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A comment over on YouTube expresses exactly how I’m feeling about the campaign so far. 

This guy [Dennis Kucinich] is entirely too reasonable, honest, and thoughtful to get elected in this country. I’ll vote for him in protest of the bewildered herd that follows the Obama Hillary moneywagon.

I’m talking about politics a lot lately, aren’t I?  So much for that promise not to.  :/

I have a question about this whole Scooter Libby thing.  He is guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice, right?  I’m trying to understand how Americans can tolerate and justify his get out of jail free card. 

I really couldn’t bring myself to celebrate the holiday yesterday, and I usually do.  I normally pause to give thanks for all that is good in this country and for the freedoms I’ve been blessed with.  I side-skirted it yesterday—did a bit of work, cleaned the house, watched Big Love on my DVR.  I grow more and more disappointed in the corruption of our country and I just didn’t feel like celebrating much. 

Consider if you will the following quotes from republican senators, swiped from great read over on Huffington today. 

Sam Brownback (R-KS):

We have lost many things over the past few months: trust in public officials, respect for the rule of law, confidence in the truth of the White House’s public statements. But perhaps the most tragic loss has been the steady erosion of our societal standards.

Wayne Allard (R-CO):

“The Constitution is what preserves the rule of law, and guarantees that we remain a nation of laws, not of men.

“I hold the President to a higher standard because he is the chief law enforcement official of the nation. If he is above the law, then we have a double standard; one for the powerful, and one for the rest.

“The sworn oath is central not only to our Constitution, but also to the administration of justice. Our legal system would not function without it.”

John McCain (R-AZ):

“All of my life, I have been instructed never to swear an oath to my country in vain. In my former profession, those who violated their sworn oath were punished severely and considered outcasts from our society. I do not hold the President to the same standard that I hold military officers to. I hold him to a higher standard.”

Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX):

“I was reminded as well, however, that the laws of our Country are applicable to us all, including the President, and they must be obeyed. The concept of equal justice under law and the importance of absolute truth in legal proceedings is the foundation of our justice system in the courts.

“A hundred years from now, when history looks back to this moment, we can hope for a conclusion that our Constitution has been applied fairly and survives, that we have come to principled judgments about matters of national importance, and that the rule of law in American has been sustained.”

All of these quotes were made in 1999 during Bill Clinton’s impeachment.  Yet the right is for the most part, silent on this matter.  If they’re saying anything, it’s to draw parallels to the Clinton pardons he granted when he left office.  (Remember though guys, you were really steamed about that at the time. Didn’t your mama teach you two wrongs don’t make a right?) Hey, I think pardons are bullshit too.  Right is right, wrong is wrong, and the president shouldn’t put himself ABOVE THE LAW.

At the core of this, though, is not punishing perjury or obstruction of justice - as in Nixon and Clinton’s cases in recent history.  It’s about a matter of NATIONAL FUCKING SECURITY.  Not blow jobs. 

I thought republicans (the ones that feel that justice has been served here, I suspect or at least hope most of them are as outraged as the rest of us) had big old boners for national security.  And, that the white house should be held to some sort of standard for the good of the people.  No?  Not so much guys? 

Why are we, as a nation, putting up with this crap?

That is my question.  Please leave answers in comments, thank you.

Warning - I’m going to get all political and preachy, this is a longish post.  A bonus recipe to thank you for reading is in the extended entry.

A very good friend of mine sent me a link to this video about how conventional farming methods contribute to global warming, and how organic/sustainable methods offer hope for a solution.  It’s excellent, and I implore you to take 10 minutes to watch if this is a “new” idea for you.

If you don’t have 10 minutes, I’ll touch on three key points.

-- Soil from organic farms HOLD 30% more carbon than conventional farming.  In other words, it takes carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) out of the atmosphere.  It’s not a temporary thing either, it builds year after year. 
-- Soil from organic farming methods improve the nutrient density of our food.  Consider that in the US, over 20% of the GNP is lost to the medicalization of people.  Many of the most serious problems are related to poor diet.  Improving our diets could save 71 billion dollars a year in medical costs and lost productivity (not to mention lives).
-- In the United States, agricultural subsidies amount to 15 billion dollars per year.  We can ask the president and congress to redirect agriculture subsidies to support sustainable farming.  Give farmers the ability, the incentive, to switch to organic methods. 

Makes sense to me.

