What a pleasure

Ohio man vacates house,
leaves behind 100 cats
and incredible stench.

What a pleasure to watch a President who actually knows what he is talking about, doesn’t need a “wire,” and is completely comfortable with himself. Can you even imagine George W. Bush giving such a Press Conference? It seems to me that whether you agree with Obama or not, you have to give him credit for being well-informed about all aspects of his health care legislation. I am beginning to believe we may actually, after all these wasted years, get an improvement in our system of health care. Of course it won’t be the most sensible and efficient single-payer plan that most everyone knows would be by far the best, but it will have to be an improvement over the dismal system we currently suffer. Go Obama!

I am really proud of myself today. I managed to get through the entire day without even peeking at the idiot box (except for Obama’s Press Conference). I might have watched my favorite Rachel Maddow, but when she started merely repeating what I had just heard Obama say I gave it up. This is just one of the things I don’t understand about the media. Why do they assume they should have to repeat precisely what you have just been listening to? Do they think you are just not bright enough to understand it? I find this process, which occurs all too frequently, in fact, almost always, to be extremely irritating, to say nothing of a complete waste of time. I have been lobbying my wife to move somewhere and leave the TV behind. I am weak, weak as water, as Molly Sugdan used to say on Are You Being Served, and if I have one of the stupid things I cannot completely ignore it. My thoughts are turning more and more to Lund, British Columbia, but I doubt it will ever happen.

What on earth is going on? Congress actually turned down the billions of dollars white elephant F22. And not only that, they turned down the NRA attempt to allow people to carry concealed weapons anywhere in the U.S. irrespective of any local laws to the contrary. So…a defeat for the Military Industrial Political complex and a defeat for the usually all powerful NRA, what’s the world coming to? Next they may actually turn down some money for the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians. If they would just cut the bloated, obscene Pentagon budget by the 50% it probably deserves, and if they would shut down our hundreds of overseas bases, we’d soon be on easy street. But it’s nice to know they took one tiny step in that direction.

It appears that Obama may be entirely serious about the expansion of Israeli settlements. I read somewhere today that our administration is threatening to withhold a billion dollars of the billions Israel usually scores from us year after year. Wouldn’t that be a shocker (if it’s really true)? Netanyahu has now claimed Israel has complete ownership of Jerusalem and therefore can build there as much as it desires. The fact that this is untrue seems not to faze him. Will Obama stay firm and insist that the Israeli’s curb their insatiable appetite for stolen territory, or will he, as all Presidents before him, just kneel to the outrageously illegal claims no matter what?
What do you do with people who simply refuse to believe things that are as true as things can be true? The “Birthers” are a case in point. Obama’s citizenship has been clearly established in the only way such a thing can be established, but the Birthers simply refuse to believe it. We can’t just dismiss such people as schizophrenic as many, if not most of them, are otherwise apparently sane. It’s the same thing with those who don’t believe we actually landed a man on the moon. They just don’t believe it, and won’t believe it no matter what evidence you provide. More importantly, how about those poor souls (and there are so many of them in the U.S. it’s frightening) who refuse to believe in evolution. What do these people do, just ignore everything they hear and see? That is, virtually every day you see or hear some reference to the age of the earth, geological time, the extinction of animals thousands of years ago, the discovery of new dinosaur bones, remains of human activity more than 6000 years ago, and so on. No matter what you believe, you cannot escape hearing about such things, unless you are completely tuned out to radio, newspapers, tv, and even normal conversations (or perhaps do not possess a fully functional human brain). The few people I have encountered who claim not to believe in evolution, when you question them about these things, do not respond to the questions, saying simply, and repeatedly, “I believe what the bible says.” Being a liberal I tend to think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, when you have large numbers of such people, and they elect Congresspersons or Presidents who believe in such nonsense, it becomes an actual danger to your country as it allows the rest of the world to leave you behind. So what can you do, short of a “cultural revolution?” If anyone has a plausible answer, please let me know.

LKBIQ:
To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost.
Gustave Flaubert

TILT:
I thought you might need this recipe:

Moose Nose
1 Moose Nose; hide and hair
-intact
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Sprigs fresh thyme OR 1/2
ts Dried thyme
1 Bay leaf
8 Sprigs parsley
1 ts Black Peppercorns
3 Stalks Celery

Place nose, complete w/ hide and hair, in lg. stock pot. Cover the
nose w/ water. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and continue boiling
for about 1 hr. Drain water. When nose is cool, remove hide and
hair. Rinse meat in cold water. Return meat to pot, covering it with
cold water. Add salt and pepper, thyme, bay leaf, parsley,
peppercorns, and celery. Bring contents to a boil and boil nose until
tender. Remove from water and allow to cool. Slice thinly and serve
chilled w/ Gribeche Sauce.