My Thanksgiving Menu

Normally, I write posts here to complain about something. Tonight, I am trying something different…

Not that posting ones menu is all that “unique,” in general, but it certainly is unique to me.

My Turkey-Day Menu:

Turkey (Duh)

Tropical Fruit Pineapple and Orange Glazed Ham (Are apples tropical??)

Gumbo (Shrimp, Chicken, Sausage)

Sweet Potato Souffle (with crumble topping)

Herb Red Potatoes (Skillet Style)

Mac and Cheese (Double Duh)

Greens, mixed Turnip and Mustard (With smoked turkey wings)

Green beans (slow cooked, with smoked turkey necks)

Homemade orange, cranberry sauce

Rolls, rolls, and more rolls (not a fan of cornbread – weird, I know)

Sarafina Dream Banana and Strawberry filled White Cake (courtesy of sis n law)

Red Velvet Cake (courtesy of sis in law)

Sweet Potato pie (courtesy of sis in law)

Yes… tomorrow is going to be a day of good eatin’.

Happy Turkey Day to all… and to all a good night – I’m beat!

Palin Lashes Out At WSJ Reporter, Misquotes Story

Facts and Palin just don’t mix.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

::impersonates Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin::

 

There goes the LAME STREAM MEDIA again and their fact checking and using the words that come out of my mouth to prove that I haven’t a clue of what I’m talking about. The important thing here is not that my data is, in fact wrong, it’s that the American people get that I’m a real person, just like they are; and, also, too, Mister Fancy Elitist_Pants Wall Street Journal Guy with your fat_juicy steaks and succulant (succulent) lobsters every night for dinner, real people like me notice when our food prices rise 0.011111% from the previous year. Perhaps that’s not a lot where YOU live, but I absolutely refudiate and refuke (rebuke) everything that passes through your educated lips as I am a TRUE American scraping by like everyone else and if it wasn’t for the hundreds of thousands of dollars I make at speaking arrangements I would be on the streets, in line for free government cheese and chicken broth, waiting for retirement age so that I could live off of Medicare and Social Security.

The LSM just don’t get it!

I have an idea! Let’s take a few steps backward…

There are times I feel like I am living in an alternate universe. Apart from others who do not have an ability to see what is real and what is…. false. I know that I am not completely unique, but I do feel like we are few in number.

Going back to 1993, the republicans have controlled the house 12 years. That’s 12 years out of 17.  In the same time, republicans have controlled the senate for 10 out of 17 years.

How is the state of the country solely the fault of democrats again?

I still do not understand how people have no ability to see the republican party for who they truly are. It’s not as if I am in love with the democratic party, because honestly, I think the vast majority of politicians are self-serving power seekers that thrive on the prestige and notoriety that comes with being a political figure. Being written up in history books has a certain appeal to some people, I’m sure. But even with all of that said, I do realize that there is truly a such thing as “the lesser of two evils.”

From Wikipedia:

Corporatism also known as corporativism is a system of economic, political, or social organization that views a community as a body based upon organicsocial solidarity and functional distinction and roles amongst individuals.^[1][2] The term corporatism is based on the Latin word “corpus” meaning “body”.^[2]Formal corporatist models are based upon the contract of corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labour, military, patronage, scientific, or religious affiliations, into a collective body.^[3]

One of the most prominent forms of corporatism is economic tripartism involving negotiations between business, labour, and state interest groups to set economic policy.^[4] In contemporary usage, “corporatism” is often used as a pejorative term against the domination of politics by the interests of business corporations (Corporatocracy) based on the inaccurate interpretation of “corporat” in corporatism as referring to business corporations.

 

We are moving toward, if not already living in, a corporatist state. Where the bottom line is always the ultimate goal. Living in such a world is not going to do anything to get us back to a time and place where the American Dream was truly something that was attainable by all. The concept of people living in a nice, clean neighborhood with good schools used to be such a simple one. There used to be a time where a blue collar family could manage to attain the necessities for life. A roof over your head, a car or two and food on the table every night. With big businesses receiving huge tax breaks for outsourcing our jobs to other countries and all of our manufacturing being imported, Americans should get used to high jobless rates.

