At Long Last: A Recipe!

Quinoa and Zucchini Gratin

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt to taste

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds zucchini, cut into small wedges

1 teaspoon Pimentón

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Black pepper to taste

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked in chicken stock)

1/2 cup grated parmigiano (2 ounces)

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and Lightly oil a two-quart gratin. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil and onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes. Add a little salt and the garlic. Cook, stirring, another minute. Add the zucchini, herbs de Provence and rosemary. Cook, stirring, until the zucchini is tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, and stir in the squash mixture, the cooked quinoa and the cheese. Mix well and season and transfer to the gratin. Bake 30 minutes, until  the top is golden brown. Serve hot  or at room temperature.

Yields 4 to 6 servings.

The Jindal Microcosm

Is Jindal making reading for a 2012 national run? He is building environmentally disastrous berms offshore in the Gulf, he has gutted the budget and cut taxes and gutted higher education and Public Education and health care, especially mental health. He averted the inevitable crisis by accepting the 'heinous' stimulus money to fund teachers and health clinics in the state. He is paying his staff far more than their predecessors while dismantling the infrastructure for producing a healthy educated populous that might attract new business. But this will allow him to make a national claim that he cut spending and taxes before the crows come home to roost and everything falls apart. He may want to run for President, but he will happily settle for VP or a Cabinet position or, failing that, Chair of the RNC. He will settle for any national office, because he will have get out of Louisiana before his legacy unfolds.

Did he come up with this idea on his own? No, I think he has studied the Republican Agenda of the last 50 years, with its eye on destroying the Middle Class and stomping on the poor. They are banking on a submissive lower caste than will support a minority ruling caste. Think not? Why else would Republicans demand that the Unions accept slashing wages in exchange for saving the Auto Industry last year?

Whose Waterloo is it Now?

The Tea Party is splitting the GOP; if they don't regain the House, we may be hearing their death knell. Just when you think they can't get any crazier, they do. Angle went to a John Birch Society meeting and called them the real American people. O'Donnell thinks that Obama is treasonously violating Section 1 of the Constitution by creating "a nobility" by appointing "czars", even though Obama doesn't use that term and there is no such job title in his administration. Ronald Reagan started and used the term with his creation of a Drug Czar, and Little George appointed far more than any other president, 47 in 35 "Czar" positions.

Rand Paul says there is no drug problem in Kentucky.

Sen Murkowski knows she will split the Conservative vote in Alaska, but I guess she figures a Democrat is better for Alaska than Joe Miller.

And not passing Don't Ask, Don't Tell today--not even allow it to be debated--is another nail in the coffin.

We're Rich!

Devasted Economy? Not Really

I understand Vitter and Jindal and Chris John coming out against the Federal study that show the financial impact on Louisiana to be minimal. But what accounts for Mary's knee jerk reaction to the drilling moratorium? Unemployment claims have declined every month since April and most of the jobs lost due to the moratorium have been replaced by clean up jobs. You should be concerned with the 2 huge fish kills in the past week and the oily shrimp and crabs that have been brought up from the Gulf, It is on local news every night, don't you see it in Washington.
Our Governor has done his best to wreck Louisiana's economy by dismantling our health care system and our public schools--do you think that firing Dr Ryan is a coincidence? And why do so many of his staff get paid 6 digit salaries? That has never happened before.
Mary should be promoting a strong alternative energy program. Louisiana is perfect for wind farms and every home should have solar panels and solar water heaters. A Federal subsidy would go a long way to making that happen-- I am not talking about the Income Tax benefit already in place; that is a good thing, but it does not help people who do not earn enough to qualify for the rebate.

I just used my last sponge given to me by the Help the Po Folk in New Orleans, sorry, The Red Cross. I still have mops and Spray-shit and buckets. My query is: does anyone plan for disaster? Oh, I have lots of mops--what was in their thoughts?

