...more recent posts
Tuesday, Oct 31, 2006
by request ...
makes 10" double crust
6 oz sweet butter (diced and frozen)
1/2 cup shortening (diced and frozen)
12 1/2 oz (by weight) general purpose flour (chilled)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
8-12 tbsp ice water
mix dry ingredients in food processor
add butter, pulse to pea size
add shortening, pulse to pea size
add water till mix can be formed into ball
pack firmly in plastic wrap, put in fridge/freezer to rest
filling
4-6 large apples
1/2 to 1 oz lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp butter
Inga Barks
While driving back from LA I tuned in KMJ Fresno and heard a perky acolyte of all things Rush, Ms. Inga Barks.
Inga was fielding a call from a conservative listener who had concerns about the war. "Max" said that the war was wrong from the beginning, and we should find a way to get out. Since Max was a conservative, he was by definition "serious", and Inga treated him as such.
Inga said that while she strongly disagreed, discussing the war and discussing withdrawal were reasonable things to do, as long as the critic was conservative. Any liberal who had a problem with the war was obviously a Bush hater, or extreme partisan, and was not worthy of engaging in serious discussion about serious matters. She advised Max that anti-war conservatives need to take back the issue from the anti-war liberals who "stole" the anti-war issue from serious thinkers, like George Will and Pat Buchanan.
But Inga had more on Max's point, and had something she really wanted to say, but would have to wait until after the break. That little tease, as they say in the radio biz, got me to hang around through the interminable break.
No, I don't want to re-fi the house. Nope, I'm not going to buy any gold. You know a steel building would be kinda cool, but I'm not in the market right now.
Okay, we're back. Now the incomparable Inga Barks is gonna 'splain in a serious way her serious critique of the serious conservative anti-war position. I'm, like, all aquiver.
Woah! Dude! Like, that totally isn't an argument. It's barely an opinion. You get paid for this?
To summarize:
- While anti-war conservatives are serious people with genuine concerns which are worthy of discussion, anti-war liberals are Bush-haters and shouldn't be given the time of day. Besides, they stole the issue from Pat Buchanan.
- Whether or not you can make a case against the war in Iraq, withdrawal is not an option. Because.
- Woof!
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2006
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the abhorrent
behavior of former Congressman Mark Foley. I appreciate the opportunity to
hear your thoughts on this important matter.
As a father, former teacher and school principal, I am very concerned
about the safety of all children. The House of Representatives has a
responsibility to assure the safety of the House Pages, just as schools
are charged with the safety of their students. The children who work as
Pages in the Congress are in the Members' special trust. It is apparent
that the Republican Leadership violated that trust when they failed to
act on knowledge of Foley's behavior.
Though an FBI investigation is underway, I support the efforts by the
Democratic Leadership to initiate an investigation of the response of
the Republican Leadership by the Committee on Standards of Official
Conduct. It is not acceptable for elected officials to wash their hands of
responsibility by claiming that they informed the leadership. Indeed, it
appears that House Speaker Dennis Hastert and others in the Republican
leadership had knowledge of Foley's actions, yet they did nothing.
Instead, they have continued to use the Republican methods of evasion and
misinformation, and continue to avoid their fundamental role of
oversight.
The mere fact that the Republican House leadership thought it was
acceptable to report only to the Speaker demonstrates how out of touch they
are to the safety of children. A teacher who sees bruises on a
student's arm, or who is told about possible abuse, is bound by law and reason
to report those suspicions to the appropriate agencies, not just to
their superior. I will support measures, such as access to counselors,
that will promote the safety and wellbeing of House Pages.
It is time to restore integrity to the House of Representatives. I
support a full investigation, including statements made under oath by all
members involved. The Republican Leadership has failed in its
responsibility to the House Pages, and has failed in its responsibility to the
American people.
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me with your concerns.
Your comments help me to better represent the people of the 15th
District of California.
Sincerely,
Mike Honda
Member of Congress
Monday, Oct 09, 2006
Saturday, Oct 07, 2006
Time for the 2006 KFJC Fundraiser
Wednesday, Oct 04, 2006
About 200 Stickers
Monday, Oct 02, 2006
Predation is Bad. Mmmkay.
Denny Hastert is the Cardinal Law of the people's House. We shouldn't distinguish between people who prey on children and those who protect the predators. Hastert has to go.
regards,
-Mark
The Dark Side
I just saw an appropriately named episode of Frontline, The Dark Side. This originally aired June 20, 2006.
It recounts the histories of two important passages: the abandonment of the hunt for bin Laden in Afghanistan, and the fabrications of WMD evidence used to justify the invasion of Iraq.
The framing for the exposition is a power play by Cheney and Rumsfeld. Tenent and the career CIA officers who aided and abetted the fabrication were pawns manipulated by Cheney, Rumsfeld and their "Team B" security organizations: the national security staff of the OVP (office of the Vice President) and the Pentagon's Office of Special Plans.
The details of the fabrications are spelled out by past CIA officials. While I applaud them speaking out now, I have to judge them harshly for not speaking out when it mattered. Someone working in national security may spend their career plugging away waiting for the chance to play a key and vital role fighting against an enemy. These guys had their shot, but the enemy was from within. The country will pay, for a least a generation, for their failure to act against this enemy.