Day: March 23, 2005

“…he always claims it is his duty.”

“TSA stops troops from invading SFO Airport”

See: “Sigh”

and

This Article

Does anyone with more than two working brain cells think that the purpose of the Thousands Standing Around (otherwise known as TSA) is anything other than a full employment effort for idiots, goons, poltroons, bullies and other recent typical products of our government schools? Surely no thinking person believes the TSA has anything serious to do with making air travel safer? (Unless—now here’s a thought!—the Thousands Standing Around are merely a huge distraction camoflaging some other real security effort. Nah. Fails the feeb government stupidity and mandatory mismanagement tests. But it was an intriguing thought… )

Oh, h.t. to Robbie Walker, posting at Jerry Pournelle’s Chaos Manor mail page.

Something to put on the bumper of your Ford Escape:

From “Bigwig” at Silflay Hraka* this lil gem:

Makes me wanna buy an SUV just to chap the gizzards of some baby enviro-nazis.

*From Silflay Hraka

“Silflay Hraka is an rabbit epithet from the Richard Adam’s novel, Watership Down. You can look up the meaning here (link via Daily Pundit). It was the first naughty phrase I ever learned in a different language, as Tolkien hadn’t seen fit to have Gimli spew out a few dwarvish “elven goatlovers” in Lothlorien.”

Contemporary demonstration of the Framers’ intent

Kim du Toit comments on (and links to) the recent story about a neighborhood in Iraq that defended itself against a terrorist attack in “Militia-Style Defense.”

“This is precisely why we need to go back to being a Nation of Riflemen.

The police cannot be everywhere all the time; the bad guys know it; and ultimately, if you can’t protect yourself, you hand over the decision of life and death to another.”

I kinda liked Robert Heinlein’s future America where every adult was required to wear a loaded sidearm… (minor restrictions and exclusions allowed–with difficulty approaching those of getting a CCW permit in New york or the Duchy of Chicago today) Can you say, “polite society”?

My only quibble with Kim’s site is that he focuses too much on being a “Nation of Riflemen” when handguns would be so much… handier for most city folk… And even though I live in America’s Third World Countyâ„¢ I realize that many do not live in rural settings where carrying a rifle around is handy.

in the case of the (attempted?) murder of Terri Schiavo…

Although Dale Franks at QandO Blog doesn’t frame his comments as regarding (attempted) murder of Terri Schiavo (that’s my frame of reference), Dale’s comments are nevertheless piercing:

“Unfortunately, Ms. Schiavo didn’t butcher a carload of tourists with a hatchet, so we can apparently just let her die, and make her whole case moot. I mean, irrespective of whether or not you believe Congress exercised its authority inappropriately in this case by ordering the de novo review, the clear intent of Congress was to spare Ms. Schiavo’s life through mandating another round of review. Too bad they couldn’t find a way to make that explicit in the text of the act. Apparently, the judiciary is coming over all originalist now, and deciding that, if it’s not in the text of the act, it isn’t required. “

Of course. Typical of an increasingly activist, imperial and capricious judiciary. Anything that honored the intent of Congress in this matter would decrease the power of the imperial court system. And those who support the imperial courts are generally also those who protest the death penalty and are only opposed to the death penalty for monsters. They approve the death penalty for helpless, but inconvenient, humans who’ve committed no crime.

This is all too convoluted and inbred for me. I’m almost ready to start shouting “Power to the people! Shackle (or hang?) the judges!”

Yes, Congress was wrong to butcher federal principles yet again on the block of expediancy. But the legislature and administration of Florida (are you listening, Jeb?) were also wrong in the way they have allowed judges to become little emperors in their State in the last few years. Florida law allows for the prosecution of those who torture people who are in their care. Jeb ought to order the arrest of the judge in the Schiavo case and vacate his order by the simple expedient of taking her into protective custody. Force a (state) constitutional crisis in Florida. he’d likely win against an imperial judiciary if the legislature had the balls to take down a few judges who’ve gotten too big for their britches.

Then, GW could follow that tack in D.C… maybe. If he had the balls for it. There are at least five Supreme Idiots who ought to be impeached and removed, right now, for failure to uphold the Constitution.

