Favorite season II

Fall in New Hampshire, our former residence, was punctuated by the brilliant foliage of the deciduous forests covering the state.  The following pictures were taken during a mountain bike ride in the fall:

Lake Shore in Auburn NH

Little Massabesic Lake Auburn NH

Now we live in the Chihuahuan Desert in Southern New Mexico.  Desert----desolate, deserted, devoid of foliage and trees and rain------Wrong!!!


The following are pictures of beautiful crimson vegetation not far from the Mud Shack:

Red as far as you can see in this field

Another view of the same field

Ahhh, yes, New Mexico's State Vegetable

Chile peppers still on the plant, drying and turning red.  Edible foliage, unlike those red maple leaves back east.  And as the autumn brings lower temperatures, the heat of the chiles warms the body and soul.

Favorite Season

It's definitely feeling like autumn here in the Mesilla Valley.  Saturday morning we actually had to keep the windows closed as we headed to Nellie's Cafe for a filling breakfast of huevos rancheros with red and green chile meat.  Probably my favorite, and most filling, meal of the week:

Now usually the red chile is sort of smoky flavored and pretty mild.  But yesterday, it was hot and the green was hotter!!!!!!  Perfect for a fall morning, like the equivalent of pumpkin pancakes with fresh syrup and ham hash from Parker's Maple Barn in New Hampshire.

And it's cold,too---25 this morning at 10:00AM. (Uh, that's 25 Celsius, which is like 77 Fahrenheit.  But when you're used to 90's........)

Now Sunday was a dream day------unless you were a wife needing chores done.  FOUR football games on cable, a couple great last-minute come-from-behind epics, two bottles of Moose Drool (Bottlecaps:"Discard in nearest truckbed"; "Black Forest, Green Wallet").  For the uninitiated,

you can check the website at http://www.bigskybrew.com/

And the last great thing about today (or maybe not so great if you are sensitive about your age), our first grand-daughter turned Sweet 16!!!!!!!  Happy Birthday, Bella!!!!!!!!

Decade Later

NINE ELEVEN.......The first was 2001, now it's 2011, a decade later.  America will never forget.  Every media outlet pounces on the date and shakes it in our faces like a cat celebrating with its latest kill.  How can we forget?

The media concentrates on stories of brave survivors or remembrances of the lost.  Occasionally there is mention of the feeling of unity in the homeland.  After the disputed presidential election of 2000, the terrorist attack that brought down the iconic towers that symbolized America's power united the country as no other event since the assassination of John F Kennedy.  Just about every citizen was wrapped in Old Glory and supportive of the federal government.

Viewing the events of the past decade, the argument can be made that our patriotism and faith were betrayed by those in power.  A senseless war; a devastated economy; the abominations suffered by air travelers in the name of security; the erosion of constitutional rights to privacy and due process; a country so divided and partisan that it no longer appears capable of governing itself--- these are the fruits of 9/11.  One could argue that in fact the terrorists accomplished their objective---the US is very changed as a result of their attack and the change is not positive.

On this decadal anniversary, given the problems facing this nation, a return to the attitudes of cooperation and caring which followed the collapse of the towers would serve the country far better than the replaying of the tragic videos and the inane commentary of cable news anchors.  The American people and their leaders need to demonstrate that our values are superior to those of the perpetrators of the horrors of nine-eleven-two-thousand-one.

 



  

say what??????

Okay.  I kept to myself all summer and didn't speak out about the total idiocy in Washington over the debt ceiling debate.  I didn't comment on the total irrationality of the stock market as I wondered if anyone not already retired would reach that nirvana as equities tumbled and 401-k's went deeper underwater than a home in Las Vegas or Florida.  But this weekend ended it for me.

The accepted wisdom is that the "right" or "conservative" movement is against big government and for individual freedom.  The 10th Amendment, States' Rights, should reign supreme over the insidious creep of  the federal government with its regulations and money squandering.  If you believe this, I have a bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan to sell you.

Case in point: censorship.  Take a look at this link:  http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/the-neverending-campaign-to-ban-slaughterhouse-five/243525/#slide1

The list of books being banned at the bottom of the article is illuminating.  Even a pathetic (my opinion---apologies to Bella's many fans) work like Twilight gets attention from those who would dictate our tastes.

Even more absurd is a school board banning Sherlock Holmes!!!  Can you believe this:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/08/sherlock-holmes-banned-reading-lists-being-anti-mormon/41243/   What small government???

But the most glaring hypocrisy of the right is their stand on marriage.  Newly-minted presidential candidate Rick Perry has been represented as the ultimate states' rights conservative.  Once he even suggested secession as a solution to the over-reach of the federal government.  Gotta wonder about that---it sure didn't work out in 1861.  Now Perry, Michele Bachmann, and others of their ilk have trumpeted their support of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), ramrodded through by the homophobic Congress under Newt Gingrich and signed into law by Bubba Clinton.  The current administration, much to their credit, has suspended the legal defense of this act as federal over-reach.  Isn't it curious that the same argument is being used by the right to over-turn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), claiming it violates the 10th Amendment??  And DOMA doesn't??  What's the definition of "hypocrisy"?

