Friday, September 30, 2011

Today's Quote

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.” 

-Ajahn Chah

It isn’t our regrets, worries, fears, and insecurities that cause us to feel stress and pain. It’s our unwillingness to let them go.

WATCH: Elizabeth Warren rebuts ‘class warfare’ charges

9 Policies Conservatives Were For Long Before They Were Against Them

Before the memory-hole swallows them up, consider 9 ideas that Republicans had long championed, which when picked up by Democrats, became suddenly toxic to the GOP.

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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Today's Quote

We must never forget that it is through our actions, words, and thoughts that we have a choice.”

-Sogyal Rinpoche

Nothing is as discouraging as feeling you don’t have a choice–that you’re trapped in a situation you can’t change, with a person who won’t change, or with feelings about yourself that you’ve stopped believing you can change.

We’ve all been there before.

We’ve accepted thankless jobs just to make ends meet. We’ve hurt or watched friends hurting, feeling powerless to end the pain. We’ve waited for love, or mourned unrequited love, or wondered if it was really better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

We’ve all felt helpless before, and we’ll all be there at some point again–yet we have far more power than we think.

We can’t always control our circumstances, but we can shape them with our actions. We can’t always save the people around us, but we can soothe them with our words. We can’t always create a world that feels safe, but we can choose how to experience it with our thoughts.

Every day we have limitless choices–thousands of mini-opportunities to live a peaceful, empowered life.

What choices will you make today?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Today's Quote

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."

— Norman Vincent Peale: Protestant preacher and author

10th Avenue Freeze Out - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Today's Blissful Place

The Ike Special - Varsity Edition (2010)

A single act of kindness can change a person's life forever.

Website of the Day

In America, the chasm between rich and poor is growing, the clash between conservatives and liberals is strengthening, and even good and evil seem more polarized than ever before. At the heart of this collection of portraits is my desire to remind us that we were all equal, until our environment, circumstances or fate molded and weathered us into whom we have become.

Black Forest Dump Cake

Possibly the easiest of all cake recipes, dump cakes are the best! Just take a few ingredients, dump them into a pan, and bake. Voila! You have a tasty cake recipe with almost no effort at all. Now THAT is sweet!

Serves: 12

Cooking Time: 45 min
Ingredients

* 1 can (21-ounce) cherry pie filling
* 1 can (16.5-ounce) pitted dark sweet cherries
* 1 (18.5-ounce)package chocolate cake mix
* 1 cup chopped walnuts
* 3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

3. Dump cherry pie filling into dish and spread evenly.

4. Repeat with cherries, including juice.

5. Sprinkle cake mix over the top. DO NOT STIR.

6. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

7. Distribute butter pieces evenly over the top.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Eight Dream Symbols That Point to Stress

When I was a senior in high school, I had a recurring dream of my teeth falling out. I dreamt about my teeth just about every night for at least three weeks. Sometimes they’d fall out one at a time …

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Pet Photo's

News and Features Game Players Solve Molecular Puzzle that Stumped Scientists for a Decade

After puzzling over a science problem for 10 years, researchers took their problem to an online game called Foldit. Players had the answer in less than 2 weeks.

The Truth about 'Class War' in America

By Richard Wolff

Republicans claim, in Orwellian fashion, that Obama's millionaire tax is 'class war'. The reality is that the super-rich won the war.


Read more

White Bean Soup With Tomato Salsa

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients

* 1 cup orzo
* 4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
* 1 red pepper, roughly chopped
* 2 small red onions, diced
* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
* 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1/4 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
* 2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed
* 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
* juice of 2 lemons
* crusty bread (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the orzo according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the tomatoes, red pepper, 1 onion, basil, Feta, 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic, chili flakes, and remaining onion. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the beans, 3 cups broth, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

5. Transfer the bean mixture to a food processor or blender. Pulse until combined but still slightly chunky. Season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

6. Return the bean mixture to a saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining cup broth and bring to a simmer. Stir in orzo. Ladle soup into bowls and spoon salsa on top. Serve with bread (if desired).

You Might Be a Conservative If.......

1: You’re irate over the president taking so many vacation days on the taxpayer’s dime (61 thus far), but you thought George W. Bush earned every minute of his leisure time (196 days at the same point in his presidency).

2: You’re happy with your 40 hour work week, paid vacations and company-provided healthcare, but you’re strongly anti-union, because those commies haven’t done anything for you lately.

3: You strongly support the First Amendment and it’s guarantee of religious freedom to all, but you don’t think Muslims have a right to build an Islamic Community Center in Manhattan.

