Auditions in Shepherdstown, WV…

…for

The Hunting of the Snark.

FULL CIRCLE THEATER COMPANY

113 S. Princess St.
Shepherdstown, WV

December 1, 2, 16 & 17 at 7:00 PM and Saturday Dec. 12 at 1:00 PM
Or by Appointment.

Director: Bill Tchakirides

Music Director: Ruth Raubertas

SINGING PARTS
5 Male
3 Female
All Vocal Ranges Needed!

Please bring recorded accompaniment for audition pieces…

Remember, we’d like to hear how you sing!
We’re looking for a wide variety of physical types.

If you are interested, sheet music samples are available from the score with connected MIDI sound files which we can e-mail to you as audition material. If you request these, let us know what vocal range you sing in (Baritone, Bass, Alto, Soprano…) Contact btchakir@mac.com or call 301-467-9607.

Open Thread – Your Comments Today, 11/30/2009

It’s the last day of the month, the first day of the Major Senate Debate on Health Care, the Day Before Obama Announces Troop Increase in Afghanistan,and a day when there is a forthcoming Federal announcement to save mortgages for struggling homeowners.

If you have something to say, then place a comment now. I’ll be reviewing them to keep off pure advertising and will gey yhem up right away.

- Bill

The Senate Gets Going on Health Care Bill Tomorrow…

…but its going to be tight. This click from Talking Points Memo is a good start on summing up the problems and potentials… it’s worth going to TPM and reading the whole thing:

clipped from www.talkingpointsmemo.com Leading Democrats on Sunday said they expect Congress to pass a major healthcare reform backed by President Barack Obama, but supporters may have to accept legislation that falls short on some issues. “We want to cover the uninsured, yes, but we don’t want to do it in a way that’s going to drive up the costs for folks who currently have it,” said Senator Evan Bayh, one of a number of centrist Democrats whose support will be crucial to pass the overhaul in the face of solid Republican opposition. In an interview with “Fox News Sunday,” Bayh said he would push to make sure the legislation is cost effective but acknowledged that not every senator will get what he wants. “I don’t think we can afford to do nothing with costs going up 10, 15 percent a year,” Bayh said. The stakes are high for Obama. But some liberals, including independent Senator Bernie Sanders, insist the bill include a public plan, arguing that it would help contain insurance costs.

Why didn’t Obama consider Diplomacy in Afghanistan?

This Tuesday Obama is supposed to announce his decision on troops and Afghanistan (the last guess I heard was 30,000 as opposed to the 40,000 the General asked for) and we will once again see our middle-east  battle commitment increase.

But is there a reason why the President didn’t turn the problem over to the State Department for a negotiated solution? Sherwood Ross in OpEdNews writes an extended article on why diplomacy wasn’t even considered. here’s a clip:

Afghanistan is valued today for the oil and gas pipelines the U.S. wants built there, no matter what other reasons Obama gives.

“In the late 1990s,” writes Washington reporter Bill Blum in his “Anti-Empire Report,” “the American oil company, Unocal, met with Taliban officials in Texas to discuss the pipelines” Unocal’s talks with the Taliban, conducted with the full knowledge of the Clinton administration”continued as late as 2000 or 2001.” Adds Paul Craig Roberts writing in the December Rock Creek Free Press of Washington, D.C., the U.S./U.K. military aggression in Afghanistan “had to do with the natural gas deposits in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.” Roberts explains:

“The Americans wanted a pipeline that bypassed Russia and Iran and went through Afghanistan. To insure this, an invasion was necessary. The idiot American public could be told that the invasion was necessary because of 9/11 and to save them from ‘terrorism,’ and the utter fools would believe the lie.” The war, Roberts continued, is to guard the pipeline route. “It’s about money, it’s about energy, it’s not about democracy.”

So, if this is indeed WHY we are there, how long can it last?

In January, a Defense Department report stated “building a fully competent and independent Afghan government will be a lengthy process that will last, at a minimum, decades,” The Nation magazine’s Jonathan Schell reports (Nov. 30). So far from defeating the Taliban are Allied forces that US military contractors “are forced to pay suspected insurgents to protect American supply routes,” Aram Roston writes in the same issue. “It is an accepted fact of the military logistics operation in Afghanistan that the US government funds the very forces American troops are fighting.” In fact, an American executive there told Roston, “The Army is basically paying the Taliban not to shoot at them. It is Department of Defense money.”

