William F. Buckley, Jr.

He had problematic ideas at times, but he was a hell of a writer.

R.I.P.

iTunes Random 10

I haven't done one of these in awhile. If you would like to do one, the rules are simple. Select Random Play on your iPod or iTunes and list the first 10 songs that show up. No cheating!

1. "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers.
2. "Coro Isconsoladu (Fa Diesis)" by Maria Teresa Pirrigheddu (Sardegna)
3. Bach (JS): Goldberg Variations - Var. 5 performed (on harpsichord of course) by Keith Jarrett
4. "La Comparsita" by The Walter Rios Orchestra (Argentina)
5. "Les Paumes Du Petit Matin" by Jacques Brel (France)
6. "Se Tu Lutas Tu Conquistas" by Somos Nós A Justiça (Brasil)
7. "Bye Bye Love" by the Everly Brothers
8. "Yo hanino, tu hanina (Words traditional, tune by Flory Jagoda)" performed by LA Rondinella (Sephardic)
9. "Chi te tutte cose" by Nuova Agricola Associazione (Abruzzo)
10. "Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)" written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky performed by Duke Ellington.

Your Diebenkorn Studies Homework for the week

Read Tyler Green's articles on two of Diebenkorn's Ocean Park paintings. Here is the one on #38 and Here is the one on Diebenkorn's untitled 1971 Ocean Park drawing. And then we will discuss them on Thursday here.

One of these mornings...

I am going to make biscuits and gravy (a dish I have never actually had, but I have heard descriptions of it, and it sounds nice) in the Northern California style: fresh, small-farmed ingredients, homemade sausage, etc.

The trouble is: I am not a baker, and within the area of baking, biscuits are my weakest area. I tend to overwork them, which yields a little hockey puck.

But just having biscuits, sausage and sausage gravy just doesn't sound like a proper breakfast. There should be something sweet, but not too heavy, to go along with all this. I would like to think along the lines of a meyer lemon curd, but I don't think I want to put that on the biscuits that will be drizzled with gravy. However, adding another bread product strikes me as gross...so I am forced to think of little meyer lemon pots de creme with fresh, local berries (you can tell I am planning a bit far ahead here), but is this getting to be too much? Perhaps if I just served mimosas that would do the trick.

Hmmm. I am beginning to understand why I don't go for big breakfasts. All of that work without the benefit of a martini? I suppose one could have a martini at six in the morning, but that sort of thing was never my style. Martinis shouldn't be served too often before five in the afternoon.

So, why am I thinking of fancy breakfasts now? Probably because of my general dissatisfaction with commercial breakfast sausage. I taste these things and think, "well, it's OK, but it could be much better, really." And to spend all that time making sausage and not give it the right setting seems wrong.

Lexicon of Musical Invective

For those in the know, the title of this post will bring instant giggles. I am speaking, of course, of that classic bit of musicology by Nicolas Slonimsky, subtitled "Critical Assaults on Composers Since Beethoven's Time". I start to gleefully titter just thinking about the things that Tchaikovsky said of Brahms.

Anyway, while listening to KFOG's "10 at 10" feature, in which they highlight one year and play ten songs from that year, along with little audio clips of the news of the era and other tidbits, I realized that we need a Lexicon of Musical Invective for the Rock and Roll era. Of course if you could simply run a tap into my brain while I am listening to rock and roll radio, and transcribed the results, you would have a good rough draft.

Tonight's "10 at 10" featured the year 1971, not a good year for Western Civilization. One of the songs was "LA Woman" by the Doors. Now, if I were out to spoof Jim Morrison and the Doors, I don't think I could have done better than "LA Woman". Big, overblown empty bluster with attitude. And on and on and on. Just when you think the turkey is done, it sits up and bellows, "I'm back!"

