Saturday November 28, 2020
Election Day -25
52 Days until the Inauguration on January 20, 2021
and pistachio pan fry
John the Baptist showed the way for Jesus*.
The four hundred Greek mercenaries caught in the middle of the Persian Empire and fought their way out showed that the empire could be defeated. The Tea Party showed what exactly?
Depending on how and when you look at the Tea Party you can draw different conclusions. It certainly showed that a mass of pissed off people could effect the political outcome in this country. It also showed how a movement could be co-opted. In their case by rich and powerful interests who used it and those people to further their agenda.
*John did say someone would come after me, but let’s not forget their were lots of fellows wandering around the Levant saying they had “good news,” and that news was stand up to the Roman Empire. The Romans treated all of them the same. They rounded up the lead guy and his followers and killed them, typically by crucifixion. A little trick they learned from the Persians.
We can ask ourselves how will Satan be viewed in the future by history? Is he the harbinger of things to come or the culmination of something?
One could argue that Reagan and George H. W. Bush began the slide downward of the middle class and the attack on our democracy and its people. This led to W and to Satan and the continuation of the rich becoming richer and more powerful. When the gap between rich and poor increases the chance for democracy and fairness lessens. This is a clear throughout history.
Let me put it another way with a different headline:
THE RIGHT LOVES SOCIALISM except when it doesn’t apply to them.
Bankers love to get bailed out by the government.
Oil men love to get tax write offs.
Corporation like to have loop holes so they pay no taxes.
Farmers like grain subsidies.
These are all forms of the government giving money to particular groups. That’s called socialism.
One of the stunning statistics I heard an economist mention was that the money spent on propping up our economy through the pandemic was enough to give every family (maybe it was individual) $25,000.00. Think about that. How do you think giving people a bunch of cash would have helped the economy? Okay, too much too fast would have caused prices to shoot up and people would have gone crazy. But what if the government had slowly doled out that money over the months? Socialism! For the poor, that’s no good. Give it to the rich and the bankers. Let them pay their stable boys and rebuy stock, that will help the economy. Yeah, right. How many times does Charlie Brown have to attempt to kick the football?
John Dillinger was asked why he robbed banks. He replied, “Because that’s where the money is.”
If you look at the amount of financial resources the rich have and the amount the rest of us have there isn’t much of a comparison. Essentially they have it all. We would be better off if this were not the case. The question is what to do about it? I like the idea of taxing based on the value of all your assets. Two percent was suggested in the last presidential campaign cycle. While some boo-hooed the idea don’t forget that is the standard fee bankers and money managers charge annually to manage your money.
The other advantage it has is that it would eliminate the game played by the rich and corporations of moving assets off shore to avoid taxes. This would mean that if there was no benefit to keeping money stashed in the Caymans or Ireland that it would come back here.
One person said I didn’t talk about what I had for a Thanksgiving meal and that I was too absorbed by one of my topics – nrop (it’s spelled backwards.) This is not true. I did show a picture of our appetizer – the phyllo dough stuffed with brie cheese and honey topped with almond slivers. But to answer the question – TURKEY. We had turkey with a honey glaze on it. The vegetable side was the new dish. It was a Brussel sprout leaf, garlic, and pistachio pan fried dish. Delicious.
But if I haven’t mentioned this before, and I don’t think I have, but I thought of it. If the president should pardon anybody I suggest Ron Jeremy. Discuss amongst yourselves.
Oh and remember the monolith found in the Utah desert? My friend Kathy, who lives in Seattle sent me this note:
Years ago that monolith was found on a small island in a small lake just blocks from my house.
Later it was found on the top of kite hill at Magnuson park. Then it disappeared.
So there you have it.
PS The Brussel Sprout leaf, garlic and pistachio pan fry.
Two vids for encouragement and uplift (and to show how I can waste time on click-bait):
https://talentrecap.com/watch-10-year-old-earns-sofia-vergaras-first-ever-golden-buzzer-on-agt/
It was actually Brussels sprouts, pineapple, and macadamia nuts. But you do you, honey.