THE 20TH . . . AND LAST!!!

The apparently last debate of the Republican presidential nomination process took place last night in Mesa, Arizona.  The gang of thieves held 20 of them.  TWENTY of them.  They are probably, as Barry Goldwater was wont to say, "sick and tired of being sick and tired."  As are we, the poor television viewers of this sad and ugly saga.

So a quick review.  Virtually everyone I've read this morning mentions the four candidates sitting at desks that appeared to be too small for them, leaving them squirming like little boys.  Frankly I didn't notice that.  I did notice the professor on the far right . . . (hmm, I wonder if I was referring to the television screen or the political spectrum) . . . Uncle Newt seeming to have a difficult time holding his arms over his h-u-g-e midsection.  Calista must have already read the will if she keeps feeding him the Georgia diet!

Unlike his earlier debate styles, Newt seemed to be sharing an amused conversation with Romney (the dog abuser) most of the night.  Asked to describe himself in one word, Newt chose "cheerful."

At the other side of the stage was that groovy guy, Ron Paul.  He seemed to begin each of his answers with a chuckle or two.  I think everyone got a chuckle out of his reply to a question about why he had called Rick Santorum in a t.v. ad "a fake".  Paul looked momentarily surprised at the question and then said "because he's a fake!"  I can't really figure out what Paul's game is considering his dismal performance so far.  But he does provide some comic relief.

Then the two guys in the middle, who didn't provide any comic relief last night, Rick Santorum, the former Senator from the 14th Century, and Cousin Willard, Mitt Romney.  What the hell kind of a name is Mitt, anyway.

Since Santorum has risen to the top of the leaderboard as this week's "not Romney", he got much of the vitriol last night, from the other candidates and from the crowd, which may have been packed by Romney.  As Romney was introducing himself at the beginning, he was interrupted by applause.  Rather than continue his introduction, he quipped "as George Costanza says, when they're applauding, stop talking."

Santorum heard the unfriendly sound of booing several times as he told the crowd things like "I voted for it but I didn't believe in it" and "when you're on a team sometimes you have to take one for the boss."  The booing probably came from Tea Partiers in the room.  We should all remember this debate was held in Mesa, Arizona . . the once and possibly future fiefdom of Russell Pearce, who was the president of the Arizona Senate until he was successfully recalled not too long ago.

And Mitt, who still seems likely to win the nomination eventually.  Not that it will be worth much by August.  He was a little snappish, telling Santorum at one point "don't look at me, look in the mirror."

I'm sorry, folks.  I seem to have lost my sense of humor about this bunch of bull-goose loonies.  Thankfully, we'll have no more debates.  At least not until the Republican nominee demands to debate President Barack Obama.  But I'm not worried about that.  The Prez can just sing 'em to sleep.

SINGER IN CHIEF

He's been at it again.  Last night was Blues Night at the White House and you-know-who was dragged into the act.

C'mon, Mr. President, express yourself!

KNOCK, KNOCK, WHO'S THERE?

O.K.  Here's a mystery for you.  Anyone know what this is?

Here's a clue.  The first time we ever saw one of these was in 1985 in Saltzburg, Austria.

Got it now?

O.K.  I'll make it even easier for you.

By now, you should have guessed that this is a Salzburger Nockerl.  That is, a sweet souffle Salzburg is famous for.  It's a great way to use some extra egg whites you have in the fridge left over from some recipe that only used yolks.

The Nockerl is famously served with a sprinkling of powdered (confectioner's) sugar and maybe, as we had it, with a drizzle of raspberry ice cream syrup.

Delicious!

And by the way, I had nothing to do with the preparation of this.  All credit goes to SWMBO, who remembered that we saw them coming out of kitchens in a Salzburg coffee house.  They're so light that an entire one can be served to one person, as they were there.  She inquired what they were and after we got home she found a recipe for them.

THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN'!

Is there more Republican stupidity out there?  Oh, yes.

For example, one of Arizona's favorite sheriffs being caught "with his pants down" the other day.  Paul Babeau (I don't think it's pronounced Bobo though it should be) was "uncovered" by New Times of Phoenix in a story about his allegedly threatening to have his Mexican boyfriend deported if he went public about their relationship.  Babeau has since denied that but he couldn't deny the fact that he and "Jose" had had a relationship because there was one picture of the sheriff with his arm around him and the other hand inside his shirt.  That's inside "Jose's" shirt, not Babeau's.  And another picture showed the bald sheriff standing bare except for a pair of jockey shorts.  Let's see, that's how former Congressman Anthony Weiner posed and we saw what happened to him.

