Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Way To Go MN GOP- You Lunatics!
We have a huge budget problem here in Minnesota, thanks to former Governor Tim Pawlenty not dealing with the problem previously and kicking the proverbial can down the road.
Today the layoff notices went out to all State employees because the Republicans who control the house and senate here REFUSE to negotiate and/or compromise and create a budget that can keep the State functioning.
As these notices went out, the leadership of the Republicans released a statement saying:
"There is no need" for a shutdown -- if (Governor) Dayton would go along with the GOP's budget."
Now this budget issue has been the most important thing facing all of us all year so I thought I'd share with all of you exactly what the MN-GOP spent this past legislative session working on.
In thinking about this, I got lucky. Someone else also had the same thought and put
together a list.
You can read the entire original article here:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/9260/32-bills-mn-republicans-worked-on-instead-of-the-budget
but here is the list:
Creating a constitutional amendment against gay marriage to go on the ballet next year
Voter I.D.
Repeal the smoking ban
Eliminate background checks for gun purchases
Designate English as the official language
Bike tax
Remove the ban on increasing carbon dioxide emissions by utilities
Ban state funding of abortions
Eliminate 8 state agencies including Depts of Employment & Econ Dev, Health, Human Rights, Labor & Industry, Revenue, MNDOT, Vet Affairs and the Office of Mgmt & Budget
Further weaken a woman's right to choose with yet another abortion bill
Repeal the Next Generation Energy Act which was signed by Pawlenty
Prevent welfare recipients from having more than $20 cash in their pockets
Prohibit anyone from suing a company if you get fat from their food
Drug testing for welfare recipients
Racist immigration laws
End pay equity for women
A second bill to end pay equity for women
Bail-outs for schools in Republican areas as well as small budget increases yet they dramatically slash budgets for the large cities
Yet another abortion bill, require parental consent for teens to get health care
Logging in our state parks
Ban federal funding of family planning
Eliminate Meals on Wheels
Ban human cloning and end life-saving and job creating research in MN
An amendment to Health & Human Services bill to exempt MN from health care reform
Prevent animal welfare activists from filming animal cruelty at factory farms
Ban state payments to nonprofits
Amendment to the HHS bill to use baby monitors instead of nurses
Another abortion bill, this one a gag rule which prevents any organization that receive state funds to council about abortion services
Shoot first, show Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card later bill
MN should print its own money
Make it easier to violate licensing laws
Viking Stadium
An entire session spent hating on women, the poor, the elderly, the veterans, the homeless, gay people, nurses, teachers, science , immigrants.
Worse yet, they are proud of their shameless race to the bottom.
Today the layoff notices went out to all State employees because the Republicans who control the house and senate here REFUSE to negotiate and/or compromise and create a budget that can keep the State functioning.
As these notices went out, the leadership of the Republicans released a statement saying:
"There is no need" for a shutdown -- if (Governor) Dayton would go along with the GOP's budget."
Now this budget issue has been the most important thing facing all of us all year so I thought I'd share with all of you exactly what the MN-GOP spent this past legislative session working on.
In thinking about this, I got lucky. Someone else also had the same thought and put
together a list.
You can read the entire original article here:
http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/9260/32-bills-mn-republicans-worked-on-instead-of-the-budget
but here is the list:
Creating a constitutional amendment against gay marriage to go on the ballet next year
Voter I.D.
Repeal the smoking ban
Eliminate background checks for gun purchases
Designate English as the official language
Bike tax
Remove the ban on increasing carbon dioxide emissions by utilities
Ban state funding of abortions
Eliminate 8 state agencies including Depts of Employment & Econ Dev, Health, Human Rights, Labor & Industry, Revenue, MNDOT, Vet Affairs and the Office of Mgmt & Budget
Further weaken a woman's right to choose with yet another abortion bill
Repeal the Next Generation Energy Act which was signed by Pawlenty
Prevent welfare recipients from having more than $20 cash in their pockets
Prohibit anyone from suing a company if you get fat from their food
Drug testing for welfare recipients
Racist immigration laws
End pay equity for women
A second bill to end pay equity for women
Bail-outs for schools in Republican areas as well as small budget increases yet they dramatically slash budgets for the large cities
Yet another abortion bill, require parental consent for teens to get health care
Logging in our state parks
Ban federal funding of family planning
Eliminate Meals on Wheels
Ban human cloning and end life-saving and job creating research in MN
An amendment to Health & Human Services bill to exempt MN from health care reform
Prevent animal welfare activists from filming animal cruelty at factory farms
Ban state payments to nonprofits
Amendment to the HHS bill to use baby monitors instead of nurses
Another abortion bill, this one a gag rule which prevents any organization that receive state funds to council about abortion services
Shoot first, show Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card later bill
MN should print its own money
Make it easier to violate licensing laws
Viking Stadium
An entire session spent hating on women, the poor, the elderly, the veterans, the homeless, gay people, nurses, teachers, science , immigrants.
