Mickey Z

Cool Observer

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Change you can recycle?

Posted by Mickey Z on 02/24 at 07:22 AM

That’s a great quiz, Mick. Nader is on Meet The Press now, which led off blaming him for Gore’s loss in 2000. He deftly explained the BS that is our supposed two party system and announced his decision to run. Tim then explained how he ruined Gore’s chances and blamed him for the past 7 years of Bush. Here we go again!

Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 02/24 at 11:06 AM

Turned on tv to watch Nader this morning-- he was at his most brilliant, concisely summing up the facts and issues within the short time slot allowed him by the GE-Vivendi SA NBC program.

Not a mention of Cynthia McKinney. Guess this was Nader’s day.

I am weary.

I was sadly more fascinated watching the commercials, like the one by an energy company-- altruistically looking after the interests of 6 1/2 billion people.

Sigh.

The tv gabbles on.

45 + minutes about Hillary, Barack, John, and about American fear. Doris Goowin gives her opinion on the campaign: “I love it!”

Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 02/24 at 11:56 AM

Good morning Mickey and JOS...well, I’ve been thinking about various recipes to submit to the attendants at the upcoming soup lines. I prefer soups that include Miso. Not sure if soup lines are concerned with nutrition or if soups will be loaded with experimental pharmaceuticals. I prefer lots of vegetables, lentils, beans and various grains. I want good bread with my soup as well as fruit to eat afterwards. With the trillion dollar defense budget, I’m sure there will be some change to provide adequate soup-line provisions. I might even get a job at the soup line so I can taste test every batch and inspect the food for loose hair, lint from old socks and soggy condoms. With the freedoms we have in america, we can add those little extras to the public eateries, though no one wants to wait in line for 6 hours just to get a false eyelash stuck to their broccoli...well...who knows??? Politicians will tell us soup lines are part of america that we should be proud of and if you’re not in a soup line, you’re against us.......

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/24 at 11:56 AM

I like Miso soup!

Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 02/24 at 12:44 PM

Firstly, a hearty welcome back to Richie in FLA! Great to see new Expendables David and Jason, too. Am now curious about Keir, Mew, and Amelopsis.

I’ve just avoided ninety seconds of Boeing commercials. Oh, and watched the three Nader segments on the MTP website. Q: Is Tim Russert qualified to be a crossing guard? ("Ralph, your candidacy may limit the speeds at which unlicensed, out-of-state, high-performance sports cars driven by felons and tax cheats, can effectively transit elementary school parking lots at morning recess. Democrats are very concerned about this prospect.")

Ralph is getting on in years but, like an old-school slugger up against roid-freak throwers, he smashes them back through the box. I liked best his line about Obama losing to McCain: “if the Democrats can’t landslide against this candidate of perpetual war, the representative of the multiply-impeachable Bush Administration...”

Listening to Obama’s views on Nader was nauseating. He could have condensed his comments into “I have contempt for the American public. And hope.”

This primary season has been down the rabbit hole, and amusing in some ways. But now it’s Nader time, almost as fun for the paroxysms it causes liberal herdthink as the efforts at outing the truth of everyday life in the US.

Posted by Zen Prole on from Urth 02/24 at 12:58 PM

...some people might get FED up with waiting in soup lines, the below might seem necessary to those who won’t need to wait in soup lines, because they’re already full of it.

Canada, U.S. Agree To Use Each Other’s Troops In Civil Emergencies

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/24 at 01:10 PM

......if we have to drive to the soup lines, many of us won’t make it with gas going at $9 a gal...we might have to eat bullets or weeds covered by Monsanto’s experiments...?

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/24 at 01:40 PM

...conversations at soup lines might go..."so Emily, how’s the family"?..."my husband, my son’s were all killed at war"..."are you living alone”, “oh no, there’s 25 of us in our modest apartment, we keep each other warm since there is no heat in the apartment”...

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/24 at 01:53 PM

Hi all...I knew that Nader would announce today - and I had to miss it because it was the only time I could borrow a pick-up truck to get lumber needed because of the flooding. I was looking at lumber but thinking about Ralph. I hope there will be a rebroadcast.
As far as the dems - their votes are coming home to roost. They had an opportunity to have a candidate who was anti-war, in favor of a single payer health care system, and also recognized the problem of corporations. They voted against those candidates and now that vacuum has been filled by Nader. Any dem who is surprised by Nader’s run, hasn’t been paying attention.
If Nader makes it, we might not need the soup kitchens.

Posted by RMJ on from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts 02/24 at 03:35 PM

Yes, Zen, Russert would better serve as a crossing guard...anybody else get a sharp pain deep in their gut when looking at and listening to Tim Russert?

