"He Has Committed Every Crime That Does Not Require Courage"
Well, maybe we just ought to work through the night instead of gathering to talk about the putrescent acts committed, now, on a daily basis by this criminally irresponsible government, or what passes for a government. Notwithstanding our desire to avoid unpleasant subjects, we know that sometimes, if the Gods favor us, We The People can raise enough of a ruckus to make a difference, so, doggedly, we continue to exchange ideas and share them with you in hopes of turning course.
Tonight Liz and Schuyler prepared our cocktails. The alcoholic drink for tonight was a Green Dragon, made with Stolichnaya vodka and Chartreuse, and served with the caveat: drink it slowly, or go lie down. For others who didn't want an alcoholic cocktail, Schuyler made a pitcher of Scarlet Ladies.
Liz is the source of the quote, from Benjamin Disraeli, Queen Victoria's Prime Minister. Though short, it really hits the mark. The "he" of course, could apply not just to the president, but to everybody in his inner circle. Now, Bob and Judy told, us he's gearing up to commit another crime: draconian cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. That's right, sock it to the most vulnerable, after all, as Barbara Bush famously taught her son, "Who needs them?" The lions the Republicans would throw the Old and Infirm to, are of course, abject poverty, hunger, malnutrition, ill health, and early death. The lions, in the case of the mentally ill? Uncontrolled depression, schizophrenia, manic-depression, hallucinations and sure suicide.
Big Cuts to Medicaid and Medicare Coming in the Next Two Weeks
Bubba, his sister Bubbette, and Max's sister and her husband, gleefully told Bob and Judy that they'd read that Congress, at George Bush's behest, is planning to make massive cuts in these two programs. Bubba was especially bright eyed when he talked about this to Bob and Judy, fondly recalling that G. Bush and Jeb Bush had successfully cut benefits for the old and infirm in Florida. Bubbette and Max's sister were just gushing with joy at the prospect of the same kind of massive cuts nation-wide. Sweet people, those four. Funny, how dogs instinctively know when the devil is about: not a dog on the ranch will get close to either of those four, not even to pee on their jeans.
Seems that the churches they go to preach that it's an abomination to receive government entitlements. The old should have thought about their future before they got old; the infirm should have avoided getting ill; the poor should have saved, and the mentally ill should shake the devil out and pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Garbage, is what those holier than thou born-again "christians" called anybody needing a helping hand. They, all four, said the Christian thing to do was do away with Medicaid and Medicare, and at least start by approving the massive cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, as they did in Florida. It was obvious, Bob and Judy told us as we sat there, rapt and repulsed by this "christian" outpouring of disdain for the more unfortunate, that these born-again monsters must belong to the same church Pope Clement VI (1478 - 1534) did when he said this about a now-forgotten individual: "The Lord strike him with madness and blindness. May the heavens empty upon him thunderbolts and the wrath of the Omnipotent burn itself unto him in the present and future world. May the Universe light against him and the earth open to swallow him up." Mucho christian, no?
Gee, Do You Think Jesus Had It All Wrong?
In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus said: "Whatsoever you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do unto me, If you do it not unto them, you do it not unto me." A.J. said that he'd try and trick Bubba, Bubbette and Max's sister and brother-in-law into taking a peek at their "bibles" because he was convinced that they'd probably been re-written by some jerk Republican, deleting all references to Christ's beseeching mankind to look after each other. If all of those passages were not deleted or re-written, A.J. asked, "Do you think the born-agains are being taught that Jesus had it all wrong?"
Wonderfully, our "gang" now consists of 14 couples and a bunch of kids. The adults now represent so many faiths; one couple professes no faith, and one of our couples is a same-sex couple. What made tonight a salvable night after all, was that one by one the couples started speaking up, saying that they had been taught, religiously or secularly, that charity is a duty, so it seems, every faith under the sun except the born-again christian faith acknowledges that there is a scriptural instruction that we are stewards of our brethren. Guess Bush missed that at his church also, although of course his frigid mother probably scratched that part out of his Bible as well, that is, if you believe his rantings about how he's read his Bible.