4: You believe Ronald Reagan was a devout Christian, even though he hated going to church, but any president who spends twenty years going to the same Trinity United Church in Chicago must be a Muslim.

5: You believe when a Republican governor creates a healthcare package with an individual mandate for everyone in his state, that’s a good idea. But when a Democratic president does it, suddenly it’s unconstitutional.

6: You’re so enthused about demonstrating your Second Amendment rights, you can think of no finer place to brandish your pistol in public than at a presidential rally.

7: You believe Bill Clinton was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s escape ten years ago, but thankfully George W. Bush caught up with him and killed him in Pakistan.

8: You believe in putting American jobs first, except when president Obama rescued 1.5 million GM and Chrysler autoworkers, because that was socialism.

9: It angers you that you can’t communicate with the Mexican busboy at your local Olive Garden, but when you took a vacation to San Francisco’s Chinatown, you thought it’s quaint that so many Chinese-Americans are holding fast to their traditional language. Because that’s America!

10: You deny that the lunatic who tried to murder Gaby Giffords was a conservative, even though he targeted a Jewish, pro-choice, pro gay rights, Democratic Congresswoman.

11: You thought it was perfectly normal that every president in history had an untethered right to raise the debt ceiling when warranted, but when Obama asked the GOP held congress to do it, you thought it only natural that it be tied to cutting Social Security and Medicare.

12: When the new 112th Congress was sworn in, you swooned as they promised to focus on “Jobs, jobs, jobs.” But when they pivoted, and went after NPR, Planned Parenthood and gay rights, you cheered.

13: You accuse president Obama of raising your taxes to the highest point ever, even though they’re lower today than at any time since 1950.

14: You believe the wealthiest Americans are “job creators,” and they are — but it doesn’t bother you that all the workers in those positions are in India, China and Malaysia, and they’re doing the jobs that our fathers once did.

15: You believe gays are anti-American, because their lifestyle is a threat to the children… unless they’re married to Tea Party-backed presidential candidates from Minnesota.

16: You strongly defend individual freedom, but that freedom doesn’t include a woman’s right to decide her own healthcare needs.

17: You believe corporations are people too, and are deserving of the same rights as the rest of us. Just not the same obligations to pay personal income tax free of corporate loopholes, or penalties for massive criminal behavior and tax evasion. In these matters, corporations are deserving of special rights.

18: And since corporations are now people too, you must believe in their right to a driver’s license, the right to marry, to adopt children, etc. These rights shall not be denied to Exxon, Halliburton and BP (but still immune from the right of the People to try, convict and sentence to death any corporation that conspires to commit a felony… because at that point, they’re suddenly not people again.)

19: You still believe Climate Change is a myth, and the recent record highs, lows, floods and droughts around the world coinciding with climate scientist’s predictions are all an amazing coincidence. Oh, and Al Gore is FAT!

20: You believe when George W. Bush took the national debt from $5 trillion to $11 trillion, it was necessary for him to do so to keep America safe. But when Barack Obama added to it by trying to rescue the country from a second Great Depression, he was deliberately trying to destroy America!

21: You believe America is a God fearing country, and that the Almighty protects those who believe just as you do. But it’s never crossed your mind that the majority of tornados, hurricanes and floods all occur in the Bible Belt.

22: You believe that no matter who’s in the White House, the office, if not the man himself is deserving of your respect. The only exceptions to this rule, are if his middle name sounds Muslim, and if he’s not at least as white as that black guy who works down in the mailroom at the office.

Dear _____





Action Item - It's Time to Get Money Out of Politics

Bailouts. War. Unemployment. Our government is bought, and we’re angry. Now, we’re turning our anger into positive action. By signing this petition, you are joining our campaign to get money out of politics. Our politicians won’t do this. But we will. We will become an unrelenting, organized wave advocating a Constitutional amendment to get money out of politics.

Sign Petition

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Today's Quote

"We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers." 

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Sleepthief - The Chauffeur

Monday, September 26, 2011

Today's Quote

“We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.”

― Bill Watterson

Should You Switch to a 15-Year Mortgage?

People are all excited to see 30-year mortgage rates around four percent. Even more amazing are the rates on 15-year mortgages -- around 3.3 percent! Depending on the size of your mortgage, you could save over a $100,000 by switching to a shorter mortgage.

31 Fabulous Freebies

Here is Kiplinger's annual list of freebies which includes free food, movies, ebooks, hotel perks, commission-free mutual funds, and more.