It is Corporate concern which controls the decision making here…xnd, of course, we travel farther into deficit spending by pouring money into Afghanistan (and Iraq, which we are NOT remotely out of, yet.)

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has stated that it costs about a million dollars per year for each deployed US soldier, beyond the expense of training and maintaining a security force. You can do the math: there are 180,000 troops in Afghanistan and Iraq right now… add another 30,000 and we are spending $210,000,000,000.00 per year (that’s just on those troops active in the mid-east… we are also paying for the pentagon, all our worldwide bases, all the equipment we use worldwide, health recovery by the veteran’s Administration for soldiers who come back wounded… not to mention the costs for those who come back dead.) The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost 768.8 billion dollars so far and by the end of this fiscal year, the price tag will approach one trillion dollars.

It’s not even a number that most people can even conceive of!

Ross goes on to say that…

“…in all the recent debate in Washington, who has heard a word of concern for the impact of escalation on the suffering civilian populations of Afghanistan and Pakistan?

“ ‘Our military demands ever more troops,’ Veterans Speaker Alliance’s founder Paul Cox said at an Oakland, Calif., rally, last week with Barbara Lee, the only member of Congress to vote against the initial Afghan aggression. ‘Meanwhile, our economy is in the toilet, health care costs are out of control, and we can’t afford to educate our children. But somehow, there’s always money for war.’ Rep. Lee called for putting ‘this stage of American history—a stage characterized by open-ended war—to a close.’ “

Barbara Lee, Dennis Kucinich, Bernie Sanders and a few others represent a very tiny segment of The Congress, both Representatives and Senators, who would push to get us out of the middle east as warriors.

Unless America rises up to support such a massive withdrawal, this will never even be a remote possibility. Ongoing warfare is our Heritage and our Curse.

MIT Analyst says Obama is Right… Health Plan Will Save Americans Money…

…so you can listen to Mitch MConnell, whose budgetary background is suspect at best, or you can listen to an expert.

Here is a clip from the article at Politico:

clipped from www.politico.com A new analysis by a leading MIT economist provides new ammunition for Democrats as the Senate begins formally debating the historic health-reform bill being pushed by President Barack Obama. The report concludes that under the Senate’s health-reform bill, Americans buying individual coverage will pay less than they do for today’s typical individual market coverage, and would be protected from high out-of-pocket costs. The new document arms Democrats with a response to the contention of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that the bill would mean “higher premiums, higher taxes, and massive cuts to Medicare.” The “microsimulation” analysis is by Jonathan Gruber, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Treasury Department official under President Bill Clinton. Gruber used data from the Congressional Budget Office. Gruber concludes that people purchasing individual insurance would save an annual $200 (singles) to $500 (families) in 2009 dollars.

Full Circle in rehearsal for HOLMES and WATSON

… which opens on December 11th (of course, with yours truly up in the light booth, for those of you who go to the theatre to see light cues executed well).

I was sitting outside of the Lost Dog Coffeehouse on German Street in Shepherdstown today, this being the first of two “Christmas Sale” weekends in our town, when the entire cast (2) of Holmes and Watson came by promoting the show. So I took their picture:

(Joe Jurand and Justin Dunleavy as Holmes and Watson.)

You can get information on the show at Full Circle’s web site HERE.

Cartoon(s) of the Week – Thanksgiving and Politics

Couldn’t make up my mind on these… so I’ll let you do it.

Tom Toles in the Washington Post:

So we know what THEY give thanks for…

- and -

Mike Luckovich in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Naaah.. those Republicans aren’t going to pass ANYTHING!

- and -

David Horsey in the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

…and this is where we leave American Capitalism…

Lamp or Bikini?

If you have nothing better to do on a Holiday weekend, you travel the web for fun… on the way this turned up at Cracked.com

So what do you think?

Since I have an IKEA lamp that looks just like this, I picked “Lamp” and, of course, I was wrong.

So take a look at the bottom of this page and you’ll see the source.
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SURPRISE! How rarely we turn things upside down to find the true answer.