The Prez has just consolidated the Hispanic and LGBT vote in the 2010 election. Delaware's population is 8% Latino, Arizona 26%. Don't know the percentage of LGBT--so many closets, don't you know. But Karl Rove back-pedaled on his O'Donnell critique--he now claims he endorsed her Tuesday night on Fox. And more stuff surfaces about O'Donnell, showing her to be more crazy than Sharon Angle--I didn't think that possible!

Breaking news: The Pope thinks we should help the victims of sacerdotal abuse, now shut up.

Here Come da Judge, cue Music

If you are not watching the impeachment of Judge Porteous C-SPAN, you are missing the best comedy on TV! You could not make up this stuff. Both the lawyers and the witnesses are a hoot.

Old Times Are Not Forgotten

The National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) held its annual fall Board of Directors meeting in Charleston, S.C. last weekend.

Here is S.C. Senate President Glenn McConnell posing in his Rebel attire with 2 African-Americans in native dress. No doubt they are highly paid workers on his farm.

The event, “A Southern Experience”, was held 10 Septembre at the Country Club of Charleston. Hosted by the South Carolina Federation of Republican Women, it was included on the national conference’s official itinerary.

In addition to McConnell, S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford attended as did S.C. Republican Attorney General nominee Alan Wilson.

Invited speakers to the NFRW conference included U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Rep. Joe Wilson, House Speaker Bobby Harrell, former U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins and GOP gubernatorial nominee Nikki Haley.

Terry Jones and the Religion of Hate

Terry Jones is a pathetic little man with a pathetic little "church" and he has a very dim understanding of the religion he professes. He was fired up by the likes of Sarah Palin, Glen Beck and Newt Gingrich and did not realize the magnitude of his stupidity and ugliness and, yes, his unchristian-ness. But that is the America we live in now.

The Katrina Hall of Shame: 4 Years Later, Still Shameful

This is the gift that keeps giving:
The Katrina Hall of Shame: 4 Years Later, Still Shameful

Rewriting History, Republican Style

Homeland Security Clown Tom Ridge has released a book, “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…and How We Can Be Safe Again” in which he tries to clear his tainted reputation. U.S. News’s Paul Bedard reports that Ridge reveals that he considered resigning because he was urged to issue a politically-motivated security alert on the eve of Bush’s re-election. Here is a headline used by Thomas Dunne Books to promote the book:

"Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."

I thought the color alerts were a joke at the time, and mixing politics with terror was a favored tactic of the Bush administration. In August 2004, the AP reported that even “some senior Republicans” privately questioned Ridge’s timing of a terror alert that came just three days after the Democratic National Convention. According to the AP report, “One top GOP operative, who works closely with Bush’s political team, said the White House appeared to overplay its hand, and voters may smell politics behind the warning." Ridge says he was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.
But Ridge avoided that charge whenever it came up. On Aug. 3, 2004, he denied any such political pressure or politicization with a quote DHS used every time this question was asked.

"We don’t do politics in the Department of Homeland Security."

That was true for his successor Michael Chertoff who did not issue a conveniently timed alert during his 4 years in office. But liberals were ridiculed for believing that Ridge used color alerts for politic gain. Richard Morin wrote a Washington Post piece, where he cited the politicized color code worry to make fun of Democrats:

         "Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, it has been an article of faith that the terrorism issue           works to the huge political benefit of President Bush and to the disadvantage of the Democrats. As a consequence, some Democratic stalwarts privately wonder whether administration officials might spring a late October surprise in the form of an orange alert in order to help President Bush win reelection. Such cynicism!"

Lying Vitter, Continued

3 cheers for family values, Vitter style. If you think that David Vitter is not a lying, hypocritical Republican, watch this:

Free Clinic

I volunteered at the Free Clinic yesterday--more than 650 people showed up for medical help in 10 hours. Many of the volunteers were from out of state, especially the medical volunteers, but I've never met such a delightful bunch of people. And the patients were wonderful, too. I love my city.