A similarly blustery idiotic singer, but from our own era, is Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. He always comes accross as a sort of satire of masculinity, with his embarrassingly low-class accent and that preposterous warble. Jim Morrison made music a few times, in spite of his bluster, but Vedder just makes noise, and a noise backed by the Seattle "Scunge" sound, one of the ghastliest intestinal rumblings to be recorded.

And, while we are on the preposterously low-class, we musn't forget that cretinous Knight of Asbury Park, Don Bruce himself. Now, I am being mean. I do that. But really, with that insipid grin and equally insipid music, doesn't he just strike you as still being quite proud of himself for being able to play three chords? Over and over and bloody over again. He's probably a swell fellow, and I have seen him make music (with Roy Orbison, for instance), but the garbage he puts out is mind-numbingly bad. And it is the same as the last batch of mind-numbingly had records.

Anyway, I have listened to plenty of good music these days as well, but the frequency that I hear Mr. Vedder and Mr. Springsteen on KFOG is alarming. Surely no one is really that ga-ga about these two?

You need a photo to know this?

Well, of course Hussein Osama wears a turban. You will be too if you don't stop the liberal menace!

I really hope that Hillary gets the nomination without getting the popular vote. Tee hee hee. Poetic justice for all those elderly farts who get nostalgic for the '60's. Democrat Party of '68 all over again! Yippee! (or should that be plural?).

Hard Cider

They have some Hard Cider from Vermont at Trader Joe's, so we picked up a six pack. The stuff is really good: crisp, refreshing, sort of like Martinelli's, but not as sickly sweet, more thirst quenching, and with a much better flavor. At 5% it barely counts as hard, but it is enough to give it structure. Good stuff.

At it again...

You have to hand it to the old bastard, he has stick-to-itiveness. I would credit him for costing Al Gore (phtt! blech! phtt!) the election, but really, Al Gore cost Al Gore the election, and when it comes down to it, I would pick Al Gore over Ralph Nader any day. In fact, Ralph Nader is one of the few people in the world who would rate lower than Mitt the Mormon in my book.

Will he have any effect on the Democrat Party this time? Who knows? I hope so, of course.

At this point he is more of a comical figure than anything.

Lenten Gruel...or a fairly tasty vegetarian mushroom soup

I know, it has been since forever that I actually posted a recipe. I am probably a bit rusty. Well, let's give it the old college try:

This is the soup I brought to the St. Anthony of Padua Event last night. It was pretty good. It would have been better with a brown goose stock, but Friday in Lent and all that.

First, you want a decent vegetable stock:

leek tops (washed - you don't want mud in the stock)
a carrot, chopped
celery leaves, chopped
three peeled garlic cloves
two bay leaves
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme
a handfull of dried porcini mushrooms
half a teaspoon of black peppercorns.

Cover with cold water and simmer for a couple of hours.

Make a packet our of parchment and fill with mushrooms (I used crimini and shiitake, but fresh porcini would have been ideal), a few unpeeled cloves of garlic, a few sprigs of thyme, and a dash of Extra Virgin OIive Oil,
and roast for 45 minutes to an hour in a 375 degree oven.

Strain stock into another large pot.
Throw unpeeled quartered waxy potatoes (I used about seven good sized reds for a large pot) into the stock and boil until the potatoes are soft.

While they are boiling, thinly slice the white and pale green bottoms of two or three leeks. Place them in the bottom of your soup pot with a generous splash of water, a teaspoon of salt, a dash of vinegar (white wine or rice is best - I was out of both and used apple cider vinegar, which was fine) and a Tablespoon of unsalted butter. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Take the lid off the leek bottoms, add a dash of sugar, raise the heat and reduce the liquid. Pulverize the leeks with the mushrooms (be sure to take the garlic out of the peels and to remove the woody stems of the thyme, and pour the liquid off into your stock) in your food processor or food mill. You want them as smooth as you can get them.

