Smarmy Tom's rewards - middle seat between screaming babies in economy class! Love it!

Andy Borowitz really nailed the "reward" for a Cabinet officer who spends millions on private air trips and is against birth control!

Finally, biggest smile on my face since Das Trumpf too over:  the resignation of Smarmy Tom (otherwise know as Tom Price, the orthopod from Georgia) Note: don't confuse orthopod (the orthopedist in medicine) with arthropod - a small creature we would prefer to live without. Come to think of it - there are some similarities.
Just in case you wanted to know more about Smarmy Tom: twenty years of reaping big bucks as the head of an orthopedic clinic in Georgia and a foe of any government health care program.
When he was a senator he voted against a Family Smoking Prevention act - it passed anyhow!
He was against abortion and government funding of birth control - he said "all women can afford birth control" .
And of course he was against gun control.
So here's a scenario: Smarmy Tom is at a meeting full of gun lovers and has the (mis)fortune of sitting next to an unwanted teenager who dropped out of school (the kid's mom couldn't afford birth control). The kid didn't know too much about guns, but, carrying one in his pocket made him feel good. He dug into his pocket and accidentally made the gun go off and shoot the guy next to him  who turned out to be Smarmy Tom...........

On a more optimistic note: A must read is the article by Dr. Atul Gawande: "Is Health Care A Right" in the Oct. 2, 2017 issue of the New Yorker Magazine. There really is common ground incorporating pro and con views on health care in this country. Everyone in the House and Senate should be required to read this!

!!!***grrr - lock them up??

A presidential campaign of tirades against HRC's  private e-mail server.....anyone remember?

And now - all those trumpaniks shooting off their mouths on their private e-mail servers - and Jared's lawyer said not to worry - nothing important.

And smarmy Price - crooked Wall Street trading before the Cabinet appointment and now private jets (even to Philadelphia!!!- he could've rented a whole Amtrak car for a pittance compared to the jet.)

Thank goodness for Andy Borowitz and his wonderful satire - he loves Betsy Etsycator as much as I do! I posted his latest Etsycator analysis of the Tax Game on my facebook page.

Foodie fodder - good and bad. Bon appetit!

Ever wonder what happens to ugly looking/shaped fruits and veggies (that really are delicious tasting)? Farmers can be stuck with them because markets won't buy them. Result: tons of wasted food!
Along comes C.H. Robinson, a produce company that works with farmers to "repurpose" these ugly ducklings of the produce world. They named their operation "Misfits® produce", offering "cosmetically-challenged fruits and vegetables" at reduced prices. 
Just read that 235 Meijer stores (Michigan based retailer operating in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin ) is carrying MisFit packaged produce. In the past month their customers have purchased nearly a quarter million pounds of fresh, perfectly-imperfect produce.
Yeah!

Lots of other opportunities in our society to recognize the value of so-called cosmetically challenged entities - fruit, veggies, and PEOPLE!

Word of advice for naming a product. The Death Wish Coffee Co (it's real, really!) marketing Nitro Cold Brew Coffee in cans has had to recall their brew. Authorities determined that their current manufacturing process could lead to growth and production of the deadly toxin leading to botulism.
(The company is working on changing their manufacturing process to make the drink safe.)

Big Rave: Jacques Pepin's latest book: A Grandfather's Lessons in the Kitchen with Shorey. (Rux Martin/HoughtonMifflin)
His 13 year-old granddaughter Shorey inspired the book - but you don't need grandchildren hanging around the kitchen to enjoy this. Easy to read, easy to prepare delicious food. A great book for grandmas and grandpas who may have cut back on kitchen time. Try the simple  Mayogrette dressing that will enhance potato and other salads,  Tortilla Pizzas or Salmon for Grandma (Pepin's wife, Gloria) marinated and panfried quickly tasting like miso glazed salmon! 

Enjoy this cartoon sent to me by my friend MariAngeles Gallardo:

Making it big in "Nambia" and expanding vocabulary

As far back as 1783, the United States promoted an isolationist policy  promising to keep out of Europe and, later , expecting Europe to keep out of America.

This led to the Monroe Doctrine (originated by President James Monroe in 1823), that any intervention by foreign powers in politics on this side of the pond would be a hostile act against the United States.

 And now we have the Trump Doctrine? We stay out of other places – except “Nambia”. We can send all our richies there to make piles of money. Don’t know where Nambia is? Nobody else does either. Non C'e. (Italian for "Not")

Department of Expanding Vocabulary: Dotard - an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile. A man in his dotage. The word dates back to the mid to late 14th century Middle English. 

Want to know how to use it in a sentence?

After Trump's latest tirade/sanctions against North Korea,  Kewpie Kim shot back that he will: "surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire." Kim also called Trump a "rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire, rather than a politician."

