Second Amendment Blues

There’s a country where protesting against the government will land you in jail.

Or result in detention on trumped-up (no pun intended) charges.

Hundreds of Cubans are still detained after anti-government protests

Where the government will blame the citizens’ unrest on something/anything other than their own malfeasance.

Where the government essentially controls the technology that in turn controls your access to the internet and social networks. 

Yes, hard to believe but there really is a country like that.

 

And then…there’s Cuba.

Who, along with Venezuela, has a message for Americans.

There’s No Cause For A Llama

Doug Ross runs a Top 20 Tweets from BadBlue Tonight feature: last night this came in at #16.

Not something you often see. Route of the Tour de France temporarily blocked by llamas in fog. Photo from TdF Race Radio. pic.twitter.com/RSC5abj6I0

— John O'Connell (@jdpoc) July 15, 2021

It turns out the photo is actually from the Tour de France a few years ago but since it got retweeted it qualifies and I think it deserves a much higher ranking than 16, based solely on the responses it engendered.

While many observed that “Llamas in the Fog” would make an exceptionally fine band name others were inspired to set the event to music: 

Some figured it was just another athlete-taking-a-knee thing:

While still others just had fun with word games:

And while there appeared to be the usual confusion between the two South American pack animals:

my favorite responses to this tweet-out-of-time all involved biblical references:

Which of course brings to mind this most classic reference from Revelations 6:8.

I understand the race proceeded after a brief delay and there was no cause for a llama. 

So everyone calm down and get back to your TGIF mode.

Throwback Thursday, Carpe Diem Edition

Then followed that beautiful season…summer…

Water.

Beaches.

Boats.

Americana.

“Picnic On The Bay” by John Falter, Number 84 in the series “Home Life in America” c. 1953

It is all so fleeting.

Carpe Diem my friends.

Let The Truthiness Begin

To understand the workings of American politics, you have to understand this fundamental law: Conservatives think liberals are stupid. Liberals think conservatives are evil. – Charles Krauthammer

Glenn Greenwald’s substack published an essay from Darryl Cooper – the martyrmade tweeter who published a series of 35 tweets last week trying to explain where Trump supporters were coming from - further elaborating on his tweet stream.

NOTE FROM GLENN GREENWALD: On Friday, a relatively obscure Twitter user with fewer than 7,000 followers — posting under the pseudonym MartyrMade — posted one of the most mega-viral threads of the year. Over the course of thirty-five tweets, the writer, a podcast host whose real name is Darryl Cooper, set out to explain the mindset that has led so many Trump supporters to believe that the 2020 election was fraudulent and, more generally, to lose faith and trust in most U.S. institutions of authority.

You can read the whole thing here, click “Let Me Read First” option if you don’t wish to subscribe, although you might want to as Glenn is one of the few sources on the left still practicing some level of actual journalistic integrity.

Back to Cooper’s piece: mind you, he is not one of us, and may even come off as a bit condescending at the end. But at least he rejects the prevalent belief of the left that we are all a batch of deluded rubes – which is  a brave position to take in these dangerous times.

From the perspective of Trump’s supporters, the entrenched bureaucracy and security state subverted their populist president from day one. The natural guardrails of the Fourth Estate were removed because the press was part of the operation. Election rules were changed in an unconstitutional manner that could only be challenged after the deed was done, when judges and officials would be playing chicken with a direct threat of burning cities. Political violence was legitimized and encouraged. Major newspapers and sitting presidents were banned from social media, while the opposition enjoyed free rein to promote stories that were discredited once it was too late to matter. Conservatives put these things together and concluded that, whatever happened on November 3, 2020, it was not a free and fair democratic election in any sense that would have had meaning before Donald J. Trump was a candidate.

Amen, amen, amen brother. I don’t hold out a great deal of hope but it’s a start. And let’s face it, we are never going to Make America Great Again without winning the hearts and minds of some on the left.

Someday we might hope to find ourselves in a place where truth shapes peoples politics rather than politics shaping what we believe to be true.

 

In Which The Dems Practice The Anti-Hobgoblin Principle

Just making sure I’ve got this straight:

People in Cuba are risking imprisonment, and worse, for demonstrating against a Communist regime and demanding freedom and democracy in their elections.

Meanwhile, in Texas, duly elected representatives - who are required to show up for the jobs they ran for and were elected to do - boarded a privately chartered jet…

and jovially headed to Washington D.C

in order to avoid a quorum for the vote on a Texas election bill that would – horrors! - ban drive-thru and 24 hour voting options and restrict the state’s voting-by-mail rules. They say that such restrictions would be discriminatory against black, brown and voters of many other colors. It’s worse than an absence of Kinkos.

Interesting to note that Democratic Senators in D.C. are busy attempting to eliminate the (legal, by Senate rules) filibuster – to prevent the minority GOP from stopping a vote on a federal democrat election bill. Democrats are great practitioners of the anti-hobgoblin principle.

Consistency Is The Hobgoblin of Little Minds

It must me nice to belong to a party whose rules always allow you to win and the other side lose – oh wait - that’s exactly how communism works!

So thanks Texas Dems, for showing us how you think democracy is supposed to work:

“We are determined to kill this bill,” said state Rep. Chris Turner, who said he and his colleagues were prepared to run out the clock (in Washington D.C.) on a special session that ends early next month.

Which is to say, ignore the will of the duly elected majority in favor of the flamboyant and noisy tyranny of the minority. So sorry Cuba, but the Dems think you already live in a socialist paradise. So deal with it.