Black Friday

Today is Black Friday.

It has only been in the last couple of years that stores gave actually referred to “Black Friday” in their post-Thanksgiving-sale ads… There was a time that they didn’t really want you to know that it was the point on the fiscal calendar when they went into the Black…or started to earn a profit, as opposed to being in the Red, or losing money. Once upon a time the retailers did not want you to know how tenuous their existence was… it would be more like begging than selling.

This year’s Black Friday is supposed to have an increased number of shoppers from last year, but it is not likely that they will actually make an increase in sales… and it is possible that they won’t go into the Black today, but may continue to be in the Red right through the year’s end.

Speaking for myself, unemployed and very low on funds, this is not a shopping Black Friday for me. I believe that there are a vast number of folks like me as well… folks who are thinking of MAKING holiday gifts for Friends and family, or buying less expensive and more practical things… grocery store coupons, perhaps… for giftgiving. I won’t be helping retailers get into the Black this year… not because I don’t want to, but because I can’t afford to.

I have been watching the commercials on TV pushing the Black Friday Specials from store to store. There is a sense of desperation here, hiding under an advertising agency mask of granting special favors to beloved customers (something which happens rarely in economically profitable years) from a powerful friend who just knows you need a new blender or washing machine. I feel for them… I really do.

But today, Black Friday, I’ll be staying home.

Why can’t Democrats Get A Backbone?

Clips from an article on OpEdNews.com by Bob Burnett.The whole article is worth your time… and I think the crippling effect of the 60 vote rule has to be overcome or we will never get the reforms we need.

clipped from www.opednews.com Healthcare reform was one of the major issues discussed during the 2008 Democratic primaries and the presidential contest. In February,President Obamaappeared before Congress and provided his outline for reform. Nonetheless progress has been painfully slow; the House just passed a bill and the Senate has just begun to debate the issue. There are two problems with the pace on Capitol Hill. There’s a domino affect; slowing down healthcare reform curtails other critical legislation like the Clean Energy Jobs and American Protection Act. And it makes Democrats appear to be a pack of wusses. Even though they control Congress, Democrats whine it’s not possible to rapidly move healthcare reform – or any significant legislation – because of monolithic Republican opposition and arcane Senate rules. Democrats have to find a backbone, change Senate Rule 22, reinstate majority rule, and quicken the pace of legislative accomplishment.

(Unbelieveable!) Quote of the Day

“We should call it what it is. We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term. I hope they’re not looking at this politically. I do think that we owe it to the American people to call it what it is.”

-Former Bush Press Secretary Dana Perino commenting to Sean Hannity in discussing the Massacre at Fort Hood.

It is not certain what planet Ms. Perino was living on when 9/11 occurred.

President Obama’s Holiday Proclamation

What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. This day’s roots are intertwined with those of our Nation, and its history traces the American narrative.

Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed “by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,” and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured Nation in the midst of civil war. We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our Nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.

As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our Nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country’s men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 2009, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past year; to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own; and to share our bounty with others.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

Barack Obama

Statement from Physicians for a National health Program (PNHP)

If you watched C-Span yesterday you may have seen the Press Conference on Single Payers (I saw it when it was rerun in the middle of the night.) The statement by Dr. Margaret Flowers was a good summary of their intent and certainly makes some points that need to be examined as we throw away any real Health Care reform:

Statement By Dr. Margaret Flowers From the Press Conference on Single Payer Today

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Margaret Flowers:

Good Morning! I am Dr. Margaret Flowers. I am a pediatrician and the Congressional Fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program. I also serve on the steering committee of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care and on the board of Healthcare-Now, a national single payer grassroots organization…

Members of Physicians for a National Health Program (known as PNHP) educate and advocate for a single payer national health system, also known as Medicare for All. PNHP performs ground breaking research on the health crisis and the need for fundamental reform and contributes scholarly articles to peer-reviewed medical journals. PNHP takes pride in providing information that can inform legislators and the public about the reasons why Medicare for All is the optimal solution to provide necessary medical treatment to everyone in a way that controls health care costs. PNHP does not take a position on how congress members should vote on the legislation that is currently proceeding through congress. We do provide information to members about whether the legislation is likely to be effective and how it compares to a national single payer health system.
We share the growing sense of desperation among patients and providers across the nation, desperation which has been heightened by the economic crisis. Like you, we are hungry for change. We believe that we should act based on the evidence of what types of health reform have been most effective in the United States. Review of the current health insurance reform legislation reveals that it resembles health reforms that have recently been tried and have failed at the state level.

