Kat of The Middle Ground debunks the Blood for Oil meme. Big Time
Busting Conspiracy Theories (#1) - Blood for Oil
Read One Week Later too....heck read the whole June archive...she's good.
Go.
Arrgh Matey, this be no surprise:
Based on your answers, you are most likely a neoconservative.
Want the US to be the world's unchallenged superpower
Share unwavering support for Israel
Support American unilateral action
Support preemptive strikes to remove perceived threats to US security
Promote the development of an American empire
Equate American power with the potential for world peace
Seek to democratize the Arab world
Push regime change in states deemed threats to the US or its alliesHistorical neoconservative: President Teddy Roosevelt
Modern neoconservative: President Ronald Reagan
(A hat tip to John at The Pirate's Blog)
This is why we will win this war of civilizations.
After nearly seven years of asking, "Are we there yet?" the Cassini-Hutygens mission entered Saturn's orbit this evening at 7:36 PDT as 200 scientists from 17 counries and the world watched on their computers.
This is what radical Islam was doing to advance mankind:
One hopes Iraqi youngsters are watching and dreaming of their turn in JPL mission control...or walking on Mars. It will happen, if we have the same resolve, make the same leap of faith that takes us to Saturn...SATURN! for Peet's sake!
We can remotely touch the rings of Saturn and walk on the moon; yet we are told that we can't defeat a rag tag bunch of loons seeking to return mankind to the Dark Ages?
"I am Saddam Hussein al-Majid, president of the Republic of Iraq," the jailed dictator said haughtily as he greeted the head of an Iraqi tribunal, who talked him through his upcoming hearing.
As you enjoy the 4th of July festivities and celebrate our freedom, never forget that Saddam Hussein would still be in power if Al Gore were President today.
We must re-elect George Bush in order to insure democracy continues to unfold in Iraq and the Middle East. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.
If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle to keep Iraq on the path to freedom.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs.
Today's Recipe is perfect for sharing with family and friends this weekend.
Feste's Dyn-o-mite Chili:
3 - Pounds boneless pork or boneless chicken breast cubed, 1/2 - inch pieces
3 - Tablespoons oil
1 – Medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 Cup celery, coarsely chopped
4 - Cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 Cup - roasted Anaheim chili peppers, diced (canned is fine)
1 - *Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 - *Teaspoon Oregano
1 - *Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 - Teaspoon salt
1 – Small Bay leaf
1 - 14 0z. Can diced tomatoes
3 - Cups Chicken stock
8 0z - Beer
1 - 14 0z. Can red kidney beans
1 - 14 0z. Can black beans
1 - 14 0z. Can pinto beans
1/2 - cup salsa (see Pico de Gallo recipe)
Place the meat cubes in a mixing bowl and add Cumin, Oregano, Cayenne and salt, toss to mix. Set aside.
Pour the chicken stock into a 4-quart stockpot, cover and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat while you brown the meat.
Heat a heavy frying pan, and add the oil. Add the meat, turn to brown evenly. Remove the meat to a clean bowl and set aside. Add the onion, garlic, celery to the frying pan and sauté over medium heat until tender and clear. Add the diced chilies and sauté for 5 minutes; stir gently if canned chilies are used as they are softer than freshly roasted chilies.
Add sautéed veggies to the liquid in the stock pot. Return the frying pan to the heat and add the beer to deglaze the pan, stir to scrape all the tasty brown bits up and add to the stock pot, add the tomatoes, **bay leaf, meat and cover.
Open the canned beans and empty the contents into a large colander, gently rinse with cold water and drain well. Add the beans to chili stockpot. Return the stockpot ingredients to a slow boil, (8-10 minutes). Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for an hour. Then add the salsa, gently stir, and simmer uncovered for an additional half hour.
Serve in bowls or scoop into warmed soft tortillas, offer a selection of toppings: sour cream, finely shredded lettuce, grated Cheddar cheese, sliced jalapenos, red onion rings, avocado slices, quartered limes, freshly chopped Cilantro and Pico de Gallo.
* You may use 2-3 Tablespoons of your favorite chili powder mix in place of these ingredients if you prefer.
**Remove the Bay Leaf before serving.
Pico de Gallo
2 - Medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 - Medium red onion, finely chopped
2 - Jalapeno chilies, finely chopped
2 - Garlic clove, minced
1/4 - cup cilantro, chopped
3 - Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 - Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 - Tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 - teaspoon salt
In a large glass bowl, mix tomatoes, red onion, jalapenos, garlic, cilantro, vegetable oil, vinegar, lemon juice and salt. Mix well lightly, but do not stir, you want it chunky, not mish-mashed together. Let stand for 30 minutes.
enjoy!
The storm of indignation and media coverage of Cheney dropping he "F-Bomb", as the media so coyly put it, on Senator Leahy grows sillier by the day. According to Rollcall :
"The remark, whatever it was, left some Members scandalized. “I was kind of shocked to hear that kind of language on the floor,” Leahy said afterward. "
Shocked?! Scandalized!!! However they had no problem with the President dropping trou, groping or using a nubile young intern as a cigar humidor in the Oval Office or Senator Kennedy's lack of driving skills and decades of public humping and insobriety, but G*d forbid the Veep should use a curse word in a private exchange between himself and another adult?
Our delicate shell-like ears and sensibilities wouldn't be offended but that Leahy's people leaked it to the media. What a pack of crybabies...the Dems have become the bratty kid who doesn't share or play fair, and rats you out when he is peeved. They would do well to remember Americans do not admire or reward finks, as Linda Tripp and John Dean can attest.
Rollcall continues with amusing anecdotes on the historical civility or lack thereof in the Senate:
Curses! A Brief Senate HistoryBeing the world’s greatest deliberative body means occasionally having a vice president drop the F-bomb in your chamber.
It also means, over the course of 200-plus years, that you’ll host the occasional fistfight, a few threats of pistol play, alleged poisoning and one vicious caning — to say nothing of volumes of wild personal insults.
[...]Stewards of the Senate, keenly aware that the chamber is an arena of passions as much as politics, have been engaged in an uphill struggle to preserve its dignity — and the debate within it — since the dawn of the Republic.
“No one is to speak impertinently or beside the question, superfluously or tediously,” Thomas Jefferson wrote in the first manual of parliamentary procedure for the Senate, in 1801.
Yet it was perhaps a measure of low expectations that Jefferson felt compelled to add, “No one is to disturb another in his speech by hissing, coughing, spitting.”
[...]
And by historical standards, Leahy got off easy.
In 1856, a perceived attack on the honor of South Carolina Sen. Andrew Butler (D) prompted the vicious beating of Sen. Charles Sumner as he sat at his desk in the chamber. The attacker was actually Butler’s nephew, Rep. Preston Brooks (D-S.C.), who called the Massachusetts Senator’s famous “Crime on Kansas” speech, delivered only days earlier, “a libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, who is a relative of mine.”
In what was to presage later eras of stubborn partisanship, the ensuing efforts to censure and expel Brooks — by then regarded as a hero in the South — failed in the House on party-line votes.
The tumultuous weeks-long Senate debate over the Missouri Compromise of 1850 also produced its share of calumny and personal attack. One particular agitator, Sen. Henry Foote (D-Miss.), repeatedly baited his colleagues, among them Sen. Thomas Hart Benton (R-Mo.), whom he challenged to “patch up his reputation for courage, now greatly on the wane.”
When, weeks later, the two Senators grappled again over the legacy of Sen. John C. Calhoun (D-S.C.), Benton finally leapt up and charged at Foote, prompting the Mississippian to draw his pistol.
A special Senate committee convened to investigate the incident later absolved Foote of “premeditated use of his weapons,” but scolded the two lawmakers for bringing their personal feud into the chamber.
Democrat Senators have excoriated the administration in very personal, vulgar terms on the floor repeatedly. Senators Byrd and Kennedy have crossed the very boundaries that Byrd previously claimed shameful.
Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the chamber’s guardian of tradition and occasional scold, took a stab at defining the limits of acceptable dialogue in 1995 during proceedings that led to a government shutdown.Among other things, Byrd was disturbed by one GOP Senator’s reference to President Bill Clinton as “this guy,” and by the frequently deployed charge that Clinton and the Democrats were “lying” about the true nature of the continuing resolution that was up for debate.