Dinah ain’t here, man…

Another mess of Whatever Stew is in the crock pot for tonight and tomorrow, but I’m already wondering whether to make pizza this weekend or…

Mac n Cheese

Here’s a recipe I’ve had sitting around for a while. I have, as always, modified it to suit me. (My mom and siblings stopped asking if I recall how to make old family favs—”comfort food”—cos all of them are different in my kitchen… and different nearly every time I make them. *heh*. They eat ’em and ask for the “recipe” but never ask for the originals) In fact, I don’t think I ever made it according to the recipe I was handed originally. Close but no cigar. And, yeh, lots of times I have made mac n cheese that’s not… up to this standard, just because I was pressed for time. but this is what I prefer.

This is a general guideline. PLEASE change any element to suit your taste as you go along.

Between 1/2 and a whole package of bacon (1/2 to 1 pound?) uncooked OR 6 oz (or more!) cooked, dry bacon bits (2/3 to one cup)
1/4 cup butter, margarine or even olive oil. But ONLY olive oil, extra virgin. The tasty stuff.
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs–Make ’em or buy ’em. Whatever is easiest.*
1 lb uncooked elbow macaroni (Hey, the packagges are conveniently labeled, so “pound” is easy to measure, here.)
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 lb of your fav easily-melted cheese. Swiss cheese, jack cheese, cheddar. Hey! That’s a nice mixture! Just no mozarella. Not for macaroni n cheese, please. I like a tad of Parmesan or Romano tossed in as an extra kicker.

If you’re not using bacon bits that you’ve either pre-made or bought, save yourself some draining time and broil the bacon. Cook it until it’s fairly crisp. Most of the grease will roll right off into the broiling pan. Save the grease (covered jar in fridge) for use in other recipes. Drain and dry with paper towels Trim ALL the fat off (the dogs will thank you for the treat), then crumble the bacon. Best “crumble”? If it’s not too crisp, chop it with your chef’s knife. Otherwise, pace it between paper towels and use your rolling pin to crumble it.

If you’re using butter, melt in in a small pan over low heat. When melted, add the bread crumbs and sauté until the bread crumbs are browned. No, don’t just let them sit there in a hot pan. You DO know how to sauté, don’t you? If you use oilve oil, heat the pan first, then add the oil, then the bread cruumbs, of course.

Boil the macaroni in salted water for, oh, 7-10 minutes. A little olive oil added to the pot will help prevent the macaroni from sticking together. Sometimes, I’ll add a crushed clove of garlic or some fresh parsley or some other herb, depending on what I have on hand and whether I feel like adding a lil kick. Most of such addenda will pour off, but a bit of flavor will linger. And the added aromas while it’s cooking are nice in the kitchen. 🙂

While the macaroni is cooking, grate the cheese and chop the onions. (Time-savers: buy pre-grated cheese. Always chop whole onions at once and save the leftovers in a plastic bag for use THE NEXT DAY. If left in the bag in the fridge for just a day, the chopped onions will “sweeten” and in just a day won’t spoil.) When the macaroni is done, drain and rinse it (lightly!) in a colander. Layer the ingredients into a glass baking dish of whatever size and shape you have to hold ’em. Macaroni/cheese/bacon bits/onion. Does an herb pop into your mind at this point? Sprinkle a little in and see how it goes. Top with the bread crumbs and bake at about 350-375 F (oven temps vary) for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Now, this part’s the hard part, cos folks just want to dig in and have at it NOW. Remove it from the oven and let it sit a couple of minutes before serving. Serve with (and this is important! *s*) fresh or frozen (cooked, of course) peas. I’ll not be having any of your green beans with this dish, thank you very much. And nothing weird for veggies, either. Just fresh or frozen green peas, juuuust cooked–just steamed, even. That POP of bright green against the cheesy/bacon-y macaroni looks good on a plate, and they’re the perfect flavor complement.

What? You need something else to complete this meal? Go away, cos you’re not gonna get it at my house. OK, OK, if you insist, add some tomato succotash**. Another splash of color and taste.

But try it with just grean peas first.

You can feed an average family with this. Leftovers are even better than freshly made, believe it or not. Pack some for lunch and nuke it. Your co-workers will envy you.

* From Ochef (http://www.ochef.com/1015.htm ) here’s an easy way to make your own bread crumbs:

“To make unseasoned bread crumbs, take very stale bread and grind it into crumbs in a food processor or crush it in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. If your bread is not completely dry, slice it and put it in the oven at 250°F (120°C) until dry. You can also grate dried bread on a grater, which produces flaky crumbs.”

**Tomato succotash: a simple dish of corn, peas, Lima beans and stewed tomatoes. In any darned ratio you like.