Patrick Sweany-Them Shoes

Pet Photo's

Middle Class Death Watch -- 33 Frightening Economic Developments

Downward mobility, homelessness spreading to the middle class, 200,000 public employees laid off? Here are some frightening trends to keep an eye on.

READ MORE

Texas Prayer Strategy Shows Weak Returns

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Life vs. Loneliness

A Brazilian tribesman illustrates why we should rethink our darkest, most isolated times.

Read more

Harry Enfield - Women know your limits

Tangy Grilled Beef

Prep Time: 15 min.
Grill Time: 10 min.

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 boneless beef sirloin steak, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1. Stir the soup, brown sugar, lemon juice, oil, Worcestershire, garlic powder and thyme in a medium bowl.

2. Lightly oil the grill rack and heat the grill to medium. Grill the steak for 10 minutes for medium-rare or to desired doneness, turning the steak over once halfway through grilling and brushing often with the soup mixture.

3. Heat the remaining soup mixture in a 1-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil.  Slice the steak and serve with the soup mixture.

Recipe Note: When you remove the steak from the grill, let it stand for a few minutes before slicing. This "rest" time lets the juices distribute evenly throughout the meat, so they don't all run out when you slice it.

Makes: 6 servings.

Other great cuts of beef you can use in this recipe include strip steaks, tri-tip and flank steak.

Website of the Day

1001 Albums You Must Hear

Sinatra, Frank – In the Wee Small Hours
Presley, Elvis – Elvis Presley (1956)
Louvin Brothers – Tragic Songs of Life
Prima, Louis – Wildest
Domino, Fats – This is Fats
Ellington, Duke – At Newport (1956)
Sinatra, Frank – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!
Crickets – Chirping…
Basie, Count – Atomic Mr Basie
Monk, Thelonious – Brilliant Corners
Sabú [Martínez] – Palo Congo
Davis, Miles – Birth of the Cool
Machito – Kenya
Little Richard – Here’s…
Puente, Tito & His Orchestra – Dance Mania (1958)
Holiday, Billie – Lady in Satin
Elliott, Jack – Jack Takes the Floor
Vaughan, Sarah – At Mister Kelly’s
Fitzgerald, Ella – Sings the Gershwin Song Book
Charles, Ray – Genius of… (1959)
Davis, Miles – Kind of Blue

More

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Today's Quote

"You can either waltz boldly onto the floor of life and live the way you know your spirit is nudging you to, or you can sit quietly by the wall and recede in the shadows of fear and self-doubt."

— Oprah

In Memoriam

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

College hypocrisy: Pot’s bad, but party hard on booze

n the firmament of celebrated Americana, there is Mom, apple pie, football and beer — but certainly not marijuana. Through our statutes, we allow law-abiding citizens to use only one recreational substance — alcohol — that just happens to be way more hazardous than pot.

Such idiocy is the product of many variables. There’s been interest-group maneuvering and temperance-movement hypocrisy. There’s been hippie-hating rage and reefer-madness paranoia. And, most invisibly, there’s been college.

Though little noticed for their role in America’s selective War on Drugs, universities have become a key player shotgunning the oxymoronic “alcohol is acceptable but pot is evil” mentality down the beer-bong-primed throats of America’s youth. Consider the University of Colorado.

CU is the higher education gem of a state whose governor made his millions on beer breweries. The school’s catering service sells alcohol and university officials license CU’s logo for use on beer-drinking merchandise. Meanwhile, every school year, CU forces kids to sit through a convocation in a beer-themed arena — the Coors Events Center — to learn about the “meaning and responsibilities” of student life.

Read more

Mexican Grilled Corn With Cilantro

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 10m
Total Time: 15m

Ingredients

* 2 ears corn, shucked and each cut into 6 pieces
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium. In a medium bowl, toss the corn with the oil and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Grill, uncovered, turning occasionally, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes (reserve the bowl).

2. Transfer the cooked corn to the reserved bowl and toss with the cilantro and lime juice. Serve with lime wedges.

Website of the Day


Can you name the presidents of the United States of America?


* Enter a president (last names ok) in the box
* Correctly named presidents will show up below
* Answers do not have to be guessed in order
* You have 10 minutes to guess after you click the start button (I did it in 6:20)

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Today's Quote

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance."

-Confucius

Ignorance is a willful neglect or refusal to acquire knowledge. It is not widen one’s own perspective in order to see a broader truth. As an example it would be to have racist thoughts and not realizing that all men are equal.