“The bandying about of such words as liar, or lie, can only come from a contumelious lip,” Byrd said. (“Contumelious” means “abusive.”) “And for one, who has been honored by the electorate to serve in the high office of the United States Senator, to engage in such rude language arising from haughtiness and contempt, is to lower himself in the eyes of his peers, and of the American people generally, to the status of a street brawler.”
Byrd added, “Statesmen do not call each other liars or engage in such execrations as fly from pillar to post in this chamber.”
Except when it suits the good Senator's purposes. I personally am rather fond of the English custom and wouldn't mind hissing, booing and catcalling from the back benches...in the least one knows they are present and reasonably sober.
"Picture the universe of information as a big glass jar. You fill it with "big media marbles" and you swear on your mother's grave that the damn thing's full and there's no room for anything else. Blogs are the sand you pour in to fill the spaces in between."
Hot Damn! It doesn't get any better than Harvey's riposte to a critique written by a PC twit with an ego the size of Montana who obviously can't master HTML or a blog tool...but has manged to post a beg button. One can imagine elistist nostrils flaring, lips curled into a sneer as Mac Diva's très chic opinion poured forth onto her screen...pity only 2% of her readership gives a shit.
Joe Katzman saved me a great deal of surfing...I'll plop his post into mine and you can hop on over to Winds Of Change for the links.
As you're all aware, sovereignty was formally handed over to the interim Iraqi government yesterday, a couple days ahead of schedule (But do you know that a blogger scooped CNN et. al.?).
My take: A brilliant fake-out. In one stroke, much of the value inherent in any planned attacks on June 30th just evaporated - indeed, it turns such attacks into strong negatives. Things aren't even close to over in Iraq, but the Iraqis have their country back now and this was a good move. With elections gearing up for January, I expect there will be a lot of political jockeying as the celebration dies down and the political "hangover" begins. It will look confusing and chaotic, and that will be a good thing - because Iraqi politics is exactly where all that real confusion and sorting-out process needs to be channeled.
Of course our brave media is pissing as fast as they can on the sparks of Iraqi freedom...the word of the day is "secret"... delivered sotto voce. Judy Woodruff was close to tears as she delivered the bad news. Howard Fineman struggles to grasp at whatever anti-Bush straws he can find by suggesting the "secret" handover was an attempt to head off Michael Moore's criticism.
Gah! *SPIT* Bad Kool-Aid. *SPIT*
These people are shameless. No "Sadat" style parade eh? Bremer fails to take an open car to the airport. A lack of opportunity to disrupt and kill is seen as a negative to our wacked out media.
Oh...and to John "I voted for the war, before I vote against it" Kerry whining about not enough funds being spent in Iraq: shut the fuck up.
Day By Day, the Left erodes what little credibility they managed to scrape together after President Happy Pants tenure.
The media is determined to spin the Iraqi handover as failure, the SF Chronicle joined the Harpy choir with this front page lede: "Hopes for Iraq security fading", a morose article of impending doom one expects from the Chron. However Bush & Co outfoxed the media with what the Chron nows calls "The Stealth Handoff. "
One really must laugh at the heavy-handed layout of the new page...it amused me so much that snapped a screenshot:
Even considering that the Chronicle is singing to the hate-Bush choir, it is still a stunning display of bias in a major newspaper. I'm surprised they didn't work in an image or two of smouldering rubble, bleeding Arab children and Joo soldiers....some of their dimmer readers may not pick up on such a sutble message.
Jeebus. Fair? Balanced? News? W.R. must be smiling as the formerly moderate Chronicle embraces yellow journalism.
Welcome to Carnival of the Cats ...turn up your speakers...it's nude cat dancing and singing!! Who could possibly want more?
- nUDe Boy cAT DanCing?
Nevermind, Mol.
On to the cats in no particular order...as we cats got a short attention span, ya know.
Watermark asks Is Your Pet An Earthling?
Feak of One Fang Fame resides with Thomas at Bloggg and is in for a big surprise.
Sissy's been hitting the ole digital camera to great effect: "Don't mess with the pets" ... "Think kind thoughts about a pussycat"... "A cat can look at a filet" and My cat disagrees with the premise of your question
Mog sends a pix of her comfy bed, the pillows with ears are a tad unsettling though..I hope theys ain't stuffed.
EeeKK...ShtUFfeD kAT eARZ? wUt? oH.
Robb at Sharpmarbles sends a cool black & white pix of Hudson
Meryl's Tig is into sneaker games, big time and by the look of his ears he plans to keep that one.
Lair brings up the rear with a Frisky chair cushion.
A late entry from Mr. Minority...everyone give a shout out to Beamer Stalker of Rodents from the Left!
aNd sO iT gOEs...anOTheR COTC shOT to hEll. --mOlly
[CATNIP: Feste pointed out that the looped Flash file will make everyone nuts, please follow the link to view. Check with Is Full Of Crap for next weeks carnival and don't forget to lick the kitchen counters after your human goes to sleep. --thanks for playing along, and I hope this annoys the p*ss out of John Dvorak --Zozo]
UPDATE: BUHWAHAHAHAH!
Michele does a number on John Dvorak for pissing on blogging for the upteenth time. Zozo's retort followed a KSFO radio interview the previous afternoon, wherein Dvorak went on at length about hating cat bloggers. When cat blogs begin to mock you, it may be mildly annoying ...but when Michele seriously sticks a fork in: you're done.
I wrote this post as reply to Fred's post on Moore's film...but decided not to roil his quiet backwater... a commenter remarks:
"...but some of the footage he shows is devastating, especially the scene were Bush sits like a deer caught in the headlights after he learns of the first plane striking the tower in New York."
Why do you think Bush just sat there?
Moore counts on his viewers knowing nothing about Secret Service procedures. It doesn't matter who is President, the Secret Service has complete control over him and his movement in what they decide is an unsafe situation. They will and have physically picked up and carried a slow moving Protectant. It's their task to insure the continuity of the executive branch; they do not care how it looks to the media. Bush was "contained" in that room until the immediate threat to that room was assessed and an alternate route to AF1 was secured.
One might opine that the only branch of the government that worked flawlessly on 9/11 was the Secret Service.
As for the dazed expression, weren't you stunned and dazed? Put yourself in his place, the country is under attack, you're in Florida with a school room full of children and under lock down, no one has assessed the situation fully yet or knows the scope of the attacks and you have zero usable information. What would you have him do? Stride about? Wring his hands? Bark useless orders into a cell phone?
A more useful and honest question might be why the hijack system failed, why the Clinton administration wasn't prepared after the first bombing of the WTC, the Cole and our embassies? Richard Clarke testified and elaborates in his book that they discussed the possibility of airliners being used as missiles, yet, no system-wide protocol was in effect. NAADC ran scenarios for two years before 9/11, but did not drill with the FAA.
"We have planned and executed numerous scenarios over the years to include aircraft originating from foreign airports penetrating our sovereign airspace," Gen. Ralph Eberhart, NORAD commander. "Regrettably, the tragic events of 9/11 were never anticipated or exercised."
The exercises differed from the Sept. 11 attacks in one important respect: The planes in the simulation were coming from a foreign country.
Systems only work if they've been drilled and everyone is on the same page, on 9/11 under what must have been horrendous stress and confusion no one even thought to ask if the NAADC was on the hijack line. I don't fault the men and women in the control centers they did an amazing job landing over 4500 aircraft safely in a completely unrehersed situation, but who was responsible for this system and why aren't they being charged with gross neglect of duty?
There are plenty of questions to ask about that day, it's a pity Moore didn't raise them as well as his critique of Bush. But then if you believe the 9/11 attacks were simply a result of a grudge against the Bushes and will disappear when he leaves office then you will be comforted by Moore's viewpoint.
Of course you might ask why the terrorists killed so many innocent people, hundreds of whom were not Americans, attacked our economy by choosing the WTC, attempted to destroy the Pentagon command and control and planned to kill the entire congress if they only had the hots for Bush.
But then that's another movie.
Kitten Molly loved to nap on a warm laptop, fortunately for the current model, she doesn't care for the fan noise level and naps elsewhere.