Funny, if this were in Minneapolis instead of Havana Dems would be burning cities to the ground in protest

Freedom’s Just Another Word For Nothing Left To Lose

Apparently there’s a disturbance near the southern hemisphere: the Cuban people are sick of communist dictators.

“I want a total change: a change of government, multiparty elections, and the end of communism.”

With a rock in each hand, Yusniel Pérez, 17, said: “We’re here because we’re hungry and poor. We don’t have food. We don’t have anything.” -

Still, the American media never met a commie dictator they didn’t like so it will be interesting to see how this plays out on the pages of the NYT.  Oh wait…

The only thing remarkable is that it’s taken this long

The New York Times, where “Freedom” is considered an anti-government slogan. Could their disdain for our country’s foundation be any more transparent?

Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that “destabilization in our country” would be met with a “revolutionary response,” adding “we call upon all the revolutionaries of the country, all the communists, to take to the streets.” I presume all U.S. media correspondents on assignment there will heed his call, having already fulfilled their journalistic responsibilities by blaming the uprising on Covid…and Trump.

I don’t know if Kristofferson wrote this nihilistic lament for the likes of these leftist loons who’ve been with us since the 60s, and just keep replicating, but it certainly fits their mindset.

Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', it ain't nothin' honey, if it ain't free
And feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee

 

Maybe the Cubans will be able to explain it someday

What’s Cooking?

It’s been one of those weeks; I can’t take any more affairs of state, stories of cultural suicide or tales from the dark side. I’ve no capacity today for the arrogance and contemptuous intolerance of the woke amongst us.

And since man cannot live on outrage and anger alone I give you…food! Vicarious food, so completely calorie and guilt free.

Starting with a report back on last Sunday’s diversion, the vinegar free refrigerator pickles. I tasted them after 2 days as the recipe said you could and found them to be a bit meh. Then they got lost and forgotten in the frig till yesterday. I’m happy to report that they are quite surprisingly delicious. I only made them because I had all the ingredients on hand and thought they sounded interesting. After a 6 day swim in the saline/sugar brine I declare them a triumph of so little effort I will gladly make them again and again.

Pretty, with the pink peppercorns, and tasty too

I even made Raj a little jar of his own with de arbol chilis because he likes spicy – he said they were great but I wouldn’t know because …spicy.

I didn’t think I’d care for a non-vinegared pickle but I’m a convert. After 6 days they still retained good crunch and cucumber flavor along with all the other good things in the jar with them. I give them 4 1/2 stars.

Also from yesterday: blueberry pancakes on the deck. Because Michigan blueberries were in the market this week and the morning was cool and beautiful. And because Jettie sent us some delicious Canadian maple syrup – which is divine. Thanks BlueDog!

Yes, with bacon and scrambled eggs because Raj gets no carbs without protein when I’m in charge.

The next is from a few weeks back: seabass marinated in the world famous Nobu miso marinade. I happened to splurge on sea bass when Costco had it but I usually make this with either halibut or far more reasonable cod. They are all fabulous. Not hard but you do need to plan ahead as the fish needs to marinate for a day or two (I’ve let it go as long as 4 days, which might even be better, but your fish will shrink more). I cut the filets in smallish pieces to get more marinade coating.

Nobu-style Miso Marinade

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sake
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup white miso paste
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 4 (8-ounce) black cod fillets (or regular cod, halibut, or salmon)

 

Instructions

1. Two to 3 days beforehand, make the miso marinade and marinate the fish. Bring the sake and mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Turn the heat down to low, add the miso paste, and whisk. When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up to high again and add the sugar, whisking constantly to ensure that the sugar doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat once the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
2. Pat the black cod fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels. Slather the fish with the miso marinade and place in a non-reactive dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
3. To cook the fish: Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat an oven-proof skillet over high heat on the stovetop. Lightly wipe off any excess miso clinging to the fillets, but don't rinse it off. Film the pan with a little oil, then place the fish skin-side-up on the pan and cook until the bottom of the fish browns and blackens in spots, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until fish is opaque and flakes easily.

Adapted from Nobu: The Cookbook

Recipe Notes

Instead of cooking the fish on the stovetop, you can do this on an outdoor grill or under the broiler in your oven. I did this batch under the broiler, but warning: it does smoke!  So turn on the fan and open the windows. If doing on the grill be sure to oil the grate really well and maybe leave the pieces larger for easier turning.

Serve with anything you like – it plays well with many things from macaroni salad to sticky rice. I served it with a compendium of things I had on hand: Japanese quick pickles, seaweed salad, leftover brown rice, asparagus served cold with Japanese Kewpie mayo and avocado. Sort of deconstructed sushi.

I also did a Thai yellow chicken curry last week because I had a bumper crop of Thai basil that had to be harvested. I don’t have a real recipe for this, it’s just a can of coconut milk, 2 tbls brown sugar, 2 tbls fish sauce, 2 heaping tbls yellow curry paste (Mae Ploy) – green is good too, but much spicier – boil together for 5 minutes. Add cubed potatoes and cook about 5 minutes, add cubed chicken thigh meat, green beans, slivered onions  (and sliced hot Hungarians if you like your curries really hot) and cook until chicken is done. You can add or delete any veggie you want or have on hand, bell peppers, asparagus, sweet potato, eggplant – my favorite with chicken and the green curry – are all good.

Stir in a large handful of Thai basil leaves just before serving over rice.

The leftovers, because I forgot to take a “before” picture

So, what are you guys cooking?