Babeau said he had resigned as co-chair of the Romney for President campaign in Arizona.  But, as of today, it appears he's still running for Congress.

Oh, and he admitted to being gay.

Here's a campaign button that expresses my views.



And here's a cartoon about our misguided friends in the Tea Party.



And to top off a near-perfect weekend, here's a picture of a sign at an Alaskan fishing resort that my longtime pal, Danny Bananas, sent to me.

I think what we need is fewer politicians and more satirists!

A MAGPIE TALE

Oh, this one inspired me.

"Hello, operator.  Could you tell me how to get to Caesar's Palace?"

---------------------------------------------------------

Other, undoubtedly much better inspirations can be found at Magpie Tales.

THE SAGA OF THE LEMON PLUMS

The other day in the grocery store, I noticed something I'd never seen before.  The sign said they were Lemon Plums.

I told SWMBO about them and she suggested I buy a couple, if they weren't too expensive.  So I did.

As I went through the checkout line, my cashier said "these are delicious.  Have you had them before?"

I confessed I hadn't and she said they turn red as they ripen and become much sweeter.  She said they were pretty tart when they're yellow like the ones I purchased.

So we set out to ripen them.  The next picture was taken two days later and you can see the red beginning.



A day later, even more red in the skin.

Finally, today, SWMBO said they appeared to be dead ripe.

So the grand opening began.  I cut vertically all the way around a hard core and pried the sides open.

The fruit clings firmly to the nut in the center so it became a little messy.


I got the first taste and found it very moist with a delicate sweet taste.  I didn't get any flavor of lemon at all.

SWMBO said she was disappointed and thought the flavor was bland, not as strong or sweet as other types of plums.

Your opinions may vary.  Give Lemon Plums a try if you see them in your store.

I found from Wikipedia that they are a fairly rare fruit imported from Chile.  You can read more here.

TIME FOR A RANT

Hi, folks.  I know you've missed me, foaming at the mouth.  Guess what?  I'm back!

First of all the Republican circus.  Leroy Mitt Romney seems to be stumbling in all directions this week as his supposed lead in his old home state of Michigan appears to have been taken over by the (former) Senator from the 14th Century, Ricky Santorum.  I'm sorry.  He still looks like a cub scout to me.  But his views!  My gawd, his views!  On contraception.  I won't even mention his financial godsend who made an age-old but silly comment about aspirin between a woman's knees this week.  Even (former) Senator Santorum had to disavow that comment, though his own positions on women and contraception seem to be from . . well, as I said, the 14th Century.

But wait.  There's more.

I live in Arizona, the antidote to common sense and reality.  I have a friend in California (CALIFORNIA for gawd's sake!) who decries our state for the foibles of its legislators (most of them Republicans) and for our vaunted Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  Arpaio reminds me of the sheriff or police chief back in Pennsylvania in the day.  He's a thug and a publicity hog.  He also treads on the rights of minorities.  But enough about him.

What really got me going was a couple of bills in the legislature.  One (again) wants to arm students at our universities by giving them permission to carry weapons on campus as long as they have a concealed carry permit.  No bother about the fact that such a permit has been weakened by the legislature's deciding holders don't need any gun training.  I mean, really!  As the Arizona State University police chief said last night, "you've got students who aren't happy with the grades they've received, arguing with their professors, now you arm them?????"

Then tonight there's a report of yet another bill passing through the legislature which would create an armed militia to patrol the border for TERRORISTS OF AL QUAIDA OR HEZBOLLAH WHO HAVE ALLIED WITH MEXICAN DRUG DEALERS!!!  Can you believe this?

A Bloomberg News reporter said she had been an observer of an interview between Governor Jan "Wacko" Brewer and the head of the Border Patrol.  Brewer supposedly kept hammering the BP guy, asking "How many terrorists have you arrested?  How many Al Quaida?  How many Hezbollah?"

The Border Patrol guy kept telling her it was not true, there was no involvement of Middle East terrorists with Mexican narcotraficantes but the governor wouldn't have it.

As I said to my wife tonight, "what planet are these people coming from?"

As for the claim that the federal government ("...the Obama government...") isn't protecting the border . . there are now 20,000 agents on the border with Mexico.  During the Bush administration there were 10,000.

Sheeesh!  I gotta go mix a drink.