

A post at In These Times explores the distortions of the McCain/Palin campaign from last night’s speakers. They report that the AP, so disillusioned by the distortions of the speakers against Obama/Biden, that they determined to fact check them all. See the results. Unfortunately ITT does not cite their source article at the AP, but you get the flavor of it at least.

If you are looking for something amusing in all this, slip over the Inside-Out the Beltway for his humorous take on the McCain campaign and “The Amazing Smoke Machine.” You won’t be sorry, and you will laugh. It is so very McCain. It’s “more coal, I can still see real issues,” and more. Don’t miss it.

For those who are worrying about how well Sarah Palin came off Wednesday night. Two things. I read reports of two focus groups, one in Detroit of Independents, the other composed of Hillary supporters. None were the least impressed with Ms. Palin on the issues or on her fitness to be VEEP. They agreed she gave a fine speech, she was articulate. Second comes a piece from the NYTimes Opinionator, collecting the journalists opinions from around the country, and folks, it ain’t good for the most part. Read the comments though, there are quite telling I think.

A fascinating discussion over at On Faith from the Washington Post. Is it hypocritical that we are considering a woman for a high post in government when we keep them from serving in the higher posts in some of our churches? You can bet that the discussion is quite animated on this one. Read all the panelists and then join in the conversation.

I confess I did not watch McCain last night. I saw snippets of course this morning and mostly he was the same old “my friends” kinda sad little old man, much like a cartoon character who talked like he had a cold. Worse at one point he was in front of a green screen that was part of an expansive lawn leading up to a mansion. Not the kind of picture the McCainites should have been promoting, but we hear that his campaign is in some disarray these days. There is a good report of Journalist reaction at Political Animal today. Also read some of the comments which are also grand. Another analysis can be found here. And American Prospect  also weighs in.

Seems our new plaything Sarah Palin has her own Jeremiah Wright in her closet. The real vetting is just getting started and it seems her pastor in the great city of Wasilla has had some pretty nasty things to say about Democrats and their likelihood of attaining heaven. Pastor Kalnins is another of those feisty firebrands who speaks his mind. Sarah, dear lady that she is, spent most of her life in that church, having been baptized at age 12. But another fun item for the bloggers to spew about no doubt.

It’s nice to know that McCain’s campaign caretakers now admit the obvious. This campaign to them is “not about the issues”but about the character of the candidates. They are of course setting out to prove but again that we somehow have to give this thing to Johnny S. because he deserves it and that this is the proper pay off for his POW status. We heard about it interminably again last night. I never fail to be amazed at how stupid they really are. Of course the American people are only concerned with personality, that is why Johnny didn’t bother mentioning any specific programs or proposals he shall work for. Uh huh, riggghhht. THEY DON’T HAVE ANY is more like it. Read a good article at the Salon.

As you can see, this rock tells the tail. There is now a serious question as to the sun’s involvement in the formation of our solar system. You can see that right? If you are among the minuscule number of people who can’t see this obvious factoid, then I urge you to run by Science Daily  and learn this incredibly important piece of information. How can a person be grounded on his planet when he doesn’t fully understand how it came to be I tell ya?

Simply Recipes always has great recipes. This one is perfect to go with the coleslaw featured up top. It’s Chicken Enchiladas Verdes. I need to get some tomatillos and make this soon. It sounds utterly scrumptious to me.

Over at Telling Secrets, we get one of the best lines in answer to Palin’s “He was just a community organizer.” It seems a dear commenter in Michigan, said this:. “Ms. Palin needs to remember that Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor.” Yep, I think that says it quite nicely don’t you?

Another article by American Prospect  is a must read. Given McCain’s usual gaffes on the campaign trail, and his sometimes grandiose claims about what he will do as President, some wonder who is running the show? Is McCain actually in charge, or is he the figurehead run by his handlers? Some of those handlers are, well, beholden to other interests you see, being paid by them???? so we have a right to know. This article is very scary, and I urge a read.

From time to time I come across something that you have to read. It is unpleasant, it is guilt inducing, but it is real. Real enough to reach out and touch. Some need no reminding, they speak this every day, calling us all to account and to remember. Others, like myself, manage to forget about this more than I would like to admit. Read it, send it to those you love, those whom you respect, those whom you have a bond with. Then send it to everyone else too. Let no one forget. JUST FREAKING READ THIS PLEASE!!!!

Okay, that is it for the week. Hope you find a link or two of interest. 🙂

Lil Bits of Rancor or Not 7/17

Tags

Anglicans, astronomy, Congress, Election 2008, FCC, gay rights, Health care, herb, History, HIV/AIDS, Iraq, Jesus, maps, Mars, McCain, Media, Republicans, spices, tex-mex, War, Women's issues

McBu$h loves the press, especially his cadre that rides the MacBus. But only to a point it seems. The new McShame plane has a couch and captains chairs reserved for “special journalists”the good guys who have to earn a seat by saying good things about the Mav. Yep, let’s hear it for Democracy McBlech style.

The entire purpose of the surge in Iraq was not to develop a strategy to win the war–that is impossible by most rational accounts. It was to reduce violence to a degree that would allow time to work out a means of withdrawl in a way that allowed the Iraqis some reasonable opportunity to take over. That is what neither Bush nor McBush seem to get. John Bruhns has a fine explanation at the Huffington Post.

Lest we forget, a lot of folks are excited these days. They are astronomers and they are having a ball with all the new photos of Mars. If you would like to take a look at some, then link here. Exciting stuff!

If you think that the mainstream media sucks as I do, then trot over to this site and sign the petition to inform congress how you feel about consolidation of media outlets by large conglomerates. In the past, citizenry have had an impact so it’s worth the time to sign on.

Secret Recipe Blog has a nice recipe for Copycat Lawry’s Taco seasoning. The packets are expensive, and you usually don’t need all of it. Most of this stuff you have on hand, and so make up a batch, and put in a saved used spice jar and you have it ready when needed to spice up that Tex-Mex meal.

When you try to talk out of both sides of your mouth, it almost always fails. McCain again can’t remember what he said 2 months ago, 2 years ago, or yesterday for that matter. His interviews are starting to be fun, as his staffers have to clean up after him, explaining his inexplicable remarks. Today it’s gays and adoption, yesterday it was insurance coverage and viagra. Read it and giggle.

Another wingnut of late, Senator Elizabeth Dole, has the chutzpah to try to rename a HIV/AIDS bill after deceased Jesse Helms. Does this strike anyone as insane? The man palpably hated AIDS patients and had NO sympathy for their disease. Ms. Dole seems to be partaking of the same senility water than Mr. McCain imbibes regularly.

The Church of England has voted to ordain women bishops. Women of History has a in depth look at the vote and the debate. Women have already of course been ordained as bishop in the American Church, the Episcopal and also in Australia. The ultra right wing of the Catholic church is of course sick, since they were hoping for a reunion of the two churches. They of course are rabidly against women priests.

World History Blog has a great little link to a site that specializes in maps, both domestic and international. Apparently you can put in modern day addresses and even trace land ownership back through several layers. There are more than 200,000 maps to access so it looks like it might be a fun and educational place to stop by.

Angry African on the Loose has a pretty interesting and thought provoking essay entitled “Who would Jesus vote for?”It’s worth your time. Rearranging one’s priorities is always worth time. Take five minutes and think. It’s as Martha says, a good thing. Keeps that Alzheimer’s at bay too.