I totally and completely believe in the interconnectedness of health and nutrition and food production and global warming.  The government is not on our side on this, and I have to admit, anger is a huge motivator for me.  I loves me to get pissed off at the government and big business, especially when it’s in their best interest for me to be SICK.

Ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils ("trans fats") are introduced into our diets to save costs and increase profits in the food industry, but they’re doing serious damage to our bodies.  Look around at how fat and ill we’ve become.  But we hold all the power if we choose to use it:  We can vote, we can create change, with our dollars. 

My veggie neighbor said to me, “I’m so glad you’ve become a veggie, the more people that do, the more pressure you put on food producers and restaurants to provide good options.” I’m not saying you need to become a veggie, or that I’m anywhere near perfect on this (I’m learning. I’ve spent a lifetime doing so much harm to my body and I’m trying to reverse the damage as best I can), but we can cut down on buying crap that isn’t doing us any good and buy some organic apples instead of oreo cookies once in awhile.  If we do that, we’ve voted with our dollars and done something really good for ourselves and the planet.  As my mother always says, “It all adds up.” (Usually in reference to my teenage-self wasting her hard-earned money at Taco Bell but that’s another story ...)

People say, “I can’t buy organic, it’s SO EXPENSIVE.” There’s a line in the book Skinny Bitch that says, “Don’t be a cheap asshole” and the authors are right.  If you’ve ever stared at a heap of medical bills, you know that it ain’t cheap to be sick.  Good nutrition is an investment in your health, and you’re worth it.  Save money someplace else, but spend the extra few cents on quality food, plan your shopping lists and your meals and it won’t cost you anything more than a little more time.  Think of how annoying it is to wait in a doctor’s office, you have the time. 

If you’re so inclined, you can sign this petition. 

A bonus recipe and the benefits of the main ingredients is in the extended entry (because I loves yous!).  Learning about the benefits of good foods makes it much more exciting to eat I think.  Anyway, I gave some to my neighbors this weekend and the feedback was, “Amazing.  Probably the best meal I’ve had all year.” Enjoyeth. 

Read On »

I remember when I first met you, it was maybe 1992 or so.  I was still in college, I remember that much, because I was home for Christmas break and I was on a date with this insanely cute boy named Shane.  It was late by the time we came home, we had popped in a movie in the VCR—Weird Science or Airplane! or something, I can’t remember exactly.  Anyway, I remember you came out of my parent’s bedroom all crazy and running around, you were new to our family and you were so small.  You might have weighed a pound if you were dipped in half a pound of chocolate. 

I was excited that you woke up so I could introduce you to my cute date.  But Shane was familiar with puppies you see, and he knew you had just woken up and thought you were going to pee or something.  So he picked you up with one hand and he looked totally worried and confused, he just stood there.  With you sitting there in his PALM.  You were so small.

I remember sneaking you into grocery stores and other places inside my jacket or tucked inside my purse.  You were so small, and so sweet. 

I was away for many years after that.  Then when I moved back home, you met for the first time my puppy Puno—Puno the Duno *cue horror flick music*.  He was a spaz, remember that?  He was obnoxious, I give you that.  You didn’t know what to think of him.  Well. I take that back, you thought he was a real asshole. 

You were forced to tolerate him, but as the years went by, he wasn’t all bad.  He helped you sometimes, and you gave him kisses.  Especially recently, when you got sick.

My sister loved you a whole lot, you were her baby.  Sometimes you got on my nerves because you sure did have a mind of your own, and you barked a lot whenever I tried to leave the house or pulled into a parking lot.  But I loved you too.  I always thought you were the most precious thing when you got your hair cut short and they put you in a knitted sweater to keep warm and you loved that.

My dad loved you a whole lot, my mom did too—more than you can ever know.  It was so very hard to make the decision to let you go.  We didn’t want you to feel so much pain, we didn’t want you to starve to death and waste away because you didn’t eat, you couldn’t sleep.  Days and days went by and many tears were shed.  We couldn’t stop the cancer that made you think you were jumping on the bed when you were really trying to jump on the toilet last night.  We laughed about that a little, but it wasn’t funny.  We love you, you see.  And we didn’t know how to make it all better for you.  My sister wanted to be here, to be there for you, with you, to hold you.

Today, we lost a member of our family.  We miss you Pumpkin.  Thank you for the time you gave us, you made us all so happy.