Today's debate over the DREAM act is confusing and many-faceted. The main idea that I get from proponents of the bill is that, if we're empathetic to those who were brought here through no efforts of their own, i.e., by their parents who would be considered illegal immigrants, then we should give them permanent citizen status. The debate rages on and I'm sure that nothing I say here will change that, but when I look at the changing picture of America, I question why anyone would actually think that we, as a nation, really are that empathetic. I look around and see mean-spirited America in just about every aspect of our present-day society. To think that America is some feel-good, help-those-in-need country is absurd.
There may have been a time when this notion carried weight, but that time is only a hazy memory that began fading some 40 years ago. So when a politically driven effort bases it's rationale on our 'caring' history, they shouldn't assume that America is still worthy of that distinction.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Daydreaming
I can picture myself in a grass skirt, doing the Hula at a Luau
Yeah, I’m looking real good in my coconut brassiere, doing the Hula at a Luau
My big brother, Fred, has lived on the North Shore of Oahu since the early ‘90s…about as long as I’ve lived here in Nashville, Tennessee. And although our visits are few, we do phone each other from time to time. And our chats cover lots of ground. We always catch up on family news. But, most of all he likes to regale me with the incredible details of his Life in Paradise, and I’m usually all too eager to listen...usually.
He called me up one winter holiday season, and bragged about how he shoved a fake Christmas tree into the sand beside his towel on Waikiki Beach and celebrated in his jams with a six-pack and a Santa hat on his head. On my end of the line, I and all of Nashville were suffering through an unprecedented ice storm.
He wonders why anyone would want to live anywhere but our fiftieth state and pokes fun at us ‘mainlanders’.
I must say that Hawaii has always intrigued me whenever I daydream about relocating.
But that’s about all it is…daydreaming. For some reason I’m still here in Nashville after 18 years! That’s longer than I’ve lived in any one place.
Fred has an organic farm called Poamoho…a truly respectable endeavor…but I get jealous hearing about the lichees, kiwis, bananas, avocados, papayas and mangos that alternately come in like ‘gangbusters’, as he likes to say. I can picture myself living there, waking up in the morning and wandering out to the garden in search of a perfectly ripe mango to peel and eat immediately after detaching it from it’s stem…the juice dribbling down my chin.
I could just do it. Pick up and move, that is. Of course it would be complex since, now, I have a family, unlike the old days. And I suppose that my wife and son could prove to be deal-breakers.
My wife may not want to live where the sea breeze would caress her body 365 days a year…Ehh!(Buzzer) My son may not like the idea of never having to wear shoes again…Ehh!
Running out of possible deal-breakers, I finally remember the ideal breaker of this particular deal.
I interrupt Fred just as his list of luscious tropical delicacies is reaching mythical proportions and I ask him if it’s still true.
He pauses…distracted, and mutters, ”Is what still true?”
Then he remembers, too. What he told me a long time ago…that no matter what you do…no matter what you spray or what you amend the soil with, you CANNOT grow a decent tomato in all of Hawaii! CANNOT do it!
This hits him where it really hurts. This man who, growing up, sat across the dining room table from me in our Italian-American home where the fresh tomato was king! Tomato salads, BLTs, and the quintessential summer marinara made from mounds and mounds of delicious red globes grown out back.
“Yeah,” he says, “it’s still true.”
I can picture myself in a grass skirt, doing the Hula at a Luau
Yeah, I’m looking real good in my coconut brassiere, doing the Hula at a Luau
Yeah, I’m looking real good in my coconut brassiere, doing the Hula at a Luau
My big brother, Fred, has lived on the North Shore of Oahu since the early ‘90s…about as long as I’ve lived here in Nashville, Tennessee. And although our visits are few, we do phone each other from time to time. And our chats cover lots of ground. We always catch up on family news. But, most of all he likes to regale me with the incredible details of his Life in Paradise, and I’m usually all too eager to listen...usually.
He called me up one winter holiday season, and bragged about how he shoved a fake Christmas tree into the sand beside his towel on Waikiki Beach and celebrated in his jams with a six-pack and a Santa hat on his head. On my end of the line, I and all of Nashville were suffering through an unprecedented ice storm.