Sorry to hear about your flooding issue, RMJ. It seems like you have to deal with a lot of major weather related problems where you live. There is still some wild country out there in Vermont, isn’t there? There is something good in that.

Just watching Catch-22 on TV...I feel like Captain Yossarian somedays.

Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 02/24 at 04:31 PM

Joe and Robert...I love Miso soup!

Posted by JOS on from Oak Park 02/24 at 04:32 PM

Robert, JOS...I love Miso right out of the container...truly one of the finer things available in the entire universe.

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/24 at 05:57 PM

Hi JOS...part of the problem is that there are no regulations for building contractors. For 23 years I have been correcting mistakes that my contractor made. The site never flooded until the builder screwed it up. It’s like the wild west. Also, the soil does not drain because it is clay. It makes me miss the New Jersey sand.

Zen...Yes, the hate e-mails from the dems have already started to arrive. One said that a vote for Nader is a vote for McCain. Another said that I am responsible for the deaths of Iraqi children because I supported Nader last time. That e-mail included a horrific photo of an incinerated child.

I never tasted MISO soup. What have I missed?

Posted by RMJ on from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts 02/24 at 06:04 PM

Hello Expendables. Michele and I just saw Dog Day Afternoon at the Film Forum:
http://www.filmforum.org/films/lumet.html#224

Joe’s comments today read like part of a book that needs to be written.

And I cast my vote for Nader and miso soup.

Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/24 at 06:19 PM

P.S. I just added a Nader image (from RMJ) to the main post.

Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/24 at 06:21 PM

Miso soup is oishii.

(delicious!)

“Micky Z-san Miso Soup:

Official food of the Expendable Nation?”

Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 02/24 at 06:26 PM

I think you’re on to something, Robert. I like to make miso soup myself but I also like it here:
http://www.angelicakitchen.com/menu.html

Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 02/24 at 06:31 PM

Dog Day Afternoon...one of my favorites. I watch it every time it is on TV.

Posted by RMJ on from Mickey Z 4 Prez Hdqts 02/24 at 06:39 PM

Got to give credit to Joe of Maine…

We could use an Angelica’s here.

Good graphic RMJ!

Miso soup is actually a little too fancy--

government cheese… looking forward to it!

Posted by Robert B. Livingston on from San Francisco, California 02/24 at 07:14 PM

I have no idea what miso soup tastes like, but hear it’s good stuff. I’ll give it a try. (Too bad Democrats can’t think like this.)

Posted by Zen Prole on from Urth 02/24 at 10:24 PM

Ahhh, Miso soup.

Yup, the mention of soy products is far more stimulating to me than the presidential race(farce).

But, I have spend 8 years now living in Japan, then China - the homes of Soy.

... think I’ll get away from the PC and into the kitchen ... tofu time ...

my vote for tofu

A.

Posted by Andy on from Shanghai 02/24 at 10:34 PM

Hey everyone, was busy yesterday but looking around now… looks like it’ll be a very uphill climb, as for instance even Howard Zinn still seems to be firmly in the ABB camp of things if I understand this correctly:
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/24/7261/

And people who say that Nader supporters are responsible for the deaths of Iraqi children are so frustrating. What responses do those people have to all the children dead at the hands of Clinton/Gore all those years?

Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 02/25 at 09:43 AM

And like many are asking, does anyone know if he’ll run as Green, or as Independent? And which would be the better idea?

Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 02/25 at 10:24 AM

Thanks Mickey...I’ll have one serving of everything....

SOUPS, STARTERS, AND SIDES (Back to top.)
Miso Soup - with wakame and tofu cup $3.00 bowl
Soup of the day cup $3.25 bowl

Kombu Vegetable Buillon - a warm invigorating cup of broth, rich in minerals, delicately seasoned with ginger, sage & thyme.

Angelica Pickle Plate - garlic kelp pickles, assorted seasonal pickled vegetables and marinated beets.

Ruby Kraut - homemade red cabbage sauerkraut.

Kimchee - homemade, mild style, tangy fermented cabbage with carrot, daikon & jalapeno pepper.

Walnut-Lentil Paté - topped with tofu sour cream, served with baked rice crackers and crisp crudites.

Hummus - served with baked zahtar pita wedges and crisp crudites.

Norimaki - six pieces of rolled vegetable sushi, served with wasabi, pickled ginger and lemon-shoyu dipping sauce (ingredients vary daily).

Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes -
served with brown rice gravy.

Soba Sensation - rich velvety sesame sauce ladled over soba noodles, topped with
pickled red cabbage garnish.

Curried Cashew Spread - an intriguing live blend of raw cashews, sprouted chickpeas, freshly ground curry powder and unpasteurized miso. Accompanied by crisp crudites.

