Freedom to - - - - what?

Lets see. No posts in a while. Hmmm. Why I wonder? A couple of times in the last few days I have perched before the glowing screen and waited. No inspiration. Move on.
Today it occurred to me why that might be. There is just so much going on to rave about I don't know where or if to start. Is there anyone left on the planet, except some really conservative Republicans, who don't know about all the problems that are killing us and the planet? Is there anyone left in America who don't know that in the name of "Freedom" we are every day getting less free. Woman's right to chose? Not in many places. Right to "carry open" leads to many people afraid to go into stores. A corporation is first a person, and now has religion. What a crock of crap that is.
Is there anyone left in America, except the conservatives, who do not think we are having very bad things happen to weather patterns? Oh, that's right. They think they are just "Natural Cycles".

God, there are so many wrongs to right that I tremble at the probably outcomes. (And that is NOT a prayer BTW.) We are being screwed in so many different ways I can't even count them. And mostly for the profit of a few fat cats.

Look at one issue dear to me: Religious Freedom vs Freedom from Taxes. A bit of background: Organizations who claim to be religious organizations, with very little vetting, are exempt from paying taxes on property used for church business. No property taxes; no school taxes; no taxes to support fire fighters or other first responders. All other non-church property pays these taxes. You and me. The revenue generated is spent for what you think: local government, schools, fire and police etc. We, the non-church taxpayer pay for all the budget. The churches skate with no contribution. Therefore, when you subtract their tax value, based on their assets, our taxes necessarily go up. YOU SUBSIDIZE THE CHURCH, TEMPLE, MOSQUE, CATHEDRAL, TABERNACLE AND EVERY CORNER PREACHER. You pay their share of the tax burden.

You like that? You think it is fair? You like the idea of them NOT PAYING and you PAYING DOUBLE?
Simple solution: Require them all to pay taxes. After all, they expect the fire department to put our their burning churches, and the ambulances to come to their preachers heart attack and their kids to go to school for free (if they live in a church provided house) and the streets fixed, and you get the idea. If they expect the services, why shouldn't they pay their fair share?

There, now I am writing again. Next I may bitch about the mess in the middle east, that, BTW, Obama did not cause.
Image: http://dailyatheistquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/religious-tax-exemption.png

The Breast.and Double Standards

Ok for Africans but not New Yorkers. Double Standard?

Depending on your religion/cultural situation the subject can be exciting, disgusting, shameful or a completely non-issue.  And then there is the sexual difference in perception: it is Ok to see a male breast, including the nipple and Ok to see a female breast, but NOT the nipple. In some religions/cultures.

Confused? Of course you are. And the cause of this confusion is the, well, confusion. Let’s take a closer look: Before the Judeo-Christian-Moslem (people of the Book, the Old Testament) came along, breasts of both sexes were seen in equal measures. Men and women went topless when they wanted to, and covered up when they wanted to. Nobody ogled, grabbed or commented either way. People of the tropics, on every continent, went topless and some bottomless as well.

Then somebody decided to create the Bible, and included the idea that the female body, but not the male body, is somehow shameful. The idea that to see female body parts was sexually titillating (no pun intended) or shameful or disgusting was a construct of culture. This was taken to an extreme in many cultures, the most recent of which was the high-necked long hemmed clothing of women of the west, and the total coverage of some Moslem women today. In these contexts, in the western culture, a glimpse of an ankle was erotic in extremis and a glimpse of a burka-clad woman’s flesh, any flesh, might lead to her being killed on the spot.

What dynamics could lead to the demonizing of the female body? What god would create rules to make the female body, or parts of it, off limits to be seen? Who would perpetrate such nonsense? And why?

My answer is a loud “MEN”. And the why is simple: Control. In many primitive cultures, women are usually considered equal to men, and sometimes even superior. When the Book came along, suddenly women were relegated to a second class role, ordered to “submit” to men and cover up. And this is taken to the extreme in some Moslem cultures where men can beat, sometimes to death, any woman in public space who they find offensive for any reason. And of course, husbands can beat, sometimes to death, a wife for any reason at all.

I think we have had this second class citizenry for women for too long, and it is time for women to  claim their rightful place in the world, and that is one of equal status. And to do this? Bare the breast and take the wind out of the sails of women-hating men. Seriously Woody? Well, probably not right away, but that would go a long way to begin the process of turning the course of culture. Religion? That is a tougher nut to crack. That will take millions of people shouting “BULLSHIT” all at once. And that will never happen, will it?

