America Is Losing the War On DRUGS

America Is Losing the War On DRUGS
Naples, FL  34104		December 27 2005
"Don't Talk To Strangers" hasn't lost its impact from parents of every generation The "Say No To Drugs" is reaching the wrong audience, according to Eric R. Danton, Hartford Courant, a daily in Connecticut. He is the rock critic. Danton says that "many dealers sell drugs because it's the fastest, easiest way they know to make money, which they need to buy the one thing that truly matters to them: STATUS. He refers to Rapper 50 Cent, who owns a mansion in Farmington, CT. He has written a book, an autobiography, From Pieces to Weight. He has cooked and sold cocaine when he was 11 years old. He learned the lucrative economics of the street instead of applying for college. He wrote that the idea of going to school for another six years to make less money than he could make in six months is laughable. He made $24.9 million in earnings as a rapper last year, according to Rolling Stone Status. You cannot reach this group until they decide that drugs are BAD to deal or to take. This group never will be reached with "SAY NO TO DRUGS" if they ever see the message. It is too bad! "Don't Talk to Strangers" When I was a small child, my mother always said: "Don't Talk To Strangers." I am sure that my friends who had a horrible experience recently were given the same advice. My friends are opening a small deli restaurant. The husband received a traffic violation and had to appear in court. While in court, they met a couple who were there for a violation. They became friends and invited them to their condo. They asked the "friends" to help them install sinks in their restaurant. They said: "Yes." The "friends" took mattresses from the condo and stayed at the store to install the sinks. That is not all they took. They had drinking parties at the store and shared cocaine with others. My friends were in the hole for helping these people get their car out. It was impounded. They also had other expenses totaling $2,000. My friends changed the locks on the restaurant and their condo after they got rid of them. Asked if they would talk to strangers again, they said "Never!" Our parents did give good advice way back then. We should take it.
Cynthia Bercowetz (consumreye@aol.com) Author/Consumer Advocate 738 Landover Circle, C 102 Naples, FL   34104 Phone : 239-455-1694

All God's Animals

The Lord is My Shepherd
Schuyler and Elizabeth haven't left town yet, but tonight Schuyler decided that instead of mixing cocktails for us, he would serve everybody some just-chilled sparkling wine since the holidays are upon us. Thankfully, non-alcoholic sparkling wine is easy to find, and he had several bottles available for those who don't drink.

 

Quite a few of us are gathered in the great room, but many couples and their children have left to spend the holidays with relatives in other states and even other countries. One of our main rabble-rousers isn't planning on going anywhere, and we thought tonight he'd naturally bring up some of the really dark things that are going on in the White House, so we were all surprised when he said he wanted to talk about the kindness we owe animals. Yes, you could have heard a pin drop, the room grew so quiet. Out of respect for his privacy, we never mention him by name, but over the years we've had a chance to grow close enough to gain his confidence and trust. We've also learned a lot about his life, and that's why we protect his privacy. Tonight, we'll be speaking a lot for him, though of course you know that he's the one who proposed that we talk about kindness to animals.

Our neighbor was so brutally abused as a child, that fifty-five years later he is still in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. That, to us, seems like an awfully long time to suffer, but it does explain why this neighbor in particular would choose to talk about kindness to animals. We've learned, over the years, that he has made a "career" of adopting severely abused animals and nursing them back to health. Back in the early eighties he at one point had as many as fourteen dogs the nearest animal shelter asked him to "foster" until good homes could be found for them. Today, out here on a farm, with the room to do it, he takes in horribly abused horses who have had such cruel things done to them we can't even stand to think about them, yet he spends years little by little, small step by small step, building up their trust and gaining their confidence.

 

One of the ex-race horses has been so completely transformed that today his behavior is more dog-like than horse-like: he follows our neighbor around wherever he goes, and if given a chance, licks him all over, just like one of his dogs would, and that tells you why tonight our neighbor wanted to talk a bit about kindness to animals. After all, Elizabeth said, for those who are Christian, you cannot ignore all the animal symbolism that fills that particular religion. Not for nothing is Jesus referred to as a shepherd, and not for nothing are we called his flock.

The kindness for animals that we really wanted to talk about tonight has much to do with the season. A lot of feasting is going to go on over the next week or two, and as you know quite well by now, we do an awful lot of eating of flesh out here on our farms and ranches. Our neighbor does also, but only because of the way we deal with such things out here: any animal that is butchered for food, has, first, led a life without fear, without confinement, and without cruelty. Secondly, at the time of its death it still is dealt with humanely and with no foreknowledge of impending death.

 

Not just our neighbor, but now, all of us, have the same ethics. There is absolutely no reason to tolerate cruel treatment of animals intended for human consumption. Not all of you are as lucky as we are, since we control every day of our animals' lives, but you do have a choice. You can choose to buy cheap cuts of meat, which guarantee that the animal you are about to eat led a horrific life and met a horrific death, or you can be a bit more choosy and decide to spend just a bit more money and buy only flesh that comes from animals who have been dealt with humanely throughout their lives, and most importantly, at the time of their deaths.

Today, there is more awareness of how the industry deals with farm animals, and maybe this is a good time of year to make all of us, and all those people we know, more aware. There are more breeders, farmers and ranchers who are willing to give their animals a decent life and a humane death. Cut out a beer here or a cappuccino there, and you can buy beef, chicken, pork, fish or what have you from certified humane sources.

Our neighbor wanted us to make sure and tell you about a very short but extremely poignant little "cartoon" that is on the internet on how horribly we are allowing farm animals to be raised and killed right now. Please, be humane, and go to your computer and find www.themeatrix.com Please watch it and follow some of its suggestions.

Also The Humane Society of the United States has a good web site that is full of suggestions on how to go about eating the meals you like while ensuring that the animals that feed you led good lives and had humane deaths. Please, our neighbor begged, tell everybody to go to www.hsus.org/farm_animals

 

Because of the time of year, many of us will be having turkey, among other dishes. The Humane Society web site has so much information about Organic BreadBasket of Winnipeg, who have merited their "Certified Humane Raised & Handled" label. These turkeys are sold under the tradename Pop's Farm. Please, our group entreated us to write, try and get these turkeys. There is still time, not much perhaps, but if you try you can still get them. For those of you fortunate enough to live close to a Whole Foods Market, you can find them there,

For the holidays, regardless of your religion or lack thereof, you can do something worthy of this time of year: pressure your local grocer so that together we can all put pressure on the shameful U.S. Department of Agriculture to enforce the ban on the inhumane and unspeakably cruel way in which our food animals are slaughtered. It's such a small thing to do, but such an important one. Why, we all wondered, would you want to eat an animal who was only partially dead before it began being deboned? Why would you want to eat an animal who was being boiled alive? Why would you want to have a holiday ham, knowing that the poor beast was strung up on meat hooks by one of its legs and swung on a conveyor-like contraption long before it was fully dead?

