Karen Hughes Spins; Dubya Fiddles; Specialist Sean Baker Seizes
Well, Karen Hughes, in her splendid polyester double-knit masculine little outfits from Wal-Mart, just the kind of attire we want our diplomats to wear when they represent the United States abroad, spins and spins and spins. Winning the hearts and minds of the people in the Middle East? While her buddy fiddles, and La Hughes' audience continues to see images of tortured Muslims, how many hearts and minds has this administration won over?

In a horrific show of immorality seldom seen on the Senate Floor, Jim Sessions, the Capuchin monkey look-alike senator from Alabama, and the grotesquely obtuse and obfuscating Senator Ted Stevens berated decorated and certified national hero Senator John McCain because of his patriotic desire to ensure that the government legislate the end of the practice of torture and abuse. The entire episode was obscene.

Schuyler was on the porch stirring up Mojitos, the Cuban drink made with Bacardi white rum, bitters and mint leaves. As he stirred up the drinks, he asked that we never forget the proof that torture and abuse is indeed being condoned by this administration and approved by George Bush, the criminally inept son of that famously cold-hearted woman, Barbara Bush.
Schuyler reminded us that proof of this exists in the person of not an Iraqi, but of an American citizen, and a U.S. serviceman to boot, Specialist Sean Baker.

In January 2003, his supervisor at Guantánamo asked him to don an orange prisoner jumpsuit and pretend to be a difficult to control prisoner, for "training" purposes. Well, Schuyler told us, five U.S. soldiers promptly assaulted Baker. In his own words, "They grabbed my arms, my legs, twisted me up and unfortunately one of the individuals got up on my back from behind and put pressure down on me while I was face down. Then he, the same individual, reached around and began to choke me and press my head down against the steel floor…..after several seconds I could not breathe. I began to panic and I gave the code word I was supposed to give to stop the exercise, 'red'….but that guy slammed my head against the floor and continued to choke me. Somehow, I muttered 'I'm a U.S. soldier."

Not until they noticed his U.S.uniform under the jumpsuit did they stop thebattering.

Oh, No Torture?
Dubya, Cold-as-a-witch's-tit Rumsfeld, Spinmeister Myers, Condosleazza Rice, the Gonzáles creep, the whole cabal spouts hourly that it is all the work of a few bad apples. Well, ask Baker if it was a few bad apples or if Dubya, commander-in-chief, a title he wears badly, personally gave the orders to begin the policy of engaging in torture and systematic abuse.

So How's Specialist Baker?
Unemployed, on nine medications, and still suffering seizures. And, if that's how we treat our own, how do you think our "real" detainees are faring, that is, if they survive our mistreatment?

Dinner Awaits
Frankly, tonight's conversation was difficult, both because the subject is so painful to talk about, but also because, as you remember, we just had two new couples from Iraq move into two nearby farms. However, they put us at ease and made it clear that they were comfortable talking about anything we wanted or needed to discuss. In a nutshell, they have completely integrated into our close-knit community and feel comfortable and appreciated by all of us, and that, my friend, is a good community to belong to, even if our homes are separated by countless miles and even more acres.

Shelley and Cathy Cook
Shelley and Cathy felt up to being in charge of practically the entire dinner. They make a good team and we're guaranteed to have a good evening with their cooking.

Shelley, as soon as we had all sat down, served us exquisite, flaky Crab Cakes. Because we often treat these first courses the way we would Spanish Tapas, they served us small glasses of González Byass Amontillado del Duque sherry. The Yankee Bean and Bacon soup they served next, and paired with a Spanish white, a Martín Codax Albariño, made a perfect second course, and because tonight had turned a bit chilly, it was good comfort soup. On the porch, Max had two of the large grills going, to help Shelley and Cathy prepare one of our very favorite fish varieties, Cabrilla, a Grouper from the Pacific.

You may have to make an extra effort to locate it, but trust us, it's well worth the extra effort. Cabrilla grills and smokes perfectly. Ours was first wrapped in banana leaves, and towards the end of the grilling period, Max added some Mesquite chips to finish the fish with some exquisite smoking. The Cabrilla's fat content is very low and its flavor is very delicate. The wonderful fish was served with an American rosé, a Bonny Doon Vin Gris. On the plates, Shelley and Cathy served simply grilled new potatoes with a butter and dill glaze, and garlicky, grilled zucchini.

A dollop of pear sorbet was the interlude between the fish and the perfectly roasted Chicken with Chicken Livers. On the side, they served smoky grilled corn and some quickly sautéed spinach with just a few drops of Balsamic vinegar, and paired the chicken with a Shafer Hillside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cathy outdid herself with her Catalán Lime Crème Caramel. The Sauternes they served with the dessert, a Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac, was perfect match.

A Good End to Our Day
Pleasure, simply, is having after-dinner coffee with the younger set. We were happy to find that they too had greatly enjoyed their dinner. Some of them had started setting up some decorations reminding us that fall is here, and their efforts are greatly appreciated. A few of the older teenagers, who can handle helping us clean up for spending money, and still get their homework done, stayed to help.

Summary:
Some republicans in the senate are saying our detainees are not being tortured or abused. Maybe they should ask U.S. soldier, Specialist Sean Baker if people are being tortured. He was.