The ultimate truth therefore is where there is absolutely no ignorance, meaning where the perspective or consciousness has become one with all that there is. In Buddhism ignorance (Avidyā) is seen as the primary cause of suffering. Liberation is Enlightenment. Another quote by Confucius here is "Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star."

The Wayback Juke Box - Sam Cooke- Another Saturday Night

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Made with fresh or frozen blueberries, this easy bread recipe is such a great treat in the morning, or serve it a la mode with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt for dessert.

Serves: 10

Preparation Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 50 min
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (if you’re skipping the fruit, you can also skip the last Tbsp of flour)
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 cup Plain 0% Chobani Greek Yogurt
* 1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
* 3 extra-large eggs
* 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed
* 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease an 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/4-inch by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.

3. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the Chobani, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil.

4. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

5. Mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 (+) minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

7. Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

8. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack.

9. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan.

10. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in (a pastry brush works great for this, as does using a toothpick to make tiny holes that draw the syrup in better). Cool.

Website of the Day

Eyelash hairs growing from the surface of human skin
Electron Microscope Photos

My New Favorite Thing

Lunch just got a little greener. This reusable wrapper not only keeps sandwiches fresh and protected, but it also doubles as a placemat once it’s unwrapped.

To buy: $9, onestepahead.com

Here's the joke....

"You are in fine shape for your age, Mrs. Mallory, but tell me, do you still have intercourse?"

"Just a minute, I'll have to ask my husband," she said..

She stepped out into the crowded reception room and yelled out loud:

"Henry, do we still have intercourse?" And there was a hush!

You could hear a pin drop.

Henry answered impatiently, "If I told you once, Irma,
I told you a hundred times...


What we have is.......



Blue Cross!!"
=

Watch Bill Maher, Keith Olbermann Desperately Try to Get Through to GOP Voter "In a Bubble"

Pasta With Green Olive Pesto

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 40m
Total Time: 40m

Ingredients

* 1 pound spaghetti
* 2 garlic cloves, peeled
* 1/4 cup (3 ounces) Niçoise or other green olives, pitted
* 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
* 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 1/4 cup pitted kalamata or other black olives, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt




Directions

1. Cook the spaghetti al dente, according to the package directions. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water and drain.

2. Meanwhile, add the garlic, green olives, parsley, and basil to a food processor. With the motor running, slowly add the oil and process until fully incorporated.

3. In a large skillet, over medium heat, cook the olive pesto for 2 minutes.

4. Add the spaghetti, reserved pasta water, black olives, and salt and cook until the water is absorbed and the spaghetti is heated through.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Today's Quote

"Oh, you weak, beautiful people who give up with such grace. What you need is someone to take hold of you - gently, with love, and hand your life back to you." 

-Tennessee Williams

The Wayback Juke Box - Black Friday - Steely Dan

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Who would dream that it could take just 5 easy ingredients and absolutely no baking to make this luscious homemade Chocolate Eclair Cake? If you don't try this easy dessert, you're truly missing out.

Serves: 12
Ingredients

* 1 (14.4-ounce) box honey graham crackers (see Tip)
* 2 (4-serving) packages French vanilla instant pudding mix
* 3 cups milk
* 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
* 1 (16-ounce) container ready-to-spread chocolate frosting

Instructions

1. Line bottom of an ungreased 9- x 13-inch baking dish with one-third of the graham crackers.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk; add whipped topping, stirring until mixture thickens.

3. Spread half the pudding mixture over graham crackers in baking dish. Repeat layers with one-third of graham crackers and remaining pudding mixture. Top with remaining graham crackers. Spread with chocolate frosting. Cover and chill 8 hours.

2-Step Creamy Chicken & Pasta

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound), cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen vegetable pasta blend
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup water

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring often.

2. Stir the vegetable pasta blend, soup and water in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Easy Substitution: Also delicious with cream of chicken or cream of celery soup.

Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each).


Feel free to use leftover chopped chicken or even rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Simply begin at step #2 and simmer the cooked chicken with the vegetable pasta blend, soup and water.

Watermelon Margaritas

Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 lime wedge
* 3 1/2 cups cubed seeded watermelon
* 1/2 cup tequila
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon Triple Sec (orange-flavored liqueur)
* Lime wedges or watermelon balls (optional)







Preparation

1. Place 2 teaspoons sugar in a saucer. Rub the rims of 6 glasses with 1 lime wedge; spin rim of each glass in sugar to coat. Set prepared glasses aside.

2. Combine watermelon and next 4 ingredients (through Triple Sec) in a blender; process until smooth. Fill each prepared glass with 1/2 cup crushed ice. Add 1/2 cup margarita to each glass. Garnish with lime wedges or melon balls, if desired.