Don't forget: the next Carnival of the Cats will hosted here by Molly and Zozo...send your entries to:
zozo(at)foolsblog(dot)com
by 6:00PM PDT, Sunday 6/27
Ya gotta love this guy...and this one for sheer ballsiness.
Finding the dumbest Michael Moore quote is an odious task, but John Hawkins obliged with a host of clangers that sum up Moore's success:
"(Americans) are possibly the dumbest people on the planet ... in thrall to conniving, thieving, smug pr*cks. We Americans suffer from an enforced ignorance. We don’t know about anything that’s happening outside our country. Our stupidity is embarrassing.”
Which leads one ask who is responsible for producing a nation of idiots? Is this not a condemnation of the media and educational establishment?
Speaking of conspiracies...there's this.
Lileks sums up Al Gore's latest foray into incoherency.
Finally: yesterday we had fun with Rex Reed, who’s a gassy dolt. Glib Nazi comparisons. Ooh! Naughty. But today we had something different; today Al Gore upped the ante. He coined a new term for the Internet critics of his positions: digital brownshirts. Yes, yes, it’s over the top. But it’s not the sentiment that raises eyebrows, it’s the position of the person who’s saying it. We don’t expect presidential candidates past or present to indulge in Usenet flame-war lingo. We don’t expect serious party elders to call the other side Nazis, and for good reason: it’s obscene. The brownshirts were evil. The brownshirts kicked the Jews in the streets and made the little kids put their hands on their heads as they stumbled off to the trains. The brownshirts were not interested in refuting arguments. They were interested in killing the people who dared argue at all.At some point, I fear, the political discourse of 2004 is going to seem horribly irrelevant and misplaced in the face of some loud new wretched horror; it will seem as oddly disconnected from reality as the Condit / Killer-Shark news reports of August 2001. An indolent luxury.
Digital stormtroopers. Tell me again who’s stifling debate? Remind me again who’s questioning people’s patriotism?
Odd that the man who invented the Internet hasn't heard of Godwin's Law, Gordon's Restatement or Morgan's Corollary. Perhaps Michael Moore has given us a cinematic corollary: Moore's Syllogism: when the premise is expressed in film, the conclusion, whether true or false, is represented as fact by it's existence.
Google Search: french military victories
Heh.
(hat tip to John Little)
...if you liked that one you'll love Haikuenheit 911
This is so cool, literally.
A non-profit Delaware company operating on donations only, sends window air conditioning units as well as various basic items the soldiers request and desperately need.
"It is my hope that we make their existence in Iraq during their deployment as safe and as easy on them as possible given the job they are there to do. Rested Soldiers are more alert and able to perform their duty SAFELY!"
--Frankie Mayo, mother of a deployed serviceman who began and operates OpAC as a non-profit to provide comforts to the troops in the field. Given that Iraq's temp is 112 degrees today and will soon appraoch 140 during the day AC is not a luxury. From June 2003 to June 2004 Operation AC sent a total of 3,009 air conditioners to our troops in Iraq.
Get the ole credit card out one more time folks...give whatever you can spare....it's the least we can do sitting in our air conditioned home or office safe from splodydopes.
Go here to read letters and cards from the troops to Frankie/Operation AC.
A sidebar from the website that may provide a chuckle or two.
"This photo was sent to me (Frankie) by an anonymous soldier who thought that I would really like the fact that behind Saddam's head is an air conditioner in the window."
You know what to do.
June 24, 1948: Soviets blockade West Berlin
One of the most dramatic standoffs in the history of the Cold War begins.
On June 24, Soviet forces blocked the roads and railroad lines into West Berlin. American officials were furious, and some in the administration of President Harry S. Truman argued that the time for diplomacy with the Soviets was over. For a few tense days, the world waited to see whether the United States and Soviet Union would come to blows. In West Berlin, panic began to set in as its population worried about shortages of food, water, and medical aid. The United States response came just two days after the Soviets began their blockade. A massive airlift of supplies into West Berlin was undertaken in what was to become one of the greatest logistical efforts in history.
At the height of the Berlin Airlift, two groups of aircraft flew in four-hour blocks around the clock. While one group of aircraft was loaded and serviced, the other group was in the air. On the 264-mile route, 32 aircraft were in the air simultaneously. In the photo, activity supports a plane taking off and landing every 90 seconds in Berlin.
In April 16, 1949, CALTF mounts a maximum effort known as the "Easter Parade": 1,398 sorties (one landing in Berlin every minute), 12,940 short tons delivered.
Then as now, American servicemen connected with local children. Between the years of 1948 and 1949 Berlin Airlift pilot Lt. Gail Halvorsen was so struck with the friendliness and excitement of the Berlin children that he wanted to do something special for them and to spread a little cheer to their beleaguered times in Berlin during the blockade. 
Lt. Halvorsen decided to start his own operation and named it "Operation Little Vittles" He practically bought out all the candy available where he was based and out of strips of cloth created miniature parachutes and attached the candy to them. At the beginning, Lt. Halvorsons buddies gave up their rations of candy and gum and also their handkerchiefs to help the cause.
The American Confectioners Association asked Lt. Halvorsen how much candy and gum he could use. They sent tons of candy and gum to Westover AFB for processing. 22 schools in Chicopee Massachusetts converted an old fire station into a Little Vittles headquarters. They made parachutes, tied on candy or gum and sent the finished product to Lt. Halvorsen at Rhine Main AFB. When the supplies came on line at Rhine Main all of Lt. Halversons squadron and others helped drop the candy and gum. They then air dropped the candy over the city of Berlin (including East Berlin until the Russians told them to stop ) to the eagerly waiting children. By January of 1949 Lt. Halvorsen (aka Uncle Wiggly Wings...so now we know the origin of the Chief Wiggles handle) had air dropped more than 250,000 parachutes loaded with candy on the city of Berlin bringing a little joy to the nearly 100,000 children of Berlin during the Russian blockade.
[Note: On 19 June 2001 a new generation aircraft 25,000 pound aircraft loader was delivered and accepted at Dover AFB and christened the "Halvorsen Loader", currently, 50 Halvorsen loaders are in use in Iraq.]
For the Soviets, the escapade quickly became a diplomatic embarrassment. Russia looked like an international bully that was trying to starve men, women, and children into submission. And the successful American airlift merely served to accentuate the technological superiority of the United States over the Soviet Union. The blockade turned out to be a terrible diplomatic move by the Soviets, while the United States emerged from the confrontation with renewed purpose and confidence.
On May 12, 1949, the Soviets officially ended the blockade.
Germany and Japan were indeed lucky in their conquerers, just as Iraq and and Afghanistan are today. Lefty naysayers and sceptics might ask themselves what the world would look like today had the French and Soviets been the predominant occupying force in 1945.
Another gem from Pixy:
The Politics of Sense and NonsenseI'd love to read a book with that title - assuming it lived up to the title. Or even to write one, though it would take me a full year of work, because I'm not nearly well-enough informed on the subject to even consider writing it now. Either way, though, we need such a book, because the current issue of New Scientist* has a headline
Conspiracy threat to anti-nuke treaty
Who? China selling secrets to Pakistan? Pakistan dealing with Iran? North Korea and Syria?
Read it and weep.
Nothing is more fun than an exercise in vanity and general showing off...via the Rev Pixy at Ambient Irony:
From Rob of XSet this little meme:
- Bold those you’ve read.
- Italicise those you started but never finished.
- Add three of your own.
- Post to your blog.
Like so:
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien.
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen.
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman.
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams.
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling.
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne.
8. 1984, George Orwell.
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis.
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte.
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller.
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte.
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks.
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier.
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger.
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame.
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens.
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott.
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres.
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy.
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell.
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling.
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling.
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling.
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien.
26. Tess Of The DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy.
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot.
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving.
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck.
30. Alices Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson.
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett.
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens.
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl.
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson.
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute.
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen.
39. Dune, Frank Herbert.
40. Emma, Jane Austen.
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery.
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams.
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald.
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas.
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh.
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell.
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens.
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy.
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian.
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher.
The list is 451 titles long...click below for the full monty:
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer.
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman.
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden.
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough.
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett.