He wonders why anyone would want to live anywhere but our fiftieth state and pokes fun at us ‘mainlanders’.
I must say that Hawaii has always intrigued me whenever I daydream about relocating.
But that’s about all it is…daydreaming. For some reason I’m still here in Nashville after 18 years! That’s longer than I’ve lived in any one place.
Fred has an organic farm called Poamoho…a truly respectable endeavor…but I get jealous hearing about the lichees, kiwis, bananas, avocados, papayas and mangos that alternately come in like ‘gangbusters’, as he likes to say. I can picture myself living there, waking up in the morning and wandering out to the garden in search of a perfectly ripe mango to peel and eat immediately after detaching it from it’s stem…the juice dribbling down my chin.
I could just do it. Pick up and move, that is. Of course it would be complex since, now, I have a family, unlike the old days. And I suppose that my wife and son could prove to be deal-breakers.
My wife may not want to live where the sea breeze would caress her body 365 days a year…Ehh!(Buzzer) My son may not like the idea of never having to wear shoes again…Ehh!
Running out of possible deal-breakers, I finally remember the ideal breaker of this particular deal.
I interrupt Fred just as his list of luscious tropical delicacies is reaching mythical proportions and I ask him if it’s still true.
He pauses…distracted, and mutters, ”Is what still true?”
Then he remembers, too. What he told me a long time ago…that no matter what you do…no matter what you spray or what you amend the soil with, you CANNOT grow a decent tomato in all of Hawaii! CANNOT do it!
This hits him where it really hurts. This man who, growing up, sat across the dining room table from me in our Italian-American home where the fresh tomato was king! Tomato salads, BLTs, and the quintessential summer marinara made from mounds and mounds of delicious red globes grown out back.
“Yeah,” he says, “it’s still true.”
I can picture myself in a grass skirt, doing the Hula at a Luau
Yeah, I’m looking real good in my coconut brassiere, doing the Hula at a Luau
Ultra-Liberal
They have finally unearthed indisputable proof, after nearly 2000 years of hearsay, folklore and undocumented innuendo, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was, in fact, a registered Democrat. This should come as no surprise, since His father, Joseph, belonged to the AFW Local #167 Woodworkers’ Union of Greater Galilee... a member in good standing…except for a few lapses in timely dues payment…plus resulting late fees.
This blockbuster news is backed by anthropologists’ claims that Jesus was the sole author of a popular left-leaning blog that went by the name, “So, Crucify Me”.
Further investigation uncovered postings in which Jesus ranted about redlining in poor communities, out and out fraud during the 01 Census in Bethlehem. And how Pontius Pilate could now dictate with impunity due to years and years of gerrymandering by the Galilee GOP.
Jesus used the blog to announce upcoming rallies and protests, so loyal Democrats could follow His teaching, though the turnout He’d hoped for at the money-changer rally was embarrassingly light. As He arrived to find Himself the only lefty in the place, He texted His manager, who advised Him to make a ruckus, overturn some tables and hope the authorities show, with the press in tow. Jesus’ thumbs were flying now…He didn’t want to look like some extremist nut…just wanted to make His point about free markets, corporate loopholes and the vanishing middle class. His manager’s reply literally leapt off the screen of Christ’s Blackberry, short and sweet…”Any pub is good pub!” So Jesus made sure to get a UPI guy by His side just as the cuffs were being slapped on...click...click...
That’s one savvy savior...that's one hip holyman!
The thread of historical entries slowed to a trickle and then disappeared completely as researchers conclude that Jesus, at this time, was on the move. Several reports by those who had contact gave the impression that Jesus, even though ultra-liberal, always worked miracles in a fair and balanced way. Lazarus, who had been dead, but was clearly living when interviewed, said, "Jesus brought me back to life, even though the He knew that I'd always voted as an Independent!”
That's one savvy savior...that's one hip holyman!
This blockbuster news is backed by anthropologists’ claims that Jesus was the sole author of a popular left-leaning blog that went by the name, “So, Crucify Me”.