In small batches pulverize the potatoes and the stock, stirring them into the soup. When everything is smooth and mixed, return the soup to the stove. Add salt (you will probably need to add quite a bit, as the potatoes soak it up), three Tablespoons (or so) butter or cream, a dash of vinegar (I used balsamic for this stage), a dash of Worcestershire sauce, and freshly cracked pepper. Adjust. It it is too flabby, add vinegar. If it is too sharp, add butter or cream. If it is flat, add salt, etc.

Serve with French bread slices that have been brushed with EVOO and toasted, and a sprig of thyme.

I would pair this with a dry, minerally white wine.

No Friday Afternoon Sermon

I was going to revive the Ancient Lenten Tradition (tm) of Friday Afternoon Sermons (which, for long time readers, are sure to bring mixed feelings of dread and gleeful anticipation. For my newer readers - these were the seeds of the whole blog. They started as a Lenten substitute for Friday Afternoon Martinis, and are appropriately grouchy).

However, I have to make vegetarian soup. At least I have come up with something that actually has me looking forward to eating.

But I have to sacrifice the Friday Afternoon Sermon.

Storming the Embassy.

I am sorry, but I am not outraged over the Serbs storming our embassy. I am outraged that we are continuing to allow the Mohammedans free reign in the Balkans. I am outraged that we are allowing Albanians, flying Albanian flags, to rip the heart of Eastern Orthodox monasticism away from the body of Serbia. I am outraged that Democrat Clinton bombed Serbia so that Mohammedanism could flourish in this part of Europe.

Our behavior in the Balkans, following in form from our British allies, has been a catalog of mistakes (with the shining exception of the Truman years, when the communists in Greece were put down decisively - almost makes up for the rest of Truman).

Independence for Kosovo is a joke, and it is not even really taken seriously by the people who support it, who really want Kosovo to be an Albanian province.

Vegetable Soup.

I have to produce one for an event tomorrow. I hate vegetable broths, which is why I have NEVER seen soup as a viable Friday in Lent option. However, duty calls, and I have to think of something edible. I am thinking of building a vegetable stock of standard aromatics with leaks, then using that to make a mushroom/potato bisque, and serving it with rustic French bread croutons and thyme-infused EVOO and drizzled with creme fraiche.

Someone Is an Official Bicycle Rider

Today Amalia mastered cornering on the bicycle, meaning that she can ride for extended periods and more or less control her direction. Actually she did very well at turns. We were riding circuits around a park, and I realized, "uh-oh, we're only turning left here. She better not get any ideas." The next time we go out I will have to find a more varied course, else she come to the conclusion that she is destined for NASCAR.

Smells in the Morning

Have I mentioned the mystery smell that we get in our neighborhood some mornings?

It is sort of a sickly sweet, rotten smell that comes in strong early in the morning, but not every morning. One night we were up the road in the Napa Valley (for those of you who are foreign, Vallejo is at the mouth of the Napa River, right next to Napa County) for dinner and returning to Vallejo around midnight, we were hit by the smell. Ah! It must be something to do with grapes! No, not in January it isn't rotten grapes.

The mystery continues. Locals don't know. Time for some investigation.

So Long, Fidel

As you know, I am the biggest anti-Communist around. I advocate making the late great Hon. Joseph McCarthy's birthday a national holiday. I refuse to spell "Army Street" as c-e-s-a-r-space-c-h-a-v-e-z-space-s-t-r-e-e-t. I don't get all teary when reading accounts of various dictatorships cracking down on college-student-activist-turds. Shucks, I'll be the first to remind the world that Paul Robeson was a crappy singer and that Victor Jara was a pain in the neck.

However, there remains a soft spot in my heart for Fidel Castro. Part of it is my own dislike of the Kennedy clan, something that Fidel shares. Part of it is that he might have been a Commie dictator, but he was a good model for a dictator. I also admire the fact that he held on to power for decades, in spite of a crippling economic embargo (one that is a disgrace on our part, especially as we bend over backwards to enslave our economy to the really villanous Red Chinese). Although he later backed down due to the evil influence of his pervert granddaughter, Fidel Castro had the most enlightened AIDS policy in the world.