Worse yet, they are proud of their shameless race to the bottom.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
My Sympathies Representative Weiner
Aside from having to suffer the humiliation of Wolf Blitzer's ego schooling you that,
"You would know if this was your underpants",
you happen to be living in a time where society does seem to think size matters.
At the very least that convincing society that size matters must be very profitable if my email is any indication. (Maybe I, a 50+ year old woman do need a bigger penis?
How could I ever know?)
Anyway, I digress.
Mr. Weiner, I feel for you. Given today's world, where we have sunk so low that a picture of a man's privates in underpants for God's sake, with no other possible way to identify him can lead to all this is just plain pathetic.
Not to mention, again, given the pervasive social climate, I can't think of any man, of any age, that I know who would be willing to publically admit or deny that that particular picture was of him because the very idea of Wolf Blitzer's next questions would be just too repulsive.
"How do we know you are telling the truth? Would you be willing to step behind the screen we've just thrown together here on the CNN set and let me verify so that our viewers will know for sure? We are "The Best Political Team on Television"!
"You would know if this was your underpants",
you happen to be living in a time where society does seem to think size matters.
At the very least that convincing society that size matters must be very profitable if my email is any indication. (Maybe I, a 50+ year old woman do need a bigger penis?
How could I ever know?)
Anyway, I digress.
Mr. Weiner, I feel for you. Given today's world, where we have sunk so low that a picture of a man's privates in underpants for God's sake, with no other possible way to identify him can lead to all this is just plain pathetic.
Not to mention, again, given the pervasive social climate, I can't think of any man, of any age, that I know who would be willing to publically admit or deny that that particular picture was of him because the very idea of Wolf Blitzer's next questions would be just too repulsive.
"How do we know you are telling the truth? Would you be willing to step behind the screen we've just thrown together here on the CNN set and let me verify so that our viewers will know for sure? We are "The Best Political Team on Television"!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Delicious Salmon Recipe
This recipe was forwarded to me in an email and it was so delicious that even my husband, who is no big fan of salmon raved about it so I decided to post it.
I put off making it because it really looked like it was going to be very time consuming, but it went fast and really smoothly. It didn't occur to me that I should have taken a picture of it until after we ate because it was also very pretty.
Live and learn. Sigh.
Now that the farmers are bringing their fresh vegies to market (and if you are lucky like me) along with the guy from Alaska with the fresh caught salmon, you can use almost all fresh ingrediants making it that much tastier.
For the record, I omitted the salt when called for in the recipe
Enjoy!
Salmon in Parchment Paper
Ingredients:
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the parchment paper,
four 7-8 oz salmon fillets, skin removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1 large leek, white part only, cut into thin matchsticks
1 small zucchini, cut into thin matchsticks
2 Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges, for serving (I squirted lemon on the mix of veggies and used a wedge to bake with each fillet/veg mix)
Directions
Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 375. Cut four 14 inch wide pieces of parchment paper and fold each in half lengthwise. Cut out a wide curve from each piece of paper so when it is unfolded you have a heart shape about 12 inches.
Brush each piece of parchment with oil. Place a salmon fillet on the bottom half of each heart and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the carrot, leek, zucchini, tomatoes, shallots, parsley, and tarragon in a medium bowl, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Divide the veggies evenly over the top of each fillet. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon each of olive oil and wine over each fillet.
Fold the top half of each heard down, and crimp the edges tightly to seal. (The packets may be made up to 3 hrs ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake.)
Place the parchment heats on 2 baking sheets. Bake until the parchment is lightly browned, about 12 minutes for medium-rare salmon.
Place each parchment heat on a dinner plate. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
I put off making it because it really looked like it was going to be very time consuming, but it went fast and really smoothly. It didn't occur to me that I should have taken a picture of it until after we ate because it was also very pretty.
Live and learn. Sigh.
Now that the farmers are bringing their fresh vegies to market (and if you are lucky like me) along with the guy from Alaska with the fresh caught salmon, you can use almost all fresh ingrediants making it that much tastier.
