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!

Memory problems? Really?

JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SESSIONS has had memory problems in the past.  When he failed to be nominated for US District court in Alabama in 1986, witnesses accused him of saying ACLU was un-American and that a white civil rights lawyer was "a disgrace to his race"; just a few of  the many awful comments that he did not recall making

After the shameful hearing yesterday, June 13, 2017, Andy Borowitz wrote a superb commentary in The New Yorker magazine on Sessions’ mental well being:

Man Ravaged by Amnesia Somehow Able to Hold Down Demanding Legal Job

An Alabama man whose brain was ravaged by severe amnesia is somehow able to function in an extremely demanding legal job, leading neurologists reported on Tuesday.

The man, whom neurologists are calling a “medical mystery,” has performed highly exacting tasks in one of the country’s top legal positions despite having virtually no short- or long-term memory.

Dr. Davis Logsdon, the chairman of the neurology department at the University of Minnesota Medical School, said that the Alabaman’s brain “defies explanation.”

“In all the medical literature, we have never seen an example of someone capable of holding down such a high-powered job while having no memory whatsoever of people he met, things he said, places he has been, or thoughts he has had,” Logsdon said. “It’s the stuff of science fiction.”

Logsdon said that his team of neurologists was studying video of the man in the hopes of understanding the paradoxical functioning of his brain, but Logsdon acknowledged that such a task was challenging. “After listening to him talk for hours, your own brain starts to hurt,” he said.

Andy Borowitz is the New York Times best-selling author of “The 50 Funniest American Writers,” and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes the Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news, for newyorker.com.

Comey hearing today - first time we ever watched TV in the morning!!

Watched a real pro this morning - Comey - parry with the Senate pols. I haven't enjoyed all of the former FBI director's pronouncements in the past - but as an ordinary citizen he shone today.
Most interesting was the behavior of certain senators:  McCain acted like he was suffering from early dementia or Alzheimers. He couldn't seem to put together a cohesive question/thought. And my awful excuse for a senator - Cornyn - was only trying to get brownie points with his party - browbeating Comey about the Hillary investigation  - which really had nothing to do with Trump and Russia.
But the worst part about all of this: Cornyn, Ryan, McConnell and their buddies are more concerned with their standing and money raising ability than caring about Russian (or other country)  hackers who will definitely return to mess us up - and probably not only for elections.
A real kvell and kvetch day!

Gingery - with a touch of lemon - soooo easy!

My neighbor gave us some very crisp, thin lemon flavored cookies from Costco. My live in feinschmecker said "mmm good". So I pulled out an old California recipe for thin crisp cookies - with more ginger flavor than lemon - and I got a "mmmm, very good" comment.
Gingery Crisps with Lemon
Recipe makes 35 to 45 cookies - you choose the size. Preheat oven 350.
1 cup flour
1/2 cup very fine sugar (icing/confectioner's sugar ok)
1/4 lb unsalted butter - cut in small pieces for food processor.
heaping 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger
zest of one lemon
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
(Optional: a few toasted pecans, crumbled, to sprinkle on top)
Process all ingredients in Cuisinart until dough forms.
Roll dough into small balls - 3/4 to 1-inch size - smaller ones yield more cookies!
Place them on non-stick (or silicone lined) cookie sheets. Press flat with your fingers. If desired, press a few pieces of crumbled pecans in the middle.
Bake in preheated (350) oven, on middle shelf until golden brown - about 12-14 minutes.
Lift off cookie sheets with thin spatula and let them sit a few minutes to become crisp. Enjoy!

Who needs a partner like Syria? Ask Donald.

Syria is on the same page as Donald Trump. The only other country that agrees with him about climate agreement. (And of course the quiet, reverent pols in the House of Representatives.)
All done to "bring back jobs for coal workers"........ oh please - I know our education system hasn't reached enough of the population to spread the doctrine  of critical/analytical thinking but when the pols try to tell me Herr Trumpf will bring back jobs to the coal miners - I can only roll my eyes. When it's over it's over  - coal can't and won't compete with cheaper, cleaner  sources of energy. Time to switch, reboot, try something new. This may involve moving or other discomfort - but it's better than standing around whining for something that's not going to happen. (My dad took us all to Baltimore looking for employment in the 1930's; nothing was available in NYC.)
Who's really going to profit with this Trump move?
New Yorker humorist Andy Borowitz got it right - Trump will forge a better deal with another planet.
Oy!!!