He represented an era when our enemies were Reds and not Lavenders, and I, for one, miss that era. It is much easier to love your enemy when the enemy is a real man than when the enemy is some Harvey Milquetoast who whines about not getting enough respect for his sex life. Marxist Leninism is crap, and it is murderous evil crap, but its motivation shares something with all sane economic systems: to generally improve the lot of its subjects. Now, from that good start it quickly goes off the rails into Hell, and Fidel was not the least immune from that unfortunate trend. But there is something infinitely nobler about a Communism that starts with trying to improve the lot of its subjects and a political movement that starts off with fulfilling the basest of illicit desires and tries to build a whole universe based on that.

Will Cuba be better off without Castro? Probably. Will Cuba be better off when the last vestige of Commie-ism is tossed into the sea to feed the tiger sharks? Undoubtedly.

But I still salute the man who outlived Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ron Reagan. Now that he is out of office and the temptations of office, he might find time for introspection and meditation. Now it is especially important to pray for his conversion.

John Paul the Great, in your life you met with Fidel Castro and were instrumental in bringing down the evil of Communism. Please pray for the conversion of Castro that he may not be lost to the abyss but instead may spend the remainder of his days making atonement for the evils of his regime and that he may find salvation in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Happy Autarch Day

In Berkeley the very white city council decided to change the name of Columbus Day to Indignant Peoples Day, a slap in the face to Western Civilization, to the Holy Catholic Faith, and to Italians and Spaniards everywhere. In the full implementation of the Keilholtz Dictatorship, the Berkeley Leftists will be severely punished, probably by having the Berkeley Municipal Nuclear Reactor placed on the site of the disgraceful so-called "People's Park."

However, the renaming of holidays is fine, so long as the new name is correct and virtuous. So, instead of celebrating the preposterous fools (with the exception of Washington, who had the holiday ripped from him so that it could be turned into an excuse for a SALE! DEALS! THREE DAYS ONLY!), who have proven that we really do have a government of and by the people (God, Spare Us!), We have declared by our decree, that the Third Monday of Ducebruary shall be named for one of the titles of our Great Leader, the Beloved Autarch.

So, from this point on, raise a glass in my direction, prepare for the Day of the Full Implementation of the Keilholtz Dictatorship, salute Victory, and, all together now:

Believe!
Obey!
Fight!

Ha ha ha. If you are a St. Margaret Mary's person you will enjoy this...

Our parish has taken on a distinctly slavic accent in recent years, and I, for one, enjoy it. These Poles are the sort of crazy that the world needs more of, and if having more priests like Fr. Stanislav Zak meant all of us learning to speak without articles, then hasta la bye bye "the" "a" and "an". Bigos is just an added bonus.

This weekend we had a special visitor to the parish, the Archbishop of Minsk in the Bellorus. He is the former Latin Archbishop of Moscow who had the task of rebuilding the church after 70 years of Commie persecution. So, we had a double dose of slavic-accented Latin and English.

Anyway, this all made me think of this very funny joke that Julie posted recently.

Is good. Very funny. Yes?

Osama and Hillary

I have been thinking about my early endorsement of Osama over Hillary Rodham Clinton, and I am changing it for a number of reasons (the recent comment by Anonymous did not change my mind, but it provided the spark for the post), the two biggest being:

1. If Hillarious wins, it will cause more damage to the Democrat Party. The Massachussettss O'Devil Clan will be in open rift with the leadership of the party. Also, forcing Pelosi to make nice with Hillary will smart with the far left kook crowd, who might get so daft as to elect a third party leftie in Pelosi's home district, leaving the Dems in a really foolish position.

2. Osama is downright scary. Hillary is a good, old-fashioned machine politician.

So, for the Democrat Party nomination, Erik's Rants and Recipes endorses Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Also, we send a warning to McCain that if he decides to make the Mormon his running mate, we will have to join Ann Coulter in campaigning for Hillary.