Republicanland: Where Facts Don't Matter


Fanciful ‘Facts’ At Fox News Debate

The fiction from the Republican candidates debate in Orlando.

Summary

 

Nine Republican presidential candidates debated for two hours in Orlando, Fla., and they served up more exaggerations and falsehoods — about Obama, each other, and even Thomas Jefferson.

  • Perry claimed Romney supports Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative. In fact, while Romney has praised some of the program’s goals, he said those kinds of issues ought to be handled at the state level, not federal.
  • Romney falsely accused Obama of saying “nothing about the Palestinians launching rockets into Israel” during a 2009 speech to the United Nations. In fact, Obama said those who suffer include “the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle of the night.”
  • Perry falsely claimed Romney had once written that “Romneycare” is “exactly what the American people needed.” Romney never wrote that. On the contrary, he said after he signed the bill that “certain aspects” of the state’s law might work “better in some states than others.”
  • Bachmann quoted Thomas Jefferson in defense of her previous assertion that separation of church and state is a “myth.” But the 1802 letter she cited is the very one in which Jefferson said the First Amendment erects “a wall of separation between Church and State.”
  • Perry said the U.S.-Mexico border needs more “boots on the ground” to stop illegal immigration, and claimed that “the federal government has not engaged in this at all.” In fact, the number of border security agents has more than doubled over the last decade.
  • Cain said the EPA has “gone wild” and will regulate “dust” as of Jan. 1. But there’s no new dust regulation set to go into effect on that day, and EPA says it has no plans for one.
And we found other factual problems as well. Former New Mexico Gov. Johnson claimed the government is borrowing 43 cents of every dollar spent. It’s really 37 cents. Bachmann denied suggesting HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation or is “potentially dangerous.” And Cain even resurrected the old “death panel” falsehood about the new health care law, claiming he would be “dead under Obamacare” because “bureaucrats” would somehow have delayed diagnosis and treatment of the cancer he fought in 2006.

Read more

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Today's Quote

‘Know thyself?’ If I knew myself, I’d run away.” 

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Wayback Juke Box - If I Were a Carpenter - Johnny and June Carter Cash

My New Favorite Thing

The Fall of the United States

by John Atcheson

We have the purpose of preventing bigots and ignoramuses from controlling… the United States.

--Clarence Darrow at the Scopes Monkey Trial.

Welcome to the late great United States – a country in economic and moral free fall. A country in thrall to a cult of greed, selfishness, and ignorance.

A country that is trying to hold onto its belief in its own “exceptionalism,” even as it rejects the very forces that made it exceptional.

Once, the US was a leader in science. Today, most Americans are scientifically illiterate and one of the major political parties – Republicans-- largely rejects science and scientists as "elitist." Research budgets are being slashed. The space shuttle has flown its last flight. Climate scientists are demonized and marginalized, even as epochal storms, heat waves, and draughts sweep across our country and lay waste our planet.

Once, US infrastructure was the envy of the world. Our planes, our trains, our highways, our damns, bridges, buildings and communication systems were the benchmark against which other countries measured their worth. Investing in it created well-paying jobs and wealth-generating capacity. Now, it is a crumbling punch line to a tragic national joke.

Once, the US system of laws and regulations was recognized as the pre-requisite of a civilized and prosperous society. It created transparent markets; honest securities exchanges; level playing fields for all players; equitable sharing of wealth between workers and managers; safe and humane working conditions; a clean and livable environment. Today, most Americans think government regulation destroyed the economy. They even believe that the plutocrats who destroyed this regulatory infrastructure -- the most successful wealth-generating machine in the world’s history -- are the “job creators” and the source of the formerly shared prosperity that is now disappearing into the coffers of the few from the wallets of the many.

Once, the US educational system was the preeminent model for educating the populace. While our Universities are managing to hold on to their esteemed position by their thumbnails (partly by attracting talented foreign students), our K-12 programs are not keeping up.

What do these all have in common?

They were the source of our national prosperity and they were funded or enabled in whole or part by the government.

Read more

Republicans: Always Cheating


No More Last Meal Requests on Death Row

Because this is what Jesus would do! 

Houston State Senator John Whitmire, who wields great influence on prison issues, says he wants to do away with granting last meal requests for inmates about to be executed.

Read more

Stupid Icebox Lemon Pie

You think you can't make a pie right? Well you just need easy pie recipes like this one! It doesn't get any simpler folks, make up this Stupid Icebox Lemon Pie for a yummy, tasty dessert without the fuss. Have fun!