So we are stuck with a set of ancient and arbitrary customs and values until the cows come home, bare breasted and proud of it.  

Image: http://nativenudity.tumblr.com/post/46537073426/zulu-reed-dancers

Oh, The Lordly Knish

Summer. Coney Island boardwalk. Nathan’s hotdogs with yellow mustard and kraut. Heavenly. But Oh, the Knish!! Fragrant potato grilled for hours until golden brown and almost crisp. Not crisp but hardish. Hard to describe. Smear on some yellow mustard and you are GONE!!! Not a thing in the world better.

The deli down the hill from the highschool. Knishes on the grill since early morning. OMG. (The tuna sandwiches there were good, too).

And from vendors in Brooklyn. To die for.

That was 60 years ago. Still can taste the beauties. Word of advice: If you don’t get one in an authentic Jewish Deli, you probably won’t even come close the real thing.

Enjoy!!!

Image: no URL available.

Rabble-rouser: Man who wants to pray/ Or, an uppity man?

Satan before the middle age morons got him.

“A Florida rabble-rouser wants the city of Deerfield Beach to allow him to say a satanist prayer at the beginning of a council meeting.” 1.

When a man wants to open a public meeting with a prayer to his God, Satan, he is called a “Rabble-Rouser”.  When a man does the same for a Christian prayer he is called a Godley man. What the hell is this all about? Pure and simple discrimination. No other possibility.

Why is one a rabble-rouser and the other Godley? Majority rules minority. Remember the old days? White man wanted to go to a good college and he was “ambitious”. Black man wanted to go to the same college and he was “uppity”.  Exactly the same thing.

Really pisses me off. And you know what? Probably many of you think it is right to discriminate. Friends, you better think again. Very soon you, if you are white, will BE the minority. You better be laying the groundwork for some good relations before it is too late. (Remember, Lucifer means "Light Bringer". )

Image: URL not available

1. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/05/10/311300886/florida-rabble-rouser-seeks-to-open-civic-meeting-with-satanist-prayer

The RAPE of America: You will never guess by whom.

It started with cries of “We must end our dependence on foreign oil” and mutated into “DRILL BABY DRILL”, a thinly veiled attack on the moderates of the country who wanted to make oil and gas exploration more environmentally safe. They said, often and loud, “WE NEED THE OIL TO BRING DOWN GAS PRICES!!!”  The drum beating was never as loud as during the 2008 elections. They threatened “IF WE DON’T HAVE A MORE EXTENSIVE KEYSTONE PIPELINE TO DELIVER CANADIAN TAR SAND OIL TO TEXAS GAS PRICES WILL NEVER COME DOWN!!!”

Ok, so the moderates went along and issued more oil and gas drilling permits than any previous government. They approved fracking for oil and gas. They loosened some coal environmental regulations. Oil and gas were released in historic quantities. So much in fact that in many places where gas was found, it is being burned off in a process called “flaring”. To relieve the pressure on the wells, and because there is not enough pipe to carry the new gas supplies. And the oil began to flow.

Ok, gas prices you ask? Why, they went UP!!

But here is the ugly truth behind the calloused use of the American Public to get into America’s vast and strategic energy reserves: EXPORT SALES. Right. Along with the vast new supplies of energy coming on the market, was the parallel push to permit natural gas EXPORT terminals, to sell our precious energy on the world market. And to increase refinery capacity at the expense of the environment to increase EXPORT of refined products and to increase the EXPORT of crude oil.  And to build vast new coal EXPORT facilities on the West coast to feed the polluting furnaces of China.

Who benefits from all this drilling and exporting? The same RAPISTS who screw you every time you buy gas at the pump, or want really cheap natural gas, or fill your propane tank. The BIG INTERNATIONAL ENERGY COMPANIES and the politicians they subsidize.  The companies, by the way, who don’t pay their taxes, or really invest in America, or even clean up their spills. And yes, they want the Keystone pipeline finished to deliver Canadian tar sand oil to Texas for export. We all take the environmental risk of getting the oil, a very energy intensive process, and the environmental risk to the country as a whole if the pipe breaks (they always do) and they get the PROFIT.

Men used to say to women “if RAPE is inevitable, lay back and enjoy it”. Like that? No. Well, if you don’t get off your collective asses and fight the RAPE OF AMERICA BY ENERGY CORPORATIONS AND THEIR MINIONS, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, and then you might just as well get used to it.  Until Americans really take back the country from the greedy pigs currently trying to RAPE ALL OF US, you are going to get gang banged forever. Learn to enjoy the high price of gas, the crappy water and air quality and the changing environment.