And furthermore, If he should make the Mormon his running mate, we may have to register Democrat and try to bring it back to its Catholic, semi-Fascist roots. However, we will never vote for a Republican again, and will work to encourage others to avoid voting Democrat.

Ach!

I just realized that I have not been selecting categories for posts since I updated Movable Type. Egads. I really hoped to do more fun stuff than that this weekend.

East Indian Catholic Recipes.

Someone found the site looking for the above phrase. Unfortunately I don't really have a treasure trove of any Indian recipes. I cook a few, but they are not spectacular, and I know nothing of the food of Goa, which is probably pretty good, since I can only imagine the combination of Portuguese and East Indian cuisines. I like Indian food, but it is probably my weakest area, foodwise.

So, sorry.

Now, if you want to move over a bit further East, to Thailand and Indonesia, then we can talk. I love to cook Southeast Asian food. And if you have some good Vietnamese recipes to offer, well, then I am all ears. I know a little bit, but would like to know more.

I suppose I should focus on Phillipino food, since we live in such a Phillipino area (with a great market full of all sorts of goodies that are just screaming for experimentation). Anyone recommend a good cookbook?

Briefly Noted

1. Mr. Bean's Holiday. I added this to the Netflix queue on Amalia's request. I did not expect to really enjoy it that much. Oh, a few titters and "well, it wasn't as bad as Shiloh (see below)." Instead I found the physical humor some of the best I had seen in ages, all built around a fun story (not a believable story, it is Bean after all, but one that keeps the interest going), and exquisitely shot. Five stars. Seriously.

2. Did I mention Shiloh? It is a dog movie, and the dog doesn't talk. Amalia is really keen on a dog. We almost buckled. Well, we did buckle, but when we went back to the pet adoption people at the PetCo., someone had already adopted the very cute dog. But, of course, when you buckle, you have buckled, so now it is just a matter of finding the right dog. How do I let these things happen? But I digress. We saw "dog movie" and thought that it would be something that Amalia would enjoy and that we would not find too horrible. Wow. Were we wrong on that one. Even Amalia thought that it was too sentimental and trite. She is six and is very keen on dogs. The acting is horrible (what is Rod Steiger doing in this turkey?), the writing worse. The whole thing has the look and feel of a made-for-tv special from the 1980's. Terrible. Terrible. Terrible.

3. Books, books, books. Where to begin? Well, it has been awhile since I posted anything, but not for lack of reading. Right now I am reading Spain by the Horns by some Australian. It is a fun read, and I should be done with it soon and will report. I finished Eco's latest collection of essays, which has a couple of fantastic ones, and I read the first part of the Cairo Trilogy by Naghuib Mahfouz. It is excellent, but I will wait until I have read the whole trilogy. Before that, let's see, did I mention Reading Lolita in Tehran? I think I did. Good read. And that got me wanting to reread Lolita. Liked it as much as the first time. But I think I mentioned these already in this space. I will need to go back to the archives and see what the last thing I capsule reviewed was.

4. Our new Cost Plus couch. Yes it was cheap. Yes it is good looking. Yes it wins points for versatility. BUT... it already needs repair, and I am trying to decide which is more of a pain: taking it apart, packing it up, hauling it downstairs, taking it to Cost Plus and doing the Customer Service Dance or taking part of it apart, fixing the thing, undoubtedly doing some sort of damage to the fabric, probably injuring myself, and spending the good part of a Saturday doing so, while the girls are out enjoying the sunshine. Did I mention that the couch is not that comfortable as a couch and only moderately so as a bed? Cheap. Good Looking. Versatile. Easy for two to haul up the stairs (relatively speaking). Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.

