I grew up in Manchester, Iowa, a small rural community in northeastern Iowa. Although my parents were not directly involved in local politics, they voted in every election, local, state and presidential. They were invested in their community and in their business and they always felt you protected that investment by electing good leaders.
My mother did not have an opinion that she didn’t share. (Pot. Kettle. Black.) My father was the silent partner in their more than 50-year relationship. They were staunch Republicans. But, try as I might, I cannot recall one conversation in our household where a politician of either party was maligned or belittled or personally criticized.
Today, I cannot watch television, read a newspaper, stand in the post office line, buy groceries, or turn on the radio without being exposed to political rubbish and personalized political attacks that really have nothing to do with the problems at hand.
We Americans get exactly what we vote for.
And, since only approximately 55% of our eligible voting population chooses to mark a ballot in presidential and congressional elections, the other 45% have forfeited their right to an opinion. That should shut down some of the verbal babble. To my mind, that 45% can, well, just continue to kick the can down the road. If you don’t vote, you can’t emote.
In the past decade, we’ve elected a Congress that has voted us into two wars, tax cuts (2001 and 2003) that swept away our $urplus, and legislated Medicare Part D, the Bush prescription drug coverage bill. Isn’t it ironic that the politicians who are squealing the loudest right now, voted for all of those measures.
That’s why I am really excited about the Super Congress, a gang of 12 politicians chosen by a less-than-super Congress, not us, to bring us to deficit-AAA-nirvana.
Pardon me for being skeptical.
The SC Gang of Twelve includes 5 members of the Silent Generation (Born 1925-1942) and 7 Boomers (Born 1943-1960). The Republicans chose no women or minority while the Democrats’ Gang includes a woman, an Hispanic, and a Black. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50.7% of our population are female. I’m trying not to take offense.
Just remembering, we Americans get exactly what we vote for.
Stocks are down. Spirits are rocky. Temperatures and tempers are soaring.
Look left.
Look right.
There’s a nearby neighbor who is struggling more than you.
—————————————————————————————–
So, savor this last month of Summer by offering friends and neighbors your very own Signature Drink. Create it. Invent it. Copy it off a Food Blog or Recipe Site. Tweak it. Name it. (Mine is called “My Sip of Summer”). The rule is, if you serve it, you own it!
My August is all about Watermelon Lemonade (with or without Vodka).
This recipe was in the June 2005 Issue of Oprah’s Magazine. Is there a better way to honor the end of the “Oprah” ?
In a mixer, blender, or the bowl of a food processor, place watermelon and process until very smooth. If you don’t want pulp, strain through a coarse sieve set over a bowl, stirring to push through any pulp. Pour juice into a large pitcher. Add lemon zest.
In a bowl, whisk lemon juice and honey until honey dissolves; stir into watermelon juice. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cold water; cover and refrigerate until very cold. Serve over ice and garnish with lemon slices, adding vodka, if desired.
My Sicilian neighbor keeps me supplied me with her family’s home-made sun-dried tomatoes. Utilizing Las Vegas’ searing sun, they’re dried in the time-consuming European-style and are the most delicious sun-dried tomatoes I have ever tasted. Dorie’s Tomates Confites, our recipe of the week, comes close to matching their flavor. It’s so simple, a no-brainer, to cut cherry or grape tomatoes in half, throw on olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh thyme from the garden, before roasting in the oven for three hours.
Viola! A burst of flavor for salads, pasta, spreads and dips. Ladle them over sautéed or steamed chicken, salmon or tuna or throw some in the belly of a whole fish headed for the grill. For my next pasta dinner party, I’m going to throw them on a platter, place it in the middle of the table and let everyone choose themselves whether to add to the pasta or salad, smother over some crusty Italian bread, or use as a side dish — whatever smacks their fancy. The tomato-garlic-thyme aroma is heavenly.
If you aren’t using the roasted tomatoes for the day’s menu, pack them in a jar along with the garlic and thyme and cover with olive oil where they will keep for a few weeks. I intend to start giving them as house gifts or for Christmas to my friends who love to cook. Really flavorful, for sure, and useful, any time of the year.
State Birds & Flowers (1000 pieces) by White Mountain Puzzles
Need some relief from Summer’s steamy temperatures? Here’s the plan. Purchase a 1000-piece jig saw puzzle (Target, WalMart, Amazon.com). Invite three or four friends for a potluck lunch or dinner. Everyone contributes. (It helps if this is a boisterous, amusing, entertaining four-or-five some.) Provide drinks (I prefer the alcoholic variety), snacks, and music. The goal of the party is to complete the puzzle. The secret? Make a plan. Divide and Conquer. You cannot imagine the feeling of accomplishment of a jigsaw job well-done.
“Are we going to continue letting rich, old, white men in suits, disguised as politicians, run this country?”
Disrespect, intended and deserved.
“I HATE POLITICS” DOESN’T BUY A SEAT AT THE TABLE
In her book, “What Women Really Want”, author Kellyanne Conway, a Republican strategist and pollster, wrote,
“If a woman bristles, “I hate politics,” what she is saying in effect is that she cares not who manages the public schools and what is taught there; how health care is accessed, delivered, and paid for in the United States; whether the nation is safe, prosperous, and globally competitive. Yet clearly she does not mean that. Politics and governance are the vehicles through which change in these areas is accomplished but not necessarily the prism through which women interact with them.”
To my mind, it’s time we women purchase a new prism.
Although women comprise more than half of the electorate in this country, we hold only 16% of the seats in the United States Congress. That’s a disgrace. This column is a plea to women, in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s who are A-political to B-Come-political.
Of the 100 members of the Senate, only seventeen are women. Only ten Senators are below 50 years of age: in their 80’s – 3 Senators; 70’s – 19; 60’s – 38; 50’s – 30. So, the most powerful legislative body in our country is comprised primarily of rich, old, white men who have served and lived in the Capital city for one, two, three and even four decades. That is not okay.
Please understand, I have great respect for experience and maturity, but we haven’t seen much of that lately, have we? What we have seen is inflexibility, rigidity and pomposity. More importantly, old people need sleep! With around-the-clock meetings, media moments and meals with lobbyists, when do these Senators sleep? Take their Lipitor? Floss?
In the House of Representatives, it doesn’t get better. Of the 435 voting Congresspeople, only 72 are women.
NO TIME FOR GLOATING
According to a CBS News/New York Times poll taken this Spring, more than fifty-nine percent of Republicans said they had ‘favorable views of the Tea Party.‘ And, while the media may be playing this as a “Gotcha/all-smiles/we won” moment for the Republican Party, I’m betting that many moderate Republicans are just as dismayed and disgusted and frustrated with the apparent result as I am.
In early July, New York Times columnist David Brooks, a conservative Republican, wrote,
“ The struggles of the next few weeks are about what sort of party the G.O.P. is — a normal conservative party or an odd protest movement that has separated itself from normal governance, the normal rules of evidence and the ancient habits of our nation.
If the debt ceiling talks fail, independent voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern.
And they will be right. “
DO YOU YOUNG WOMEN EVEN GET IT?
By most accounts, the debt ceiling deal, yet to be finalized, is a Bully Bill, legislation-by-fear. The biggest fear? Not being re-elected. Wow, quite a way to run the country, Mr. President and Congress.
What scares me the most, besides my dwindling bank account, is the precedent that is being set. A fanatical, fear-mongering wing of the Republican Party is legislating policy for this country. They have an horrific laundry list but here are just some examples.
Women’s Rights? Republicans tried (and, will again) to block the $70 million Planned Parenthood receives each year under Title X. Now that’s a program implemented under Republican President Richard Nixon in 1970 to provide contraceptives, cancer screenings, pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease testing at community health centers across the country. They want to cut off $293 million the clinics receive through Medicare.
Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz. (69 years old, in Congress since 1987) told the media that abortions are “well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does.” He later clarified that the statistic, which is inaccurate, was “not intended to be a factual statement.” Wow, what a giggle!
Women’s Rights in every arena are being compromised.
Environmental Concerns? House Republicans, led by the Tea Party wing, are using a 2012 appropriations bill to gut our country’s environmental laws. They have already attached 38 anti-environmental riders to the Interior Department/EPA bill which will effectively dismantle the protections we now have. But, hey, climate change/global warming, is a myth. Right?
War? I am 100% positive that if more women were in Congress,to any significant level, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would be over. Done. Finished.
DO IT FOR MOM
To my 45- and 41-year old daughters and all the other smart young women I know, it’s time, it’s past time. Find time. We need you to become involved, and to become political. Run for local office or support those like-minded women who do. Make calls. Lick envelopes. Get out the Vote. Find common ground through political dialogue with those whose views you oppose. Be the grown-ups. Raise the bar.
You don’t have to follow in any footsteps. Make your own.