And remember always: “WOODY TOLD YOU SO”.

The High Desert Strikes Again*

You ever find good beer in an unexpected place? A café?

We had a B&B in Cedar Crest New Mexico and the host suggested the Greenside Café for supper. Good local food and they had beer and wine. Being hungry and tired we decided to go there without the usual discussions. So, we went. First good sign: A chalkboard outside the front door with a list of local/regional beers on tap. Second good sign: in a crowded small café a table for 4 in a quiet section. Third good sign: friendly and helpful staff. Fourth good sign: the café smelled good.

Fun at La Cumbre Brewery

I asked about the “Elevated IPA”, was told it was a local (Albuquerque 10 miles down the road) brew and popular. Got a pint. My friend Ken got a pint. Yummm. Orangey and a bit cloudy, good lacing, nice mouthfeel, great front, middle and back taste of all kinds of things including but not limited to pine, a couple of different citruses, baking bread and of course hops (the IBU is 100!) .

The second pint came with the perfect meal, and with an ABV of 7.2 two was quite enough for the driver. The brewery is La Cumbre Brewing Co., and BeerAdvocate rates this brew with a well-earned 97, World Class!! I agree.

Now to the other High Desert Gem: The Greenside Café . The chef, Jay Wulf, is also the owner. He has got it exactly right. The menu is not huge, but offers something for everybody, and all of it made on site. All fresh ingredients, served on perfectly warmed plates by excellent staff. The manager was attentive, helpful and friendly. Nobody was intrusive.

Jay, Chef and Owner of Geenside Cafe

My wife and I had meatloaf, seasonal veggies and mashed potatoes. All perfect. Huge portions. One friend had a Sloppy Taco Salad with steak and there was the only problem that night. Her salad came with ground beef instead of steak, but she liked it and didn't mention it. Probably a communication issue somewhere. Her husband had a Turquoise Trail Green Chile Cheese Burger minus the cheese (his request) and that was perfectly cooked to order with plenty of green chile on the side. For dessert,  Sally and I shared a good-sized dish of homemade cinnamon vanilla ice cream while Barb and Ken shared a generous slice of cheesecake of some kind, also made in-house. Both were excellent. I would go back for the ice cream alone.

Everybody was happy and pleasantly surprised by the quality, quantity and excellent service at this local café.

When you visit Albuquerque, take a few minutes to drive out to Cedar Crest and check this “Gem in the High Desert”. I personally guarantee that you will be delighted and will want to go back.

Thanks, Jay, for doing a fabulous job. You deserve all the kudos you have already gotten, and all that are yet to come.

Images http://www.greensidecafe.net and http://lacumbrebrewing.com
*Originally published in the Southern Beer Magazine

A Fisherman’s Tale.

A fisherman was far out in the ocean when Neptune appeared: “Because you have always been an honest fisherman, I will warn you that your boat is leaking and you will drown if you don’t fix it.”

The fisherman looked around and said “No, that isn't a leak. It is morning dew settling on the bottom of the boat.”

A little while later Neptune again appeared and said “The dew has dried away, and your boat is leaking. If you don’t fix it you will drown.”

Again the fisherman looked around and said “No, that isn't a leak. A few waves have lapped over the gunnel.”

Still later Neptune appeared again and said “This is my last warning: your boat is leaking and you will die if you don’t fix it now.”

And once again the fisherman looked around and said “No, the boat isn't leaking. That water is from the rain storm that just ended.” The fisherman was tired from bailing the waves and rain water and decided to take a short nap, and when he awoke the boat was nearly full of water and about to sink. He cried out “NEPTUNE!! Help me. My boat is sinking!! Save me, please.”

Neptune appeared and said “You ignored my warnings, although you should have seen with your own eyes that your boat was leaking. Now you must die from the consequences of your ignorance. You are a very foolish man.”

And so the fisherman died on the ocean, warned in plenty of time to fix his boat.

Image: http://wkiri.com/comphist/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/neptune-150x150.jpg

The Chinese are At It Again

(This was written in April just before our trip to China. I decided to delay publication until we got back and forgot. Here it is, late but still timely.)

Tiger penis, powdered Rhino horn, bear gall bladders and gods know what else the Chinese eat to improve fertility and erectile function. They must think they have a fertility/performance problem and they are eating their way through endangered species at an alarming rate. Now it is fish swim bladders. Read this:

The totoaba's swim bladder is a tube-shaped organ that fills with gas to help control the buoyancy of the fish, which the U.S. Attorney's Office said can grow over 6 feet long, weigh up to 220 pounds (100 kg) and live to the age of 25.