It is for the reasons listed below that we ask our legislators to start from scratch in order to create health reform that addresses the fundamental problems with health care in this nation and creates a health system that is of similar quality to those in the top industrialized nations.

1. During the time that it will take for the health insurance legislation to begin (2013 in the House version and 2014 in the Senate version), tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Americans will die.

2. Once the insurance reform takes effect, people will still be left without health insurance. Whether it is the 17 million left out of the House version or the 24 million left out of the Senate version, we find this unacceptable. We know that the actual number of uninsured people is likely to be higher than these estimates and we know that people without insurance have a 40% higher risk of death than those who have insurance.

3. Medical bankruptcies will continue to occur as families will face out-of-pocket costs on covered services of up to $10,000 in addition to the cost of premiums and the cost of uncovered services. The average medical debt that causes insured families to become bankrupt is $18,000.
4. People who are uninsured will suffer the further indignity of being forced to pay a fine which may be as high as 2.5% of their income (House version).

5. The number of people who are underinsured will increase with this legislation. People will be required to purchase health insurance or face a penalty. There is no guarantee that premiums will be affordable even for those who qualify for federal subsidies. Health insurers have already predicted that the cost of premiums will rise because they are being required to stop the practices of excluding pre-existing conditions and rescissions. The public insurance is estimated to be more expensive than private insurance plans. A similar reform in Massachusetts has resulted in a rise of patients who forego needed care because they cannot afford the co-pays and deductibles once they have paid for their premiums.

6. People will continue to be consigned to only receiving the quality of care that they can afford. Instead of a standardized benefit plan that covers all necessary care, people will have to choose from a tiered set of plans. The least expensive plans will cover only 60% of necessary care and patients will be required to pay the balance.

7. The legislation will not control health care costs and will in fact increase the waste in health care spending. The regulation of insurance companies, which has failed to date and is predicted to fail again by industry whistleblowers, will be expensive to enforce. And the “exchanges” will have to be created from scratch. The exchange will add another level of bureaucracy which in Massachusetts has added a 4% charge to each insurance premium. Unfortunately, this legislation does nothing to reclaim the hundreds of billions of dollars that are currently wasted on administration, paperwork and marketing for the hundreds of health plans in existence.

8. The legislation transfers hundreds of billions of public dollars to private insurance companies. People will be mandated to purchase health insurance whether they can afford it or not, so the insurance companies benefit by having millions of new enrollees. In addition, between $447 and $605 billion in public dollars (depending on the senate or house version) will be given to the private insurers in the forms of subsidies to help people purchase their defective product.

9. The legislation protects the outrageous profits of the pharmaceutical corporations. The majority of Americans will not see any improvement in the costs of medications and the pharmaceutical corporations have already raised prices on brand name prescriptions by 9% this year. Biotech firms receive a windfall 12 year patent on new pharmaceuticals.

10. The legislation continues to allow discrimination based on age and immigration status. Older enrollees can be charged up to twice as much as younger enrollees. And enrollees will be required to prove citizenship in order to receive subsidies. Non-citizens will be required to bear the full cost of purchasing insurance.

The current health insurance reform legislation passing through Congress amounts to a massive bailout of the profit-making health industries, which will enrich them and increase their ability to lobby and otherwise influence legislators in the future. At the same time, patients will receive little in the way of long-lasting protection or ability to afford needed health care. The legislation is designed to fail and in the meantime, will waste billions of dollars and delay the process of creating effective health reform.

We call on Congress to start from scratch. We believe that we have the resources in the United States to create a national health system that will improve the health of the people of our nation. We believe that being ranked 37th in the world for health outcomes is unacceptable and that we, as a nation, can do much better than this. We believe that improving and expanding Medicare to all people is the simplest and quickest way to achieve our goal of universal and financially-sustainable health care.

As far as the health insurance legislation in congress goes, we support Senator Sanders’ substitution amendment which will substitute public financing for the current complicated and wasteful patchwork of financing. We urge our senators to vote “yes” on the Sanders’ amendment.