For the record, I omitted the salt when called for in the recipe
Enjoy!
Salmon in Parchment Paper
Ingredients:
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the parchment paper,
four 7-8 oz salmon fillets, skin removed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
1 large leek, white part only, cut into thin matchsticks
1 small zucchini, cut into thin matchsticks
2 Roma or plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges, for serving (I squirted lemon on the mix of veggies and used a wedge to bake with each fillet/veg mix)
Directions
Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 375. Cut four 14 inch wide pieces of parchment paper and fold each in half lengthwise. Cut out a wide curve from each piece of paper so when it is unfolded you have a heart shape about 12 inches.
Brush each piece of parchment with oil. Place a salmon fillet on the bottom half of each heart and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the carrot, leek, zucchini, tomatoes, shallots, parsley, and tarragon in a medium bowl, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Divide the veggies evenly over the top of each fillet. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon each of olive oil and wine over each fillet.
Fold the top half of each heard down, and crimp the edges tightly to seal. (The packets may be made up to 3 hrs ahead and refrigerated until ready to bake.)
Place the parchment heats on 2 baking sheets. Bake until the parchment is lightly browned, about 12 minutes for medium-rare salmon.
Place each parchment heat on a dinner plate. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
A Call To Action From My Dead Dad
I read the following Tweet this morning:
Chrysler pays back it's auto industry loan+company is back on track+thousands of jobs saved+GOP was wrong on this=little media coverage.
My Dad was a journalist, more importantly, he was a journalist with integrity. He got his facts, not from the internet but from actual people. He didn't just assume what he was told was true, he checked, double checked, triple checked and then verified it again, all before he put his fingers to the typewriter.
He started as a cub reporter on the police beat and moved on to general interest and finally found his niche in reporting on what politicians and other groups were doing that affected all residents presenting both the good and the bad.
It's hard to imagine what he would think of today's journalistic integrity of the mainstream media. I think he would be disgusted by how truth has taken a back seat to profit and advertising revenue streams.
Often when I think about him, I don't so much think of what he achieved and did with his life so much as I hear his voice in my head.
This morning when I read that Tweet and agreed with it, my Dad immediately piped up and starkly asked,
"So what can you do about it? Do you think that this will change with no encouragement from you? Why would they want to change the current status quo! Fight back! Quit whining and use your head and that internet you are so fond of! Start something!"
Well alrighty Dad, I will. I'm going to start by calling out the media when they do things like this because you're right, they really have no idea how unhappy I am with them lately, even though I do whine about it plenty.
For starters, I'm going to let them know. In the time it takes me to sit in my chair and talk back to the television (for example), I probably could have picked up the phone and called them and let them know and been done before the commercials were over.
I also encourage others to do the same thing. To make it easier, here's a list of some media outlets where we can voice our opinions. I have decided not to show email addresses, it's too easy to delete an email or pretend you never got it. A letter someone actually took the time to write or actually interacting with a live person is a little harder to ignore:
ABC News
147 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777
CBS News
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893
CNBC
900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Phone: (201) 735-2622
Fax: (201) 583-5453
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784
Fox News Channel
1211 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 301-3000
Fax: (212) 301-4229
MSNBC/NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (212) 664-4426
PBS
2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington VA 22202
Phone: 703-739-5000
Fax: 703-739-5777
The Los Angeles Times
202 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 800-528-4637 or 213-237-5000
Fax: 213-237-4712
The New York Times
620 8th Ave., New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-556-1234
D.C. Bureau phone: 202-862-0300
Fax: 212-556-3690
USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2078
The Wall Street Journal
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-416-2000
Fax: 212-416-2658
The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5075
For People in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area:
Channel 2:
Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
172 East 4th Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
Front Desk: (651) 222-1717
Fax: (651) 229-1282
Channel 4:
WCCO-TV
90 S. 11th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Main Number: (612) 339-4444 or 1-800-444-WCCO
Fax: (612) 333-2767
Channel 5:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS/KSTP-TV
3415 University Ave.
Saint Paul, MN 55114-2099
Switchboard: (651) 646-5555
Newsroom phone: (612) 5TV-NEWS (612-588-6397)
Newsroom fax: (651) 642-4409
Channel 9:
KMSP-TV
11358 Viking Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
952-946-5767
Channel 11:
KARE 11
8811 Olson Memorial Hwy.
Minneapolis, MN 55427
763-593-1111
StarTribune
425 Portland Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55488
Main number: (612) 673-4000
St Paul Pioneer Press
345 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
General Information — 651-222-1111
Newsroom Reader Advocate — 651-228-5446
Let's start fighting back everyone!
