Lots o’ suds on the Saturday OPEN thread
Shot & altered by Dan
“Mother’s in the kitchen washing out the jugs,
Sister’s in the pantry bottling the suds,
Father’s in the cellar mixin’ up the hops,
Johnny’s on the front porch watchin’ for the cops.”
Prohibition-era song, author unknown
January 5, 2013 - 9:00 AM
Couple of statistics for my right leaning friends on this beautiful morning in America! Enjoy your weekend!
-Presidential approval rating; 52%
-Congressional approval rating; 18% -“Most Admired Man in the world”; President Barack Obama, 30% (Mitt Romney, George Bush 2%ea)
Sourced from Gallop polling this morning.
-Time Person of the Year, 2012 & 2008; President Obama
I see that the nanny staters are back at work trying to make food safer and cut down on the thousands of deaths and millions of illnesses every year from food-borne poisons. I’d say that if you want to eat, then by God, you just have to take your chances, just like they did in the good old days of rampant smallpox and ignorance about bacteria.
Personally, I’d rather pay three cents less for my mango and keep my fingers crossed.
hahahahaha no one reads time mag anymore…and what else would you expect form the obama controlled media…too funny
Obviously SOMEONE still reads Time magazine. It’s still in business and
SteveC was able to quote from it. So I guess Pammala must mean that its content is too intellectually advanced for certain segments of the population, especially hers.
no actually it has no intellect at all dear, way above that kind of publication.
BTW: another obama hypocritical move…what a liar he is…
President Obama made a point in 2009 to reject big-dollar donations from corporations to finance his inauguration. This year, however, as he prepares for his second inauguration Jan. 21, the Presidential Inaugural Committee is logging donations from heavy hitters in the business world, including AT&T and Microsoft.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/05/att-microsoft-on-donors-list-for-obama-second-inauguration-in-change-from-200/#ixzz2H7LJ7Tls
Surely pammalala, a big reader like you would know better. You just might be competing with Doto as my “go to” person on all things literary.
Pammela, you made your opinion about Time clear, but what about the rest of Steve’s post? I know you can’t be at a loss for words.
Yeah. No one reads Time anymore…
That’s why it has a readership of around 20 million and is ranked 9th on a list of best-selling magazines. It’s so non-influential that even the non-”Obama-controlled media” reports on it – http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/19/president-obama-named-time-person-year/
How’s the leg room in that tiny clown car?
Liberty University’s first “Science” experiment caught on film!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UTdDN_MRe64
That reading thingie and pammala are often at war…
If we could just get Congress out of the way.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/economy-poised-growth-once-washington-gets-out-way-1B7815683
Can anyone guess what the missing words are? For what is this website advocating? [Hint: it probably isn't what you think...]
America is supposed to be THE LAND OF THE FREE and the home of the brave, yet many people do not have the right to [...]. What does this mean? Let’s look at this with a little more perspective. There are many criminals out there, using this [...] for their personal benefit. The [...] is being blamed for all this mess, and criminals are getting off with a slap on the wrist. Seeing as the criminals are the ones causing all the problems, they are essentially controlling our government, by forcing the government to ban [...] because the government cannot control the criminals. The criminals still get [...] underground, and the only ones who suffer, are true [...] lovers, and the [...] themselves. As a result of these criminals, we now have a full-on extermination of [...] reputation, and may one day be forced to put down the [...] for good.
The Roanoke Times singling out the “black ministers” as opposed to uranium mining is racist and insulting. Why wouldn’t this esteemed leftwing publication just say “ministers”. Why point out they’re black? What does that have to do with anything?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/04/swiss-bank-wegelin-close-tax-evasion
Switzerland’s oldest bank is to close after pleading guilty to helping some of the US’s richest people evade paying taxes on at least $1.2bn (£750m) which was hidden in secret offshore accounts.
Wegelin, which was founded in 1741, said it would “cease to operate as a bank” after it admitted it had allowed 100 US taxpayers to hide their money.
The bank agreed to pay $57.8m in fines and restitution to the US authorities after admitting to conspiracy charges related to helping US taxpayers living overseas evade payments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for almost a decade.
Otto Bruderer, a managing partner of the bank, told a New York court: “Wegelin was aware that this conduct was wrong … From about 2002 through to about 2010, Wegelin agreed with certain US taxpayers to evade the US tax obligations of these US taxpayer clients, who filed false tax returns with the IRS.”
Interesting read about how the Brits see us — IMHO more about the Brits than us, but a fun read, nevertheless.
http://tinyurl.com/b8gv9og
**
4 January 2013 Last updated at 12:23 ET
A Point of View: The British and their bizarre view of Americans
We lap up their culture, adopt their economics and are obsessed with the “special relationship”. So why do British people have such a confused – even negative – view of Americans, asks writer Will Self.