No matter what happens in Congress this year, we will continue to build the Medicare for all movement until we reach the day when all who live in the United States receive the same health security that is a right in other industrialized nations. We look forward to the day when doctors are free to focus on the needs of their patients without interference by health insurance administrators. We welcome all people who support health care reform to join with us in this movement. Together, we will succeed.

Whether or not any of this will effect where we are heading right now is questionable… but this is a statement which should be listened to.

Thanks also to Politics After 50 for highlighting this speech.

Thanksgiving S & M

Somehow, the vegan in me found this hysterically funny (and about as sadistic as you can imagine)… WARNING: not for the squeamish…If you’re not into violent sexual deviance, do not go here:

Oh… and Happy Thanksgiving. I’m having Tofurky.

No One Lies Like Lieberman…

“What I’m saying to the people of Connecticut, I can do more for you and your families, to get something done to make health care affordable, to get universal health insurance.­.. I’ve been working on health insurance reform for more than a dozen years. I have offered a comprehensive program. Small business health insurance reform. Something I call MediKids to cover all the children in America on a sliding fee basis up to the age of 25. MediChoice, to allow anybody in our country to buy into a national health insurance pool like the health insurance that we federal employees and members of Congress have. Medical malpractice reform. It will cover 95% of those who are not covered now, and it will reduce the pressure on rising costs for all the millions of others who are covered.”

- Joe Lieberman, campaign promises, October 23, 2006.

It’s time for Harry Reid to take the lying little bastard’s committee chairmanship away. If he does filibuster the Health Care Bill he should be shunned by the whole Democratic Caucus. Frankly, the Repiglicans can have him.

Did you get an e-mail from Obama?

This was in my e-mail box when Elly and I got home…

Bill –

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.

American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.

Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.

So tomorrow, I’ll be giving thanks for my family — for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.

But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.

The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.

We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.

So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.

It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.

In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.

You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished — and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.

So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.

With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,

President Barack Obama

…and I hope your family has a lovely Thanksgiving as well. (Don’t you think it would be lovelier if you just ended the armed presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and brought everyone home now? We’d all give thanks to you… and you will have earned your Nobel Peace Prize.)

….and I got this from Franni and Al Franken:

Dear Bill,

First and foremost, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from the Franken Family! As many of you know, apart from spending some quality (and quantity) time with the family, Thanksgiving at our house is all about the food.

That being the case, I wanted to take this opportunity to share a few of our favorite recipes with all of you, so you can try them out if you’re looking for any additions to your menu. Now, it’s important for you all to know, these family recipes have been meticulously honed over time. I can say with the utmost confidence, the recipes below are definite winners.

And it’s not just the Frankens who think so!

Thomasin posted these to our campaign website in 2007 and got TONS of feedback from people who gave them a try and were rewarded with delicious results. So while some of you may have tried these in the past, our list of supporters has grown so much since then, we wanted to send them out again for everyone to enjoy.

It would make sense to make this an annual tradition, with new ideas heading your way next year, but that’s not going to happen. Al has already informed me that changing the Thanksgiving menu is NOT change he can believe in.

All the best,

Franni

AUNT CARLA’S PUMPKIN CORNBREAD
It is impossible to just have one piece. Be sure to make it the night before so you can have some with your Thanksgiving morning coffee.

Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup milk

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. On the first speed of a hand or standing mixer, beat together the eggs, oil, pumpkin puree, and milk.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry in three batches with a rubber spatula. The batter will be smooth, and is more fluffy than liquidy.
5. Pour the batter into a 9 by13 baking pan (or two loaf pans), and place in the middle rack of the oven.
6. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick stuck in the middle of the cornbread comes out dry.
7. Let the cornbread cool for ten minutes, and then cut into pieces and serve.

THOMASIN’S ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 in. cubed chunks
3 tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbs. light brown sugar

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a cookie sheet, and scatter the squash chunks on it.
3. Evenly spread out the chunks of butter among the squash, and sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar evenly on the squash.
4. Roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the squash is tender. You can poke the squash with a cake tester, a fork, or a small knife to test.