Random Muttering

The headline this morning is about the head of the IMF allegedly sexually assaulting a chambermaid in his NY hotel suite.  Since Dominic Strauss-Kahn is also a front-runner in the upcoming French presidential elections, does anyone else wonder how much Nicolas Sarkozy or Marine LePen might have paid the maid??  I'm just sort of indulging my talk show host persona.......

"Big Oil" execs appeared before Congress asking to keep the deductions they didn't need in 2005 when oil was half the price it is now and profits were lower.  Obama has signaled the okay for more drilling.  And anything this country does to increase production, given our 3% of petroleum reserves contrasted to our 25% of total global petroleum usage, would have no real effect on pump prices for about three years.  Talk about your basic political feel-good worthless actions...Gas prices are ever-rising, naturally right as we plan a trip to CA to see kids & grandkids.

There's a Bayer aspirin commercial airing featuring a stupid American passenger and a smart and pretty Korean flight attendant informing him that aspirin is for pain....is this really what Bayer's market research shows??  Americans think aspirin is just for heart attacks??  No wonder we can't get anything done in this country----we really have lost it!!  Tried to embed the video but it appears to be unavailable due to copyright infringement issues on YouTube.  But the impression is that the German pharma giant has a pretty low estimation of the intelligence of the U S traveler and a higher one of the Korean employee--bet they've been looking at the trends in world-wide educational achievement........

Aside from the total lack of credible candidates for president coming from the GOP so far, the political event of the week will be the interplay between Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball and HBO's Bill Maher scheduled to air Tuesday.  I mean, this is the left's version of Hannity and Beck!!  The blow-hards of the Left!!!  All I can say is that if you watch, have a John Deere tractor with a max front-loader scoop because I imagine the bull-shit emanating from this encounter will far surpass any one's ability to shovel it out....

Finally, Monday we should hit the debt ceiling.  And your intrepid Congressman is where??  Not in D.C.  The House is in recess.........Given the marvelous job our representatives have done in removing the scourge of recession and deficits since the 2010 elections, maybe they should STAY IN PERMANENT RECESS...............

Enjoy your week,  hope you don't need to visit the gas pump, and, if you watch TV Tuesday, god bless........

Of Pictures and Peace

"Rejoice, rejoice, we have no choice..." CSN&Y, CarryOn.  And did we ever Sunday night and on into Monday.  Osama is dead, gunned down by Navy Seals in a million-dollar compound right under the nose of the Pakistani military.  For some thoughtful coverage of this event, check out The Atlantic website here.

Now President Obama has decided NOT to release the death photo.  I guess we'll be in for another round of screeching just like over his birth certificate.  Jon Stewart, with whom I frequently agree,  is among the "releasers."  This time he is wrong.  The decision not to release the picture(s) isn't about their gruesomeness or that they might be offensive or give children nightmares.  It's about the security of Americans around the world.  Think about that idiot who calls himself a man of god, pastor Terry Jones in Florida.  All his little stunt, burning a Quran, did was cause churches around the world to be burned; at least 19 American troops in Afghanistan to be killed;  and numerous other threats of reprisal that General Petraeus felt would be harmful to our war effort.  Imagine the wackos' and zealots' reactions if we publish a picture of the leader of Al-Qaeda with a bullet hole in his forehead.  Might as well invite the suicide bombers onto every subway and bus they can reach..........

And what's with people calling for blasting Pakistan?  Are you insane?  This is a barely functional state with a civilian government that doesn't control the military and an intelligence outfit that supports terrorism on one hand and fights it on the other.  And none of the three has a clue or control over either of the others!!  Let's not forget they have nuclear weapons as well.  We can guarantee not only more numerous terrorist attacks but probably even deadlier ones if we pull the rug out from under the Pakistani government or condemn them too harshly.

Lost in all the Osama coverage is the little news item that the two Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, have signed an agreement to co-operate and try to unite the Palestinian peoples.  Binyamin Netanyahu the Wahoo Israeli prime minister calls this a "great advance" for terrorism.  I wonder how he can negotiate a meaningful peace treaty with only one of the two governments of the Palestinian people.  Maybe Israel under this guy doesn't really want peace??

"All we are saying is give peace a chance." John Lennon

A Poem

May 1 1945 Hitler dead
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
My Lai Lieutenant Calley
Pol Pot
Oklahoma City
Twin Towers
Kandahar
May 1 2011 Osama dead
Jesus and John singing Imagine
World Peace??
I guess.......