While the republicans spent countless millions labeling the democratic party as one that is draining Americans of jobs by shipping them overseas, the republicans themselves blocked a bill that gives businesses a tax cut for shipping jobs overseas. That same bill offered businesses a tax break hiring Americans here at home.

WASHINGTON, Sept 28, 2010 (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic bill to end tax deductions enjoyed by companies that close their U.S. plants and move overseas.

With a largely party-line vote of 53-45, Democrats failed to muster the 60 votes needed to clear a Republican procedural hurdle against the measure, which would also give employers a tax break to hire new U.S. workers.

The republican party is living on the myth that tax breaks = jobs for Americans. However, when they held office, the republicans and George W. Bush gave huge tax breaks to the wealthy, those doing the hiring. Now, if it is true that these tax breaks is needed for corporations to hire in America, why is the jobless rate so high?

 

At this point, things won’t get better until we hit rock bottom. Or perhaps, things just won’t get better and by the time people wake up and see where we really are, it will  be too late. America, “the best country in the world,” will be 3rd world and to the rest of western civilization, we will look as if we are the ones living in the dark ages.

 

Project Runway, I Quit You

Rarely does a reality show get me to my keyboard, blogging away about it. Most of my blogs tend to lean towards politics, but I need my guilty pleasures. The things that I do to keep me slightly sane; create art/jewelry, watch Project Runway, and Haagen Dazs. Yes, I “do” Haagen Dazs. The time has come for me to cross one of those three things off my list.

The season finale of Project Runway really irked me in ways that competition reality shows rarely do. When Adam Lambert lost to Kris Allen, was I annoyed? Yes… But, rationally speaking, anytime you have America voting, you never know what you are going to get. So, while Lambert is 100x more talented than Allen can ever hope to be, I can accept the outcome. ‘sides, the most talented people often do not win American Idol. The thing with Project Runway, however, is that we have these “fashion experts” who are touted as individuals who have their fingers on the pulse of what’s fresh and next in the world of fashion. They are supposed to know what we want before WE know what we want! Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Gretchen Jones all apparently have their fingers on the pulse of some corpse rotting away in some grave of some woman wearing those “fashion forward” rags. They’ve collectively channeled her, and Gretchen’s Project Runway, $100,000 grand prize is the result! And all just in time for Halloween!

Last night, we were told that Bohemian was “fashion forward.” That Gretchen knows what is “now,” and that thin, cheap looking material was sexy. And an “easy” sexy at that.  The American woman wants Granola, and she wants it now!

Now, if this was the only problem I had with Project Runway over the last couple of seasons, more than likely I would not be breaking up with them. I would shake it off as a bad season and gear up for some fresh and creative talent next year. But frankly, I do not like the road that they have been traveling the last several seasons – since the move to Lifetime. The judges have gotten meaner and the contestants have gotten weaker. There is more focus on drama than there is a focus on creativity. Ivy made it from week to week for one reason. She’s a complete cunt. Which = drama.

I also believe that they picked Gretchen as the winner before the competition began. (Which, honestly, is a big part of the reason that their critique was contradictory. Last week Michael C was told his collection colors were too matchy-matchy. Yet Gretchen’s all brown collection, all with the same cheap looking fabrics, was not too matchy matchy – she won.)

Gretchen won the first two challenges on these creations:

There is simply nothing innovative about those pieces, yet the judges praised her for them. They are drab and common, Bargain Bin basics.

I was baffled by her wins at the start, but I never imagined that she would make it to the finale on those designs. WINNING certainly did not cross my mind.

They then awarded her later on for the following design:

Again. Drab and uninspiring.

Mondo, on the other hand, delivered:

And for Fashion Week, Mondo from head to toe, created fabulous pieces. Do I get that some people find his clothing over the top, yes I do. Not all people are into bold colors, or such an aggressive use of patterns. But there is no doubt whatsoever – Mondo has creativity oozing out of his pores.