Further investigation uncovered postings in which Jesus ranted about redlining in poor communities, out and out fraud during the 01 Census in Bethlehem. And how Pontius Pilate could now dictate with impunity due to years and years of gerrymandering by the Galilee GOP.
Jesus used the blog to announce upcoming rallies and protests, so loyal Democrats could follow His teaching, though the turnout He’d hoped for at the money-changer rally was embarrassingly light. As He arrived to find Himself the only lefty in the place, He texted His manager, who advised Him to make a ruckus, overturn some tables and hope the authorities show, with the press in tow. Jesus’ thumbs were flying now…He didn’t want to look like some extremist nut…just wanted to make His point about free markets, corporate loopholes and the vanishing middle class. His manager’s reply literally leapt off the screen of Christ’s Blackberry, short and sweet…”Any pub is good pub!” So Jesus made sure to get a UPI guy by His side just as the cuffs were being slapped on...click...click...
That’s one savvy savior...that's one hip holyman!
The thread of historical entries slowed to a trickle and then disappeared completely as researchers conclude that Jesus, at this time, was on the move. Several reports by those who had contact gave the impression that Jesus, even though ultra-liberal, always worked miracles in a fair and balanced way. Lazarus, who had been dead, but was clearly living when interviewed, said, "Jesus brought me back to life, even though the He knew that I'd always voted as an Independent!”
That's one savvy savior...that's one hip holyman!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Hope against Hope
As the bill to extend the totally irresponsible Bush tax cuts heads to the Congress for approval, the Democratic base is suicidal. Yes, Obama has caved in the name of compromise to those whom he thinks will then 'owe him one'. Now that's a laugh! Those whom he thinks will 'owe him one' won't be done until the nation is bankrupt and can't afford to fund the programs they abhor.
But there is hope. Would I be audacious to think that in Congress there are actually Republicans who believe their own words? The words about the deficit. It is possible that some conservatives are really concerned about it instead of just using that stance to stifle the president's efforts. And these few may see that extending these cuts for wage earners above the $250K threshold is frittering away money that we could put towards bringing down the deficit. How many of these hypothetical congressmen or women would it take to derail this farce? I don't know, but something tells me that after what we've been through, saner minds surely exist...even in Republican seats.
But there is hope. Would I be audacious to think that in Congress there are actually Republicans who believe their own words? The words about the deficit. It is possible that some conservatives are really concerned about it instead of just using that stance to stifle the president's efforts. And these few may see that extending these cuts for wage earners above the $250K threshold is frittering away money that we could put towards bringing down the deficit. How many of these hypothetical congressmen or women would it take to derail this farce? I don't know, but something tells me that after what we've been through, saner minds surely exist...even in Republican seats.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Take One for the Team
I always like to tell myself that making a mistake is human...unless I keep making the same one over and over again. This sounds like advice to give a teenager, or someone new at a particular endeavor. But it holds true especially in politics. Presently , there are, in general terms, two paths we can choose to pull the nation out of it's economic doldrums. We can invest in ourselves, or we can embrace austerity measures. I don't claim to know all the cost/benefit effects from either approach, although it's evident that the pickle we're in is much worse considering the unemployment situation.
But one thing that seems so clear is how our major political parties do not change their stripes even in the worst of times.
Republicans scream about cutting spending (on Democratic programs, of course) which is no surprise. The head-scratcher is that they then expect no one to notice their clamoring to extend the totally irresponsible Bush tax cuts which are due to expire this year.
No sane person can argue that these cuts helped our economy (other than the upper 2% of our country's ultra-rich). Isn't 'trickle-down' sort of laughable by now? No...it isn't laughable...it's not funny at all. It's sad because this lie actually helped put us in the horrific bind we're in today. The right wing of our political spectrum is doing all it can to sabotage any effort to reach solvency. Very short-sighted indeed, since after the pendulum swings and they regain power, what does anyone think they will do? Fix things? If one can drink in the real danger we are facing economically, it becomes evident that tax benefits, if any, shouldn't widen the class gap. Now is the time for the wealthy to take one for the team. I don't know what an ultra-rich person spends their money on, but these Bush cuts were a badly-timed abberation, not an entitlement in perpetuity. They're not reality based...they are fantasy land.