Chilling Time: 2 hr
Ingredients

* 1 baked pie shell
* 1 can sweetened condensed milk
* 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
* 1 container Cool Whip
* lemon zest for topping and taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine milk and lemon juice thoroughly, then blend in about 2/3 of the Cool Whip.

2. Pour into the pie shell and top with remaining Cool Whip. Chill for about 2 hours.

3. Sprinkle with lemon zest if desired.

Bumper Stickers

The Kids

Taz aka Grandpa

Jazmin aka Jazzy or Ugly Girl

Izzy

Zoey aka Grandma

Chicken and Bean Burritos

Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 10 min.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (11 1/2 ounces) condensed bean with bacon soup
3/4 cup chunky salsa
2 cans (4.5 ounces each) white chunk chicken breast in water, drained
8 flour tortillas (8-inch), warmed

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic powder and cook until the onion is tender.

2. Stir the soup, salsa and chicken in the skillet. Cook until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.

3. Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold up the sides of the tortillas around the filling then fold up the ends to enclose the filling.

Serving Suggestion: Serve with carrot sticks and apple-raisin salad with red raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert serve mini-sugar cookies.

Makes: 4 servings (2 burritos each).


To warm the tortillas, wrap them in very lightly moist paper towels or clean tea towels and heat in the microwave for 10-second intervals until they're pliable and easy to roll.

The Lies We Tell Ourselves

by Alexander Green

Last week we discussed Aristotle's idea of "the good life," his conclusion that only virtuous living leads to lasting happiness.

This is the moral of virtually every great novel or movie. The idea resides at the core of the world's great religious traditions. Parents everywhere try to inculcate it in their children.

We all imagine ourselves to be virtuous, of course, even if we seldom think of it in such explicit terms. But that's at least partly because we tend to be experts at excusing our own behavior when it falls short of the ideal.

In their tongue-in-cheek book Rationalizations to Live By, Henry Beard, Andy Borowitz and John Boswell offer plenty of examples, ranging from the cringe-inducing to the hilarious:

  • I'm this way because of my parents.

  • Everybody does it.

  • I'll save even more money if I buy nine of these.

  • If we don't finish this second bottle, it will just go bad.

  • We're all going to die of something.

  • My wife doesn't understand me.

  • He's probably cheating on me, too.

  • I'm not running for "saint."

  • I do some of my best thinking on the golf course.

  • I'm only moving the ball to where it should have landed.

  • If I were in the hospital, I wouldn't want a bunch of people bothering me.

  • No one will ever know.

  • I've never been good with authority.

  • I only smoke at parties. I could quit tomorrow. This is my last one.

  • After a crummy day like this, I deserve these shoes.

  • After a great day like this, I should celebrate with these shoes.

  • With what I saved on this purse, I should buy these shoes.

  • All this shopping is good for the economy.

  • I'll do a better job on this if I start tomorrow.

  • You only live once.

  • He'll just spend it on liquor.

  • Skipping one day of exercise isn't going to kill me.

  • I'm just big-boned.

  • That's for the one you called "out" last game.

  • It's not sucking up to the boss if you really mean it.

  • I'm not trying to win a popularity contest.

  • I'm eating for two now.

  • What are the odds of a handicapped person needing this spot while I drop off a video?

  • It's deductible.

  • I'm only human.

  • They pay ushers to clean this stuff up.

  • My work was never intended for the masses.

  • I just don't test well.

  • Einstein had a messy office.

  • He'll thank me later.

  • It's not like he's never borrowed something from me and not returned it.

  • Ice cream is an excellent source of calcium.

  • This expense sheet makes up for my crappy bonus.

  • Finders keepers.

  • I'll be dead by then.

  • It's the thought that counts.

  • Nobody died.

  • And my personal favorite:

  • If God didn't want us to eat baby sheep, he wouldn't have given us mint jelly.

The authors point out that an excuse is a lie we tell others. A rationalization is a lie we tell ourselves.

Of course, self-deception ranges beyond personal behavior to belief systems, too. Have you ever wondered how seemingly reasonable friends or relatives can hold such wacky political, economic or religious views?

It's tempting to think they aren't very smart. But studies show just the opposite. As my friend Michael Shermer, a historian of science and columnist for Scientific American, writes, "Smart people believe weird things because they are highly skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for nonsmart reasons."

Psychologists call it the self-justification bias. We make decisions - or arrive at certain beliefs - for emotional reasons. We then go to work cherry-picking data that supports our view while systematically ignoring or filtering out contradictory evidence.