Thai Mee Up - All Raw - delicate strands of daikon radish, butternut squash & carrot dressed with Thai tahini sauce, garnished with garlic-lemon marinated kale.

* SPECIAL APPETIZER*
Agrarian Salgado - Baked rounds of mashed Yukon-Gold potatoes and herbed seitan, embracing a
parsley-almond pesto center; topped with dill-tofu sour cream, and garnished with piquant marinated kale.

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/25 at 10:41 AM

Hi all.
I’m going to be whoring myself out to Rupert Murdoch for the next few months, so I can afford to give Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (captcha sez “forms") the money to continue the special relationship ‘twixt your country and mine (btw, this was the front page of the Sun, Murdoch’s biggest organ, today. If you don’t see an endorsement of the death penalty by 99% of YOU, it’s not today anymore, its tomorrow). Still I’ll be in London, and you lot’ve inspired me to check out some of the many veggie/vegan restaurants there. Course I already know they’re better than NY’s… :-p

Am now curious about Keir, Mew, and Amelopsis.

I’m also curious about Keir and l’Impératrice. Keir hasn’t updated his blog in aaaaaaages. How is he Mr Z?

Posted by Mew on from clophill 02/25 at 01:58 PM

...perhaps if we’re lucky, they’ll serve up good cigars after the meal...?

Posted by joe of maine on from 02/25 at 04:03 PM

Hey MZ and all.

Mickey, you are so right about the system.
The only real reason to desire a Dem vs. a Repub is the Supreme Court.

Been away from the net for awhile, hope to come by more often.

Wish I could attend your event on 3/10, which happens to be my Bday, but no longer in NY.
Be there in Spirit.

Ciao

Posted by Tommy on from I live by the River 02/25 at 04:14 PM

Just laughed at your comment on the two-party system and the recount, Mickey! It is true that the Democrats and Republicans are almost indistinguishable - in your view they are probably COMPLETELY indistinguishable.

Hello, JOS, Robert B. Livingston, Zen Prole, Rosemarie, Joe of Maine, James, Mew, Tommy and Andy (have I mentioned everyone?) from a sunny but not too warm Daylesford - the fourth last day of summer down under.

If you scroll down to Richard Dawkins’s interview here, you can hear him talk about all those non-believers, even in the US. It seems his book ‘The God Delusion’ was a huge bestseller even in your neck of the woods. Non-believers have to come out and stand up to all those ‘Christian’ zealots, and not only in America:
http://www.edbookfest.co.uk/readings/archive07.html#x

And America has been going backwards but is not the only country - far from it:
http://www.nybooks.com/shop/product?usca_p=t&product_id=4331

Take care of yourselves!

Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/25 at 07:20 PM

Oops, the NYRB link does not seem to work - here’s a copy of the text describing the book:
America Goes Backward
By Stanley Hoffmann

“Wrong assumptions, immoderate and confused ends, served by a mixture of counterproductive, inadequate, mismanaged, and, at times, scandalous means”: Stanley Hoffmann’s verdict on the US invasion of Iraq carries an uneasy echo of his view of the US failure in Vietnam.

Though it is not Vietnam, for Hoffmann the Iraq war is still a sign that America has gone in the wrong direction. In this book, he describes the many ways in which the Bush administration, particularly in its unilateralist determination to make war on Saddam Hussein, has undertaken a “wrecking operation” on post–World War II schemes of international cooperation, and he suggests a process by which democracies might reach agreement on when to collectively intervene in aid of nations suffering under oppressive regimes. Hoffmann goes on to analyze how the US risks being trapped in Iraq, and offers his ideas on the most effective strategies for both withdrawing US forces and helping the country achieve democracy and stability under multilateral supervision.

“Too often,” he finds, “this administration has given, to many Americans and even more to foreigners, the impression that it is drunk with power....” If we are to combat terrorism effectively, we should strive not for an arrogant American empire but for “a return to reality, to good sense, and to morality.”
And if you like Joan Didion as much as I do, here is another tip:

Fixed Ideas: America Since 9.11
By Joan Didion
Preface by Frank Rich

Joan Didion describes how, since September 11, 2001, there has been a determined effort by the administration to promote an imperial America—a “New Unilateralism"—and how, in many parts of America, there is now a “disconnect” between the government and citizens.

Both New York Review books- can be seen here:
http://www.nybooks.com/

Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/25 at 07:45 PM

And one last thing before it’s back to some typing for me: one of the makers of the Oscar-winning documentary ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ is from - Melbourne, Australia but is now based in New York. She was interviewed earlier today and said at one point that in her view the Bush administration was a ‘bunch of war criminals.’

Farewell from Australia ..

Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 02/25 at 07:57 PM