The United States listed the totoaba as an endangered species in 1979 and they are also protected in Mexico. Officials said the fish's bladder was seen in some Chinese cuisine as a prime ingredient in a type of soup and prized for its supposed ability to boost fertility and circulation. (1)

For a country with billions of people, and cheap Viagra the eating of exotic and endangered species makes no sense at all. I have known many Chinese people over my lifetime, and none seems to have problems with “getting it up”, so to speak. So what is the fascination with eating rare meats. And the growing middle class in China is buying Ivory at an alarming rate. Of course this is illegal trade as well.

It makes me sad to see a great nation like China, with many wonderful people and traditions give in to the demand for these exotic products. The good news is there is a thriving market for fake exotic parts, and they seem to work just as well. Hmmm. The “placebo effect”?


1. http://news.yahoo.com/california-authorities-target-smuggling-bladders-endangered-fish-035423364.html

Image: Same as above.

Sowing and Reaping: We are Sooooo Screwed.

“At 10 p.m. on Jan. 26th, 2014, the temperature in Homer, Alaska of 54 F (12 C) was warmer than any other place in the contiguous United States except southern Florida and southern California.”(1)

And so the discussion of Global Warming and Climate Change moves on to the end game. The warming of the Arctic and melting of sea ice over the past decade has brought the predicted meandering of the jet stream and the consequences also predicted.

PREDICTION: Proposing some future event will/might occur.

SCIENTIFIC PREDICTION: “In science, a prediction is a rigorous, often quantitative, statement, forecasting what will happen under specific conditions- - “(2)

I did say the “end game” didn't I? Because that is precisely where we are in this perturbation of the climate. We have passed the tipping point of atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses, we have reached the point of jet stream wandering and we have passed the point of ocean stability (temperature going up, acidity going down, and volume going up).

What is left to us and the future generations is to pick up the pieces of the broken world and move on. The consequences down the road are chilling to say the least and surely include war, famine, genocide and disease. Not pretty is it? The “climate change deniers” will continue to spew their misinformed points of view, some downright lies while others are just ignorant, and the rest of us will suffer with the knowledge that we are all screwed.

The power industries and manufacturing industries of the world will continue to produce more and more pollution while justifying their actions by demand and denial of problems.

If you seriously don’t believe that human kind has ruined the earth for a long time to come by unrestrained production of energy and the pollution of the air and water that results from this, and the unchecked population growth that will be checked by the dire consequences outlined above, then you are among the most pitiful and ignorant humans on earth. You don’t deserve what you will get, but as you sow, so shall you reap.

Image: U.S. National Weather Service Alaska

1. http://news.yahoo.com/does-polar-vortex-mean-39-much-global-warming-003940054.html

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prediction

Why is Woody so Quiet?

It has been a while since my last blog post. Why? The easy answer is “overwhelmed”.  With what? 

Well, hell, the list of things to comment on is long and often but not always involves the really stupid and/or dangerous stuff the government is doing. The ongoing distortions from Fox News(?) is pretty discouraging from the perspective that the founder and CEO of Fox, Roger Ailes, stated from the beginning that he loved the propaganda mechanism of the Nazis in the 30s and wanted to influence the American public to his very conservative point of view using the same Nazi techniques. And it worked and is working.

Morons increasingly deny climate change in the face of escalating problems relating to it. Morons blamed the current President for the chemical spill in West Virginia, even though: A; they hate government regulations and regulators and B; the regulation of that operation was under the STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!!!

Morons in Florida love Rick Scott. Misguided FSU fans monopolized the internet for days around and during the big game. Big Deal. And the list goes on.

So I have been catalyzed into inactivity with the plethora of problems to write about. So what about good news? Yes, there is some. Great food to report from Vienna, and some interesting beer as well. The unusual cold weather may kill off some of the bugs that are killing northern forests. I have a clutch of very good students this term. Trip planning for future travels are going well. And that list goes on too.

I guess the problems really relate to the issue of “Zadarum” (http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2010/10/zadarum.html) and the persistent feeling that what I say and know to be true makes no difference in the grand scheme of things. Things will loosen up a little in the near term, but really guys, the long term is seriously bleak. You conservatives better start praying now more than ever. And it will do about as much good as it always did. None.

Image: http://www.livinginmillington.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Give-Up.jpg