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton.
67. The Magus, John Fowles.
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett.
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding.
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind.
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell.
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett.
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl.
75. Bridget Joness Diary, Helen Fielding.
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt.
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins.
78. Ulysses, James Joyce.
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens.
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson.
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl.
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith.
83. Holes, Louis Sachar.
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake.
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy.
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson.
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley.
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons.
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist.
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac.
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo.
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel.
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett.
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho.
95. Katherine, Anya Seton.
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer.
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson.
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot.
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie.
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome.
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett.
103. The Beach, Alex Garland.
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker.
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz.
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens.
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz.
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks.
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth.
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson.
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy.
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend.
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat.
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo.
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy.
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson.
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson.
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde.
119. Shogun, James Clavell.
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham.
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson.
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray.
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy.
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski.
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver.
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett.
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison.
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle.
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt.
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov.
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood.
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl.
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck.
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl.
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett.
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker.
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett.
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan.
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson.
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson.
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque.
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson.
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby.
144. It, Stephen King.
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl.
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King.
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere.
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett.
149. Master And Commander, Patrick OBrian.
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz.
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett.
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett.
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett.
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan.
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson.
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier.
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey.
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad.
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling.
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon.
161. Moby **** , Herman Melville.
162. River God, Wilbur Smith.
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx.
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving.
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore.
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson.
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye.
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl.
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White.
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams.
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway.
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco.
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder.
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson.
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl.
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov.
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach.
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery.
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson.
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens.
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay.
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot.
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis loved.
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith.
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh.
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine.
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri.
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence.
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera.
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons.
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett.
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells.
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans.
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry.
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett.
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White.
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle.
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews.
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien.
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan.
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan.
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan.
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan.
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan.
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan.
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan.
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan.
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan.
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto.
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland.
213. The Married Man, Edmund White.
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin.
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault.
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice.
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell.
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer.
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten.
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke.
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn.
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice.
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand.
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson.
225. Tartuffe, Moliere.
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka.
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller.
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka.
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles.
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles.
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther.
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen.
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen.
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton.
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry.
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read.
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono.
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde.
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley.
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson.
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny.
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon.
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon.
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole.
245. Candide, Voltaire.
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl.
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven.
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault.
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein.
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline LEngle.
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde.
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne.
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne.
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan.
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson.
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith.
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony.
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum.
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon.
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde.
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde.
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel.
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver.
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris.
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls.
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock.
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland.
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. OBrien.
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt.
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor.
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg.
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster.
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin.
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan.
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan.
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child.
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire.
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman.
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry.
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum.
283. Haunted, Judith St. George.
284. Singularity, William Sleator.
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson.
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King.
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk.
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby.
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning.
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns.
291. Illusions, Richard Bach.
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey.
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey.
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey.
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav.
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker.
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice.
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love.
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace..
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card.
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland.
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille.
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust.
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh.
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco.
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson.
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk.
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz.
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand.
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk.
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu.
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry.
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin.
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler.
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold.
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold.
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil).
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill.
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman).
322. Beowulf, Anonymous.
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell.
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley.
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey.
326. Passage, Connie Willis.
327. Otherland, Tad Williams.
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay.
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry.
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison.
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore.
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin.
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume.
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo.
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev.
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover.
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson.
338. The Genesis Code, John Case.
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen.
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton.
341. Phantom, Susan Kay.
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice.
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman.
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher.
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson.
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service.
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz.
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok.
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler.
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill.
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare.
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas.
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats.
354. Sati, Christopher Pike.
355. The Inferno, Dante.
356. The Apology, Plato.
357. The Small Rain, Madeline LEngle.
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick.
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater.
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier.
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier.
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf.
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder.
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King.
365. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass.
366. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie.
367. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson.
368. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster loved.
369. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky.
370. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux.
371. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg.
372. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy.
373. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones.
374. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown.
375. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo.
376. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer.
377. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck.
378. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby.
379. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston.
380. Time for Bed by David Baddiel.
381. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold.
382. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre.
383. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
384. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff.
385. Jhereg by Steven Brust.
386. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane.
387. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville.
388. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte.
389. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz.
390. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje.
391. Neuromancer, William Gibson.
392. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick.
393. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
394. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault.
395. The Gunslinger, Stephen King.
396. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare.
397. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke.
398. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman.
399. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott.
400. The God Boy, Ian Cross.
401. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King.
402. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson.
403. Misery, Stephen King.
404. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters.
405. Hood, Emma Donoghue.
406. The Land of Spices, Kate OBrien.
407. The Diary of Anne Frank.
408. Regeneration, Pat Barker.
409. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
410. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia.
411. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway.
412. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg.
413. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede.
414. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss.
415. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine LEngle.
416. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman.
417. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest.
418. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown.
419. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill.
420. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris.
421. The Things We Carried, Tim OBrien.
422. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb.
423. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk.
424. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card.
425. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card.
426. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen.
427. The French Lieutenant's Woman, John Fowles.
428. The Four Feathers, A.E.W. Mason.
429. The Jester, James Patterson.
430. Cry the beloved Country, Alan Paton.
431. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath.
432. The Stranger, Albert Camus.
433. Deathscent, Robin Jarvis.
434. Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice.
435. My legendary girlfriend, Mike Gayle.
436. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K Dick.
437. Bored of the Rings - Harvard Lampoon.
438. The Pelican Brief - John Grisham
439. Schild's Ladder - Greg Egan.
440. Excession - Iain M. Banks.
442. The Manchurian Candidate - Richard Condon
443. A Death in the Family - James Agee
444. Fup - Jim Dodge
445. One For The Morning Glory - John Barnes
446. The Book of Three (Prydain Chronicles) - Lloyd Alexander
447. A Separate Peace - John Knowles
448. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Jude Blume
An interesting execise...many required reading, others leisure and some morbid curiosity I suppose...Although I kept thinking to myself "what no Twain!?" and then I didn't add any. Go figure.
Anyhoo my three:
449. The Hero With A Thousand Faces- Joseph Campbell. 450. The Plato Papers - Peter Ackroyd. 451. Serenissima- Erica JongYour turn next!
This story flew way under the news radar, one can't help but wonder if that would be the case if the corporate parent was Halliburton and not the HJ Heinz Co.
State sues to force warnings on tunaCanners say they'll fight disclosing mercury on labels
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued the makers of Chicken of the Sea, StarKist and Bumble Bee tuna Monday, demanding that they warn consumers about toxic mercury in albacore and chunk light canned tuna.
Using the state's tough anti-toxics law, Proposition 65, Lockyer is arguing that even chunk light tuna, which is typically much lower in mercury, may exceed safe levels for the contaminant particularly damaging to fetuses and growing children.
You might notice that the SF Chronicle doesn't make the connection with StarKist tuna and Heinz...an oversight?
Today's Wictory Wednesday Wecipe, is a quickly prepared entree...perfect for a lazy summer afternoon. You may use fresh or canned tuna, either are delicious. Named for the restauranteur who shared his recipe years ago:
Linguine Alla Leo
At Leo’s this dish was always made with fresh seafood, but I’ve made it successfully with tuna canned in oil (NOTE: DO NOT USE water packed tuna), canned baby clams and frozen shrimp.
Ingredients:
6 Oz fresh Tuna or one can of oil pack Albacore Tuna
4 Oz *baby clams
4 Oz cooked shrimp
½ Cup diced yellow onion
¼ Cup diced green pepper
¼ Cup diced red pepper
½ Cup thinly sliced fresh button mushrooms (small size)
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
½ Teaspoon of fresh Oregano or ¼ Tsp of dried
¼ Cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley,
4 Tablespoons of Capers
4 Tablespoons **Calamata Olives, pitted and sliced in half
¼ Cup Olive Oil,
¼ Teaspoon Red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Lb dried or fresh Linguine
Method:
Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and return to pot, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil, toss to separate and cover, set on the back of the stove to keep warm until needed.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté or frying pan, add onion, green & red pepper, garlic, mushrooms, oregano and red pepper flakes. Gently sauté over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes, until the veggies are translucent, but still crisp, add the fresh tuna cut into 1/2 inch chunks and cook five minutes more, lightly salt to taste.