Simply Put, Democrats, Liberals and Progressives Have Humane Values that Republicans Don't Have
For brevity, let's just say that tonight's gathering ended with a message for all Democrats, Liberals and Progressives, and that is that one of most salient tenets of our political views is that the individual matters, and it's seldom his financial accumulations that make up his worth, but the degree of generosity in his or her heart, and the degree to which he and she are willing to sacrifice a bit for the betterment of all mankind. Liberals have nothing to apologize for, instead, we should be extolling these virtues to the four winds. And speaking of virtuous liberals, Barry wanted to talk for a minute of the lame argument by one Republican, Representative Nathan Deal of Georgia, who in the debate over savagely cutting benefits for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries, implied that without the cuts, beneficiaries would abuse the access to health care.
God bless the Democrat, Representative Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who Barry told us, countered Deal's vicious position with these words: "Higher co-payments will lead people to forego needed medical care. To listen to some of the personal responsibility arguments, one might think that people line up to see their doctors the way they line up to see a rock concert or sporting event, and the only way to control this irrational hunger or thirst for medical care is to make it more expensive. I just don't buy that." Well, Barry asked, of these two gentlemen, which one has the better values we should emulate?"
When Barry finished, we all decided we'd write letters to Representative Baldwin, demonstrating our deep appreciation for that humane and correct position.
A Dinner of California Wines
Last night, we all decided it might be interesting to have all our wines from one region, and tonight we thought we'd try to have all our courses with California wines. Last night we had most of our wines from Spain, so tonight, let's head west.
We are having a terrific rain storm, and though it isn't really very cold, we have small fires going in the fireplaces in the great room and in the large dining room. Why does food taste so much better when you have candles glowing and a nice fire in the fireplace?
This is one of our cooperative dinners and many couples helped out. Now that Beatrix and Jeremy are back, they add a hint of England to some of our dishes, and little by little we'll learn more about the favorite foods of our new neighbors who moved here from Iraq. With so many nationalities, don't be surprised if one of our dinners turns out be a smorgasbord of myriad flavors.
The first dish we're having tonight is an Alsatian Bacon and Potato Tart. The tart is rich and spicy, with many intermingling flavors.
For this dish, we took a vote and agreed that a California Blanc des Blancs would be excellent, and we chose a Schramsberg Brut Blanc des Blancs. No matter how unpleasant the political or religious conversation of the evening, when you begin dinner with a great sparkling wine, you can put the unpleasantness behind you for a while. The tart can be made a couple of days ahead of time, as can the Creamy Clam Chowder we had next. We used cherrystone clams for our chowder, served it piping hot, and paired it with a wine we'd never tried before, from artisan winery Qupé in California, their Bien Nacido Cuvée a white wine which is a blend of viognier and chardonnay.
The seafood course tonight was California-Spanish influenced Shrimp Pan-Seared in Chorizo Butter. We made sure they were made with the best authentic Spanish paprika, pimentón, which added a smokiness to the shrimp that we found exhilarating. Paired with a Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It was served on a bed of simple white rice, and accompanied by a very unfussy watercress salad. Perhaps bringing some of their British influence to the table, Beatrix and Jeremy, instead of serving a sorbet between the seafood and the meat courses, served small portions of that old stalwart, Tomato Aspic on a bed of beautiful greenhouse Boston lettuce, and then brought out their beautiful Standing Rib Roast of Beef, a masterpiece.
The roast was served with a Potato and Onion Gratin and Roasted Broccoli with Poblano Butter. For this course, we served another Cabernet Sauvignon, an award-winning Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon.
Room for dessert? Yes, thanks to the small portions we always serve, we did still want dessert and were pleasantly surprised to be served Goat-Cheese Cake made with Marsala. Still wanting to try different California wines, we served the cake with a Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glacière (Ice Wine), a fine end to a great dinner.
Coffee Before Heading Home
The teenagers who helped us tonight were a real blessing. Serving and clearing up after 40 people have had dinner is something we've mastered; it doesn't really seem like a great deal of work, but anytime the kids pitch in to help, it's appreciated.
We had our after-dinner coffee back in the great room to briefly catch up on the teenagers' day. The rain stopped, so umbrellas weren't needed, only, as always with this administration, a strong stomach.
Summary:
Draconian cuts in Medicaid and Medicare will certainly mean great suffering for those least able to care for themselves. Republicans can't have ever read a Bible or they would know that Jesus instructed human beings to care for each other. They also couldn't have ever read the religious treatises of any other religion, since every one admonishes us to do the same thing: take care of our brethren.