FRANNI’S PUREED BUTTERNUT SQUASH
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 in. cubed chunks.
3 tbs. unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation
1. Bring the butternut squash chunks to boil in a saucepan.
2. Turn the heat down to medium, and let cook until the squash is tender, approximately ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Drain the squash, and mash with a masher or a hand mixer.
4. Add the butter and salt and pepper to taste.

AL’S WILD RICE STUFFING
It’s great alone, but Thomasin loves mixing it up with peas, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

Ingredients
1 lb. Wild rice (Mahnomen)
one stick butter
ten cloves of garlic
3 medium sized yellow onions
4 stalks of celery
2 lbs. White button mushrooms
salt to taste

Preparation
1. In a colander, rinse the wild rice.
2. Put the rice in a pot, and cover with 3 inches of water. Boil in a pot, uncovered, for about 20 to 25 minutes. If you’re using Mahnomen wild rice, it will cook more quickly than the paddy variety.
3. While the rice is boiling, slice (do not mince) the mushrooms, onions, garlic, and celery.
4. Melt the butter in a skillet, and sauté the onions, garlic, and celery until they begin to bleed a little liquid into the butter. Then add the mushrooms. The celery and onions should not be totally soft.
5. Once the rice has cooked, drain it and add to the sautéed vegetables.
6. Add salt to taste, and stuff into the turkey before roasting. The rest can be eaten as a side dish at dinner.

FRANKEN FAMILY POST-THANKSGIVING TURKEY SANDWICH
This is my favorite use of left over turkey.

Ingredients
2 slices of rye bread
1 tsp unsalted whipped butter
turkey breast
2 iceberg lettuce leaves
salt to taste

Preparation
1. Spread unsalted whipped butter on the rye bread.
2. Sprinkle on salt.
3. Place turkey and lettuce on top of one piece of bread, and place the other piece of bread on top.
4. Slice in half and enjoy!

That’s what I like… a practical Thanksgiving letter… and my best wishes to the Frankens.

Today is Elly’s Birthday…

…and we’re heading for an all-vegan Chinese Restaurant we’ve heard about to celebrate. That probably means I won’t be back to the blog until later in the day… so checkin around 6 PM (eastern) and maybe I’ll have an update for you.

How the Democrat Party Lost Its “ic”

I picked this up from OpEdNews:

 

By Russ Buchanan

My determination to find out why and when Republicans replaced “Democratic Party” with the stunningly childish “Democrat Party” led me to a secret strategy session held by the Republican elite shortly after their defeat at the polls.

Strangely, the minutes of the meeting were written in verse:

–

A meeting was held in the town of DC

The Party’s elite were invited

There was Palin and Cheney and Sean Hannity

Their leader Rush Limbaugh presided

–

Rush called to the crowd, “We’re in trouble, my friends

We’re shrinking with each day that passes

We need new ideas for two thousand ten

Or the Dems will again kick our asses

–

We can’t argue issues – they win at that game

And just saying ‘no’ has grown old

Drowning them out makes us look quite insane

We need something clever and bold”

–

“How ‘bout a catchy new phrase?” Palin said

“That says what we’re really about

Like, ‘If you’re not worth millions you oughta be dead!’”

“Sarah, sit down!” yelled the crowd.

–

So they thought and they thought ‘til their heads throbbed with pain

Thinking – for them – was exotic

Then a pudgy guy called out, “Karl Rove is my name

And by George the Second, I’ve got it!”

–

He ran down the aisle like a man on a mission

And snatched the mic from Limbaugh’s hand

The people fell silent – when Rove speaks, they listen

He smiled a big smile then began

–

“That name, ‘Democratic’ is simply unfair!

It gives such an edge to our rival.