NOTE: If using canned tuna, drain the oil and plop the whole can in the center of the pan, do not break up, the tuna will separate on it’s own into bite-sized pieces.
Add clams, shrimp, parsley, capers, and olives. Gently mix and simmer 3-5 minutes, to heat through. Uncover the pasta, add the seafood mixture and gently toss to mix. Either plate or turn out into a large serving bowl, garnish with a few grinds of black pepper and serve immediately. Italians never serve seafood with Parmesan cheese, but if you like tangy grating cheese on seafood pasta, then by all means, pass freshly grated Parmesan at the table. I like a salad of simply dressed baby greens and a loaf of crunchy cabatta bread to complete the meal.
Serve a chilled imported Pieropan Soave '02 or a Dry Creek Fume Blanc ’02 from California; however your favorite Pilsner or Pale Ale would be great too.
*Rinse canned clams under cold running water in a sieve and drain well. If using fresh whole clams you must steam them in a little white wine until they open and remove from the shell prior to making the dish. Never use raw clams and discard any unopened clams.
** Substitute oil packed, salted, green Sicilian or Nicoise olives but do not use ripe or California style olives.
We all enjoy an occasional tuna sandwich, however, unless you want a steady diet of Teresa Heinz, you best set out the nets for Dubya. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.
If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle to keep the ketchup in the bottle.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:
The only bright spot in the daily news cycle is Hitchen's deliciously snide rip on Moore.
Perhaps vaguely aware that his movie so completely lacks gravitas, Moore concludes with a sonorous reading of some words from George Orwell. The words are taken from 1984 and consist of a third-person analysis of a hypothetical, endless, and contrived war between three superpowers. The clear intention, as clumsily excerpted like this (...) is to suggest that there is no moral distinction between the United States, the Taliban, and the Baath Party and that the war against jihad is about nothing. If Moore had studied a bit more, or at all, he could have read Orwell really saying, and in his own voice, the following:The majority of pacifists either belong to obscure religious sects or are simply humanitarians who object to taking life and prefer not to follow their thoughts beyond that point. But there is a minority of intellectual pacifists, whose real though unacknowledged motive appears to be hatred of western democracy and admiration for totalitarianism. Pacifist propaganda usually boils down to saying that one side is as bad as the other, but if one looks closely at the writing of the younger intellectual pacifists, one finds that they do not by any means express impartial disapproval but are directed almost entirely against Britain and the United States …
And that's just from Orwell's Notes on Nationalism in May 1945. A short word of advice: In general, it's highly unwise to quote Orwell if you are already way out of your depth on the question of moral equivalence. It's also incautious to remind people of Orwell if you are engaged in a sophomoric celluloid rewriting of recent history.
One can understand why Moore isn't eager to spar with Hitchens.
I've had nothing much to say lately, so I've said it.
Wut?
Exactly.
Lileks puts it perfectly in yesterday's Bleat.
...Sometimes the disconnect between the editorial page and the real world is so vast I wonder whether we can ever agree about anything any more. I mean, I’m reading “The Connnection” by Stephen Hayes, the book that spells out all the information and intel about Saddam and Al-Qaeda. I’m old enough to remember when this was conventional wisdom. Why, I even remember back to the end of 2001, when the general mood seemed to favor bold action to forestall future catastrophe. If we hadn’t deposed Saddam, and Bush had won a second term, and there had been a terrorist attack in 05, this book would be the Democrat’s brief for impeachment. BUSH KNEW and did nothing.And it’s not going to get better. I don’t think the next attack will bring us together like 9/11. Last time a small portion of the nation went straight to blaming us for enflaming poor Mo Atta and his motley crew; the last three years have seen that poison spread and flourish, and blaming America for the ravings of medieval theocrats is now a legitimate argument in polite society. I’d almost venture to say that a third of the country would conclude that a radiological device exploded in Manhattan would be Bush’s fault, because he made the “evil doers” (roll eyes) super-extra-fancy-grade-AA mad.
For the last few weeks I’ve had this gnawing belief that bin Laden got lucky by attacking during Bush’s term. Conventional wisdom says the opposite, because Bush fought back. But he’s the enemy now. I ask my Democrat friends what they’d rather see happen – Bush reelected and bin Laden caught, or Bush defeated and bin Laden still in the wind. They’re all honest: they’d rather see Bush defeated. (They’re quick to insist that they’d want Kerry to get bin Laden ASAP. Although the details are sketchy.) Of course this doesn't mean they're unpatriotic, etc., obligatory disclaimers, et cetera. But let's be honest. People are coming up with websites that demonstrate ingenious technology for spraying anti-Bush slogans on the sidewalks; it would be nice if they sprayed "DEFEAT TERRORISM" or "STOP AL QAEDA" now and then. Wouldn't it?
Is that too much to ask?
Perhaps this is why I haven’t written much about the subject lately with the usual chest-thumping brio: I think it’s going to have to get much worse before we get clarity. Most days I just don’t know what to say anymore. There are fiends out there chopping off the heads of Americans for their god, and we have cartoonists who think it’s the height of insight to show the Neocon cabal as port-swilling fat men bothered by baggy pants on insolent teens.
I understand the desire to whistle when passing the graveyard; it’s human nature. I don’t understand climbing down into the hole, crossing your arms on your chest, feeling the first few warm clumps of dirt on your face, and puckering your lips for the first few bars of “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
Or "Le Marseillaise."
Indeed.
YeSH, iF iT'z SUNdaY, iTZ mUSt bE CaRNIvaL of tHe cATz tHish wEEk hOSteD bY CoLORaDo CoNVErSaTIve!
FeSTe iSh alWAyz poINtiNG tHAt bLAck cLICky thINg at us KaTz. iT'z sOMe kInDa maGIk sUMMin'...eye's dUNNo. HeRE MeEsa iSh jUSt enJOyinG tHe sUNriZe an CliCk, cLiCk, cLIck...iT'z vERRy aNNoyIng..'cePt WhEn mEEsa iSh VeRRy CUte in tHe PitChERS...aT LeAsT thAts wHAt FeSTe seZ.
-moLLy
[Catnip: I haven't heard such a load of self-indulgent horse-hoo since this morning's talk show reportage on Clinton's Bio. --Zozo ]
Today's Wictory Wednesday Wecipe: Waffles.
Yes, Virginia, waffles from the blog that loves a good waffle, we proffer a red, white and blue patriotic, down-home waffle. Not a freakin' froggy "Belgian" waffle, but a real waffle like Grandma baked on her big ole GE waffle iron.
In recognition of John Kerry's ongoing campaign to provide the nation with fresh waffles daily and his ever expanding list of hot off the griddle Kerry waffles, I give you:
Berry Good Waffles:
Ingredients:
Waffles:
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Cardamom
4 eggs
2 cups *buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 Tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs until light. Add buttermilk, vanilla; mix well. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in butter. Pour about 3/4 cup batter onto a lightly greased preheated waffle iron.
Sprinkle lightly with a portion of the nuts. Bake according to manufacture's directions until golden brown. Repeat until batter and nuts are gone. Makes 4-6 waffles (depends on waffle iron size/capacity)
**Berry Topping:
Berries are usually sold in baskets which are marked as a "pint', which equals 1 Cup.
1 Cup fresh Blueberries
1 Cup fresh strawberries
1 Cup fresh Raspberries
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon or orange juice
Wash and carefully pick over fruit. Slice strawberries into a bowl, add the raspberries and sprinkle with the sugar, toss lightly. Allow to stand for 5 minutes (macerate) to draw out juice. Add the blueberries, lemon juice, and honey and lightly fold together. Take care not to break up the tender raspberries. Set aside while the waffles bake. NOTE: You can prepare the berries ahead, but remove from the fridge while you bake the waffles so the juices flow.