5. Winter. I thought Globo-Warmo was supposed to kick in. Cold as a witch's you-know-what, and we have had our second utilities bill for over $200. Now, I konw that many of you, especially out in the Frozen Zone of the East Coast (which, as everyone knows, begins on the East Shore of Lake Tahoe), think that this is nothing. My father, who has to heat a large mostly uninsulated ranch house in much colder Sacramento, thinks that it is nothing. I know that you all are right. I know that for nine months our total utilities bill is aroudnd $60. But I am still going to complain! I am an American! I have rights!

6. John McCain. I am really loving this guy. Not only does he knock the Mormon out, but he completely flusters the Jackass Wing of the Republican Party. Anyone who can drive Ann Coulter and Rush Limbugh to that level of frustration wins massive points in my book.

A Goodie...

One of my favorite posts is here, a post that continues to attract rather moronic bleats of indignation from people who are really quite sure that "There is no Truth but that there is no Truth". My, how they go on if you say something to the contrary.

The fact that they are allowed to vote is a great tragedy. Re-education camps with hard labor would be much better for them and for society.

When dangling, watch your participles.

I found this gem on AOL today:

"Christina Aguilera made her first public appearance since giving birth at a Best Buy on Feb. 5."

I can only imagine the shock and astonishment of the Best Buy staff when they had a popular singer giving birth in their store.

Is it for real?

This weather, I mean. It really feels like spring. Should I go ahead and plant those things that should only be planted "after the last frost?"

No. Not yet. It is only that teaser we get every year in January or February, where a week of unseasonably warm weather makes us think that winter is over. Do not be fooled.

I have some ambitious plans afoot.

Most importantly, we will be growing Roman Wormwood, for the purposes of vermouth making. I am also going to plant a lot more basil than usual. Pesto making demands it! Our parsley is already going crazy, which is inspiring me to make another attempt at cilantro. The last time it bolted and went to seed, which was fine, but I didn't dry the seeds well enough before packing, so they got mold colonies in them.

We are also going to go pretty heavy on the nightshades: tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum, chilis, potatoes (?), and, as an experiment, tobacco.

And, of course, nothing is more fun to grow than zucchini.

But it must wait another month. Patience. Patience. Patience.

Don't...

Wait too long to eat lunch, then overeat.

But you knew that already.

I am not feeling sick or anything that drastic, but it does sort of feel like a large stone has taken residence in my belly.

Not fun. Not fun. Not fun.

On Socialized Medicine

Here TSO mentions that Quebec has the lowest Doctor-Patient ratio of (what, civilized countries, I forgot to check, and don't feel like clicking back...it doesn't matter anyway) its class. He mentions this as an argument against Socialized Medicine.

But he has it all backwards. America suffers from too much medicine. Too many doctors, too much land going towards "health care". The voters in Oakland just turned down a parcel tax to support the ever-increasing monster of Oakland Childrens' Hospital, which is a surprise, since those people generally feed the trough whenever the Healthcare Hog starts squealing. If you go to the area where Childrens' Hospital is, you will see that it is a constantly-expanding octopus.

Of course, you rightfully point out, this is an example of a tax-funded octopus, and perhaps part of the problem is that so much tax money goes into medicine, constantly enlarging it.

After all, when people think that they are entitled to something, they demand more and more of it. Medicine is now seen as an entitlement, and not just legit medicine, but all sorts of quackery as well: chiropractic, aromatherapy, accupuncture, homoepathy, etc. If it is a public utility, the public will demand that everything go towards it. So, perhaps my idea of beating back medicine by turning over to crippling bureaucracy will not work.

Instead, what we need is more regulation (and much less insurance). In the name of consumer protection, let's toss out all of the quack cures, all of the ancient wisdom from nations that have been in constant states of war and starvation for the last six centuries, all of the "life-transforming" crap. Or at least, ban insurance from covering it. Then we only allow catastrophic insurance. Everything else, you pay, and you alone pay. None of these byzantine, multi-tiered pricing cystems (where you pay a piddling $15 co-pay, the insurance gets billed $10,000, and then pays a "pre-negotiated" price of $3,000, and everyone is happy).

