Twilight

A long walk today at twilight, to reflect on the death of Edward Kennedy. While I walked, mourners in Boston waited many hours to pay their respects and say farewell, passing by his coffin in silence. All day yesterday and today, there are those who are writing and speaking about his life and his work, remembering his indelible presence in the political arena and his enormous contribution to our country. Inevitably, in speaking of Ted Kennedy, we remember his brothers. I came of age when John F. Kennedy was running for President. For the first time, with Jack Kennedy on the scene, I found myself really interested in politics, seriously rooting for a candidate. I was too young to vote, but in my mind, my heart, I voted for JFK. I was proud and elated when he was elected on my birthday in 1960. And when he was murdered three years later, I became, like millions of Americans, one of the walking wounded, dazed and stunned by the loss of a beloved President.

By the time Robert Kennedy ran for President, I was certainly old enough to vote, and I most certainly would have voted for him. But it was a season of assassins. They gunned down Martin Luther King, Jr., and then Bobby Kennedy. Only Edward remained, and I believe, for many of us, there was a collective sigh of relief that his run for the Presidency failed. We could not endure the possibility of another madman cutting down Ted Kennedy. He went back to the Senate, and there he remained, to lead the way and craft legislation that would make life better for so many of us, in so many areas.

Just as much as the family and friends who loved him so dearly, I wish he could have been with us even longer. I wish he had been here to see his life's cherished work of universal health care become the law of the land. But I am grateful that he had a long life, and grateful that I was alive in this era of the Kennedy family. Whenever Edward Kennedy spoke, I remembered John and Robert. The Kennedy brothers made me proud to be an American, a Democrat, a liberal. In their courage and compassion, their intelligence and humor, their grace and humanity, they set the standard for what I seek and want in a Congressman, a Senator, a President. These three are gone; the light they cast into the darkness will remain.

Sunday Mind Rest

What If....

....John McCain had won the 2008 election? This speculation was prompted by the fact that at a recent Phoenix Presidential event, nearly 30 people showed up wearing loaded guns, including one man sporting an automatic rifle. Yesterday a caller to the Thom Hartmann show asked this question: "What if I, a black man, had shown up wearing a loaded gun to an event with President McCain? How long do you think it would be before I was tackled and shackled?" Thom's answer -- about 30 seconds.

Do you remember when it was President Bush in the White House, and certain people showed up to Presidential events wearing t-shirts that proclaimed they were anti-Bush? They were banned from those events. Led away. But that was different, of course. That was a white conservative Republican President. And we all know how dangerous political proclamation t-shirts are. Just look at the stats. All the people killed by t-shirts. It's scary.

Rachel Maddow: Ordering Pizza with Republicans

I tried, more than once, to post a video here from today's Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Computer could-not-compute. If you didn't catch it live or on one of the many repeats during the evening, get thee to http://www.rachel.msnbc.com/ and take a look at the segment called "Parable of the pizza order and health care reform." It's Rachel's Metaphor Theatre in high gear, as she tries to order pizza with Kent, and he keeps saying no to every single topping she suggests. Pepperoni, olives, ham, green pepper -- no, no, no, no. Just cheese, then. No cheese. Just sauce then. No sauce. No, no, no, no. Remind you of anyone? Bingo! It's the Republicans on health care reform, claiming they want reform, just not any kind of reform President Obama and the Democrats want. So let us do as Rachel proposes. Forget the Republicans. Let us get our pizza exactly the way we want it. Tasty. And who knew pizza could be so good for our national health?

We did.

Spot On

If you read my rant on caesar salad, you may be wondering why I'm carrying on about food, while the hot topic on cable and in town halls is health care reform. It's probably because I saw Julie and Julia last weekend. This is a pleasant film made memorable by the remarkable Meryl Streep, whose buoyant portrayal of Julia Child adds another jewel to an already lustrous crown. If there was a cinematic textbook on how to have fun while acting, this is it.