To Serve:
Plate the hot waffle, add a pat of butter and top with a generous scoop of berries and some of the juice. You could pass warmed honey, or your favorite syrup, but I find the berry topping sweet and juicy enough. Crispy maple-smoked bacon is perfect on the side.
To Serve for Dessert: Add a generous dollop of sweetened whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sour cream sprinkled with a dash of golden brown sugar.
For a Snack: bake the waffles until they are well browned and very crisp, cool on a rack and sandwich together with softened vanilla or peach ice cream, cut into quarters, wrap tightly in foil and freeze for yummy snacks.
~enjoy!
*If you do not have buttermilk on hand you can sour milk by adding 1/2 teaspoon of white vinegar to 2 cups milk, stir and let sit for 5 minutes to "clabber". It won't have the thick richness of real buttermilk, but it will have the pleasant tangy flavor for baking.
** You may substitute 3-cups of fresh sliced peaches for the berries, add the lemon or orange juice with the sugar to prevent the peaches from turning brown while the fruit macerates.
We all enjoy an ocassional waffle, however, unless you want a steady diet of Presidential Waffles with a side of carp, you better get your mojo working for Dubya. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.
If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle to keep waffles on the IHOP menu not the White House.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:
Euro Weasels lose ground as populace fails to vote in EU Parliment elections
Leaders rue Euro poll 'disaster'Senior politicians across Europe have voiced dismay at EU parliamentary election results, after low turnouts and big gains for opposition parties.
Governing parties in Germany, France and Poland suffered big losses, while many eurosceptic parties had their best result at the polls.Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot said the outcome was a "disaster for the existing coalition in many countries".
Turnout reached a record low, with just 45.3% of EU voters casting ballots.
European Parliament spokesman David Harley said turnout was "pathetically low" for many of the 10 new member states, which averaged a mere 26.4%.
[...]
Outgoing European Parliament President Pat Cox described the results as a "wake-up call" and warned European leaders that they had to demonstrate the EU's relevance to voters.
"Regrettably, Europe is too absent from European elections in east and west," he said. "States need to engage, particularly in central and eastern Europe, in voter education of EU institutions."
One suspects the voters of Eastern and Central Europe had their fill of "institutional" education under their former communist masters.
Has a rift developed between Schröder and Chirac?
Brussels and Paris strike job-saving deal on Alstom
BRUSSELS - The European Commission today announced that it had come to an agreement with the French government to save the troubled industrial giant Alstom from bankruptcy and potentially safeguard over 75,000 jobs.
The deal ends months of complex wrangling over whether French plans to bail out the company contravened EU competition law.
Under the terms of the agreement, the French government will be allowed to pump in around 2.5 billion euro to the company, taking a 31.5 percent stake in Alstom.
In return, Alstom will have to dispose of some businesses and will be forced to engage in "industrial partnerships" with non state-owned companies.
Announcing the plan, competition commissioner Mario Monti said that it offered "an excellent basis to safeguard Alstom's industrial future".
He added that industrial partnerships - which will have to be private, rather than state owned - were "absolutely crucial" to Alstom's future.
Open doors
The deal opens the door for Alstom's competitors to bid for sought-after parts of its business.But Alstom slammed the door today (26 May) on its main competitor, the German industrial firm Siemens, saying that a tie-up with Siemens was "not ... in the interest of our clients, staff or shareholders".
Finally....
Military simulates nuclear attack on BrusselsA simulation "war game" carried out earlier this week by staff from the European military and their US counterparts has revealed the extent of destruction that would be caused by a nuclear bomb in Brussels.
"40,000 dead on the spot, 300,000 injured. A radiation cloud spreads over Belgium, Northern France, the Netherlands and Germany, bringing terror and death. The old continent plunged into chaos", is the doomsday scenario painted by the simulation, according to French daily Le Figaro.
The simulation presupposes that terrorist group Al-Qaeda had managed to procure enriched uranium from nuclear research facilities in Eastern Europe and built a 10 kilotonne bomb.
The war game - named "black dawn" was attended by senior military personnel and the EU's high representative for foreign policy Javier Solana.
The conclusion drawn after these simulations, according to Le Figaro, is that once a group like Al-Qaeda has got hold of such materials, the military are then powerless to stop them. Preventing them acquiring nuclear products is therefore the priority.
D'OH! EuroDudes.
WE"Re bAAAcK, iSH SuNDaY, CarNiVAL of the CAtz. ThisH pITchER of mY FrEN Pi hELping FesTE wITh oFFicE tYpe shTuFF mAKeses mEE sAD, EyE miSSes hEr loTz.
-moLLy
This post doesn't require images of flying pigs to convey the hubris of such a fatuous statement from the Euroweasels.
Sgt. York, a 13-year-old black pacer, caparisoned, bore only a pair of Reagan’s own military officer’s boots, which he wore for the rest of his life after his service as a cavalryman in the Army reserve.
A very powerful and touching ceremony. Kudos to Fox and Brit Hume who had the good sense to shut up and let the occasion and Americans bearing witness speak for themselves.
Army Maj. Gen. Galen B. Jackman, commanding general, Military District of Washington deserves mention as well, his kindness was evident through a long day at Nancy Reagan's side. Once again it wasn't the nattering nabobs and talking heads who set the tone and made the day, it was our magnificent military men and women.
Today’s Wictory Wednesday Wecipe is a combo of two classics; the omelette and the hard-boiled egg sandwich. Mayo-less it is perfect for toting along on a picnic, backpacking, to the sports stadium or standing on line.
Cheesy Omelette To-Go
Serves one as a sandwich or makes four slices to share.
Ingredients:
1- 6-8” Baguette or Hoagie bun, whatever style you like; crisp, soft, sour or sweet.
2-3 Large fresh eggs
1 Tablespoon of cream or ½ & ½
1 Tablespoon of Butter
A Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt to taste
2 Oz sliced or crumbled cheese, whatever kind you like, Bleu or Swiss are my favs.
1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh parley or ½ Teaspoon chopped Chives.
Aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
Have everything ready before you begin: bowl, ingredients, omelette pan, fork, tablespoon, butter, baguette, foil/wrap.
Method:
1. Split, but do not cut through, you want a “pocket” and lightly toast the baguette or hoagie bun, set on a square of foil/wrap large enough to wrap well and set aside. A baggie will not work very well if you plan to chill the sandwich, as it will not hold the bread around the filling as it cools.
2. Break the eggs into a small bowl, add cream, Cayenne pepper, salt and gently mix with a fork. Do not whisk or whip, you do not want to introduce air, as that will toughen the eggs, just blend. The cayenne adds a hint of peppery sweetness, but not heat...it's a perfect foil for an omelette or scrambled eggs.
3. Cook the omelette; it should be firm not loose or wet. Novices can find an excellent step-by-step guide “How to make an Omelette” here. Print it out and follow.
4. As soon as the eggs are set, add the cheese* and fold the omelette into the baguette: tilt the pan and flip one side of the omelette over the center. Take the pan to waiting baguette and gently fold the opposite side over and slip the omelette onto the toasted bread. Sprinkle with the parsley or chives and a grind of black pepper.
5. Close the baguette and wrap tightly, chill for two hours, or plate and eat out-of hand immediately. If made the night before use a soft baguette as a crusty one tends toughen in the fridge.
As with any perishable food, keep cold until eaten, an insulated lunch bag or pack is essential. You may simply unwrap and eat out-of-hand or slice and serve with your favorite garnishes: pickles, olives, salsa, and tomatoes, whatever you like.
*Vary flavors by omitting cheese and adding 2 Oz of cooked, crisp crumbled bacon or sausage, or add 2 Oz sautéed spinach or mushrooms with the cheese just before folding.
I often make three or four different flavors for an outing to slice and serve with picnic sides and goodies. I also make them with pepper jack cheese and green salsa, chilled, and sliced served on a platter with guacamole and cherry tomatoes for an easy make-ahead BBQ appetizer.
Now that you're well fed let me remind you that today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.
If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle to continue Ronald Reagan's legacy of optimism, smaller government and a strong defense.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:
Is it just me or has our popular culture gone off the cliff from honoring the dead to creating a maudlin celebration of death?