 

The USDA is just another word for Sick Nazis. Do you know how many obscenely ill animals they allow to enter the meat market? Again, just as with inhumane treatment, only we can make a difference, the animals cannot speak up for themselves. Do you think, our neighbor asked, you are too busy to write a letter, make a phone call or make a donation? And you call yourself a human being? Think about it: The Lord is My Shepherd, and who is the shepherd for all those millions of animals being inhumanely being raised and slaughtered?

http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRS/abstract.cfm?NLEid=61299

 

The Internet address we cited above is important, please visit this site. Please be a Shepherd, helpless animals need you. We, on our farms and ranches, have found that we need each other, and caring for our animals has helped our souls in ways too mysterious to explain, but when we go to bed at night, if we've had a good visit with our neighbors and know that we have been kind to our animals, we have a beautiful night's sleep, and wish the same for our animals and animals everywhere, after all, we are human beings, and human beings can be shepherds too.

 

Lastly, just before going in to dinner, our neighbor asked us to beg you to please, also, search these last two web sites. He thinks there is so much we can do for animals, who without help from kind human beings, are always, inevitably, mistreated. The sites are:

 

www.farmsanctuary.org and www.nodowners.org
Thank you for your patience with us, distant neighbors.

 

Dinner Gong and Hungry Teenagers
With so many of our neighbors already away for the holidays, we had the fireplace in the dining room roaring and all of us, adults and teenagers, were able to sit together. This doesn't happen very often, the pleasure of having three generations all sitting at the dining table at the same time. Our first course was an exquisite Artichoke and Angel Hair Pasta Frittata. A frittata is simply defined as "an unfolded omelet often containing chopped vegetables or meats."

 

Our eggs, of course, come from our free-range chickens, so we could have our Frittata knowing everything was o.k. with this dish. The parmiggiano-reggiano cheese was superb, making this simple appetizer rich and unforgettable. We felt terrible, enjoying our frittatas with some delcious sherry while the teenagers could not have any. European-style, however, the oldest ones do get the occasional sip of sherry because when they come of age we don't want them thinking good wine or liqueurs are some kind of forbidden, taboo pleasure that has to be consumed immoderately; we want them to think it's just an additional pleasure to be consumed in moderation with good food.

Tonight, with so many of our friends gone, we thought we'd have a simpler dinner, and we thought this simple soup would be easy to prepare (well, for some, like Max and Charlotte) and satisfyingly warm: Consommé with Agnolotti (filled with shrimp and crab.) The consommé is made with Martini & Rossi Vermouth, so the adults had a small glass of vermouth with theirs.

 

Our next, and last course, was Tagliatelle with Mushrooms and Bell Peppers, a very satisfying pasta dish. Because we were having far fewer courses than we normally do, the large, beautiful Italian bowls we used tonight were filled to overflowing. We chose a Côtes de Provence Rosé for the dish, which wasn't heavy enough to warrant one of the heavier Tuscan wines. The rosé was fresh and fruity, perfect for a lighter pasta dish.

 

Winding Down
We went back to the great room to have Orange Madeleines with our after-dinner coffee. We are so used to our large group that the room might have felt a bit empty if it hadn't been for the large tree we had set up. In a small way, it made up for the absence of our good neighbors and friends. Tomorrow we'll have a special meal, and then the last few neighbors planning trips will be leaving.

 

Summary:
Today, there is no excuse for human beings in this country to accept anything less than the most humane treatment of animals destined for our consumption. This humane treatment needs to occur throughout the animals' lives, and especially as the hour of their slaughter arrives. They should never, not for an instant, have to feel fear or panic. If we can't do that for them, then we don't deserve it for ourselves. This is the "holiday season" and all we can say is: eat responsibly, eat compassionately.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

The United States Needs Friends, Not More Enemies

Now We're Picking A Fight With Our Neighbor To The North
Schuyler mixed Icebreakers for us as the gang gathered in the great room. He made them with Corazón Silver Tequila and Cointreau. A delicious drink, new to us and a relative of the daiquiri. For those who don't drink alcoholic beverages, Schuyler always has good alternative.

Jeremy and Beatrix were pretty upset over a report that Fox News' Your World host Neil Cavuto was stirring up trouble between the United States and Canada. What most upset them was the knowledge that right now we have precious few friends in the world, so alienating your next door neighbor and important trading partner, to Jeremy and Beatrix just seemed stupid. Looking around the room, not one of us could disagree, and found it revoltingly stupid of this administration, even via a third-rate newscaster such as Neil Cavuto, to allow criticism of our neighbor to the north. The criticism idiot Neil Cavuto was directing at Canada he addressed to Canadian lawyer and political analyst Patrice Burnett.

Cavuto's problem, other than the prickly pear he appears to have sat on and then couldn't extricate, was criticism against Bush's refusal to join the world in supporting the Kyoto Treaty. This criticism comes not only from Canada, but from most of the world. Initially, the Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin diplomatically avoiding citing the United States by name; nevertheless the idiot Neil Cavuto insisted on insulting Patrice Burnett by barking: "Could our neighbors to the north soon be our enemies?" and worse, "Have the Canadians gotten a little bit too big for their britches?" So, only the United States can be too big for its britches, like the nasty bully country we've become?

Max and Charlotte, life-long fans of Canada and its intensely principled people, were incensed. They pointed out that the insane far-right media commentators, like Ann Coulter, always spoke not from the orifice where the food goes in but rather, from the one where it leaves the body, much the way Bush does. And, they said, the matter could have died on the airwaves, the way so much idiocy does, but the United States ambassador couldn't help adding his poop-wisdom to the matter by intemperately stating in a speech on December 13, responding to Mr. Martin's really very low key and diplomatic approach, with these acerbic words: "But (criticizing the United States) is a slippery slope [ye gads, shiver me timbers!] and all of us should hope that it doesn't have a long-term impact on our relationship." Thus, Max said, ensuring that the idiot Cavuto's inane insults will now escalate and lose us yet another friend.

Friends. Bush Has To Ask, What's That?
This administration has certainly won high marks in the kick the poop out of everybody around the world, we can go it alone department, so bring them on! But, Alex said, somebody ought to shake some sense into that intellectually impaired paranoid fascist with the hopes of being an über-fuehrer because not only has he alienated the entire world, he has alienated the principled among us, Democrats, and in the last couple of weeks he's alienated most of the members of his own party. Smarts. The guy ain't got 'em, and now we're losing one more friend. And guess what, Canada is a sovereign country and doesn't have to allow us to use its territory to transport our oil from Alaska.

Somebody needs to muzzle and fire ambassador David Wilkins, who, around here, would be just about at the bottom of the pecking order in no matter what herd we were talking about.

The whole argument is about global warming, and only an idiot would deny that we are wiping out not only the glaciers, ice caps, Eskimos, polar bears, fish around the world's oceans, clean air and an eco-system those rabid religious people said their very God created. We're also wiping ourselves out, and the pushy, obnoxious bully United States, via the darkest human being to ever be president of the United States, is refusing to do anything even remotely like being cooperative, helpful or concerned. Big money trumps life, every time.