Of course a big part of this will be to reform medical malpractice: outlaw malpractice insurance and tie civil penalties for malpractice to procedings from the regulators. Doctors are human and may make mistakes. Not all mistakes are malpractice. If there is such a pattern that the doctor needs to be removed from the business, then let his disgruntled customers step forward for some compensation, but until that happens, they have to understand that everyone is going to die eventually and that doctors, like everyone else, sometimes blow it.

This way the hobbling bureaucracy is not in the business of dispensing the medical services, and can do its job simply by making it a little more inconvenient and expensive to go whining to doctors at the slightest sniffle.

At least it isn't one of the ones that ends in 5 or 0

When your birthday falls on February 8, you rarely have to worry about your birthday falling within Lent.

So when it not only falls within Lent, but lands on the first Friday of Lent, you might expect to be especially grumpy.

However, going back to the days even before I could yodel I have always had fondue for my birthday, so it isn't that big of a deal to go meatless.

Meanwhile, I am another year older, and, hopefully, another notch grumpier.

You kids better get off my lawn!

V-M Day

Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, Deo Gratias.

Now that the Mormon front has been settled, it is back to our usual program of...

Destroy the Dems!

I keep going back and forth over which Dem is worse, and I have to say I am leaning towards Osama. However, I am more and more thinking that Hillary will be harder to beat. So...crush them both!

We should raise our glasses for this one victory, but let's not let our guard down. The Democrat Party is evil, and it must be destroyed. Then we can focus on the Republicans...I mean, uh, in the interest of Party Unity, let us put all our energies towards the End of the Democrat Party.

The only party to have loyalty to is the Phalange, by the way.

Hey!

You have some dirt or something on your forehead! Heh heh heh heh heh heh.

Oh yeah? Well, you oughtta see my soul!

The Reform of the non-Reform?

Or...

I certainly respect our Holy Father, but this does make it look like that jackass Abe Foxman has veto power over our liturgy. You know, Foxman and Donahue better watch out or they might find themselves eternal bunkmates.

Let's Rally, California

My dear fellow Californians, it is time to show the Mormon the door. Tomorrow we may take a stand against a pagan Mormon.

Yes, we all have some qualms about John McCain, but they are petty, for the most part, and it is time to put them aside. Limbugh and Coulter can be funny at times, but neither are to be taken seriously, especially when they prove what they are all about in stumping for the former governor of Massachusetts (a four ess state, as a reader pointed out to me. Why not give it a good European name, I retort! But that is beside the point).

Remember, first and foremost, Romney is a practicing Mormon. Having one of their own in the White House is the big piece of cheese in the Deseret maze, the main goal for Danites everywhere. And, no, I don't think they want to have a hot line to Kolob (lest Xenu intercept their calls - oh wait, that is another cult), rather this is a naked power grab. They probably need another Mormon War to keep them in check, and having their Mitts on the Oval Office will ensure that another Illinois-type episode doesn't happen.

OK, so you are one of these modern ecumenical types. You think this is all a bunch of hooey. After all, you smugly say, isn't this just like what they said about Catholics in the 1960's. Nudge nudge. Wink Wink.

I say this: I don't think I really do take the faith of a Protestant seriously if he voted for a Catholic who took his seriously. There are certain bedrock philosophies at work here. Note that it need not be applied equally. Since only Protestants have been elected President (and probably only Protestants could be elected President), Catholics can pick the least odious of the bunch. But we are not talking about a Protestant here. No, Mormons are pagan, who happen to admit Jesus Christ into their pantheon. There is almost nothing shared between our concept of ultimate reality and theirs. If you can imagine a Mormon in the White House, then you can imagine an aboriginal savage, complete with a bone through his nose and a shrunken head around his neck doing likewise. Just exchange the savage weeds for a polyester shirt with dark tie and name badge, and the savage could be Uncle Mitt. He spent 30 months attempting to convert people in France to his devil's cult.