The biggest thing that I did not get about Kors’ and Garcia’s criticism of Mondo is that he did not do anything for Fashion Week that was any more over the top than the fashions he created throughout the season. Perhaps their criticism would not have seemed so bizarre if they had voiced this concern prior to the final show. Instead, Mondo won for a lot of those pieces. I also found the fact that they were peeved because  he did not alter or toss 1 dress that they did not like catty. You have two women who have actually walked the red carpet of countless events telling them that they would rock that dress in a heartbeat, but the two old farts who think they know it all were displeased, therefore Mondo should have changed it for them. Really? They have been buying into their own hype for far too long.

After it’s all said and done, I know that Mondo will have a fabulous career ahead of him. He is innovative and creative and has more talent in his eyelashes than Gretchen has in her entire body. He’s gracious and down to earth, and seems to be an all around good person. An individual who can openly admit when they are wrong is a human being who is open to growth. He was on the “I hate Michael C” bandwagon until he worked with him and realized that he was not the person he thought he was. He openly admitted he was wrong. It takes a person with true character to do that.

That is all a sharp contrast to Gretchen. A complete bitchcunt who feels that the world revolves around her, and when someone doesn’t like what she does it’s personal. She harbors negative energy and, I’d say that it’s festering at her core and she is not happy unless she’s making others unhappy.  I could almost tolerate some of that from her were she actually more talented. Almost. IMO, there is no excuse for people to be as ugly as she is.

Fire Garcia and Kors and perhaps I will consider taking you back, but as of now – Project Runway, I quit you.

Walk A Mile in others shoes? These bigotted ones fit me just fine, thank you!

What makes a bigot?

This week Juan Williams, formerly of NPR, currently of Fox News, made headlines when he stated:

But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.

I must say that I find it most fascinating when someone who is part of a group that has been historically a target for bigotry takes on the role of the bigot. In fact, there used to be a time when Juan Williams believed this:

“Racism is a lazy man’s substitute for using good judgment… Common sense becomes racism when skin color becomes a formula for figuring out who is a danger to me.”

To ruin such a brilliant statement by your own ignorance is truly a shame, Mr. Williams. I know that 1986 was a long time ago, however, so maybe your opinions have changed. After all, most human beings tend to evolve one way or another. One is to hope that you would evolve to become MORE intelligent, but alas… Tis not the case with you, is it Mr. Williams? Especially now that you have become accepted by the machine that is Fox News!  I imagine that you forgot where you came from when your bosses accepted you into the fold.

But still, I must ask – Just how pathetic must one (black man with a Hispanic name) be to frequent a show hosted by a man who thought that, upon going to a black restaurant, he was going to find black people who lack basic manners and table etiquette? And it took this visit for him to realize that black people are “starting” to think for themselves – because we all used the same common brain before. Clearly. I am also curious to know just how thrilled you are that other brown people are the targets of such ire from the white (Fox News Regurgitating) masses? (Note: If you are not part of the Fox News Regurgitating White Masses, but are white, the prior comment is not referring to you.)

Bigot

–noun

a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.

I am here to proudly proclaim that “I” am, in fact, a bigot! I have an extreme intolerance of anyone who believes that it is OK to besmirch an entire group, religion, race of people based upon the despicable and atrocious actions of others within their group.

Are all black men to be feared because there are black men who are gang members?

Are all Hispanic men to be feared because there are Hispanic men who are gang members?

Are all white men to be feared because there are white men who are a part of the KKK? (Or are CEO’s of big businesses, or work for Fox News, or politicians that have driven this country into financial ruin?)

Somehow, despite all of the horrible things that white men have done historically from starting wars, raping and pillaging lands, etc… we manage to not paint all white people with the same broad brushstrokes. We recognize that there are many truly good white people out there who fight against those types of things EVERY day. And when I say fight against it, I mean they TRULY fight against it. But the moment a minority does something bad, for many people, it is something that reflects on that entire race and/or religion. It’s “black people are thugs,” it’s “Hispanics are illegal immigrants,” it’s “Arabs are terrorists.”