Meryl Streep recreating Julia Child is certainly feast enough, but if you want more, I recommend Julie & Julia: Streep, Ephron and the Joy of Cooking, Mary Pols' review of the movie in the current (August 17) issue of Time Magazine. It is beautifully written and conveys the core of the parallel stories told in Julie and Julia. It also captures perfectly the defining difference between these two women: "One, Julie Powell (Amy Adams), had a bright idea, while the other, Julia Child....had a calling." The movie, most especially Streep, is a delicious treat, and Pols' review of it is, as the Brits might say, spot on.

There Ought to be a Law

I recently traveled to Ashland, Oregon, where I had one of the best caesar salads ever (I mean you, Maroni's). Since I am a huge fan of this salad, I tend to be wary of ordering it. Let me explain. Several years ago, caesar salad began appearing everywhere, and I found that most places don't know a caesar from a chef from a dinner salad. But my experience at Maroni's put me in a you-never-know-until-you-try kind of mood, so a couple of nights ago I ordered a caesar. It came drenched in a ranch style dressing posing as a caesar dressing. And it was covered with bermuda onions. Onions! Listen up, folks. There should be no onions in a caesar salad. No tomatoes. No carrots, or spinach. No sunflower seeds. Believe it or not, I have had caesars served up with all these items. No, no, no!

There ought to be a law. If a food establishment puts caesar salad on the menu, then anyone and everyone responsible for making said salad should be instructed in what it is and is not. Render unto caesar salad only that which belongs in caesar salad.

A caesar should, of course, be served with a real caesar dressing. And grilled chicken or salmon seem to be a sympatico addition. Apart from these two modern adaptations, this is all that should appear in your caesar salad:

• romaine lettuce (note: the outer leaves should be removed)
• croutons
• grated parmesan

When at home, let one and all indulge in variations to their heart's content. But in a place serving food to the public, anyone deviating from the traditional caesar should be roundly chastised and relegated to dinner salads. Or some other line of work.

You can find a brief history of this salad, and all the ingredients for a traditional caesar at http://reluctantgourmet.com/caesar.htm

Zero

Thanks to Thom Hartmann of Air America for bringing to my attention this fact from the current Harper's Index: "Amount of governmental support that Canadian banks have required during the financial crisis: $0."

In Canada, they regulate their banks. Here, the Big Money Boys & Girls are still fighting regulation tooth and nail. And why wouldn't they? They like adding those zeros to the money they make -- and take -- from the American taxpayer.

Fear and Dread

Yesterday I stopped by the newest little mall in my town, and pulled up into a parking space right in front of the shops. As I turned off the ignition, I looked up and saw a woman coming down the walkway dressed in black. She was tall, nearly 6', and hefty. A big woman. Formidable, as the French might say. She filled me with fear and dread.

It wasn't her height or her heft that frightened me. It was what she wearing: long black skirt, heavy black shoes, long black shawl over a black blouse, and a black burka -- a headdress that covered her forehead and fitted over her nose and chin. Except for her eyes, her face was completely covered in black cloth.

It was all wrong. It seemed un-American. In a country that allows all races, all creeds, all political viewpoints, my reaction to this woman's garb seemed intolerant, even to me. But that was my gut reaction. I allowed myself to experience it, and tried to understand it. In that quintessential American setting, a shopping mall, it was jarring to see someone so completely hidden, so spectral. I realized in a flash that we are characterized as a people by our openness. Some of us are more reserved than others, and there are Americans, both urban and rural, who prefer to keep to themselves. But as a nation, we tend toward openness, gregariousness, and informality. In that moment, nothing seemed more formal or closed than someone dressed entirely in black, her face masked in black cloth.