Now, we are told that Romney's faith shouldn't matter, only his personal intergrity. Well, sure. As a friend said to me about Romney's latest wind-sockery: oh, that shouldn't bother you, he is just switching back to what he believed in before he ran for office in Massachusetts. Don't think for a minute that his courting dance to conservatives will outlast the primaries.

He is a nasty little man, one who gives weasels a bad name. My fellow Californians, we can stop this mad Mormon. We can stop the armies of Deseret and their tacky temples. As you are going to the polls tomorrow:

Remember the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the first September 11 terrorist attack on our country. Here the Mormons showed their true colors and even dressed in savage weeds when they brutally attacked unarmed men, women and children after luring them into their camps. You wouldn't want the grandsons of Bin Laden in the White House, and you should shudder at the thought of the descendents of Parley Pratt hanging their hats in there.

So, tomorrow, do your duty and Vote for John McCain!

Notes from the Sickbed, including Super Bowl reflections and Endorsements

First, What a game! I, of course, was happy with the outcome, but either way, that was some good football. Now, I have to admit that I took a rather fuzzy view on it, in several ways:

1. We just don't get very good television reception here.
2. I was unable to sit up straight, so I watched the game lying on a couch.
3. I fell asleep a few times, though not from the game, rather from being sick.

Second, I am feeling a little bit better, but not quite back to my normal self.

Third, this is my slate of endorsements:

Republican Party Candidate: John McCain. This is a clear choice. Our first duty in this election is to Stop the Mormon. Stopping him in the primary is the best way to do it. Sure, Limbugh and Coulter don't like McCain, but that is because he doesn't hate Mexicans and doesn't want to torture unnarmed prisoners. Call me crazy, but I am with McCain on those issues. Now, I am not going to be petty and suggest that what motivates Pseudo-con blowhards like the aforementioned is nothing more than party loyalty in the Judicial Appointment Wars. of a few years back. Surely they can't be that foolish...can they?

Democrat Party Candidate: I am torn. I like the idea of Hillary getting it, because it will tear the Democrat Party with a nearly unhealable rift. With Hillary as the Party leader, the bad blood with the despised Kennedy faction could be outright amusing, but to the same part of my reptillian brain that wants to see a dogfight. Whooo hoooo! Democrats eating each other alive in the name of Compassion.

California Propositions: No on all of the Indian gaming ones. The Indians have been reverting to paganism. It will do them no good to get more money. Their religion and whatever of their culture that cannot be separated from their false religions, should be wiped off the face of the earth, even if it means total forced assimilation and the consignment of their languages and customs to oblivion. Giving them money and power until they have done so does them no favor, but allows them to wallow in the pagan past. If people want to gamble, they should stick with bingo and chuck-a-luck at their parish festivals, or should make the trip to Atlantic City or Tahoe, if they really have to. Or stick with good old fashioned illegal betting on football, elections, and cigar-and-pizza-fueled poker nights. I have no problem with gambling. I don't get that excited by doing it, but if you want to, fine, just don't build any more casinos (unless you are talking about something like Monte Carlo, but you aren't), as they are a cultural blight.

And that is the way I see it.

Remember:

No Mormons!
Not Now! Not Ever!
Romney, Repent and Withdraw!

Also, if Romney wins the primary, we should call for a boycott on any Mormon-owned business, and should start a public list to identify them. Personally, I would not object to making Mormons wear identifying badges, say a White Pyramid or something, but Americans aren't quite ready for that just yet.

Nursing my annual cold...

In order to be properly rested for Tuesday, that I may fittingly begin my Lent with a good Mardi Gras, I am forced to rest, drink plenty of fluids, etc.

The cold did not stop me from going to The Martini House for a magnificent dinner last night (so long as my sense of smell lasted, which it did, I was determined to enjoy, which I did).

But now I must pay the piper, at least if there is going to be some more piping on Tuesday, so back to bed go I.

Perhaps in a moment of restlessness, I will take it out on you, dear reader, and rant. We'll see.