Nothing is easier, said Demosthenes, than self-deceit. Yet we can't reach Aristotle's ideal (the virtuous life) until we understand our own minds - and our penchant for self-justification.

Know thyself, the ancient Greeks advised. Integrity starts with being honest with yourself.

As Socrates declared, "the shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what you would appear to be."

Carpe Diem!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Today's Quote

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945)
32nd president of the United States

The Wayback Juke Box - Stevie Wonder - Blame It On The Sun

Teriyaki Pork Kabobs

Prep Time: 20 min.
Grill Time: 20 min.

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups beef broth or beef stock
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1-inch cubes
12 medium mushrooms
1 large red onion, cut into 12 wedges
4 cherry tomatoes
1 cup regular long-grain white rice, cooked according to package directions (about 3 cups)

1. Stir the cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder and ginger in a 2-quart saucepan until the mixture is smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

2. Thread alternately the pork, mushrooms and onion on 4 skewers.

3. Lightly oil the grill rack and heat the grill to medium. Grill the kabobs for 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked through, turning and brushing often with the broth mixture. Thread 1 tomato on each skewer.

4. Heat the remaining broth mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Serve the broth mixture with the kabobs and rice.

Makes: 4 servings (1 kabob and 3/4 cup rice each).


Before threading the skewers, trim the pork loin of any excess fat or silverskin (the white connective tissue often found on the surface of the meat). The silverskin is tough and will make the pork chewy if left on.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Monday, September 19, 2011

Today's Quote

“You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present.” 

-Eckhart Tolle

There’s something addictive about reliving the past. We analyze, agonize, judge ourselves and our choices, as if rehashing them will somehow change what happened, or at least change how we feel about it.

We think about it, talk about it, write about it, obsess about it, looking for a sense of understanding and closure.

No matter how much you dwell, you will never find happiness by trying to make sense of yesterday. True happiness is when you let go of everything in your head that obscures what’s happening in front of you.

Your attention in the moment is your life. Live it fully today.

BONE JAM by Jeff the brotherhood

Not in Our Town - Wednesday 9/21 on PBS

Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness is a one-hour documentary about a town coming together to take action after anti-immigrant violence devastates the community. In 2008, a series of attacks against Latino residents of Patchogue, New York culminate with the murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who had lived in the Long Island village for 13 years.

Over a two-year period, the story follows Mayor Paul Pontieri, the victim’s brother, Joselo Lucero, and Patchogue residents as they openly address the underlying causes of the violence, work to heal divisions, and begin taking steps to ensure everyone in their village will be safe and respected.

Read more

Croissant and Chocolate Bread Pudding

Serves 8| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 50m
Ingredients

* Unsalted butter for the baking dish
* 6 large egg yolks
* 2 cups whole milk
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 6 croissants, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 pound)
* 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into chunks

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Butter an 8-inch square or other shallow 2-quart baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Add the croissants and chocolate and mix to combine.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake until set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Breitbart To Tea Partiers: ‘We Outnumber (Liberals) And We Have The Guns!’

I wish someone would knock this arrogant bastard down.

Conservative media provocateur Andrew Breitbart, speaking to a Tea Party crowd of over 60 people in Lexington, Ma. on Friday, got a little bit carried away with his own patter. He told the crowd that he sometimes thinks to himself, “Fire the first shot” in a hypothetical civil war with liberals, explaining that “We outnumber them in this country, and we have the guns.”

Read more

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Today's Quote

"Everybody is like a magnet. You attract to yourself reflections of that which you are. If you're friendly then everybody else seems to be friendly too."

— Dr. David Hawkins: Internationally renowned psychiatrist, physician, and author

Ron Wood, Keith Richards, First Barbarians - "Take a Look at the Guy" (Spec. Guest Rod Stewart)

In Memoriam

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

What Did You Learn in School Today? (The Texas Version)

by Craig Studer

Millions of Texas students head back to school this week confronted by a dramatically altered, state-mandated social studies curriculum.

The contentious hearings of the Texas State Board of Education received considerable attention in the spring of 2010, but seem to have fallen out of the public consciousness as the new school year begins. The new curriculum, officially called the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, deserves renewed attention, as it will undoubtedly surprise most Texans.

