Who's Civilized? - Grindstaff Chronicles
Interesting How the U.S. is Regressing
Schuyler was busy preparing cocktails for this evening as everybody began gathering. Tonight he's planning on serving some of us a Presidente, a drink from 1920s Cuba. He made the drink with Bacardi white rum, Curaçao, Martini & Rossi dry vermouth and grenadine. For those wishing a good nonalcoholic cocktail, he made Mary Pickfords, leaving out the rum.
Schuyler was busy preparing cocktails for this evening as everybody began gathering. Tonight he's planning on serving some of us a Presidente, a drink from 1920s Cuba. He made the drink with Bacardi white rum, Curaçao, Martini & Rossi dry vermouth and grenadine. For those wishing a good nonalcoholic cocktail, he made Mary Pickfords, leaving out the rum.
The two couples who recently moved here from Iraq have settled in nicely, and it's been a joy having them as neighbors. They brought new life to our nightly gatherings. All four of them are more cosmopolitan and sophisticated than we are, but that just brings a new and good dimension to our group.
Having lived in a part of the world that has endured abominable violations of human rights, they were telling us that just before moving here they heard that next week, in England, there's going to be an international conference on how to use less lethal weapons on human beings.
To make a point, Barry, who moved here with his wife Kim from Israel to put the violence in the Middle East behind them and allow their children to grow up in a more peaceful atmosphere, sarcastically asked: why? When confronted with a potential assailant or miscreant, why not blow his brains out, or spill his intestines all over the place first, and ask questions later? Why not shoot him to smithereens right off the bat, and avoid all those inconvenient Miranda rights, trials by juries of one's peers, appeals, good legal representation and so forth, as the Bush administration would like?
Well, we all know that in reality Barry is a very gentle man, and if he weren't Jewish, he'd make a perfect Quaker. He was just trying to bring our attention to the fact that he'd also heard about the Less Lethal Weapons International Conference, but also had found out that the United States, i.e. Bush & Co., were absolutely not interested in attending this conference and learning how to be more humane. No, all the way down the chain of command, including down to that nefarious woman, Rice, who has approved the use of torture by the U.S. all over the world, they're more interested in taking this country back to the dark ages, where torture and inhumane treatment reigned supreme.
Kudos
With sincere reverence, in silence, we gave thanks to those countries who are sending delegates to the Less Lethal Weapons Conference. If you thought the present administration was sending any delegates, you'd be wrong. Only 15 Americans are attending the conference, 0, zilch, nada from the Bush government. Where does civilization end? At the current White House?
With sincere reverence, in silence, we gave thanks to those countries who are sending delegates to the Less Lethal Weapons Conference. If you thought the present administration was sending any delegates, you'd be wrong. Only 15 Americans are attending the conference, 0, zilch, nada from the Bush government. Where does civilization end? At the current White House?
Bush to His Minions: We The Closet King Command You, Return This Country's Civil and Human Rights To That Period Prior To June 15, 1215
'Ol George, the criminally megalomaniac son of that infamously cold woman Barbara Bush, has tried, since usurping the presidency, to destroy our rights, won slowly century by century, since King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. Bob said that's an awful lot of centuries W. wants to take us back to, but he got Carte Blanche to do it from 59,054,087 very stupid people, and from thousands of truly ignorant so-called "born-again christians" who wouldn't know true Christianity if it bit them on the butt.
'Ol George, the criminally megalomaniac son of that infamously cold woman Barbara Bush, has tried, since usurping the presidency, to destroy our rights, won slowly century by century, since King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. Bob said that's an awful lot of centuries W. wants to take us back to, but he got Carte Blanche to do it from 59,054,087 very stupid people, and from thousands of truly ignorant so-called "born-again christians" who wouldn't know true Christianity if it bit them on the butt.
Barry, to finish his point, said that from now on he would only be able to think of the Republican Party as the party of those who would revise history and render quaint the significance of the signing of the Magna Carta. Let the torture and killing begin!
Dinner by Shelley and Cathy
Tonight, Shelley and Cathy wanted to prepare most of our dinner. The transition from talking about less lethal weapons and the obliteration of our rights to a sure-fire banquet was strange, but we can get so involved in the horrors committed by this administration that we need to wind down, and our dinners are the mechanism that allow us to think about more pleasant things.
Tonight, Shelley and Cathy wanted to prepare most of our dinner. The transition from talking about less lethal weapons and the obliteration of our rights to a sure-fire banquet was strange, but we can get so involved in the horrors committed by this administration that we need to wind down, and our dinners are the mechanism that allow us to think about more pleasant things.
We went in to the large dining room and the teenagers went to their table in the great room. Seconds after being seated, Shelley and Cathy served us truly delectable Stilton Cheese and Walnut tartlets.
They poured small wine glasses of a very dry González Byass sherry, and by the quantity, we could tell that the sherry would be paired both with the delicious tartlets and the soup course. We were right, the perfect, simple chicken consommé they also paired with the same dry sherry. Cathy is an expert at baking fish, and tonight her Baked Red Snapper fillets were cooked to flaky perfection in Lucini extra virgin olive oil and lemon wedges. On the plates with the fish, she served a small mushroom salad and smoky, grilled corn with Monterey jack cheese, and paired the dish with a lively Riesling, a Wolf Blass Eden-Clare Valleys Gold Label.
Cathy served small dollops of mango sorbet as in interlude between the fish course and the meat course, which Max had helped them grill. Hoping that our new neighbors from Iraq would like the dish, Max, Shelley and Cathy grilled tapenade covered lamb and onion on skewers, served them over basmati rice, and added just a small salad of tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. They chose an Argentine Cabernet Sauvignon, a Domaine Chandon Terrazas de los Andes Mendoza Reserva.
Back to the Great Room
Dinner was delicious, and we still had Shelley and Cathy's dessert to look forward to. Because we wanted to talk to the teenagers about the Magna Carta, we decided to have dessert and after-dinner coffee in the great room with the kids. The chestnut and pecan tarts were so good, and such a beautiful way to end a good dinner.
Dinner was delicious, and we still had Shelley and Cathy's dessert to look forward to. Because we wanted to talk to the teenagers about the Magna Carta, we decided to have dessert and after-dinner coffee in the great room with the kids. The chestnut and pecan tarts were so good, and such a beautiful way to end a good dinner.
We didn't want to scare the teenagers with our fears that this government is trying to do undo all the human rights gains we've achieved since 1215, but we did want to bring their attention to how long mankind has been struggling to be free and ruled righteously. We gave them all this web site address so they could study the Magna Carta in more detail:
The site is just splendid, and we, the adults, will continue to go to it frequently.
Summary:
Are we, as a people, going to let this administration take away our civil rights, and take us back in time to the era before the Magna Carta was signed in 1215? It seems that half the country and the extreme religious right want just that.
Are we, as a people, going to let this administration take away our civil rights, and take us back in time to the era before the Magna Carta was signed in 1215? It seems that half the country and the extreme religious right want just that.
©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
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Reprinted from The Grindstaff Chronicles Newsletter which is published in the USA by farmers, ranchers, and neighbors.
It is intended to share the thoughts and lifestyle of people who work hard, like to relax and enjoy life, and are often dismayed by news, politics, and the events of the day that defy common sense.
http://www.GrindstaffChronicles.com
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