Now, don't get me wrong, President Reagan deserves the full honors of the country he served, and a farewell from his legion of supporters and admirers, but once again, we've veered off the track of respect into a weird celebration of death, not life. Only the hardest of hearts or harshest of partisans could not have been affected by the sight of a wife laying her head on her husband's coffin, but what prompts people to want to participate in the grieving?
This phenomenon began in earnest with Princess Diana's death and continues with tragic events such as Laci Peterson's murder.
There is something off-kilter in the instant shrines of kitsch that appear and an invasive media peppering grieving families with banal questions that no one has the right to ask or needs to know. People drove hundreds of miles, bringing young, uncomprehending children to place flowers, candles and teddy bears on the Peterson's front yard. Sorry, but to me, that is just weirdness. Does a lack of community or intimacy in their own lives create this need to connect to others with faux death rites?
Perhaps it is simply a side effect of the instant communication effect, the trivialization of sentiment and embrace of celebrity, our insatiable need to witness events as they unfold or the media's need to fill bandwidth. I find it unseemly, but then maybe I'm becoming a fuddy-duddy throwback to other times when privacy was possible and necessary.
In keeping with the day I chose to honor ordinary Americans who possessed astounding courage and grace, men who saw their duty and did it, not because it was easy but because it was necessary.
The 63rd Infantry Division "Blood and Fire", The proud legend of the 63rd Infantry Division had its beginning at Casablanca in January 1943, when Prime Minister Churchill of Great Britain coined the phrase that the Axis powers would "Bleed and Burn in expiation of their crimes against humanity". From that statement, Brigadier General Louis E. Hibbs, soon to become the division's commander, designed the shoulder insignia and the slogan "Blood and Fire".
From mid-February 1945 until the end of the war, the 63rd Infantry Division made a path of Blood and Fire from Sarreguemines through the Siegfried Line to Worms, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Gunzburg and ending in Landsberg Germany at the end of April 1945.
Theirs are not names you recognize, nor battles that stand in infamy as does Normandy, yet they epitomize what was risked and won with American blood and treasure. While we rightly memorialize the heroic sacrifices of Normandy, these Americans should also be honored today and every day, for many gave the last full measure and the sacrifice of all provided the freedom we now enjoy.
I encourage you to look through the compelling photo gallery of private photos and memories by the men who were there. You will be struck by just how young they are, the matter-of-course deprivations of war, a filthy, cold, grinding, relentless march interrupted by hours or days of sheer terror. Look carefully at their faces, read their names, they are familiar, they are our grandfathers, fathers, uncles, sons, brothers, neighbors. These are not the faces of warriors bent on dominion and colonialism, but ordinary Americans who hitched up their courage, witnessed unspeakable sights, suffered and died, they saved the world, then returned home and resumed their commonplace lives, expanding our liberties, and building the nation into a powerful force for good.
Thank you.
"...Those who would trade our freedom for the soup kitchen of the welfare state have told us that they have a utopian solution of peace without victory. They call this policy "accommodation." And they say if we only avoid any direct confrontation with the enemy, he will forget his evil ways and learn to love us.
All who oppose them are indicted as warmongers. They say we offer simple answers to complex problems.
Alexander Hamilton said, "A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one!" Let's set the record straight. There is no argument over the choice between peace and war, but there is only one guaranteed way you can have peace...and you can have it in the next second...surrender!
You and I know and do not believe that life is so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery. If nothing in life is worth dying for, when did this begin--just in the face of this enemy?--or should Moses have told the children of Israel to live in slavery under the pharaohs? Should Christ have refused the cross? Should the patriots at Concord Bridge have thrown down their guns and refused to fire the shot heard around the world? The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn't die in vain! Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it's a simple answer after all.
You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, "There is a price we will not pay." There is a point beyond which they must not advance!
You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness."
--Ronald Reagan, 1964
Darkness threatens once more, and appeasers tremble in the shadows of a bright day in September when dark forces came calling. We must not waver, because the way is hard, our colonial forefathers and the Greatest Generation did not, are we, their progeny going to live in freedom or fear?
It's our choice.
"When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is itself a choice."
--William James
I was composing something uplifting and noble for D-Day. Then I heard a snippet of Kerry's latest bullbleep and I was off on a tear. This piece is long, so if you have the attention span of a gnat, vote for John Kerry and move along now.
Kerry calls extending military enlistments 'backdoor draft'INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Democrat John Kerry on Thursday accused President Bush of creating a "backdoor draft" by requiring thousands of soldiers to remain in the military if their tours of duty extend to Afghanistan or Iraq.
One day after the Army delivered the news to active duty soldiers and reservists, the presidential candidate raised the specter of the nation inching closer to a draft as he criticized the Bush administration for stretching the military too thin, complicating the mission to create a stable Iraq.
Kerry said the Pentagon's expansion of the "stop-loss" program -- a device that prevents military personnel from leaving when their time is up -- may have increased U.S. forces by 30,000 troops, "but this has happened on the backs of the men and women who've already fulfilled their obligation to the armed forces and to our country -- and it runs counter to the traditions of an all-volunteer Army."
The administration has "effectively used a stop-loss policy as a backdoor draft," Kerry said during a speech on modernizing the military at the Truman Presidential Library.
The Army, struggling to find fresh units to continue the occupation of Iraq, announced Wednesday that thousands of soldiers who had expected to retire or otherwise leave the military will be required to stay if their units are ordered to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Do you recall this? "An Approach to Sizing American Conventional Forces for the Post-Soviet Era: Four Illustrative Options," authored Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
Aspin's Threat-based, Building-block Approach
In a recent paper entitled "An Approach to Sizing American Conventional Forces for the Post-Soviet Era: Four Illustrative Options," Congressman Aspin provides a remarkably succinct and dismissive tour d'horizon of potential future worldwide military threats. After describing the collapse of the Red Army and citing the view of the Defense Intelligence Agency that the former Soviet Union ``will have no capability to directly threaten the United States and NATO with large-scale military operations," Aspin concludes that =D2residual 'Soviet' conventional forces will be incapable of external aggression for years to come" and could not restore that capability "without years of warning time for the United States and our European allies."Aspin then identifies a handful of other countries with relatively large military forces which could conceivably use those forces in ways that might provoke a U.S. military response: Iraq, Iran, and Syria in the Middle East; Libya in North Africa; North Korea and China in the Far East, and Cuba in this hemisphere. Using standard military measures to assess the armed forces of these seven countries, Aspin finds that except for China (whose large forces are "lightly armed and not very modernized"), the potential troublemakers generally have ground and air forces less than half as powerful as those of pre-Gulf War Iraq. Even the strongest, Syria and North Korea, are little more than half as powerful.
After noting that political constraints make aggression by any of these countries unlikely, Aspin develops a "Desert Storm-equivalent" U.S. force structure that could easily counter any aggression, should it occur. The Desert Storm-equivalent force comprises seven Army and one and one-third Marine ground force divisions; eight Air Force tactical air wings (plus 70 heavy bombers); and four aircraft carriers. (This includes one Army division and some ships that were not present in the Gulf but might have been helpful, in Aspin's judgement; and it excludes some Air Force and Marine tactical aircraft, two aircraft carriers, and one Marine brigade that were present but not needed or useful, in his view.)
Having pinpointed unlikely but conceivable future threats and developed a slimmed-down U.S. force structure more than ample to meet those threats, Aspin re-expands future U.S. force and spending requirements in two ways. First, he uses relatively high estimates of the cost of each force component. Second, like Defense Department officials, Aspin sets out options for much larger forces that would allow the United States to conduct several major military operations (that is, wars and invasions) simultaneously.
Aspin's lowest budget option--the $200 billion a year Option A--would provide forces capable of conducting another Gulf War and at the same time an operation like the U.S. assistance to the Kurds ("Operation Provide Comfort").
Option B, estimated to cost $213 billion yearly, adds forces for U.S. support to South Korea in a war with North Korea.
Option C, at $234 billion annually, funds additional forces for a military action like the U.S. invasion of Panama ("Operation Just Cause") and for force rotation in a protracted quarantine as an alternative to war in a Gulf-type crisis. Option
D--a $255 billion alternative to the President's 1997 budget--would provide forces for a second "Provide Comfort" operation and strengthen U.S. military support to South Korea (or a comparable contingency elsewhere).