Chrysler pays back it's auto industry loan+company is back on track+thousands of jobs saved+GOP was wrong on this=little media coverage.
My Dad was a journalist, more importantly, he was a journalist with integrity. He got his facts, not from the internet but from actual people. He didn't just assume what he was told was true, he checked, double checked, triple checked and then verified it again, all before he put his fingers to the typewriter.
He started as a cub reporter on the police beat and moved on to general interest and finally found his niche in reporting on what politicians and other groups were doing that affected all residents presenting both the good and the bad.
It's hard to imagine what he would think of today's journalistic integrity of the mainstream media. I think he would be disgusted by how truth has taken a back seat to profit and advertising revenue streams.
Often when I think about him, I don't so much think of what he achieved and did with his life so much as I hear his voice in my head.
This morning when I read that Tweet and agreed with it, my Dad immediately piped up and starkly asked,
"So what can you do about it? Do you think that this will change with no encouragement from you? Why would they want to change the current status quo! Fight back! Quit whining and use your head and that internet you are so fond of! Start something!"
Well alrighty Dad, I will. I'm going to start by calling out the media when they do things like this because you're right, they really have no idea how unhappy I am with them lately, even though I do whine about it plenty.
For starters, I'm going to let them know. In the time it takes me to sit in my chair and talk back to the television (for example), I probably could have picked up the phone and called them and let them know and been done before the commercials were over.
I also encourage others to do the same thing. To make it easier, here's a list of some media outlets where we can voice our opinions. I have decided not to show email addresses, it's too easy to delete an email or pretend you never got it. A letter someone actually took the time to write or actually interacting with a live person is a little harder to ignore:
ABC News
147 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10023
Phone: 212-456-7777
CBS News
524 W. 57 St., New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-975-4321
Fax: 212-975-1893
CNBC
900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Phone: (201) 735-2622
Fax: (201) 583-5453
CNN
One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366
Phone: 404-827-1500
Fax: 404-827-1784
Fox News Channel
1211 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10036
Phone: (212) 301-3000
Fax: (212) 301-4229
MSNBC/NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (212) 664-4426
PBS
2100 Crystal Drive, Arlington VA 22202
Phone: 703-739-5000
Fax: 703-739-5777
The Los Angeles Times
202 West First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: 800-528-4637 or 213-237-5000
Fax: 213-237-4712
The New York Times
620 8th Ave., New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-556-1234
D.C. Bureau phone: 202-862-0300
Fax: 212-556-3690
USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Dr., McLean, VA 22108
Phone: 703-854-3400
Fax: 703-854-2078
The Wall Street Journal
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036
Phone: 212-416-2000
Fax: 212-416-2658
The Washington Post
1150 15th St., NW, Washington, DC 20071
Phone: 202-334-6000
Fax: 202-334-5075
For People in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area:
Channel 2:
Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.
172 East 4th Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
Front Desk: (651) 222-1717
Fax: (651) 229-1282
Channel 4:
WCCO-TV
90 S. 11th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Main Number: (612) 339-4444 or 1-800-444-WCCO
Fax: (612) 333-2767
Channel 5:
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS/KSTP-TV
3415 University Ave.
Saint Paul, MN 55114-2099
Switchboard: (651) 646-5555
Newsroom phone: (612) 5TV-NEWS (612-588-6397)
Newsroom fax: (651) 642-4409
Channel 9:
KMSP-TV
11358 Viking Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
952-946-5767
Channel 11:
KARE 11
8811 Olson Memorial Hwy.
Minneapolis, MN 55427
763-593-1111
StarTribune
425 Portland Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55488
Main number: (612) 673-4000
St Paul Pioneer Press
345 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
General Information — 651-222-1111
Newsroom Reader Advocate — 651-228-5446
Let's start fighting back everyone!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
I'm too old to act this way but....
I just couldn't stand it anymore.
I usually don't answer phone calls from marketers. Half the time I don't want what they are pushing and the other half the time no one is on the other end.
I've learned that by answering, you are just confirming that you are a "live" number. Kind of like
replying to Spam, you just get more.
Anyway, this one company will not take no answer as an answer.
About six times a day, seven days a week, I get a phone call from 702-260-6126 and the caller ID shows Consumer Telecom.
This outfit not only calls continually, but when they call, they let the phone ring about 25 times.
Mind you this is a landline so I can't just turn it off.
So annoying.
