You're Doing a Good Job Brownie
When all the gang had arrived and gathered on the back porch because of a very nice, mild evening, Jim served those who wanted one a great cocktail called a Silver Bronx, from the United States' Jazz Age. He used Martini & Rossi sweet and dry vermouth, and Bombay Sapphire gin. Jim told us this was one of his favorite cocktails, and that he'd be willing it to share it with the White House, if they'd lose their avian brains, alligator hearts, and the poop flowing through their veins that passes for blood. So, the rest of us guessed, Jim's not going to be sharing this cocktail with the White House anytime soon.
Collectively, Alex pointed out, we don't know how many animals we have, but they probably number in the thousands, yet, here in our little paradise of farms and ranches, all the animals are properly medicated and vaccinated. All it took was a little bit of good 'ol common horse sense, something neither Georgie nor Brownie were able to muster.

Because we're in touch with the earth, and very much involved with animals, we make it a point to know what's going on with the possible Avian flu pandemic, and trust us, we're not willing to put our welfare in either Georgie's hands, or his buddy Brownie who did such a good (i.e. asinine) good job, that today there are still thousands and thousands of displaced refugees, and FEMA can't locate several hundred thousand trailers. So, you choose, this regime of incompetents, or a new administration of capable people.

Already, Not Enough Flu Vaccine; "Trust Me, Touts Bush"
Well, Bush usurped the presidency in 2000, and in three of the last five years, the country has failed to meet seasonal flu vaccine demands. Now, this hideously secretive "man" is telling the country to trust him, that he has everything under control. Problem is George, Jim reported to us tonight that it's just the first week of November and already, across the country, medical providers are unable to meet flu vaccination demands. Health and Human Services subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter, a republican, has had to accuse the administration of letting public health facilities deteriorate badly, and has complained publicly that: "We need to find some better way to know what the hell's going on [with the Avian flu] because the executive branch won't tell us." Last time we checked, "the executive branch" is our compassionate, revered born-again leader. I swear, half the group almost up-chucked at this point, but we'll leave that for another day.

Crawford Resident's Brown Nose
Now, Barry said, as a foreigner he didn't really know the origin or full meaning of those two words, 'brown nose.' Did it mean, he said, that the president smudged it somehow being a bit too friendly with the nether-parts of the drug industry and/or the nether-parts of Dick Cheney's anatomy? But 'Trust Me, and The Drug Industry' Barry said, just somehow sounded a tad ominous, kind of like 'Trust us, the Patriot Act and Rendition are benign programs designed to keep you safe.' Well, Schuyler said in almost a seething rage, when Bush says he and the drug industry and the drug lobby will 'take care of everything' God bless some people like Paul Zeitz, a doctor and executive of Global Aids Alliance, who recently was quoted as saying: "America cannot protect itself without investing in global public health. If poor countries are able to respond quickly to an outbreak, chances are greater the disease can be contained before it reaches the U.S."

Others, Schuyler said, are proposing that the effort proceed only with those labs willing and well-enough funded to proceed with only generic drugs, or the plan, because of Bush cronyism and industry greed, will not work. In Schuyler's opinion, and we trust him implicitly, Shrub Brown Nose will, as usual, be more interested in helping the drug industry, and via Cheney, anything Halliburton can do to have its two cents worth, than he will be in truly wanting to help We The People (unless you're filthy rich and have donated gazillions to the republicans.)

Scarier Than Medusa Barbara Bush In a Dark Alley, Late at Night
Bush, that paragon of sweetness and light, that treasure of compassion and generosity (remember, in the tsunami relief effort he generously gave $10,000.00 dlls., while a girl young enough to be his daughter, Sandra Bullock, gave one million!) has now, seriously, threatened to enlist the National Guard and the Army to enforce nationwide quarantines if and when his illustrious, honest and unsullied uncorrupt government deems it necessary. In his own sick, demented words: "Who is best able to effect a quarantine? One option is the use of the military that's able to plan and move." Yeah, like the planning and moving in Iraq? How'd you like Rumsfeld deciding what "quarantine camp" you were sent to?

And with Dick Cheney's insane, perverted adoration of the use of torture, how soon after Bush had his way do you think it would be before the citizens of the United States would be put on bread and water in quarantine camps, tortured for their misfortunate falling to the affliction of Avian bird flu? You think we're kidding Alex asked: open your eyes and look at what's happening at Guantánamo, Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention "select" countries where Bush, Rumsfled and Cheney "render" people to be tortured.

Here, Elizabeth interjected that tomorrow, she'd like to talk at dinner about the horrendous role women have played in this nightmarish administration. She guaranteed that if we thought we were gentlemen and gentlewomen who could not hate women, we would begin to tomorrow.