I occasionally see women and girls wearing the hijab, and think nothing of it. I've had casual exchanges with these women, pleasant enough, as ordinary as others I have with people out and about in the day-to-day world. This traditional muslim wear -- long skirts , long-sleeved blouses, and a bandana over the hair -- simply allows me to identify the religion of those who wear it.
But seeing that woman swathed in black, with only her eyes visible, caused a deep-down, primal anxiety. Our eyes met for only a moment, and I watched her walk into a store, a plastic shopping bag in her hand. Did I think of terrorists? Of bombs? No. The truth is, when I see these women on television, in their own culture, in faraway countries where I have never been, I feel frightened for them. Seeing this woman here, I felt frightened for myself. The burka may be dictated by a particular religion, but that religion is ruled by men, and those men place women in a subservient role. Women are to be protected and chaperoned. They must eat separately from men, and they are not to be educated. This is America, this is the 21st century, and it troubles me to have men with that view of women living in the neighborhood. Not only my rights and standing as a woman are threatened by that view, my whole way of life, everything I value, is challenged. In understanding my reaction, I understood that it wasn't really that woman who caused my anxiety. My real fear is of the man who requires her to wear that black burka.

Birthday Present

What wonderful news. Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea and successfully secured the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Today is President Obama's 48th birthday, and this is the best possible present for him and for America. And for the families and friends of these two young journalists, joy. Pure joy.

Work in Process

I'm new to the world of blogging, though I've been thinking about starting a blog for a long time. A few months ago I decided to give it a trial run, which meant I kept my posts to myself. This allowed me to blog without having to figure out the technicalities of sharing my thoughts on the worldwide web. I've finally taken the plunge, though I'm a long way from knowing how to make this blog look the way I want it to look. And you know, we all like to look good.

Until my blogging brain is up to speed, the sidebar is scant, I'm short of links, and there are bells and whistles aplenty that I have yet to summon into being. Meanwhile, this is a work in process, and I hope you'll keep checking in to see how crunchthis develops. To paraphrase Mr. Sedaris, me blog pretty one day.

This Baffles Me

We all have our causes, issues that we care about. There are so many problems to deal with that after while, perhaps just to stay sane, we choose our top ten, or top five, or these three, or this one. Groups and organizations form to address particular issues, and individuals rally 'round to try and move the world toward their cause.

Of the many issues I care about, health care is at the top of the list. And it baffles me that people don't get it -- if we had universal health care in America it would solve, in one fell swoop, a whole host of problems. Back in May, President Obama signed an executive order giving federally employed domestic partners certain rights accorded to married federal employees. A lot of the people on the left were upset that he didn't go far enough -- those gay employees weren't given the "main" right -- health care benefits for their partners.

Think about this: if we had real universal health care -- and I do mean single payer -- it wouldn't matter who your partner was. It wouldn't matter if you were single, married, employed or unemployed. All of that would be irrelevant. You're sick -- you go to the doctor. You're injured -- you go to the doctor. Your kid, your parent, your lover, your friend, your neighbor is injured or suddenly ill, you help them get to the doctor, or get the paramedics to them. You don't worry who has the insurance. With single payer, we all have insurance.

Those who profit by the current system will say anything to keep the status quo and keep raking in the profits. And those making the biggest profits don't care if they bleed us dry, which is exactly what they're doing. In the past, the insurance industry has spent millions to defeat universal health care. The decision makers at the top of the industry are doing it again. But much of their work is done for them when energy is diverted in so many directions, and those on the left are fighting with their own Democratic President because he is not doing enough for their particular cause.

Don't get me wrong. We need true equal civil rights for gay people. We need clean energy and a green economy. We need agriculture instead of agribusiness producing our food. We need an end to homelessness and hunger and poverty and war. I could go on -- there are so many problems to solve. But if we can achieve real health care reform, certain aspects of many problems will dissolve or be diminished. Case in point: how many people are impoverished or homeless because they've gone bankrupt dealing with a medical crisis?

I'm not saying that health care reform will solve everything. I am saying that if we demand and attain universal health care, all of us who care about the problems that still need to be solved will suddenly find ourselves free to address those issues in a way we never before could have imagined. We will have more time, energy, and money to give to the causes we care about.

Problems come in all sizes and shapes, and there are plenty of bad guys, bullies, and demons awaiting you on the battlefield. But first, before you gear up to engage the enemy, get rid of the vampire at your throat.