So, tonight I finally answered it and here was our conversation:
(I'm purple- they are green)
"Hello?"
"Hello. This is your long distance carrier, we've been looking at your records and have discovered that you can pay $20.00 less each month for long distance."
"Skype, skype, skype to my lou" I sang.
"That's wonderful! Perhaps you could answer a few questions about your current service?"
"I'm having Blue Gentian Farm eggs for supper. Yum!"
"Is your phone company the same as your internet provider?"
(Hmmmm... I guess you don't have those records in front of you after all)
"Maybe."
"Is there some on there who knows?"
"Yeah but people have convinced themselves he was born in Kenya and has a different opinion of the Mau Mau rebellion then any "real" American even though we only became America because we rebelled against English Imperialists, so you probably wouldn't believe him anyway."
Silence.
"Are you there? Any other questions?"
Click.
Perversely satisfying.
I usually don't answer phone calls from marketers. Half the time I don't want what they are pushing and the other half the time no one is on the other end.
I've learned that by answering, you are just confirming that you are a "live" number. Kind of like
replying to Spam, you just get more.
Anyway, this one company will not take no answer as an answer.
About six times a day, seven days a week, I get a phone call from 702-260-6126 and the caller ID shows Consumer Telecom.
This outfit not only calls continually, but when they call, they let the phone ring about 25 times.
Mind you this is a landline so I can't just turn it off.
So annoying.
So, tonight I finally answered it and here was our conversation:
(I'm purple- they are green)
"Hello?"
"Hello. This is your long distance carrier, we've been looking at your records and have discovered that you can pay $20.00 less each month for long distance."
"Skype, skype, skype to my lou" I sang.
"That's wonderful! Perhaps you could answer a few questions about your current service?"
"I'm having Blue Gentian Farm eggs for supper. Yum!"
"Is your phone company the same as your internet provider?"
(Hmmmm... I guess you don't have those records in front of you after all)
"Maybe."
"Is there some on there who knows?"
"Yeah but people have convinced themselves he was born in Kenya and has a different opinion of the Mau Mau rebellion then any "real" American even though we only became America because we rebelled against English Imperialists, so you probably wouldn't believe him anyway."
Silence.
"Are you there? Any other questions?"
Click.
Perversely satisfying.
Monday, February 28, 2011
One might think....
that I had actually responded to one of these generous bequests from my so many filthy rich dead relatives... ; )
Monday, February 21, 2011
My Mayor is not @Corey Booker (or Oh, My Aching Back)
Corey Booker is the Mayor of Newark New Jersey.
There are two reasons this guy is even on my radar.
1) I like the show Brick City on the Sundance channel. It's an excellent documentary series about how the people of Newark New Jersey are turning their city around and becoming a better place for everyone. It's gritty, honest,candid and engrossing.
and
2) Corey Booker is on Twitter, where he communicates with his constituents about problems they face with both in their personal lives and with the city.
My mayor, R.T. Rybak is also on Twitter and I follow him because I live here.
Yesterday, I saw that he had tweeted the following:
I didn't think that much of it at the time because we were still receiving a 13" gift of snow from Mother Nature.
I had spent a good part of the day shoveling and last night I was out until almost midnight helping shovel out a neighbor who unlike me, likes to do it all near the end of the storm instead of periodically throughout the day.
Both our properties are on either side of the beginning of the alley. While we were shoveling last night, we were talking about having to do some of it again in the morning after the plows came through.
When I got up this morning and looked out the window, I saw that the plows had come thru alright:
Daggnabbit I groaned.(Okay, I didn't use that particular word) and knew that I had a heck of a lot of work to do.
I thought of Mayor Rybak's tweet about Corey Booker and sent Mayor Rybak the following tweet before heading out to shovel all that the plows had left behind (BTW, I'm going to reveal my Twitter name here, so feel free to follow me, but if you don't like what I Tweet, unfollow me. Don't try to engage me in Twitter word wars, I'm not interested. I've learned that lesson. Discussion, yes, word wars no.)
Anyways, I sent the following Tweet to the Mayor:
and headed out to clear the snow that the plow had deposited from the street into the plowed alley.
When I came back in, I found that Mayor Rybak had actually responded:
Okay big points for responding but seriously, I thought the Mayor must have someone he hired to plow himself out and maybe my picture wasn't making my question clear to him so I tweeted him again after spending 5 flipping hours clearing the alley:
and here are his next two posts which I have no idea whether or not they were addressed to me:
I didn't bother to respond.
