Oooh - Pootie boy doesn't want to play anymore - kicked out 755 "friends" (aka U.S.diplomats/employees) from his "yard"!

So the question now: did das Trumpf manage to fill his pockets enough to clear some of his debts (with the help of Pootie's boys?) And did Manafort scrape up enough from Pootie, his gang, the Cyprus bank(where one of our cabinet members sits on the board) and other banks - and oh my - do you think Jared managed to gather up all his assets in time? Who knows where all this laundered money is hiding?
It's all about money - always has been when we live in a society where our possessions  describe us. We collect "stuff" . From small gadgets to yachts/real estate and more. The more you have, the more you "are".
Money, money, money - as soon as our illustrious representatives in Washington DC are elected they  start working on re-election. Not delivering on any half-baked promises. They hook up with moneyed interests (lobbyists etc.) who don't give a fig about the "American People" . All in the interests of lining pockets so they can collect more "stuff." Term limits might help - but that's pie in the sky stuff (except for Beto O'Rourke!!!)
A bitter rant for a Sunday morning - 88 years on this planet and loving it less.

(The only calming, sane therapy: watching Michael Moore's film "Where To Invade Next" for the fourth time! )

Scaramuccia, Scaramouche or Scaramucci - a theatrical character - now performing in Washington DC

Scaramuccia was a stock character in  Commedia dell'arte  - Northern Italian theater around the 16th century. The actors excelled in improvisation.  Commedia dell'arte topics included nasty,intriguing love stories (always with a fall guy), money extortion (how to excel at this)  or make fun of/get even with someone you considered more stupid than yourself.

In France, the Punch and Judy shows always had a Scaramouche character who was usually struck by Punch - attempting to knock off his head. (Scaramouche is now associated with puppets that have extendable necks!)

Need I say more? We now have a perfect example of Commedia dell'arte in Washington DC.  Ongoing performances depend on improvisation (nobody could write a script for these daily happenings) and as for knocking off somebody's head - vamos a ver! Hope springs eternal.......

On with the show! 

Intermission entracte: a ridiculous tweet about transgender individuals costing the government too much money when serving in the armed forces - the Washington Post compared these costs (based on a Defense Department-commissioned study from last year) to other military medical costs: 

"military spending on erectile dysfunction medicines amounts to $84 million annually, according to an analysis by the Military Times — 10 times the cost of annual transition-related medical care for active duty transgender service members.

Government by tweets .......for twits...... hope the run of this play is cut short.

Olive Oil Myths - thanks to USA Today and El Paso Times

I wrote about the benefits of olive oil in 2012 for the El Paso Times - when the newspaper covered local news along with the rest of the world. Yesterday (Monday, July 18, 2017) the El Paso Times carried  a USA Today science writer's story about olive oil preventing dementia (Alzheimers included).  Yeah - in mice! Can't believe there was no mention of the creatures in the headline and wonder how many people will rush out to buy EVOO.

Facts: Olive oil has numerous health benefits - diseases relating to heart, blood pressure, protecting LDL particles from oxidation, and  more.

Dementia? Not yet – just mice studies and guessing about people. 

Previous studies reported beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) on cognitive function, but results were inconsistent.  (One study compared a MEDiet to a low-fat diet and conjectured that the MedDiet may have been slightly more beneficial - but that diet included nuts and other goodies in addition to the olive oil!) 

So ignore the false health claims from USA Today and the El Paso Times (unless you're a mouse)  BUT -  use olive oil in your cooking - not only salads but cakes, stews and more. Read the  label carefully (origin, extra virgin, etc and date) Olive oil benefits deteriorate with time - so buy what you need for a few months at a time. 

The late Marcella Hazan, author of the cookbook Marcella Cucina, wrote the following:

"The taste of a dish for which you need olive oil will be as good or as ordinary as the oil you use. A sublime one can lift even modest ingredients to eminent heights of flavor; a dreary oil will pull the best ingredients down to its own level. Partial clues to the quality of the olive oil you are buying are supplied by the label and the price, but ultimately, the only way to determine which one, among those available, is right for you is to taste and compare."

are." 

Duda and Trump - what a match!!!

So our "leader" made it to Poland - what a match these two leaders make: one has nothing to offer except glorifying himself and the other (really should spell it doo doo) glorifies himself while spewing hate messages to anyone who disagrees with his rules.  Duda claims that  Poland will no longer have a "negro mentality" towards the U.S. and of course forget about women's rights, also back to the hateful anti Jewish rhetoric (it really never left - which is why my folks left there in the late 1920's).
And then mein leader is off to putter with Putin.......and I'm waiting for even a whisper from the  pols in D.C. - who were so quick to see a Russian under every bed in the McCarthy days;  now?  Hypocrisy, lying, stupidity, gutless, money grabbing - and other similar descriptions for my reps in Washington. The only important matter in their lives? Getting re-elected.
Which is why we need term limits!  (Beto O'Rourke - for senate!)

As for health care - all our reps. enjoy "employer provided health insurance" (guess who subsidizes those plans!) .  Good luck to the rest of us. Of course there's always an option for repeal and repair
but that doesn't garner votes.
The newest  scary fat on the fire: Trump's appointees to HHS programs: Teresa Manning and partner in crime  Valerie Huber.  Birth control skeptics,  known for spewing harmful misinformation (abortions cause breast cancer!!!) or how about abstinence-only-until-marriage programs ? Funny but tragic. And of course no abortions allowed. Let's fill up the country with unwanted kids and then complain because there are too many mouths to feed/educate.

Cheerful stuff? My kids are visiting this summer - this week Dave, Laura, Evan and Jeremy; next week Susan and in August, Joan, Keni, Sarah and Miriam. Really wonderful kids!