As a name, sure it’s only a noun – fair and square -

But the voters think it’s adjectival

–

It makes them sound more democratic than us

A typical liberal plot

The fact that they’re commies is hidden because

Their name makes them sound like they’re not

–

Well, I’ve got a plan that will end all of that

To restore the once great GOP

We’ll change ‘Democratic’ to just ‘Democrat’

We’ll chop off their ‘ic’ at the ‘T’”

–

The crowd was ecstatic, and shouted “Hooray”

“You’ve done it again, Mr. Rove

You’ve given to us a sure-fire way

To get back the voters in droves”

–

And, that’s how the “ic” was removed from our name

And, believe it or not, you still hear it

It seems everyone to the right of McCain

Is completely insane, or darned near it

–

They’re down to just one out of five voters now

Soon it will be one of seven

And those who remain will be in Idaho

Storing food for Armageddon

–

So, when you hear “Democrat Party” these days

Please do try to restrain your laughter

It’s just a Republican’s final hooray

On the way to his party’s hereafter

–

When not playing footsie with men in next stalls

Or at presidential talks, yelling

They campaign with tea-bagging Neanderthals

Who don’t like black folk…or good spelling

–

They ran Sarah Palin, they outed Ms. Plame

They green-lighted torture to our lasting shame

Compared to all that, the mere change of our name

Is not something to go to war on

–

We’ll just put our “ic” back where it’s always been

And hope for their sake that this childishness ends

Then as a gift to our Republican friends

We’ll shorten “Moronic” to “Moron.”

 

Author’s Website: http://russellbuchanan.wordpress.com/

Author’s Bio: Russ Buchanan is a writer, voice actor / narrator and ornery creator of audio / video agitprop.

That was my morning laugh… I hope it’s yours, too.

I’ve been looking for evidence that Sarah Palin really said this…

…and here it is…thanks to Zirgar’s Fresh New Brain Squeezin’s!

clipped from zirgar.blogspot.com “If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat? I always remind people from outside our state that there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals – right next to the mashed potatoes.” (italics mine for emphasis) So anything made of meat is intended for food? Babies are made of meat, so we can eat them now? Mmmmmmmm, so young, so tender–like veal, but much more accessible.

What Health Care Article has President Obama Required his Senior Staff to Read?

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com In Tuesday’s “Playbook,” Mike Allen reports, “Sources say President Obama declared that a Saturday blog post by Ronald Brownstein on The Atlantic’s ‘Politics’ channel — on how health reform would control costs — was mandatory reading for all senior staff and that everyone involved in, or covering, the health care debate should see the piece.” You can read Brownstein’s full piece, titled “A Milestone In the Health Care Journey,” here. It makes the case, through statements from economists and Obama’s budget director Peter Orszag, that the Senate health care bill does about as much as possible to “bend the cost curve” — i.e., lower health care spending — while also significantly expanding health care coverage.

I’m glad we have the opportunity to read it, too. What do you think?

Charis Wilson, wife and model for Edward Weston in the early 1940s, dies at age 95

Charis Wilson met Weston when she was 16 and he was 45. She became his model, his lover and eventually his wife until their divorce in 1946.

She is the image we often think of when we think of Weston’s pictures of people in the years when he was really discovered as an artist. Wilson herself was a writer, a teacher and a labor union activist who married Noel Harris (also a union activist) after her divorce from Weston.

As to her modeling for Weston, she said later in her life:

“I knew I really didn’t look that good, and that Edward had glorified me, but it was a very pleasant thing to be glorified and I couldn’t wait to go back for more.”

150 Years ago today: Darwin published The Origin of the Species

This is certainly one of the more historic days in science and intellectual thought. Darwin’s Theory of Revolution (which, of course, most of the Civilized orld accepts as fact) started it’s long road of education and conflict with religious theory and unsubstantiated concepts. On this date, 150 years ago, Darwin published The Origin of the Species.

The incredible thing is that we haven’t gotten to a full, 100% acceptance of Evolution by this time. While even Roman Catholicism has now recognized Evolution as scientific fact, the largely American-based protestant right wingers still try to convince us of the pure accuracy of the Bible and the 6,000 or so year-old history of our world. If a couple of centuries from now, scholars look back and laugh at America as it struggles to bring Evolution into the cross-the-board curriculum, how can we be surprised.

Two days until Thanksgiving… here are some Vegetarian recipes…

I found these on Dr. Ayala’s blog at Salon… so CLICK HERE and get some wonderful vegetarian recipes, and spare the Turkey!

And knowing that this is Thanksgiving Week, we sure could use a little good news (or so Anne Murray says):

Remember the CETA program in the 70s?