Perhaps one day people will open up their eyes and realize that this is all about divide and conquer. They will keep dividing us along the lines of race and religion  as long as we allow them to.

Not all Idiots are Foxies, but all Foxies are Idiots

Today on the “cerebrally challenged” hit show, Fox and Friends, genius talking head Brian Kilmeade made the statement that:

“Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.”

Providing context, where none was lacking, Fox News claims that:

“Brian was talking about the events on ‘The View’ yesterday and was referring to the radical extremists who killed Americans on 9/11,” Bill Shine, Fox News SVP of Programming, told the Huffington Post. “Obviously, not all terrorists are Muslim and Brian will clarify this point on television and radio on Monday.”

Of course we (those of us immune to toxic Fox News Juices) know that not all terrorists are Muslim – but do the idiots who watch your network know?

Perhaps I would believe that statement if this network was not notorious for riling their viewership up based on incendiary information that is blatantly false. Fox and Friends is a program where a woman who studied at Oxford – OXFORD – pretends to not know what the word “ignoramus” means. People with 8th grade educations know what the word ignoramus means. The program also smeared their own owner, Al-Waleed bin Talal, in an attempt to stoke MORE fear in the innocently simpleminded individuals that watch the network.

I can only imagine what percentage of their viewership shouted, “that’s right” in blind and willful ignorance as Kilmeade made that proclamation. I’m guessing at least 70%.

In the end, this comment was just another to add to the overflowing landfill of bigoted, hate filled, de-unifying comments that come from that network everyday.

Not all idiots are Foxies, but all Foxies are Idiots.

Irrational Fear

The Muslim Community Center debate is not about logic. Those of us who have this need to be… rational, will never ever understand the other sides argument. It would take a lifetime for us to kill off that many braincells.

Yesterday on The View, Joy Behar and Whoopie Goldberg did something most people aren’t brave enough to do – show Bill O’Reilly that not everyone is going to stand for his BS. That I said, I seriously wish that someone on the show would have pointed out that a large part of the reason that such a large segment of the population feels that this center should not be built is because they are drunk off of Fox News Juice. (Recipe for Fox News Juice at the bottom)
This whole… “debate” started with “Muslims are building a Mosque AT ground zero!” This is rhetoric that was regurgitated and fed to people on an endless loop for god knows how long on FNN. The fact that this statement was not, and is not true, meant absolutely nothing. And it STILL means nothing today.

Today we know the following:

It’s not a mosque, it’s a COMMUNITY CENTER
It’s going to be built, not AT ground zero, but blocks away from it – not even in viewing distance
There is an actual mosque less than a mile from GZ
and – this is the kicker – part owner of Fox News has helped to fund the builder of the community center

Yet, people are still upset? Really? Why? Oh that’s right… irrationality fueled Fox News Juice.

So here is the deal… The next time you are faced with someone yammering on about the GZM… Go find a nice brick wall and argue with that instead. It’s equally as rewarding.

Now, as promised….

Recipe for Fox News Juice:

Blond Hair Dye  – Honeysuckle Dew Drop for maximum effectiveness
Falafel Extract – Just put one in a blender
Clown Tears – From Glenda Beck
Hallucinogen – anything you can get your hands on
White Out

It doesn’t matter how much of each thing you use, but the more falafel extract, the better.

Bon appetit

‘Spill Of National Significance’ Declared Over Gulf Oil Spill

Just lovely.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sheila Johnson, BET Founder: ‘I’m Ashamed Of’ BET

Many conscious black people are ashamed of that network. I haven’t watched it in over a decade. Well, let me restate that, I don’t watch it unless it is on in a home that I have no control over the TV.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sarah Palin: Glenn Beck ‘An Inspiring Patriot’ (TIME 100)

Inspiring to those full of…. horseradish.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost