In Our Crusade, We're Going to Snuff you Helter-Skelter
The neocons: " We're going to blow you to smithereens, military, civilians, men, women and children, infirm, aged or newborn, and even in-utero; you name it, we're going to Shock and Awe you, thousands and thousands of you, all in the name of Jesus, our Crusade, and our safety. We're going to unleash nuclear bunker-busters on you and unleash as much depleted uranium on you as possible so that you and your progeny will suffer its debilitating effects for generations to come. The lord be praised."

The Bush administration is the biggest monkey-wrench in the struggle to get the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to mean something. They're also trying to get ever more lethal cluster bombs and bunker busters.

Senator Dianne Feinstein has criticized the Senate for approving the bunker-buster nuclear bombs, saying: "In essence, these policies encourage other nations to develop their own nuclear weapons thereby putting American lives and our national security interests at risk. We are telling the world, when it comes to nuclear weapons, do as we say, not as we do."

So while the United States is moving to be ever more lethal and destructive, the rest of the world will be attending a conference that deserves the world's praise, the Jane's Defense 8th Annual Less-Lethal Weapons 2005 Conference, held in the United Kingdom on October 26-27, 2005. Funny, but when I read the roster of the attendees, I couldn't find the name of even a single attendee from the United States of any importance or influence. Yes, a couple of American universities are sending people, but Bush government? Yeah, sure! Jeez, this administration never read the part of the Bible they quote ad nauseam about Thou Shalt Not Kill. Liz wishes Georgie Boy would have these words read to him, that Golda Meir wrote: "There's no difference between one's killing and making decisions that will send others to kill. It's exactly the same thing, or even worse." Especially when you send young men and women to kill and be killed because you had a hissy fit and just stomped your little feet on the floor and pouted your way into a war of choice. While discussing this, we were sipping tall Highballs, enjoying the fact that the highball glasses were chock-full with ice, although the weather has certainly cooled off considerably.

Again, Max, Charlotte and Elizabeth Cook a Banquet
We were promised an extra special dinner tonight and were anxious to go to the dining room to see what the gang had put together. When we sat down, we were presented with tiny plates of sliced artichoke hearts with a frothy goat cheese spuma made with a special foamer. Charlotte enjoys making these little "amuse-bouches" and we enjoy each of her surprises. Next, she served us a cold Crab, Avocado and Lime soup. Because it is a rich, thick soup, it merited creamy Chardonnay, and she chose a Marlborough Chardonnay from New Zealand. Elizabeth prepared Pan-seared Salmon with Pearl Onions and Chanterelles she paired with a Pinot Noir. After palate-cleansing dollops of raspberry sorbet, Max served us his incredible Beef Daube Arlésienne which of course, is always cooked with plenty of vegetables. Max thought a rosé would go well with this comfort-food, and served a good Provençal wine, a Bandol. Charlotte thought a small salad would be a great finish for our meal, and she brought out small plates of Frisée with Walnuts and Roquefort that she served with a Washington State fruity but dry Riesling. Elizabeth served us a Fig and Ricotta Tart and poured us some beautifully chilled Champagne.

Winding Down
We next went back to the great room to have our after-dinner coffee and sit with the children for a while. The children were talking about how fortunate we all were since we didn't lose any foals or calves this year, and the mares and the cows all had easy deliveries. Now, if only our government were as healthy! After putting sweaters on the youngest children, the crowd separated and went home.