SNIP
Somewhere in the troubling intersection between the American dream and the nightmarish patriotism engendered by Manifest Destiny, we sense their collective self-belief. What they do in the privacy of the voting booth genuinely matters, both to them and us.
**
I think, at root, the problem is one of mirroring.
They say “aluminum”, we say “aluminium”, but both can be shiny and reflective surfaces. So, no matter how intently we examine the US, we cannot help but see our own features staring back at us. This phenomenon simply doesn’t occur when we look at the French, the Vietnamese or the South Africans – all remain properly other.
Only America and the Americans have this ability to derange us with their capacity to reflect our own image. Not that they do this intentionally, really, it’s something we do to ourselves. And it follows that what we also do to ourselves is to relentlessly equate America with Americans, and the US government with its electorate – conflations we wouldn’t dream of making in the case of the German or Greek peoples.
Perhaps once we finally smash the mirror we will be able both to see the US for what it is, and face ourselves shorn of that post-imperial body dysmorphia that continues to make successive British governments punch above their weight on the international stage.
SNIP
**
A very good read for some of our resident Constitutional Law experts here on this blog:
http://tinyurl.com/a6wfczm
**
A Response to Professor Seidman
January 4th, 2013 by Independence Institute
Should we acknowledge that the U.S. Constitution is filled with “archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions,” and “extricat[e] ourselves from constitutional bondage” by cashiering the document?
“As the nation teeters at the edge of fiscal chaos, observers are reaching the conclusion that the American system of government is broken,” argues Louis Michael Seidman, tasked with teaching constitutional law at the Georgetown University Law Center . And the Constitution, he asserts, is largely to blame.
SNIP
That such a judgment was rendered is less shocking than who rendered it. The judgment is not unique because there always have been American Tories—people who chafe at restraints on central power and would prefer a British-style government. In recent years, as political “progressives” have gradually lost the scholarly battle over constitutional interpretation, some have stopped pretending the Constitution means whatever they want it to, and have begun to trash the document itself. A controversial example was the Time Magazine cover essay of June 23, 2011. (See my response to that article http://tinyurl.com/6hk25no .)
SNIP
America performed brilliantly when constitutional limits were honored. As those limits have eroded, we have lost our edge: Economic growth has slowed, the civic fabric has frayed, and we have fallen into fiscal crisis. The fault, therefore, is not in the Constitution. It rests in politicians who disregard it and in scholars, jurists, and other citizens who encourage them to do so.
**
I imagine there are some pretty nervous American billionaires right now.
“The plea leaves open a major question: Has the bank turned over, or does it plan to disclose, names of American clients to US authorities? That is a key demand in a broad US investigation of tax evasion through Swiss banks.’
“It is unclear whether the bank was required to turn over American client names who held secret Swiss bank accounts,” said Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor involved in other Swiss bank investigations who is now in private law practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.”
“What is clear is that the Justice Department is aggressively pursuing foreign banks who have helped Americans commit overseas tax evasion,” he said.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/9779615/Switzerlands-oldest-bank-Wegelin-to-close-after-pleading-guilty-to-aiding-US-tax-evasion.html
as far as tax-cheats go, if they do the crime, they ought to pay for it. duh.
By the way, my wife and I had an excellent dinner tonight at 1906 Ale House in Grandin Village. It was our first visit to the area since the demise of Isaac’s and Norberto’s (the original), and we were very well pleased. My wife got the mahi-mahi, and I got the short ribs. I am a short ribs guy, and have never had’em this good. My last most favorite place for short-ribs was White’s Truck Stop over a decade ago. The “rib” I was served had the appearance of a “Fred Flinstone-type” rib, was out-standingly prepared and seasoned, and cooked perfectly. My wife’s preferred fish is mahi, and her’s ranked with the best she’s had. The crowd on a saturday night was busy and bustling. Service was good.
I hope they make it.
15.I imagine there are some pretty nervous American billionaires right now.
Debbie@9:01
Think maybe Mitt Romney is looking for a hole to hide in?
For a very short period of time the interrogators at Gitmo read aloud pammala’s posts to torture the prisoners of war until International Lawyers found that this cruel and unusual punishment violated the Geneva Convention.
Not many restaurants have (beef) short ribs on the menu. That was a staple of my house, (on the summer grill of course) when I was growing up. Thanks, Frank! I’ll try that. The only time Donna and I tried to eat at 1906, about a month ago, we were told it was a 30-40 minute wait and we were hungry so we went next door to Norberto’s (her dinner was spectacular; mine was just all right).