The Teenagers Are Ready for Dinner and The Sleet Made Us Hungry For Hot Soup
Secretly, we're happy that the teenagers don't have the same "social modesties" we adults have. When they're ready to eat, they don't pretend they're not. They really go at that dinner gong and tell us it's time for dinner, no matter how "important" what we're talking about is.

Art and Terry, who have the organic produce and goat cheese farm down the road from us, brought three different kinds of goat cheese and made us some exquisite Filo Triangles filled with the different kinds of goat cheese. They paired their inspired appetizer with a Domecq Manzanilla Fino sherry, which was also going to be paired with our soup tonight, a collaborative effort by Max, Charlotte, Jeremy and Beatrix: classic Bouillabaisse. A few of us thought a dry, Alasation Riesling might also be good with the Bouillabaisse. One that we tried was a Zind-Humbrecht very dry Riesling.

Beatrix and Sagidah, in a first, paired up to prepare our fish course. Tonight was the first night our British Beatrix and our Jewish Iraqi Sagidah decided to stop being shy and join forces to add plenty to our banquet. The results: amazingly exquisite. They served us Prosciutto-Wrapped Broiled Salmon with Porcini, Oyster and Cremini Mushroom Sauce. Served over simple steamed white rice and with flawless steamed asparagus, the dish was perfect, as was their wine choice: a white Bourgogne Blanc Cuvée St. Vincent. In the affordability range it just squeaked by and was well worth it.

Jeremy and Max took on the task of preparing our meat course, one they found easy to work on, Roast Leg of Lamb, roasted with lots of garlic and parsley. Their contribution satisfied us all so much, but of course the Roast Lamb wasn't all they prepared. There was an exquisite Fricasée of Wild Mushrooms and Provençal Roasted Tomatoes. The guys paired their masterpiece with a well-balanced Saint-Julien Bordeaux.

For dessert, Charlotte made some simple peach tartlets and served us some beautifully just-chilled Carta Nevada Freixenet sparkling wine. Right after that, we joined the teenagers in the great room where Max was serving just-brewed espresso.

If the obscene U.S. ambassador to Canada, and the very-much pretend-rancher Bush gave a damn about the land their grandchildren will inherit, they would change their minds on Kyoto: but, the facts are there in black and white, quite plain: Bush just doesn't have what it takes to take compassion on the world. Make a buck today; tomorrow doesn't count.

Funny, Elizabeth said as she finished her espresso: the ludicrous "born-again christians" are embroiled in this battle-to-the-death over who, what or when the earth was created, but they're willing to kiss the ugliest part of Bush's anatomy just so long as he doesn't lift a finger to save the earth. Funny? Disgusting.

Summary:
The United States loses more friends every day. Now, it's itching to lose Canada as a friend. This administration doesn't give a damn about the world it occupies, nor does it care what it's few remaining allies think about the world and its dwindling health. The United States, thanks to Bush's considering it irrelevant, has already lost all of Latin America; tomorrow, it's losing Canada. It's a cold world out there baby, when you don't have any friends left.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

A Battle Won In a War That Should Never Have Been Fought

We're Going to Bring Dignity Back to The White House
Yeah, sure, and I'm going to let the sexual pervert down the street baby-sit my kids while I go catch a flic. After all, he said "Trust me, I'm a good guy." Just today, Senator John McCain won the battle over allowing the White House to use torture. Problem is, Alex said, there should never, in this country, have been a war between Senator McCain and the amazingly disgusting White House over whether the United States should or should not condone torture. It should always have been a mute point.

However, Alex continued, The United States allowed itself to be overrun by thugs of the worst sort. "America the Beautiful" suddenly has a very hollow ring. What can be beautiful about a country that allows, and votes into power, a gang of thugs so low that they would condone torture? The "people" Bush has chosen to surround him have everything in common with the people Hitler chose to surround himself with, and no, Alex said, he wasn't running off at the mouth, he's planning on telling us more about this subject in the next few days. Anyway, so much for "dignity" Bush. Look up the word, it might surprise you.

This war: It Should Never Have Had to Happen
Why, why in the world would a United States senator have to wage war to the death with the "president" of the United States? Why should a brutally tortured soldier from the Vietnam war have to butt heads with the biggest ascholss in the history of the United States? Well, in great part because of the insanely megalomaniac people he chooses to get counsel from, each of whom has encouraged the use of torture and to flaunt the rule of law; not just United States law, but International law.

You'd have to have been living under a rock somewhere if you weren't aware of the fact that Dick Cheney, he with the little swastika in the corner of his perpetually snarling lips was openly, fascistly, advocating for allowing the CIA to continue to engage in torture; he fought John McCain, tooth, nail and snarling lips right up until the end. That ferociously inept and unpleasant "woman," advocate of torture and everything that can be accomplished under cover of night and secrecy, just hauled the United States through the dung all across Europe, denying the use of what her "president" and "president of vice" wanted so dearly in their dung-filled hearts: the ability to continue to use torture. Fortunately, the European Union has more cojones than most citizens of the United States and is planning on bringing this entire embarrassing practice into the open.

The European Union is going to bring some of this administration to justice. But, as the French say, let's get back to our mutton: why, in 2005, should any United States senator have to battle the administration of the United States to forbid it from doing what the world already has agreed to forbid in treaty after treaty, in agreement after agreement. What shame this scrofulous cabal has rained down upon us, and, Jane asked us all, how many generations is it going to take before we can wash this dung off of our collective hands? We've been damaged, immeasurably.

Finishing Our Cocktails, With Bent Heads
Schuyler had fixed us a delicious cocktail called Fruits of the Desert, made with golden Corazón tequila, triple sec and Cointreau. Delicious, except for the shame we felt for "America the Beautiful" and the pride we felt in that one patriot, John McCain. The ink hasn't dried on the documents prepared tonight, and already his triumph is being shot out of the air by Bush, Cheney, the toad Gonzáles, the pig Rove, the viper Rice and guess who else? The U.S. army, already planning a secret addendum to The Army Field Manual, so Senator John McCain's labors are not over, the battle still continues, surreptitiously, under cover of night and cover of the machinations of people we once thought honorable, Senator Lindsay Graham, who is going "emasculate" McCain's triumph.

Hopefully, Senator Arlen Specter can deter him, but how shameful that Senator Graham has chosen to act as without cojones as Bush does ever day of his sad life. And Duncan Hunter? Hopefully somebody will tie the proverbial piano wire tightly 'round his family jewels. In a nutshell, Max told us, McCain tried to save us, Bush took the glory, and tomorrow, when we wake up, the battle will continue, and the repulsive Rice thing and the nasty Aztec toad Gonzáles will be goading Bush on into continuing to thwart the rule of law and decency.