Dinner Gong and Youthful Impatience
The teenagers, brought up with our passion for our country and the politics that affect it, still have tummies that cry out for more fodder than brain food: they also want to eat, so after being forgiving of our passions for a while tonight, they just gave up on us and sounded the dinner gong. Some of us who had been in charge of preparing and serving dinner had to scurry to finalize preparations, or else we were faced with a rebellion of hungry teenagers.

When faced with this last minute rush to finalize preparations to feed forty people, we are all, without exception, grateful for the old, huge French range and the double bank of Viking cooktops that make it possible to cook for and serve that many people. The enormous islands on either side of the old French range, one with a bank of warming lights, certainly help us keep everything running smoothly. Judy thought it was important to tell people that four and five-course dinners were not the typical dinner in typical families, but she did say that one or two of our courses and a touch of wine were perfectly easy to accomplish with just a bit of organization and a touch enough of love for your Democratic family to feed them well.

She doesn't see the rationale, ever, for feeding those you love slop that's been fixed thousands of miles and hundreds of hours away from where your family will eat. A typical family will not have 14 couples pitching in to prepare dinner, but one couple, well-organized, can certainly make dinner something to treasure, rather than something to swallow as quickly as possible. Judy's other reminder, keep the portions small but as delicious as good ingredients can make them. We, because we have so many courses and so many wines, also serve very few ounces of wine per course, treating it more as a wine-tasting every night, but one family can certainly serve the standard wineglass of 5 ounces, if it is your only wine for dinner. We have never, ever, had anybody in our group head back to their farms or ranches in any way inebriated.

Mini-banquet For The Start of a Busy Week
Shelley and Cathy prepared some sumptuous Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Prosciutto and Garlic. This turned out to be an unexpectedly good appetizer, cannily prepared to pique our curiosity about what delicious dish could be next. Shelley and Cathy introduced us to an excellent Madeira tonight, which they also planned to serve with our soup. It was a very dry Cossart Gordon Sercial Madeira, the driest of the Madeiras. The proper, small wineglasses for Madeira and Sherry are not that hard to find, but you do have to look for them in specialty shops since they are not as common as the normal red and white wine glasses. Alas, they're easy to find in the very expensive range of crystal, but when you have as many people for dinner as we do and use dishwashers, you are better off with less expensive ware.

Shelley and Cathy, thinking that our new neighbors from Iraq might enjoy their soup, prepared a Lamb and Lentil Soup, which while not very spicy, was cooked to such excellent perfection that indeed it did please our new neighbors. Some of us requested more of the Madeira to go with our soup, and the pairing was a perfect success.

Jeremy and Beatrix wanted to prepare the fish, so they prepared us exquisite simply Sautéed Sole with Grapes, pairing the fish with a grassy, limey, Rancho Zabaco 2004 California Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc. This couple is near-professional when it comes to "plating" their presentations, so the fish was beautifully presented, and the plate was finished with equally beautiful presentations of Balsamic-glazed Pearl Onions and Baby Asparagus with Ham Gratin.

Right after small dollops of raspberry sorbet, Max served his Mesquite-grilled Brisket, grilled Medley of Vegetables, his to-die-for Garlic Smashed Potatoes, pairing his Brisket with a wonderful California Ironstone 2001 Sierra Foothills Reserve Cabernet Franc. The fish, as well as the brisket, had been served in very small portions, so when asked if we had room for dessert, we avowed that yes, we did have room, and nobody doubted that the younger set really would like dessert, so we were pleasantly surprised by Max and Charlotte's Truffled Lavender Honey tarts. We had small snifters of Courvoisier with our tarts, but that was not the end of dinner.

Good End to a Long Day
We always enjoy spending a few minutes with the "kids" just to see how their day has gone. It also gives us time to sip Max's ever-changing "secret" blends of after-dinner coffee. Because so many of the teenagers have their own horses, a lot of the talk on this mild evening was how soon it might be before we would all need to start blanketing our horses. Most of the horses grow a healthy winter coat, but others, like our Thoroughbreds, do not, so we have their blankets at the ready. We said our good-nights, and everybody headed home, hopefully satisfied with our dinner, if not with the course this country has taken.

Summary:
The avian flu pandemic, if it does indeed become a world-wide problem, cannot be mismanaged by incompetents like George Bush and his buddy Brownie. Democrats have to insist, now, that the problem be managed efficiently, and that all talk of turning quarantining over to the National Guard and the Army stop. Today.

Key words:
avian flu pandemic, Martini & Rossi, Sapphire Bombay gin, Brownie, FEMA, flu vaccine, Arlen Specter, Patriot Act, rendition, Paul Zeitz, Global Aids Alliance, Shrub, drug industry, Dick Cheney, Halliburton, Barbara Bush, National Guard, Army, Rumsfeld, quarantine, torture, Viking cooktops, Madeira, Cossart Gordon Sercial Madeira, Rancho Zabaco 2004 California Dancing Bull Sauvignon Blanc, Ironstone 2001 Sierra Foothills Reserve Cabernet Franc, Courvoisier