If he ever decides to address my concern with anything other than platitudes or facts that are interesting but not what I was asking, I'll let you know.
But until then, I stand by the title of this post.
My Mayor is not Corey Booker.
Sigh.
There are two reasons this guy is even on my radar.
1) I like the show Brick City on the Sundance channel. It's an excellent documentary series about how the people of Newark New Jersey are turning their city around and becoming a better place for everyone. It's gritty, honest,candid and engrossing.
and
2) Corey Booker is on Twitter, where he communicates with his constituents about problems they face with both in their personal lives and with the city.
My mayor, R.T. Rybak is also on Twitter and I follow him because I live here.
Yesterday, I saw that he had tweeted the following:
I didn't think that much of it at the time because we were still receiving a 13" gift of snow from Mother Nature.
I had spent a good part of the day shoveling and last night I was out until almost midnight helping shovel out a neighbor who unlike me, likes to do it all near the end of the storm instead of periodically throughout the day.
Both our properties are on either side of the beginning of the alley. While we were shoveling last night, we were talking about having to do some of it again in the morning after the plows came through.
When I got up this morning and looked out the window, I saw that the plows had come thru alright:
Daggnabbit I groaned.(Okay, I didn't use that particular word) and knew that I had a heck of a lot of work to do.
I thought of Mayor Rybak's tweet about Corey Booker and sent Mayor Rybak the following tweet before heading out to shovel all that the plows had left behind (BTW, I'm going to reveal my Twitter name here, so feel free to follow me, but if you don't like what I Tweet, unfollow me. Don't try to engage me in Twitter word wars, I'm not interested. I've learned that lesson. Discussion, yes, word wars no.)
Anyways, I sent the following Tweet to the Mayor:
and headed out to clear the snow that the plow had deposited from the street into the plowed alley.
When I came back in, I found that Mayor Rybak had actually responded:
Okay big points for responding but seriously, I thought the Mayor must have someone he hired to plow himself out and maybe my picture wasn't making my question clear to him so I tweeted him again after spending 5 flipping hours clearing the alley:
and here are his next two posts which I have no idea whether or not they were addressed to me:
I didn't bother to respond.
If he ever decides to address my concern with anything other than platitudes or facts that are interesting but not what I was asking, I'll let you know.
But until then, I stand by the title of this post.
My Mayor is not Corey Booker.
Sigh.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Anticipating the loss of a very good friend...
This is my cat.
Speckles.
My neighbor had brought a skinny cat home that he had rescued from a building he was rehabbing and after a few meals, that cat started getting really fat. Oops. She was really pregnant.
Speckles was the runt of the litter and I adored her from the moment she was born.
She is now 17 years old.
She's a sweet, shy little creature, whose idea of having company is anyone who comes into my home via the radio or the television.
The closest she likes to get to the outside world is sniffing the dog when the dog comes back from wherever we take her.
By the various looks on her face, I have both amused and bored her as we've lived together through the Clinton, Bush and the first couple of the Obama years, since I'm a politics junkie and have never been completely happy with any of these administrations.
She has sat on my thigh, softly purring, during the typing of almost every word on this blog.
She is the only living thing in this house who has seen the space between the main floor and the basement when as a kitten she got tangled in a paper bag and in an effort to escape ran up a ladder and into small hole in the ceiling that had been put there in my uneducated attempt at trying to keep some pipes from freezing.
She loves watching snow fall, making winter all the more bearable for me!
She for 17 years been the one who runs to greet me when I get home, often before the dog who is much more devoted to my husband.
We've both been lucky in our mutual admiration society.
I like to read, she likes to sit on books.
I like to do crossword puzzles, she likes to push my pen.
I like to cook, she like to taste test and pick up spills.
I get cold feet, she likes to pretend to be a foot warmer.
The list could go on and on.
This past weekend Speckles stopped eating much of anything and her weight is dropping rapidly.
Today the vet came over and saw her and the prognosis isn't good. At all.
She is dying.
It could be days, a week, it could be a month, but it's coming.
As soon as I see she is uncomfortable in her quality of life, and I have to make the decision all pet owner's dread, I will. In the meantime, most everything else is going to take a back seat. I will spend most every moment thanking her for all the love, goodness and joy that she has graced my life with. And, she finally gets to have some Fancy Feast cat food after all these years of IAMS, even if she only wants to eat 1/2 teaspoon at a time. It makes her purr and right now that makes us both happy.