I do… it’s more or less how I met my wife, when I was hiring people to work at the Jamaica Arts Center in Jamaica, NY, and Elly’s job was placing CETA workers…

Well, according to this article in the HuffPo, Democrats are contemplating bringing CETA back to help solve the unemployment problem. Here’s the first few paragraphs, but go to Huffington Post because there is much more:

clipped from www.huffingtonpost.com Democrats Contemplate Direct Government Hiring As desperate Democratic lawmakers cast about for ways to create jobs from Capitol Hill, a 1970s-era jobs program is getting a fresh look. Known as CETA — the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act — the program provided direct government funding to hire temporary workers. At its peak in 1978, it had created 725,000 public service jobs and shaved roughly one point off the unemployment figure. A one-point drop in the unemployment rate — not to mention the ancillary benefit of hundreds of thousands of people having money to spend on other goods and services — would give politicians something concrete to point to before the mid-term elections. “That’s certainly one of the options being discussed, the CETA program back in the 70s,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told HuffPost in a recent interview, when asked if leadership was considering direct government hiring as a partial answer to the deepening unemployment.

Suppose the Republicans aren’t quite doing all they could to shrink their Party…

Did you think they were doing a pretty good job? Well think again. All you have to do is look at the following Resolution that is making the rounds of Republicans called “RNC RESOLUTION ON FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF CANDIDATES,” and you’ll see why they have only begun to place the gun to their collective foot:

Proposed RNC Resolution on Reagan’s Unity Principle for Support of Candidates

WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan believed that the Republican Party should support and espouse conservative principles and public policies; and

WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan also believed the Republican Party should welcome those with diverse views; and

WHEREAS, President Ronald Reagan believed, as a result, that someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent; and

WHEREAS, Republican faithfulness to its conservative principles and public policies and Republican solidarity in opposition to Obama’s socialist agenda is necessary to preserve the security of our country, our economic and political freedoms, and our way of life; and

WHEREAS, Republican faithfulness to its conservative principles and public policies is necessary to restore the trust of the American people in the Republican Party and to lead to Republican electoral victories; and

WHEREAS, the Republican National Committee shares President Ronald Reagan’s belief that the Republican Party should espouse conservative principles and public policies and welcome persons of diverse views; and

WHEREAS, the Republican National Committee desires to implement President Reagan’s Unity Principle for Support of Candidates; and

WHEREAS, in addition to supporting candidates, the Republican National Committee provides financial support for Republican state and local parties for party building and federal election activities, which benefit all candidates and is not affected by this resolution; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Republican National Committee identifies ten (10) key public policy positions for the 2010 election cycle, which the Republican National Committee expects its public officials and candidates to support:

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and
lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style
government run healthcare;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade
legislation;

(4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by
opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective
action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care
rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government
restrictions on gun ownership; and be further

RESOLVED, that a candidate who disagrees with three or more of the above stated public policy position of the Republican National Committee, as identified by the voting record, public statements and/or signed questionnaire of the candidate, shall not be eligible for financial support and endorsement by the Republican National Committee; and be further

RESOLVED, that upon the approval of this resolution the Republican National Committee shall deliver a copy of this resolution to each of Republican members of Congress, all Republican candidates for Congress, as they become known, and to each Republican state and territorial party office.

Chief Sponsor:
James Bopp, Jr. NCM IN

Sponsors:
Donna Cain NCW OR
Cindy Costa NCW SC
Demetra Demonte NCW IL
Peggy Lambert NCW TN
Carolyn McLarty NCW OK
Pete Rickets NCM NE
Steve Scheffler NCM IA
Helen Van Etten NCW KA
Solomon Yue NCM OR

Wow! If you disagree with three or more of these things (I disagreed with 6 of them right off) then the Party would give you no funds to run. Moderate Republicans, like those running in Primaries in Florida or California could kiss the Big Elephant goodbye.

If this hadn’t been distributed by REAL Republicans, you could have easily convinced me that it was a Democratic practical joke.

But it’s not.

It’s not yet clear that the resoultion will actually be formally introduced. RNC Committeeman Jim Bopp, Jr., the author of this resolution, is general counsel to the National Right to Life. He confirmed that he and others are considering proposing this resolution at the winter RNC meeting, which will take place in late January.

I would encourage them to get this through… like most Democrats I will cheer on their endeavor!