To 'trickle-downers' I say, 'Get Real'!
But one thing that seems so clear is how our major political parties do not change their stripes even in the worst of times.
Republicans scream about cutting spending (on Democratic programs, of course) which is no surprise. The head-scratcher is that they then expect no one to notice their clamoring to extend the totally irresponsible Bush tax cuts which are due to expire this year.
No sane person can argue that these cuts helped our economy (other than the upper 2% of our country's ultra-rich). Isn't 'trickle-down' sort of laughable by now? No...it isn't laughable...it's not funny at all. It's sad because this lie actually helped put us in the horrific bind we're in today. The right wing of our political spectrum is doing all it can to sabotage any effort to reach solvency. Very short-sighted indeed, since after the pendulum swings and they regain power, what does anyone think they will do? Fix things? If one can drink in the real danger we are facing economically, it becomes evident that tax benefits, if any, shouldn't widen the class gap. Now is the time for the wealthy to take one for the team. I don't know what an ultra-rich person spends their money on, but these Bush cuts were a badly-timed abberation, not an entitlement in perpetuity. They're not reality based...they are fantasy land.
To 'trickle-downers' I say, 'Get Real'!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Canned Not-Goods
I love to cook my family's traditional recipes using the same ingredients and brands my parents and their parents used. Doing this gives me a warm feeling...comfort that I can depend on the outcome of my process.
After using a certain brand of tomato paste all my life (I won't mention names but it's initials are Hunts), I opened a can about a year ago to find that, unlike a paste at all, it's contents poured out of the can. It was slushy...more like puree. I didn't know what to do with the stuff...it didn't act like the paste I'd grown up with. Yes, a can of tomato paste can have a character or even...some might say...a personality!
I became outraged over the fact that a product such as this staple of my kitchen could become 'undependable'. So, I contacted the company.
They responded by sending me an email saying they were sorry I'd had a bad experience (which was nice) but then they offered me a year's supply of that very same stuff that I was complaining about! I was so stunned at the offer and how it failed to even confront the basis of my complaint that I froze, thanking them and giving them my address. It happened so fast, I guess. But now, I've got a pantry full of mushy paste and am finding that even the competition's paste, whenever I've tried other brands hoping it isn't an industry-wide epidemic, fairly oozes out of it's can, too!
Have other cooks experienced this or am I getting to that age where small, seemingly inconsequential events push me over the edge? Is it an inconsequential event? Conspiracy maybe?
Sure, it's just tomato paste...but don't cataclysmic uprisings like world wars have to begin somewhere? WMD...Gulf of Tonkin...all made up...not even true! Whereas I have a pantry full of evidence.
I could be led to believe that the mystery of diluted paste could spark unrest in the least likely places. Like my kitchen.
After using a certain brand of tomato paste all my life (I won't mention names but it's initials are Hunts), I opened a can about a year ago to find that, unlike a paste at all, it's contents poured out of the can. It was slushy...more like puree. I didn't know what to do with the stuff...it didn't act like the paste I'd grown up with. Yes, a can of tomato paste can have a character or even...some might say...a personality!
I became outraged over the fact that a product such as this staple of my kitchen could become 'undependable'. So, I contacted the company.
They responded by sending me an email saying they were sorry I'd had a bad experience (which was nice) but then they offered me a year's supply of that very same stuff that I was complaining about! I was so stunned at the offer and how it failed to even confront the basis of my complaint that I froze, thanking them and giving them my address. It happened so fast, I guess. But now, I've got a pantry full of mushy paste and am finding that even the competition's paste, whenever I've tried other brands hoping it isn't an industry-wide epidemic, fairly oozes out of it's can, too!
Have other cooks experienced this or am I getting to that age where small, seemingly inconsequential events push me over the edge? Is it an inconsequential event? Conspiracy maybe?
Sure, it's just tomato paste...but don't cataclysmic uprisings like world wars have to begin somewhere? WMD...Gulf of Tonkin...all made up...not even true! Whereas I have a pantry full of evidence.
I could be led to believe that the mystery of diluted paste could spark unrest in the least likely places. Like my kitchen.
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