I love her and I will miss her.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
They Don't Write Letters Like This Anymore
March 5
Hotel Caravelle
Saigon
Dearest Ann,
While Ron writes a story, I'll get off a short note. We're on the sixth floor of the Caravelle overlooking part of downtown Saigon and directly overlooking the National Assembly. (which has a patch in its roof from a rocket hit last spring). Despite the news of last week, Saigon seems more secure than I had believed possible. The war seems both near and far. U.N. troops and police are at most intersections, many of which have sandbagged posts. At night, there is a constant overhead rumble of artillery fire. From the roof of the hotel on Monday night at midnight we watched a helicopter gunship send a stream of tracer bullets into the terrain 5 or 10 mines away, and last night we could see artillery shells exploding on the horizon. The sky is lit with flares over suspected VC positions and helicopters are constantly circling at night.
But life goes on here in the city in an unwarlike way. The streets are jammed with shoppers--many of them well dressed-- and the stores are well stocked with merchandise--TV sets, imported clothing from France and Italy etc. The streets are jammed with cars and motorbikes all day-- but after midnight are empty because of a curfew. The daytime noise level from the traffic is horrendous.
The city is quite a lovely place- wide traditional streets and handsome French buildings. We've been eating lunches and dinners at a pleasant little French restaurant up the street--and eating breakfast in a lovely garden courtyard of a hotel across the street from the Caravelle.
A senior military adviser from the province around Saigon drove us out to a hamlet last night on the edge of the city. Members of the popular self defense forces were standing guard on every corner. Most of them were young- 16 or 17-- and armed with carbines (something new since TET, when VC overran the hamlet). Then we drove out to a strategic bridge over the Saigon River where some VC activity was suspected. Another key bridge closer to Saigon had been mortared the night before. I was impressed with the caliber of the UN troops we met- there were 35 on duty, on the approaches, on the bridge, under the bridge and on the shores.One of them dropped an explosive charge into the river for us. They are dropped periodically to discourage the VC swimmers from approaching the bridge. The blast rattled the bridge.
The road to the bridge was lighted- as were most of the homes along the way and I felt about as safe as driving through East Middlebury.
There have been no rockets here since I arrived, though there were some on Monday morning-- one of which hit a hospital a couple of blocks from here. We drove over to another part of town Monday where one had hit a crowded working class neighborhood -- and killed several people.
Today, there was a Buddhist funeral procession past our hotel with seven caskets. But it wasn't much of a demonstration if that's what it was. The boy scouts on Monday were cleaning up the ruins of the blast site while the neighbors just stood around. I took this to be an indication of the nature of Vietnamese society.
More when I get home.
Love to all,
Leonard
Hotel Caravelle
Saigon
Dearest Ann,
While Ron writes a story, I'll get off a short note. We're on the sixth floor of the Caravelle overlooking part of downtown Saigon and directly overlooking the National Assembly. (which has a patch in its roof from a rocket hit last spring). Despite the news of last week, Saigon seems more secure than I had believed possible. The war seems both near and far. U.N. troops and police are at most intersections, many of which have sandbagged posts. At night, there is a constant overhead rumble of artillery fire. From the roof of the hotel on Monday night at midnight we watched a helicopter gunship send a stream of tracer bullets into the terrain 5 or 10 mines away, and last night we could see artillery shells exploding on the horizon. The sky is lit with flares over suspected VC positions and helicopters are constantly circling at night.
But life goes on here in the city in an unwarlike way. The streets are jammed with shoppers--many of them well dressed-- and the stores are well stocked with merchandise--TV sets, imported clothing from France and Italy etc. The streets are jammed with cars and motorbikes all day-- but after midnight are empty because of a curfew. The daytime noise level from the traffic is horrendous.
The city is quite a lovely place- wide traditional streets and handsome French buildings. We've been eating lunches and dinners at a pleasant little French restaurant up the street--and eating breakfast in a lovely garden courtyard of a hotel across the street from the Caravelle.
A senior military adviser from the province around Saigon drove us out to a hamlet last night on the edge of the city. Members of the popular self defense forces were standing guard on every corner. Most of them were young- 16 or 17-- and armed with carbines (something new since TET, when VC overran the hamlet). Then we drove out to a strategic bridge over the Saigon River where some VC activity was suspected. Another key bridge closer to Saigon had been mortared the night before. I was impressed with the caliber of the UN troops we met- there were 35 on duty, on the approaches, on the bridge, under the bridge and on the shores.One of them dropped an explosive charge into the river for us. They are dropped periodically to discourage the VC swimmers from approaching the bridge. The blast rattled the bridge.