The fiercest battle during the board's hearings was fought over the 11th-grade history curriculum, which in Texas is "United States History since 1877." The exception to that timeline is the new state-mandated "Celebrate Freedom Week," during which students will learn about our founding fathers. That sounds simple enough, except that the only founding fathers included in the curriculum are Benjamin Rush, John Hancock, John Jay, John Witherspoon, John Peter Muhlenberg, Charles Carroll and Jonathan Trumbull Sr. What about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or John Adams? They are nowhere to be found in the new high school TEKS. Students apparently learned everything they need to know about them in eighth grade.

As part of the board's effort to emphasize the positives in American history, students will no longer learn about "American imperialism." Instead students will discuss "American expansionism" and come to understand how "missionaries moved the United States into the position of a world power." The board eliminated mention of our government's use of propaganda during World War I, and instead of analyzing Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II, students will now analyze the development of the bomb. Additionally, students will now "evaluate efforts by international organizations to undermine U.S. sovereignty."

Read more

Nice Poem

Sirloin, Pepper & Onion Skilllet

Prep Time: 20 min.
Cook Time: 20 min.


2 tablespoons olive oil
1 boneless beef sirloin steak, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 pound), cut into 4 pieces
1 large onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
2 medium red and/or green peppers, cut into 2-inch-long strips (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 can (10 3/4 ounces)  Golden Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup water
1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese or Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until it's well browned on both sides. Remove the beef from the skillet. Pour off any fat. Reduce the heat to medium.

2. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the onion and peppers and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender-crisp, stirring often.

3. Add the vinegar to the skillet and cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in the soup and water and heat to a boil. Return the beef to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook the beef for 2 minutes for medium or until desired doneness. Sprinkle with the cheese.
Makes: 4 servings.

The touch of vinegar in the sauce rounds out its flavor. Whenever your sauce or soup "needs" something, don't reach for the salt shaker - add a drizzle of cider, red or white wine vinegar instead!

Today's Blissful Place

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Today's Quote

“True love begins when nothing is looked for in return.”

― Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Post Cards They Don't Make

The Wayback Juke Box - Kid Prince Moore - Sign Of Judgement

This traditional by Kid Prince Moore was recorded in New York, 10 April 1936.

The most under reported story in America

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Get Rid of Belly Fat

Dr Oz

The older you get, the more reluctant belly fat becomes. Learn the proper nutrition and exercises you can try to get rid of your bumps and lumps – and keep your curves in all the right places.

Read more

11 Reasons Why the Unemployment Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think

Here are 11 unemployment facts that mass media underreport or ignore completely.

READ MORE

Number of Uninsured Climbs to Highest Figure Since Passage of Medicare, Medicaid

50 million uninsured shows urgency of enacting single-payer Medicare for all: national doctors group

Friday, September 16, 2011

Today's Quote

“Happiness is simple. Everything we do to find it is complicated.”

-Karen Maezen Miller

We plan for it. We talk about it. We work toward it. We look for it. We try to create it. We try to enhance it. We hope to discover it. We hope to hold onto it.

Sometimes we make happiness exhausting.

It isn’t some magical outcome, just beyond the horizon. It isn’t a house, job, friend, or relationship away. Happiness can only be felt right now in acceptance of the moment as it is.

How you can embrace today, in all its beauty and flaws, to make your “someday” now?

The Wayback Juke Box -Nancy Sinatra - Friday's Child

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Today's Quote

"The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now. And the more grateful you are, the more you get."

— Oprah

The Wayback Juke Box - Rusty & Doug Kershaw - Hey Mae

The Cult of Death

William Rivers Pitt, Truthout:

"These 'Tea Party' people profess to be representatives of average Americans, despite being a complete creation of the 0.1% wealthy elite. They claim government is too big, even as many of them hail from states (think Texas) that would utterly collapse without federal funding. They bring guns to public rallies. They like Medicare, until they are reminded that Medicare is a government program. And they are 'Christians,' members of the faithful, who enjoy executions and who think uninsured people should be left to die."

Read the Article

The Joy of Scarcity

by Leo Babauta

Often we think of having very little as a hardship.

It’s bad to be poor, right? It’s not easy struggling with low wages, with debt, with scarcity.

And while all that is true, it’s also not true.

There can be joy in getting rid of things, in living with less, in freeing yourself of debt and possessions. It’s all in your mindset.

I grew up poor, and it wasn’t long ago that I was struggling with an income that was too low to meet my mounting bills and debt payments. One of the worst times of my life, actually.

But as I worked to eliminate my debt, I learned to live with less. And I learned that it can be a wonderful thing.

Struggle is hard, no matter how you paint it. But living in scarcity doesn’t have to be struggle. That’s completely up to you.

Read more

Today's Blissful Place