Archive for June 17, 2009
Foodie Alert
When I think about the individual flavors of these ingredients — Zucchini, Corn, Basil, Fusilli, Bacon and Parmigiano-Reggiano – my mouth waters.
And then my mind wanders to the ingredients I might add or subtract. Finely diced kale? A smashed anchovy? Diced ham instead of bacon? Cherry tomatoes? Maytag blue cheese instead of Reggiano?
Or how about pesto on toast with bacon or ham and tomatoes? I think pesto and ham (salty) would be great with tomatoes (sweet). Hadn’t thought of that combo before now.
Americans Don’t Trust Republicans w/Reforming Healthcare
Gallup released a new poll today showing that only 34% of Americans think “Republican leaders in congress” would do “the right thing for reforming the U.S. healthcare system.” Republicans come in dead last — behind every entity involved — including insurance companies. Insurance companies? Now that’s bad.
This must be the same roughly 34% who still think George Bush was a great president and who are aghast at the suggestion that Dick Cheney wants us to “get hit again” so he can prove he’s right about the benefits of torture “enhanced interrogation.”
If Republicans fight health care reform, they do so at their own narrow-minded, backward-looking peril. Then again, they’ve been doing that a lot lately.
When Insurance Companies Come Between You and Your Doctor
The big scare line used thus far by those who don’t want to reform health care goes something like this: “You don’t want the government to come between you and your doctor, do you?”
I do. I’d rather have the government come between me and my doctor than my insurance company, because I don’t think this would happen if we changed things:
An investigation by the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations showed that health insurers WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group and Assurant Inc. canceled the coverage of more than 20,000 people, allowing the companies to avoid paying more than $300 million in medical claims over a five-year period.
Chief executives of those three companies testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight yesterday. They were asked if they would stop dropping customers — some of whom pay into their insurance pot for years before filing a claim — without showing “intentional fraud.” They all said no.
Michele Bachmann (R-MN) Advocates Breaking the Law
You know, I just don’t think that’s such a good idea Michele. What does it say to our kids for God’s sake when a lawmaker advocates breaking the law?
The Disaster That is the Fox Business Network
Recent estimates are that the nearly two-year-old Fox Business Network pulls in no more than roughly 8,000 to 20,000 viewers per hour, depending on the hour. With chaotic, disastrous “breaking news” coverage like this, it’s no wonder. What a joke:
The Beginning of the End of the Almighty Dollar
Yesterday I read this article by Chris Hedges about how our major trading partners are sick of subsidizing our wars and our debt so they’re moving to dump the dollar and to create a worldwide economic system that doesn’t revolve around it.
And then this morning I came across this, from Bloomberg, about today’s announcement that, “The leaders of Russia and China agreed to expand use of the ruble and yuan in bilateral trade to lessen dependence on the U.S. dollar…”
As Hedges writes, “what is to come will be very, very painful.” If nothing more, read the last paragraph of his article.
Unfathomable Numbers
At times it seems our problems are overwhelming. Like having 1 billion hungry people in the world and adding “four million new hungry people a week, urgently hungry” people.
Sarah Palin’s Band of Fools
Sarah Palin and her handlers might want to think twice about making a stink about anything, given the caliber of people who rally to her cause. Below is video of some of her supporters who protested outside David Letterman’s studio yesterday in NYC against his boneheaded “joke” about her daughter. One guy seems to have never even watched Letterman’s show; he “only watches” Fox News (what a surprise!). Other people don’t know the basic facts of the situation. And then of course we have the ancillary issues of immigration, socialism, cleaning your house, and the economy added to the mix.
What a bunch of nutcases. Check it out.
FAT
Oh my God. The folks at the Center for Science in the Public Interest have released their 2009 “Xtreme Eating Awards,” headlining some of the most caloric and fat-laden dishes ever created. Fried macaroni and cheese with 69 grams of saturated fat from the Cheesecake Factory? “You’re better off eating an entire stick of butter.”
Sounds absolutely disgusting.
Fox News Turns Cheater John Ensign Into a Victim
Yesterday Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada admitted to having an extramarital affair with one of his staffers. If Ensign were a Democrat, Fox News would chew on this news for days, spitting the person out after having ripped him or her to shreds. But insofar as this latest congressional indiscretion was committed by a Republican, Fox has turned the poor guy into a victim (this screenshot from Fox’s home page @ 8:36 a.m. ET):
He couldn’t help it!