The road to the bridge was lighted- as were most of the homes along the way and I felt about as safe as driving through East Middlebury.
There have been no rockets here since I arrived, though there were some on Monday morning-- one of which hit a hospital a couple of blocks from here. We drove over to another part of town Monday where one had hit a crowded working class neighborhood -- and killed several people.
Today, there was a Buddhist funeral procession past our hotel with seven caskets. But it wasn't much of a demonstration if that's what it was. The boy scouts on Monday were cleaning up the ruins of the blast site while the neighbors just stood around. I took this to be an indication of the nature of Vietnamese society.
More when I get home.
Love to all,
Leonard
Thursday, January 20, 2011
When the cold winds blow it's time for soup...
When tonight's wind chill drops to -25 below, I'll be cuddling up to a thick bowl of split pea and ham soup.
This thick, delicious, very filling soup not only will make your kitchen smell irrestistable, it is so easy that it practically makes itself!
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 carrots- diced
2 stalks of celery
1 large potato diced
1 lb. ham diced
8 c chicken stock
1 lb. bag dried split peas
1 bay leaf
pepper
Rinse peas.
While they drain, heat oil in large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until just tender.
Stir in garlic and ham and cook for 2 minutes.
Add chicken stock, peas and bay leaf.
Pepper to taste. (I don't add salt because the ham has more than enough in it)
Cook over low-medium heat for 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally.
Add the carrots, celery and potato and cook for 45 min more until the veggies are tender.
Remove (and compost) the bay leaf , ladle up and be happy!!
This thick, delicious, very filling soup not only will make your kitchen smell irrestistable, it is so easy that it practically makes itself!
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic- minced
2 carrots- diced
2 stalks of celery
1 large potato diced
1 lb. ham diced
8 c chicken stock
1 lb. bag dried split peas
1 bay leaf
pepper
Rinse peas.
While they drain, heat oil in large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until just tender.
Stir in garlic and ham and cook for 2 minutes.
Add chicken stock, peas and bay leaf.
Pepper to taste. (I don't add salt because the ham has more than enough in it)
Cook over low-medium heat for 1 1/2 hours stirring occasionally.
Add the carrots, celery and potato and cook for 45 min more until the veggies are tender.
Remove (and compost) the bay leaf , ladle up and be happy!!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The Learning Channel
Here's a copy of the letter I sent to TLC a few minutes ago.
After many years of enjoying many shows on TLC and a general live and let live attitude about programming that doesn't interest me, yesterday's events in Arizona have driven me to ask that you cancel Sarah Palin's show.
Her (and others) endless violence filled rhetoric and mis-stating of facts, while not solely responsible, has most certainly contributed to a national climate that culminated in the shooting of the congresswoman and killing of many innocent people yesterday.
TLC used to stand for The Learning Channel, (maybe it still does even if people don't refer to it that way much anymore) and it seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity for you to live up to that name and put human decency before profit.
It's probably too late for tonight's episode but until Sarah Palin's show is cancelled, I will not be watching any shows on TLC or any of your affiliated networks, including Animal Planet, any Discovery Channel, The Military Channel and all the rest.
I will block all these channels so no one else in my household can watch them either and I will tell everyone I know exactly what I've done and why and ask them to join me.
Thank you for your consideration.
Now I know that this is only my opinion but if you would like to make your voice heard please feel free to by going to TLC's customer relations at:
http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/
After many years of enjoying many shows on TLC and a general live and let live attitude about programming that doesn't interest me, yesterday's events in Arizona have driven me to ask that you cancel Sarah Palin's show.
Her (and others) endless violence filled rhetoric and mis-stating of facts, while not solely responsible, has most certainly contributed to a national climate that culminated in the shooting of the congresswoman and killing of many innocent people yesterday.
TLC used to stand for The Learning Channel, (maybe it still does even if people don't refer to it that way much anymore) and it seems to me that this is the perfect opportunity for you to live up to that name and put human decency before profit.
It's probably too late for tonight's episode but until Sarah Palin's show is cancelled, I will not be watching any shows on TLC or any of your affiliated networks, including Animal Planet, any Discovery Channel, The Military Channel and all the rest.
I will block all these channels so no one else in my household can watch them either and I will tell everyone I know exactly what I've done and why and ask them to join me.
Thank you for your consideration.
Now I know that this is only my opinion but if you would like to make your voice heard please feel free to by going to TLC's customer relations at:
http://corporate.discovery.com/contact/viewer-relations/
Thank you.
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