In sum, Aspin's threat-based building blocks demonstrate that the President's (Clinton) budget-- which does not specify either threats or responses--would allow the United States simultaneously to conduct another Gulf War, help defend South Korea in a major war with North Korea, invade a small third world country, and protect two large indigenous populations from abuse by military dictators.
John T. Correll, Editor in Chief, Air Force Magazine wrote this editorial shortly after the election.
National defense was not an issue in the 1992 election. The voters weren't interested, or so the pollsters said, and the defense programs laid out by the candidates got no more than superficial examination.A popular misconception, touted by the Washington Post and others prominent in analyzing the campaign, was that Gov. Bill Clinton and President George Bush had fundamentally the same positions on defense. That is not true.
Mr. Clinton's position was a virtual clone of "Option C," the detailed plan written by Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in challenge to the Base Force plan of the Bush Administration. Mr. Clinton's campaign statements followed Option C straight down the line, not only in concept but also in specific details of cost and force structure.
This points to a defense program that would be below the Base Force projection by about 200,000 troops, eight fighter wings, three army divisions, two aircraft carriers, and $60 billion over five years. That is not a trivial difference. The armed forces would shrink toward 1.4 million active duty troops, almost 40 percent below their peak strength in the 1980s. Capabilities would be closely measured to meet threats that are immediately apparent and not much more.
The Base Force Meets Option C
Mr. Aspin says the Pentagon is wrong and that we can dispense with more troops, divisions, wings, and ships.The most picturesque criticism, however, came from Gen. Merrill A. McPeak, Air Force Chief of Staff, who said that Mr. Aspin got his numbers wrong and that his Desert Storm Equivalent would be more accurately termed "Desert Drizzle." The force structure options suggested by Mr. Aspin and his staff "are a recipe for military disaster," General McPeak said.
[...]
Force mix. The Guard-Reserve issue is a political nuke. So far, most of the defense reductions have been made in the active-duty force, with Congress blocking attempts by the Pentagon to make corresponding reductions in the National Guard and Reserve.
In March, Secretary Cheney sent Congress a list of 830 Guard and Reserve units he proposes to reduce or inactivate. Most of the reductions would be in the Army Reserve component, which is at present larger than the active-duty Army.
Most of the alternative force proposals, including Option C, strike hardest at the active-duty force. In a remarkable position paper published in February, the National Guard Association declared that "the existing Total Force Policy and the emerging Base Force policy are competing strategies."
Challenging the Pentagon head-on, the Guard Association says that the Army should have 10 active-duty divisions and ten National Guard division equivalents, rather than 12 active-duty divisions, six reserve divisions, and two cadre divisions as projected for the Base Force.
[...]
Estimates of the requirement. Mr. Aspin's main claim is that his estimate of force requirements is better than the Pentagon's, which he derides as "defense by subtraction," calculated by obsolete "top-down" methodology, leading to "less of the same."
[...]
His working paper postulates four options, but three of them are obvious throwaways. His keeper is Option C. "Compared to the Pentagon's proposed Base Force," Mr. Aspin says, "Force C would put proportionately more emphasis on naval power projection, Marine Corps expeditionary forces, and our National Guard and Reserve Forces."
By mid-90 the JCS opined:
Despite its smaller size, our military must retain an appropriate mix of forces and capabilities to provide the versatility to handle today's challenges and to provide a hedge against unanticipated threats. Combat forces must be balanced with capable supporting forces, active duty forces must be balanced with appropriate Reserve capabilities, and force structure must be balanced with infrastructure.
George W. Bush was the governor of Texas and Cheney was raping and pillaging for Halliburton when Clinton approved, SecDef Cohen implemented and Kerry voted for force reductions, so how the hell does he blame the Bush administration for the force shortage?
Oh...that's right, he counts you possessing little memory of the Clinton administration's flawed military "planning" and failed global strategy.
This is not campaign hyperbole; it is outright, trickery, distortion and lies, lies that may get millions of us killed.
(Cross posted to TCP OP-ED page.)
I’m fed up with the news cycle and far more verbose and clever bloggers have commented upon, Fisked and ridiculed the Kerry-ism of the day.
So in the spirit of my fed-upness, a new feature is born: Wictory Wednesday Wecipe! The local wild Salmon season is on and a friend obliged with a few freshly caught briny monsters, one of which I promptly grilled whole over Mesquite charcoal and Zinfandel prunings, producing succulent leftovers. You may substitute farmed salmon and the smoke chips of your choice if you can't get fruit wood prunings. (Grilling novices please go here or here for tips)
Tonight's fare: Wild About Salmon Salad
Recipe follows:
Wild About Salmon Salad
To serve two generously you will need:
8 oz Chilled cooked (grilled, baked or poached) Salmon, boned and broken into large chunks
1 medium English Cucumber, peeled and cut into large dice
6 Oz Haricot Vert (baby Green Beans lightly steamed with a sprig of fresh Basil and chilled. Wedges of ripe tomatoes could be subsitituted for haricots)
20 Nicoise Olives
2 Cups Spring Salad Mix (I used red Oak Leaf, Frissee and Arugula)
Accompanying Sauce for Salmon:
¼ Cup Sour Cream
¼ Cup Cream Cheese
½ Cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Creamed Horseradish
1 Tablespoon Capers
1 Tablespoon finely diced Sweet Red Onion
Method; Wisk together the sour cream, cream cheese, mayo and horseradish, chill for 15 minutes. The mixture should be firmly spoon-able, if it seems too soft add 1 more tablespoon of cream cheese.
Dressing for the green beans; Wisk together:
1 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons good Olive Oil
¼ Teaspoon Dijon mustard, or Coleman’s Dried
Salt & Pepper to taste
To Compose Plates:
Evenly divide the main ingredients between two large dinner plates in four sectors, half the Salmon, half the cucumbers, half the lettuce, half the Cream Sauce spooned into a mound. Sprinkle half the capers and diced red onions over the cream sauce. Place half the green beans on the lettuce and spoon half the lemon dressing over the beans and cucumbers. Sprinkle half the Nicoise olives in the center. A few Grinds of black pepper and you’re eatin’ good in the neighborhood.
I poured a Joseph Phelps Sauvignon Blanc ’01, and if you’re not low-carbing, a crunchy baguette or Cabatta would be nice too.
Chilled whole strawberries eaten out of hand, washed down with the rest of the Sauvignon is a light satisfying finish.
Now that you're well fortified, today is Wictory Wednesday. Every Wednesday, I ask my readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush 2004 campaign.
If you've already donated and volunteered for the Bush campaign, then talk to your friends and enlist them in this battle for America's very soul.
If you're a blogger, you can join Wictory Wednesdays simply by putting up a post like this one every Wednesday, asking your readers to volunteer and/or donate to the Bush campaign. And do e-mail wictory@blogsforbush.com to be added to the Wictory Wednesday blogroll, which will be part of the Wictory Wednesday post on all participating blogs:
This is sooo cool:
Co-Owner Letterman Speechless After Victory
"It was the first IndyCar Series victory for Letterman as a team co-owner. Rice, who has two MBNA Pole Awards this season, has placed in the top 10 in all four races.“I don’t belong here, for heaven’s sake,” said Letterman, an Indianapolis native. “What am I doing here? It’s unbelievable. It’s very nice. You know, you’re a kid, and you dream about this. And the race is so much a part of your life. To get to go to the race is a big deal. To be in the race ... but to win it, that’s just nuts. I’ve had dreams where I’m driving and always something happens, and Bobby asks me to get out of the car.
“Is it something you dream about it? Sure. Do you ever think it's possible? No.
“When you're growing up, I don't know what it is, I guess when I was a kid there was Major League Baseball in Chicago and Cincinnati. But we didn't have anything here. So the Speedway became my Major League Baseball.
“Every month of May, the world would come to you. I can't begin to describe the magic that there was when you were a kid and you just tough it out through these long, lousy Indiana winters. I, of course, lived outside. And then you get to go out to the Speedway, and there's just this excitement and this drama, and the place is sacred.”
The Buddy Rice Story is pretty sweet too...and Bobby Rahal is a real gent....one of the sports best.
Thanks to men such as Jack Martin, a boy's dreams do come true...is this a great country or what?