Watch out, Alex told us, the White House is not going to take this defeat lying down. It's going to keep snarling at John McCain, and We The People are going to have to join the Europeans in being more vigilant. We held our heads down, since there was no joy in the great room. Our only joy, it seems, is going to come from the noble Europeans and their unflagging investigations. Give us French Fries or anything nobly European any day, over anything dastardly this administration would feed us.

The Children and the Dinner Gong
The teenagers, animatedly engaged in their own conversations, are never shy about letting us know when it's time to eat, which is probably a good thing, since some nights we could talk about our world all night and never think of food; so, young gang, thank you for reminding us that we also have to replenish our bodies, along with our minds.

We took our places at the two dining tables, the one in the large dining room for the adults and the dining table in the great room for the "young adults," also known as "those who will carry the torch into a better future." We sat down to Max and Charlotte's superb Beef Satay and Hot Mango Sauce. The perfect beef was broiled on skewers and served with the Mango Sauce. We agreed with Max and Charlotte's choice of a Sauvignon Blanc for this appetizer, and were pleased beyond belief when they poured us one of the top, award-winning Sauvignon Blancs for the 2002 California season, the 2002 Château St. Jean La Petite Étoile Vineyard, Russian River Valley Fumé Blanc (Sauvignon Blanc.)

Bob and Judy brought a Lentil and Orechiette soup, spiced with cloves, celery, marjoram, basil and thyme. Delicious? Well, a little bit more than inspired. It was perfect for a cold evening, and the lentils made some of our neighbors comfortable and right at home, which, after all, is the point of these good dinners.

The next intricate course required the savvy and patience of both Charlotte and Beatrix. To some of us, the dish seemed impossible to put together for 50 people, but these two ladies acted as if they had done nothing. Well, you decide. The dish was Smoked Salmon and Wild Rice Ramekins. Each of the ramekins they lined with the smoked salmon and then they filled the cavity with feta cheese, diced cucumber, wild rice and fresh chervil. On the plates, they place some lime wedges but no vegetables. We were all amazed by this dish which looked so complicated and tasted so sublime and delicate. The 2001 Paraíso, Monterey County Chardonnay they selected to pair with the salmon was a perfect choice.

Before Max's meat course, we were served small dollops of Key Lime Sorbet, beautifully providing a "palate" interlude between the fish and the meat course.

Max had planned for a long time to prepare us Grilled Rosemary Chicken in individual clay pots. It seems that every month he was buying a couple of wonderful clay, covered pots in which to prepare his fabulous chicken. Each pot contained a wonderful array of vegetables; something to please every one of us. For the chicken, Max and Charlotte selected another award-winning wine, a 2002 Firestone Vineyards, Santa Ynez Valley Syrah.

Beatrix must have spent a long time preparing our Mango Mousse In Individual Ramekins, but of course, she said that it had been a snap. Paired with a sweet Italian sparkling wine, it was a perfect end to wonderful dinner. All we wanted after this little banquet was to join the teenagers in the great room for our after-dinner coffee. Their company and chatter is just as good as sparkling wine!

Sorry guys, I just lost my supper, and then some. Most of the crowd has left, but I made the mistake of catching a bit of late news, and found the obscenely hideous, hairless-barrel-chested, spiny-haired, splayed footed obsidian knife-carrying Aztec torturer Alberto González, whose mother must have co-habited with Beelzebub to spawn such a sick child, on national television, saying he didn't know anything, not one iota, of the 26 prisoners killed while in U.S. custody. He pretended from Hades-only ignorance of any wrongdoing, when he was the architect of this country's widespread use of torture. How grotesque it is to see the "attorney general of the United States" to play stupid, ignorant, innocent toad. As I lost my dinner, I thought how hideously repulsive all the people encircling the insanely sick Bush are.

Cheney, with his perpetual snarl ought to be locked up; Rove, rotund and hog-snouted, ought to be put on a spit, with the spit being properly inserted from one orifice to the next; Rice, with that almost insanely dismissive attitude towards the rest of the world, except for the man she longs to sleep with, should be done with as was done with Joan of Arc, though not for her saintliness, of course; Gonzáles, well, any death would be too kind; like his ancestors, he should be smothered in honey and placed in a pit of fire ants; and then there's the fancy-costume-liking "president" for whom no death should be merciful: judging from the acts of torture he adores with all his "born-again christian" fascist heart, he should have the soles of his feet slammed with bats until he dies. Sorry sweetie, but faith has its limits, and this dung-like crew has made mine snap.

Summary:
John McCain won an anti-torture battle yesterday, and immediately, the administration started to scuttle it. When George Bush and the guy who browns his nose, Dick Cheney, said they wanted to keep torture, they meant it, and they haven't stopped this insane war with John McCain. They are already adding a secret addendum to the Army Filed Manual. Nice people, those Bush people. Whew, if we could just have them on the ranch for one day they'd be singing a very different song.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

PureThink Offers College Newspapers New Tool to Bolster Ad Revenue

PureThink Offers College Newspapers New Tool to Bolster Ad Revenue

Free classified ad portal, StudentTrader.com, seeks to help student newspapers recoup lost advertising revenue.

HERNDON, Va. (PRWEB) December 15, 2005 -- In an effort to help college newspapers boost shrinking ad revenue, PureThink today unveiled its plan to partner student newspapers with its free classified ad portal, StudentTrader.com.

Through this partnership plan, college newspapers would offer local advertisers the ability to buy local, non-intrusive ad space on StudentTrader.com, a free cyber marketplace for college students. StudentTrader.com provides a forum for college students to buy, sell and barter books and other items with students on their campus, and also allows advertisers to reach one of the most sought-after demographics.

Partnering college newspapers can use StudentTrader.com as another revenue source, keeping a percentage of the proceeds from the online advertisements and paid job postings for their specific school, offsetting the revenue lost to free ad portals.

In addition, PureThink would provide college newspapers with essential tools to translate their print ads to an online version for posting on the newspaper’s web site. In return, partnering college newspapers would provide marketing and advertising assistance to StudentTrader.com by promoting the portal’s free services, building usage at the specific school and generating more revenue that can be shared with the newspaper.

The mounting success of free classified ad portals such as Craigslist, Yahoo Classifieds and Google Base is taking a toll on newspapers large and small. Student newspapers, in particular, rely on classified ad sales to help cover operating expenses, and are taking a hit as the trend towards cyber shopping via these free ad portals continues.

“Unfortunately, college newspapers are losing classified ad revenue as the trend is gearing towards free classified ads and they typically do not have the Internet presence to implement an advertisement-based revenue model like that being used by Google and Yahoo,” said John Mark Suhy, PureThink Vice President of Technology. “They’re feeling the pinch as consumers move on-line for a large percentage of their buying, selling and trading needs. That’s where StudentTrader.com can help.”

About StudentTrader.com
First made available in 2000, StudentTrader.com is a free online resource for college students to buy, sell and trade books and other items with students on their campus and nationwide. A new version of StudentTrader.com is expected to be released in February and will offer a new barter system. To learn more go to www.studenttrader.com.

About PureThink
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Since When Is Liberal a Dirty Word?

Inclusion and Charity, Farm-Style
Master mixologist (and cattle rancher) Schuyler was mixing up a great cocktail as everybody began arriving. He told us it was called a Rum Ramsay, and he made them with a rum that none of us had tried before, Kuya Fusion Rum, and each glass also had a teaspoon of bourbon mixed in, with a dash of Angostura bitters. We never have to be reminded that up here the limit is one cocktail. For us it's the socialization that matters, and the inquisitiveness of what a new cocktail may taste like. You've heard us say this before, that the amount of wine in our wine glasses is always very small because we have so many different kinds with our multi-course dinners, and naturally, the portions on our plates are always small.

Funny time of year, this. As we were gathered around the fireplace sipping our drinks, some of us began to express apprehension over the coming family visits. Sad, isn't it, that there has to be even a moment's concern about the stress of a family visit. Looking around, we wondered how it was that as many of us as there are in our group of neighbors, we never dread seeing each other; rather, it's the highlight of our days. Why do you thank that is, Jane asked? Why would we rather gather together daily with our neighbors, than look forward wholly to visits with our families?

Carmen, a Catholic, and Jim, her Pentecostal husband reminded us just to look at them as a family. They asked us to remember Cathy and Shelley, the two ladies who have the horse farm down the road: we don't have ever-present the difference in faith of Carmen and Jim, and we never, ever, think about the fact that Cathy and Shelley are a "same-sex couple" since for us they're just another couple down the road who breed beautiful horses with love and tenderness, and who lovingly cook for us when their turn comes up. Something else that "just wouldn't do" at most of our families' holiday dinner tables: other examples of our close-knit community of farming and ranching neighbors. We have Iraqi Muslims and Iraqi Jews; we have Jews from Israel; we have agnostics, we have atheists, we have Presbyterians, Anglicans; heck, we even let the dogs wander around the table as we eat, and if we're lucky enough while having dinner, we all thrill at the sound of a happy horse or two whinnying in the distance.

So, Charlotte said in her beautifully Belgian-inflected accent, we believe and live charity and inclusion, whereas many of our families, live only to battle people different from themselves.

Sadly, My "born-again Christian" Family Is The Worst
Stress. Stress? Well, it's easy to define it at this time of year. It's walking on eggshells, morning, noon and night. Never being able to express an honest thought without being buried by an avalanche of hate and exclusion.

Frighteningly secure in their own holiness, to the exclusion of the holiness of ALL other religions, these people scare the pee out of me when I have to be around them. Problem is, they think that they and they alone hold the keys to the kingdom, and that ALL the rest of us are doing straight to hell, so, how do you talk to a group of people who don't think and can't use reason in a logical, rational and scientific way? Their pastors are usually not very well educated people, and those pastors' flocks ordinarily have the brains you would expect of a "flock." You absolutely cannot talk with them with any degree of intelligence. No matter what you say, you're wrong because their pastors have told them that anything they hear that doesn't toe the line is wrong.

I'll give you one sad example of what seeing my "beloved relatives" is going to be like this year: my own sister is convinced that Katrina happened only, to the exclusion of everything else, because of the sinful ways of the people in New Orleans. She believes it right and good that her president has killed 100,000 Iraqi civilians and over 2000 U.S. troops, with tens of thousands of maimed, blinded, and amputated troops, for the sole reason that he "ostensibly" disagrees with abortion. She sees no evil in his using napalm, white phosphorous, or depleted uranium on the Iraqis. Why? Well, hallelujah honey, because he "publicly" condemns abortion although he's going down in history as the Butcher of Huntsville, executing more people than any other governor of Texas.

So, What's So Wrong About The Label: Liberal?
Well, if it means that you accept the fact that God loves everybody, nothing. If liberal means accepting all your neighbors, friends and relatives just as they are, well that sounds like a pretty good thing to be. And why, pray tell, are Democrats so afraid of being called liberals? They shouldn't be, since all the word means is that they believe in being charitable, noble, all-inclusive, accepting, loving, and willing to take care of the less fortunate.

Being liberal means giving human beings the right to make decisions concerning their own bodies. Being liberal means recognizing that good people can be different and still be deserving of everything good a human is recognized as needing in order to be able to live in comfort, dignity, good health and in proper shelter. Being liberal means recognizing that the über-rich are not the only people deserving of the government's concern and largesse. Gosh darn, sounds up here like being liberal just means being a good human being, as opposed to being a snotty, selfish, paranoid fanatic of the military-industrial complex, frightened by and uncaring of, the "masses."

A Break From Deep Thinking: A Banquet!
The teenagers were hungry, and we were ready for a change of pace and a change of subject. After a day of hard work on the farm and on the ranch, there wasn't one of us who could honestly say wasn't ready for a small feast.

Our pleasure began with Beatrix's Tartlets of Wild Mushroom and Fontina Cheese. She prepared them with a bit of dry sherry, and served us some cooled Fino sherry as a perfect accompaniment. Beatrix decorated the plates with a bit of arugula, which added a hint of the greenery we'd all be seeing soon on our mantelpieces and banisters. I think we've all become a bit Spanish, for we all love to try the "tapa-of-the-night."

Art, who moved here from Mexico, always surprises us with his variations on Chayote squash, and tonight delighted us with using it in a Chicken and Chayote Soup. What made his soup special was the addition of a bit of smoked haddock, which added a different dimension to an otherwise plain chicken soup. The combination was, of course, genius in a soup bowl. Art brought some chardonnay he thought we'd like with the soup, an Evans and Tate Chardonnay Margaret River 2004.

For the seafood course, Bob and Judy prepared some very simple prawns, fried with garlic, red chiles, sea salt and ground pepper. Served over a simple mound of fluffy steamed rice, their dish was simple but exquisite, as food should be. Prepared with a dry sherry, they decided to pair the prawns with an Hidalgo Fino sherry.

Quince and mango sorbet dollops effectively prepared us for the next course. These small dollops we serve may seem to be an affectation, but they really do serve a purpose. They serve as an interlude between the fish and the meat courses, and we have become so used to them we no longer think of the sorbet as anything but a normal part of our meal.

Max went to the pool house to put the finishing touches on his Grilled Lamb and Vidalia Onion Shish Kebabs. The olive oil and the balsamic vinegar made Max's grilled lamb special. On the plates, he served some perfectly braised spinach and artichoke hearts, and paired the dish with a delicious 2000 Domaine Chandon Terrazas de los Andes Mendoza Reserva.

For dessert, we had begged Carmen for several days to make us her famous flan, and she prepared them for us tonight. She and Jim were generous with their wine tonight, bringing from their cellar some bottles of 1996 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac.

Time With The Teenagers
Forgotten, for a minute, the stress of having to meet with family members who find fault with every other human being on the planet; instead: finding wonder in the kind and accepting faces of the next generation, and a sincere desire to see their generosity and belief in inclusion continue long after we are gone.

Stalls need cleaning, cows need feeding, and last minute chores still have to be taken care of, so we called it a night, fully satisfied with our meal, looking forward to communing with our animals, and wishing time to fly so we can soon gather again and enjoy each other's company.

Summary:
Liberal is not a dirty word or a word to shy away from: it's the best definition we can find for what a fine human being should be. One half the country defines itself by this honorable word, and if we set our hearts and minds to it, maybe we can convince a few misguided souls to the beauty of charity, inclusion, acceptance, and the honor inherent of caring for those unable to care for themselves.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

Bush's Prescription Drug Plan and Common Horse Sense

Wit, Age and Tomfoolery
Schuyler, with masterful, deft movements, got his cocktail shaker into full gear and prepared a drink he found called a Brazen Hussy. Some immediately thought of Ginger Rogers, some recollected memories of Jean Harlow, and yet others thanked the full moon that we weren't imagining George Bush in just another one of his costumes, or even that real brazen hussy who fumbled her most recent trip to Europe to convince them that we were basically a decent country. Nevertheless, back to the important things in life: Schuyler's cocktails. Tonight he used that "new to a lot of us" Tito's Handmade Vodka, made, by serendipity, in Texas, a state where you cannot access a humane Senator no matter how many hoops you jump through. Oh, the other ingredient making this drink so good was Cointreau.

Wit, according to our dictionary, is defined as: "The natural ability to perceive or know; understanding; intelligence; good sense." Age, silly, is that condition you get if you didn't ask the tooth fairy to keep you in a perpetual state of childhood, and tomfoolery is the wit that comes out of Washington. Now, you'd think a country magnificent enough in its wit to invade a rinky-dink country that wasn't a threat to us would, first, forego tomfoolery in dealing with its citizenry, and second, possess the wit to set up a system of prescription drug benefits for its citizens that did not require the proverbial rocket scientist to figure out. Oh, horse sense? To a certain degree that involves the horses' knowing when it's time to poop, and wit and tomfoolery? Well, that has to do with the Republicans' knowing, through their own brand of wit, when to pick it up and throw into the fan, and tomfoolery? That was us, thinking the Republicans had the wit to know how to design a drug prescription plan that much less developed nations learned to master half a century ago.

Signing Up for Bush's Prescription Drug Plan?
"Seniors" and people with disabilities on Medicare, are being asked to sign up for George Bush's prescription drug benefit plan. It's not mandatory, Bush crows, it's just there are penalties if you don't sign up in a timely manner.

Now, about that signing up: once you do, you're stuck with your plan, and to decide which plan you should sign up for, you need: an actuarial, a certified public accountant, your general practitioner, cardiologist, proctologist, gastroenterologist, oncologist, psychiatrist, rheumatologist, etc. You need to have a list of all the medications you are taking now and may take in the future (oh, you'll also need a good medium to help you on that one.)

And, there are a gazillion plans out there in every state. You have to compare what each plan will cost you, what your premiums will be, what your co-payments will be, what deductibles you may have, what, in other words, is this really going to cost. Now that you have decided on the best plan that seems to meet your needs and your pocketbook, it's time to sign up. Wonderful, but here's that old tomfoolery: that plan you spent a jillion hours finding may not cover the drugs you take now and may need to take tomorrow, so, it's back to the drawing board, but hey, silly, it gets better:

After all that investigation, that old Washington Tomfoolery rears its ugly head (modeled partly on Condi's head and partly on Bush's.) Seems Bush didn't seem to think it was important to hold the drug prescription providers to the contract you thought you were signing: "I'll pay this for that, and you, in term, agree to provide me with the medications I needed, thought I would need, and was taking when I signed up for your plan." No, Dear John, tomorrow they can decide not to provide you with any of the medications you thought were guaranteed to you. Now, Dear John, it's beginning to smell a bit less like plain old tomfoolery and much more like manure.

Oh, and by the way, among that group of elderly people and people with disabilities more than two million have significant mental impairments, and they're supposed to navigate this maze.

Oh, About That Horse Sense
Seems a few groups around the country have it since even before this quagmire plan begins (seems Bush loves quagmires) they have started filing lawsuits against the Federal Government (Bush.) These groups are already afraid for the people they advocate for, among which some are what the government calls "dual eligible," people who are on both Medicaid and Medicare. The problem really is serious, and the plaintiffs, fortunately, are important enough that the government is going to have to pay attention. They include: Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia, the Congress of California Seniors, the Massachusetts Senior Action Council, the Maine affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the New York Statewide Senior Action Council, and the United Senior Action of Indiana and, the plan doesn't even take effect until January 1, 2006.

California's Saints and Archangel
California Has (At Minimum) Three Saints/Angels: Barbara Boxer, Jane Harmon and the Archangel Henry Waxman. These three people really do care for these sullied United States and up here we're convinced the three together could run the country better than any Republican could ever dream. Tonight, though, looking up at the full moon, so beautiful none of us could describe it adequately, several of us did think of Henry Waxman, perhaps one of the country's most underappreciated watchdogs: he doesn't let this corvine cabal of an administration get by with anything it tries to slip by us.

Bob and Judy ran across a copy of a letter he wrote on November 30, 2005 to Mark B. McClellan, Administrator Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Basically, it was a report card on how McClellan and Bush ruined what should have been a good program; a report card with straight F's. Pretty sad. Mr. Waxman's report is very detailed, and we urge you to contact his office, either in California or in Washington, so you can read the entire scathing report. Bob and Judy handed us all copies, and we thought we'd just mention the headings of some of his paragraphs, which will alert you to some of the subjects Mr. Waxman discussed with Mr. McClellan.

These paragraph headings are: The Medicare Drug Card Program, The Government Accounting Office Request, the GAO Findings on Implementation and Enforcement, Erroneous Website Information, Overbillings, Inadequate Oversight and Enforcement, Failure to Substantiate Drug Discounts, GAO Findings on the Drug Card Publicity Campaign, and his conclusion. Scathing's not the final word: this program is criminal in its complexity, inefficiency and gifts to the large pharmaceutical companies. The aged and the infirm seemed to be the last thing on this administration's pathetic mind.

Please, please contact Mr. Waxman's offices and get a full copy of his report. Mr. Waxman's last line is: "I am enclosing copies of the new GAO reports for your review. I request a detailed explanation of the reforms your agency will take to address these issues and to administer and enforce the new Medicare drug benefit effectively." Now it's up to us to be vigilant and make sure Mr. McClellan responds fully and appropriately to Mr. Waxman's letter. As good Democrats, liberals and progressives, we have to help the good guys among us so get off your duff and hop on that pony: there's a war raging out there. (Oh, in my antiquated country English, 'corvine' just means a crow, as in corvine birds are carriers of fatal, viral infections.)

Teenagers Have to Eat, And Who Are We To Dawdle?
As soon as they rang the dinner gong, we sprang into action, literally flying to our places in the dining room, showing less decorum than the teenagers, who took their places at the dining table in the great room with "grown-up" aplomb.

Beatrix and Charlotte teamed up on our appetizers, prawns they had marinated in amber Corazón tequila and a dry fino sherry. Also in the marinade, they had sections of Valencia oranges, whole peppercorns, garlic, scallions and cilantro. Beatrix and Charlotte decided to use the new, extra-large Viking skillets we had bought since the shrimp had to be cooked very quickly over a hot flame. Their presentation, on red lettuce leaves, was perfect. Once again, we drank our sherry to accompany the prawns from our new Royal Leerdam Sherry glasses, and thoroughly enjoyed the bone dry, pale straw-colored Domecq's La Ina.

Comfort soup can be mild, expertly prepared Consommé, or it can be a heavenly Hungarian Beef and Egg Noodle treasure in a bowl. Since we're not a timid bunch, we used the spicier hot paprika, eschewing the sweeter paprika, leaving it for wimps. Beatrix and Charlotte, British and French, are inspired when it comes to choosing wines, so their wine tonight was a near-professional but decidedly ethereal pairing. They selected a Cave de Vacqueyras Vacqueyras Cuvée du Président 2001. This is a typical southern Rhône wine, full-bodied, with notes of leather, plum and smoke.
Marie Christine and Jean-Paul enlisted Max's help with the grills in the pool house, but otherwise they alone prepared tonight's Grilled Salmon Fillets with a Garlic Sauce. As with the soup, this dish was not for the delicate: the sauce was made with basil, scallions, shallots, garlic, Serrano chiles and ground pepper. As breeders of exquisite Baroque sport horses, they probably share a lot with the rest of us: they may be French, but they're not afraid of spice, and a Serrano or two just make them livelier! For their salmon, they brought over some Chilean Chardonnay, a Montes 2004 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay from the Curicó Valley. They served some beautifully braised endive with the salmon, which is all that dish needed.

After an interlude provided by the fanciful apple/mango sorbet, we were ready for Max's Grilled Leg of Lamb. The lamb too, turned out to be spicy, containing more of the hot paprika, mint leaves, garlic and rosemary. The investment in banks of Viking grills turned out to be a wise one, since no matter what the weather, Max is always willing to grill and make the trip from the pool house back up to the main house. Grilling allows Max to shine, because he not only grills different kinds of meat, but he uses the grills to bake us his myriad varieties of "cowboy" bread, and a multitude of vegetables. Tonight, in his cast iron skillets, he baked us some Chipotle Whole Wheat Bread and grilled some beautiful scallions, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and new potatoes. It's impossible to convey with mere words the aromas imparted to the lamb, the bread and the vegetables by the perfect mesquite chips Max likes to use. He and Charlotte brought several bottles of the Zinfandel they had in their wine cellar that they thought would be delightful with the dish, a Peachy Canyon, 2003 Zinfandel, Old School House, Paso Robles, with enormous aromas of blueberry and blackberry. The wine, as was the food, was smoky.

Judy made us individual tartlets of peach and apple with a nice, crunchy crust. She chose a Nino Franco Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Sparkling Wine, which was perfect for the not-too-sweet tartlets, but also works as an aperitif, so it is a malleable, adaptable wine.

Baroque Horses, and Good Night
We missed Marie Christine and Jean-Paul when they spent those two years adding to their mastery of the art of working with Baroque sport horses. If you have ever seen the magnificent White Stallions at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, you get an idea of what it is they do, and you can get a feeling for the kind of horses they breed here. Several of us share their interest in the "old school" of Baroque horses. We, for example, breed Andalusian horses, but by and large, most of the farms out here are Quarter Horses, barrel racing: middle-United States.

Whoa! Time just flew, but some of us still have last-minute farm chores, the kids have homework, and the rush was on to clear up, clean up, sweater or jacket-up and go back home.

Summary:
Washington doesn't have, right now, any horse sense, and it's full of tomfoolery. D.C. is hell-bent on hoodwinking elders and people with disabilities, and if, as a society, we were sage, we'd place a lot of faith in our California Saints and its Archangel. Pity the poor people in Texas, for example; they have the bubble-headed co-ed who went out of fashion in the sixties, and the impossibly pasty-white doughboy who can't keep his mouth shut.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

Search Engine/Encyclopedia Hybrid Launched

Search Engine/Encyclopedia Hybrid Launched

March 9, 2005 - What do you get if you cross a search engine with an encyclopedia? The answer arrived on the net today - Factbites (www.Factbites.com), a new approach to search. Under the slogan "where results make sense", Factbites provides searchers with full sentences about their search topic, rather than the sentence fragments most search engines offer.

Rather than focusing on link-based technology like Google, Factbites delves into the tone and subject matter of the given topic. The engine "reads" the content of each page and determines how meaningful the text is. It seeks out authoritative and informative content, preferring encyclopedia-style fact-based descriptions to the chatty, spammy and inconsequential.

The end result is a clean summary you can almost read from beginning to end. Not only is this an effective filter against spam and clutter, it's also a time saver, because it gives users a clear picture of what each destination site is about.

For encyclopedia-style content, the site makes some large claims. The website challenges users to compare Factbites results to Google results. When searching for quick information on the sort of things you'd usually go to an encyclopedia for, the results are surprisingly clear - Factbites wins hands down. The site's developer, Luke Metcalfe, explains his motivation. "Having been in and around the search business for 5 years, it's become clear to me that people mostly aren't after websites - they're after information. I wanted to build a site that serves the facts straight up".

To refine searches, Factbites automatically suggests a number of relevant topic areas. Users can choose to filter their searches accordingly. This saves users from having to come up with extra keywords. "Far too many good results are lost when people start trying to add words to their search", says Metcalfe.

In this beta release, 800,000 topics are covered. "We devote a lot more processing power to every search. Factbites is never going to be the place to locate your lost aunt, or order items from your corner store", says Metcalfe. "But for meaningful content about real topics, there's nothing out there like us".

About Rapid Intelligence
Rapid Intelligence is a web technology company based in Sydney, Australia. Other credits include NationMaster.com, a popular online database and visualisation tool for comparing countries. NationMaster has been featured in The New York Times, CNN and BBC and recommended by the Harvard Business School and the American Library Association.

Kudos To The Magnificent Belgians

Catholic or Calvinist, Europeans Put Bush-Cheney to Shame
Many years ago, the Belgians arrested and brought to trial 18 men connected to Al-Qaeda. Tonight, we don't wish to go into the labyrinthine details of these arrests and trials. Why? Because we have only one point to make tonight: the Europeans are finding, arresting, and bringing to trial terrorists legally, without the American perversion of torture. The Europeans don't need to resort to medieval or Nazi methods, as Bush and Cheney seem to. Of course, the Europeans don't have a horrendous, toad-like Azteco-american Attorney General frothing at the mouth, just dying to by proxy use his obsidian knife to cut out the still-beating hearts out of the "terrorists" who under the system designed by the Devil's spawn cannot have valid, in the open to the world trials in a humane, timely manner.

No, this deranged administration locks up everybody, asks no questions, and lets innocents rot in their prisons. Our Constitution? Meaningless to the Azteco-american toad and the Devil's spawn. The Europeans? They abide by the rule of law, and quietly, without saying a word, rub our collective noses in the dung excreted by Bush, Cheney, Gonzáles, Rumsfeld and that shining beacon of evil, La Rice.

The Europeans, Beacons of Light, Guarding the Rule of Law
Bush-Cheney & Co. have dragged us into their gutter-world of dung. If the world, collectively, is brave enough to fight the schoolyard bullies, it will one day bring them to justice the way they have other criminals who have committed atrocities against humanity. What they're doing to Pinochet, we really have to do to Bush, Cheney, Gonzáles, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Rove and Rice. That will probably be kinder to Bush-Cheney & Co. than what Al-Qaeda will ultimately do to them.

If the Europeans can forego torture, you'd think the United States could too, but apparently under the nastiest Azteco-american toad that ever lived, and his all too willing horrendously vicious pupils, torture reigns supreme, with the imprimatur of the woman you'd think would know better: Condi "Condosleazza" Rice, and probably also that of Karen Hughes. La Hughes, strutting around the world in her polyester suits from Wal-Mart, has to know that her pal and boss bows daily to the god of torture, and on the way, browns his nose up the nether parts of his superiors, the toad González, the smug swine Rumsfeld and the swastika-lipped Cheney. What he does with Rove, well, we'd probably not want to know.

Once Was
Until recently, the heads of the government of the United States abhorred torture, and would not condone it by its military nor would they have approved of it when used against soldiers from the United States. Now, all that has changed, and the United States is teaching the world how to torture, humiliate and denigrate human beings. Thankfully, people as noble as the Belgians, and other Europeans, are standing firm against that practice and yet they continue to quietly apprehend and bring to trial the terrorists they too are fighting. We, well, we won't be able to change course until we have regime change here, and get our own Saddam Hussein out of the White House, which today is the Manure House. God, can you imagine, if this Prez who loves torture as much as Cheney does, is born-again "christian" how much more dastardly he'd be without that moniker?

Complicit
The mousey librarian, who should act more as a "First Lady" than a backwoods, Crawford ranch subjugated, barefooted, downtrodden ranch-wife, ought to use her supposedly intelligent brain to object to what is going on. But don't hold your collective breaths guys and gals, this is the girl who allows grieving mothers to be thrown out of her "talks" because the women stand up and ask questions, and this is the woman who insisted on holding her little book fair after Sharon Olds, one of our most important poets, objected to being invited to talk alongside a woman who condoned, with her husband, an invasion of choice and the slaughter of tens of thousands of people.

Bush & Co., Antithesis of Civilized Europe
The Europeans, as they always do, are fighting terrorism without sinking to the level of those people they wish to apprehend. The U.S. has fallen so deep into the sleaze created by Bush & Co. that it will be generations before we can hold our head up with the same pride the Europeans do. All that talk about "freedom fries." We can only wish to be as sage and noble as the Europeans Bush and Co. derided. As it turns out, the German Chancellor and the President of France were right, and had good advice the cedar-chopper from Crawford should have listened to; but he didn't, and over 2000 of our youth are dead and over 10,000 are blinded, maimed, psychiatrically injured and in many instances, financially ruined and ruined, as war will do, in their marriages. So 'Sleazza got grilled by the European press on her Prez' adoration of torture; good for the Europeans. Snooty Condi didn't win any points, and certainly didn't win the "hearts and minds" of civilized Europe and Great Britain.

Grilling, Of a Different Kind
We're having a great dinner tonight, but prepared by quite a few couples in our gang so that no one person or couple had to do everything. A.J. doesn't cook very much, but tonight he prepared an amazing Bruschetta with Avocado, Scallions and Basil. We tried the Bruschetta with a highly recommended wine, an Allan Scott Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2005.

Our next course was a soup with a middle-eastern influence that Sagidah prepared. She prepared the Chickpea, Sausage and Spinach soup that we found different from some of the Garbanzo-based soups we've had that had a more Spanish flavor. We chose to pair the soup with a dry amontillado sherry, Lustau's lightly herbal Los Arcos. We're still happy to have found a new set of sherry glasses, enough for each one of us.

Barry helped Max grill tonight's fish, Grilled Red Snapper with Romesco Sauce. The red peppers, tomatoes and almonds gave the fish a delicious new dimension, and paired with one of Spain's more unusual wines, a Giacomo Vico Barbera D'Alba 2003, a spicy, fruity red wine. The fish was a resounding success.

We next had a small serving of coconut-mango sorbet to cleanse our palates and prepare us for the next delicious meal which Art and Terry prepared, a Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin. Tonight they used some new skillets we bought, the 11 ½ inch formidable Viking skillets. On the plates, Art and Terry served us Chayote Squash Baked in Brown Sugar and the most tender of Haricots Verts. The perfect wine match for the tenderloin was a Forefathers Shiraz McLaren Vale 2003.

Charlotte and Marie Christine teamed up to prepare a dish for the angels; well, a dessert for us, wings or not: their very special Chocolate Mousse made with Grand Marnier, and served with, of course, Grand Marnier. Maybe it's the European influence in some of us, but we thought some of the older teenagers were getting the short end of the stick because of their having to forsake their little glasses of Grand Marnier to accompany their Chocolate Mousse ramekins.

Winding Down, Winding Down the Road
We had a glorious day, and Liz sent us home with these words of wisdom nobody in today's Poor White Trash House would understand, but maybe we can hold on to these words until we get rid of the Crawford Saddam Hussein:

"Human dignity is independent of national borders. We must always defend the interests of the poor and the persecuted in other countries."
-Kjell Magne Bondevikv

Summary:
Kudos to the Belgians and the Europeans who quietly, efficiently go about apprehending terrorists without the "need" of locking them up for years on the outside chance one or two of them might be guilty. The Europeans go about their fight against terrorism without becoming blood-thirsty, torturing barbarians, as the U.S. has done under Bush & Co.

©Copyright 2005 Grindstaff Chronicles. All Rights Reserved.
================================================
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
================================================

A Season For Children

What Is More Precious Than A Child?
After a couple of ferociously frigid days, the sun is out and our mood is suddenly brighter. With the fireplace in the great room roaring, we gathered to enjoy Schuyler and Elizabeth's Mulled Wine (alcohol-free for those who don't drink alcohol, but still "mulled.")

Elizabeth was talking about children, reminding us that in great part, this time of year is devoted to them and to the inner-child in all of us. In our large circle of neighbors, we have couples who decided they would rather not have children; we have couples who cannot have children; we have couples whose children are grown, married and living far away; and we have couples with school-age children who nightly fill our great room with their laughter. But Elizabeth's message was still on target: it's a beautiful time of year, and if you have