Another day in the playground.

Monday mutterings - never ending health care discussions

Sen. Orrin Hatch, the 83-year-old conservative Republican senator from Utah, warmed to the benefits of medical marijuana last week - asking for more federal research. He said he didn't support the drug for recreational purposes but, on the Senate floor, he said:  "cannabis possesses medicinal properties that can truly change people’s lives for the better..." How come? Because an ill  friend was the beneficiary of the plants' therapeutic values. 

So...... if we take away all of the health benefits offered to elected officials - and they get sick - maybe we can pass some meaningful health insurance?

Health care has always been a hot potato in this country; FDR wanted to include it with Social Security but couldn't get past the AMA lobbies.

In later years the AMA hired "actor" Reagan (before he was president) for promoting their 

mantra: "don't let the government get between you and your doctor!"

And today? Don't ask why your doctor is ordering countless tests, prescribing unnecessary medications;  you're supposed to be grateful that you have an appointment and you get three minutes of his/her time.  

Is it all about money?

I can still hear Joel Gray singing in Cabaret - "money makes the world go round"; it's akin to "I've got mine - screw you" mouthed by immigrants who've amassed tidy sums in the U.S.  and scream the loudest about sending back the DACA kids.

Funny Facebook: So they didn't know the Russians were placing ads? Even though they were paid in Rubles? Mr. Zuckerberg's education at Harvard didn't include world currencies?

Pleasant happenings:

Last week (9/12/17) Trump’s “election integrity” commission was handed a delightful ruling by the New Hampshire state court. Kris Kobach, the Kansas (evolution never happened) co-chair of the commission had claimed he had proof that votes  were stolen in New Hampshire. The NH State Court found no such proof. (Oh yes - some of these votes were by out-of-state students – allowed in NH. )

Beto O'Rourke's chances looking better now that Ted Cruz is digging for the Porn vote!

Borowitz's satirical piece in today's online New Yorker about smarmy Ted Cruz upsetting the porno industry was delightful.
The Cruz office statement: "It was a staffing issue and it was inadvertent, it was a mistake, it was not a deliberate action....We're dealing with it internally but it was a mistake, it was not malicious conduct."
Hmmm - leave it to slate.com and writer Molly Olmstead to offer some other possibilities for this "mistake"; I've included a few of her gems:

"Careless Senator: Cruz accidentally liked some porn while watching it. Curious Staffer: A staffer, while searching for “statistics proving the benefits of supply side economics,” accidentally stumbled on account : “LesbianSexSuply.” Like any good researcher, the staffer kept digging. Lonely Senator: Someone sent the porn clip to Cruz as a DM. The senator got so excited to have a friend that he immediately liked it. Forward-Looking Senator: Cruz was just straight-up bookmarking porn for later. Precautionary Senator: Cruz has developed a particular distaste for Mike Pence and wants to make sure the vice president never dines alone with him. (Ruth note: Now that's a good reason!) Discerning Senator: Cruz wants the world to appreciate this particular pornographic video. and finally,  "Shadow" Tweeter: Steve Bannon masterminded this as part of his 14^th-dimensional chess media distraction campaign waged from outside the White House."

As a Texas resident I have no use for Cruz - and I expect El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke to win when he runs against him for senator. Nice thing about El Paso - it feels the same way I do.
And if we could get rid of gerrymandering - wow - we might get a true Texas State vote!

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions delirious with joy

I looked at his face as he announced the end of DACA and could only shudder and cry. He looked absolutely gleeful/ecstatic. I guess this is part of his long range plan on the way to a pure bred race.

Sounds crazy?  Read about Samuel Jackson Holmes, a professor at Berkeley in the 1920's  (he retired in 1939 but hung around as an emeritus Prof. until he died in 1964) who espoused  the "science" of Eugenics. Many other universities offered courses in eugenics in those years.

Holmes really had a thing about Mexicans. In 1925 he gave a lecture at Stanford where he said:“the Mexican problem is by far the greatest race problem which confronts the people of California at the present time." He advocated the sterilization of citizens and immigrants (especially Mexicans) who might diminish the genetic quality of America.

And then, of course there's Congressman Albert Johnson and Senator David Reed who were instrumental in getting the Immigration Act passed in the 1920's. Reed was not happy with earlier legislation and said that we had to keep American stock up to higher standards (sounds like  sides of beef). Higher standards meant no Asians, Eastern Europeans (Jews), Italians and other undesirables.

The many senators and citizens who supported the 1924 Immigration Act often used the "science" of eugenics to justify race/ethnivity restrictions "in order to prevent the spread of feeblemindedness in American society."

So I'm shedding tears - because above and beyond hurting 800,000 innocent DACA recipients, I fear for Sessions' long range plans (along with Bannon, Spencer and their ilk.) .