Dave Hicks #16 January 5, 2013 @ 8:39 pm, I think that Professor Seidman makes some very salient points and raises some legitimate questions while identifying real problems.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/31/opinion/lets-give-up-on-the-constitution.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=opinion
“Why should a lame-duck House, 27 members of which were defeated for re-election, have a stranglehold on our economy? Why does a grotesquely malapportioned Senate get to decide the nation’s fate?”
How often here have we “Instead of arguing about what is to be done, we argue about what James Madison might have wanted done 225 years ago“?
How many times have we here argued whether “a group of white propertied men who have been dead for two centuries, knew nothing of our present situation, acted illegally under existing law and thought it was fine to own slaves” might not matter on a particular course of action?
He is right, “The two main rival interpretive methods, “originalism” (divining the framers’ intent) and “living constitutionalism” (reinterpreting the text in light of modern demands), cannot be reconciled.”
Compare the decried “activism” of Roe v Wade versus the Heller case alone. Weird science indeed. The myriad discussions of the Electoral College ring any bells? We do often chafe or come up with half-baked measures in trying to reconcile 1789 and 2012.
It is an argument well worth having when it hurts more than helps and when it has lead us to the leaders we have now, it is hard not to question the wisdom. That does not mean we cannot still love, revere and uphold what we have. Maybe they made it hard to amend just because they did not want to be thwarted?
Re: Dan Casey @ 11:33 pm
“…(beef) short ribs on the menu … on the summer grill of course….”
—————-
Of course? Nah.
Braise in a dark ale or a stout — with onion, celery, carrots, fresh thyme, bay leaves & spicy mustard.
Served with a side of peas & “mash” (or “neeps” and “tatties”, if you have a Scottish background).
Re: Sandi Saunders @ 12:07 am
Figured you would. You generally come across as an American Tory, to me.
OTOH, I (being a small “l” libertarian) think that Rob Natelson nailed Seidman to the wall on some major historical errors about the Founding Era and constitutional history.
#19 He did come to mind, Wayne.
Frank,
My wife and I have been to the 1906 Ale house several times. Always been good and always been very busy. They have some good comfort food offerings and the service has generally been good. We went the first time right after it opened and they didn’t have a couple of menu items. I told that waitress that was OK, but it was just like the last restaurant that “was” there. The manager came out and made it all good.
Although the Wasena Tap room got some brutal comments on Yelp… we’ve been a couple times and it’s been very busy and the food we had was fine. Service was OK too. I’m glad that neighbourhood finally has something going for it.
I have a freezer full of beef ribs and only tried to cook then once, and I was not successful. Im going to try DaveHicks braising idea next time.
Frank, the Cuban sandwich there is very good. I like that place, the bar is nice too with lots of interesting taps. I also hope they make it.
“5.I imagine there are some pretty nervous American billionaires right now.
Debbie@9:01
Think maybe Mitt Romney is looking for a hole to hide in?
Comment by wayne goodman — January 5, 2013 @ 9:45 pm’
yep ,along with oprah, jamie foxx, barbra streisand, alec baldwin, ed asner, etc….lol
” but what about the rest of Steve’s post”
cant you read?
dan,
we had to wait about 1/2 hour, so we whiled away the time at the bar.
pammala,
I know you’ve taken a little of heat lately because of your failure to master simple grammatical concepts; do not fret, pammala. Your good buddy Steve C has a simple and easy to use tool that you should find very useful to help you improve the quality of your submissions.
Please watch this video a couple times this week and practice. We’ll evaluate your progress next weekend and then pick out another for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPoBE-E8VOc
“cant you read?”
We can but you can’t pammala. Only one line of Steve’s original post was from Time. I’m embarrassed that you have claimed in the past to be a PH graduate.
Mike Scott @ 7:56
Agreed; 1906 has been great from day 1. The Tap Room got off to a rough start but the food has been very good the last few times I’ve been there. I was a little surprised because the family that owns the Tap Room has a pretty deep background in food & Beverage and yet in spite of that they share seemed like they had a hard time getting the kitchens act together.
i never thought i’d say this…..i’m with Kristen…., but only regarding appreciation for Dave Hick’s short ribs concoction. Kristen, true to form, i was a little worried initially, about the beer options at the bar. then, i discovered they also had available some good ol’ light American beer, and some good ol’ light, formerly American beer. Whew!
SteveC, I believe they’re letting their son run the show at the Tap Room. It’s no Wild Flour, for sure. We’ve only been once and I’ve tried to work up the urge to try again.
Frank, they have a hard cider on tap there that I love. It’s a great place to kill time before a movie.