For a day that I didn’t really “accomplish” anything, yesterday was pretty busy.
First we all went to a museum in Riverhead called “Dinosaur Walk.” Last time we were there a few months ago, Caroline refused to set foot in the place. But now she was begging to go and ran around doing various activities and checking out all the “life sized” dinosaur replicas.
Came home and watched the Mets beat the Nationals by a trim 1-0. If DC starts up a softball team again, all they have to do is buy Nationals baseball caps since they all say “DC” on them.
Went bowling for practice in the afternoon. Made my famous meat loaf for the family for dinner, and then we watched “60 Minutes.” Fascinating interview with George Tenet. Sometimes he was convincing in selling his POV, sometimes less so. I couldn’t help but think, “Aw, c’mon…your interrogation techniques were torture, and you know they were. Say you believed that you needed to use any means necessary to save American lives, that people can call it what they want, and move on.” His refusal to condemn Bush is seen by some as a whitewash because Bush gave him the Medal of Freedom. I don’t think that’s it; I think he really believes that Bush is just going along with whatever he’s told to do, and blames instead the people making the decisions for Bush. Me, I happen to believe the buck stops with the Decider, but that’s just me.
Can’t believe that after nearly 400 episodes “The Simpsons” still makes me laugh. Amazing.
PAD
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Are you willing to share you recipe for said “famous meatloaf”?
Peter, I didn’t catch 60 Minutes, but I’m watching Regis and Kelly, and Regis said that Tenet indicated that the CIA had bin Laden under surveliance in Afghanistan for two years, and that when asked if they could take him out, was refused by both President Clinton AND President George W. Bush. Is this true?
Given the criticism lobbed at Clinton by the right-wing propagandists who claim he “let bin Laden get away”, I find that interesting.
I think that Bush really does believe that he’s the “decider” in all things. Which is a shame, given that his incompetence as a leader should be considered criminal.
It’s not that Cheney marches into the Oval Office with Bush’s orders for the day. It’s that Bush is so easily manipulated by sycophants that he can be bent to their will in a much more subtle way.
David-
It is one of those recipes that is done by feel rather than measure. I am sure Peter would be willing to say what he puts into it but he really can’t give precisely how much of what he uses.
Kath
“Regis said that Tenet indicated that the CIA had bin Laden under surveliance in Afghanistan for two years, and that when asked if they could take him out, was refused by both President Clinton AND President George W. Bush. Is this true?”
If he said it, it was within the first ten minutes, which I missed.
PAD
David-
It is one of those recipes that is done by feel rather than measure. I am sure Peter would be willing to say what he puts into it but he really can’t give precisely how much of what he uses.
Kath
I would like that list also, Ive been trying to make my mothers meatloaf but it never turns out right.
I’ve really enjoyed the Simpsons this year. Last year was kind of weak, and they lost me after awhile, but I’ve really enjoyed a number of episodes this season. Last night had a lot of laugh out loud moments.
What he said is that he requested to move against the Taliban and Osama in Aftganistan having intel about an imminent attack on NY. The request was presented to our now idiot Secretary of State, Condi who “delegated” the matter to “third level” individuals who were just as evidently morons.
Remember when the Repubs were holding out Condi as a potential Presidential candidate? Anyone see her on the talking head shows yesterday? She appears as stupid and maybe more stupid than the shrub. Especially with the latest information added in. Oh excuse me while I delegate an imminent attack on American soil to underlings.
Tenet came across during the 60 MINUTES piece as an idiot. He may not be in real life, but it sure seemed that way on tv. I mean he was giving daily briefings to the President and he did not bother to tell him about the threat of Bin Laden? What a smeghead!
wow – I’ve got a ‘by feel” meatloaf too – the sauce is great for pulled pork sandwiches too.
my sunday may have been less productive – went to the mall & picked up a JSA TPB, mustard & peanut butter then came home for a nap!
this is why sunday is there.
wow – I’ve got a ‘by feel” meatloaf too – the sauce is great for pulled pork sandwiches too.
my sunday may have been less productive – went to the mall & picked up a JSA TPB, mustard & peanut butter then came home for a nap!
this is why sunday is there.
wow – I’ve got a ‘by feel” meatloaf too – the sauce is great for pulled pork sandwiches too.
my sunday may have been less productive – went to the mall & picked up a JSA TPB, mustard & peanut butter then came home for a nap!
this is why sunday is there.
“had bin Laden under surveillance in Afghanistan for two years, and that when asked if they could take him out, was refused by both President Clinton AND President George W. Bush”
If I remember Richard Clark’s book correctly, there was a period where they generally knew where to find bin Laden, though not two years of solid surveillance. I think he said there was a point where they could have attacked bin Laden and probably taken them out, but Clinton couldn’t justify it diplomatically. It would mean attacking a foreign country with more than a small strike, something that wouldn’t have been supported at home or abroad at the time. So Clinton was aware of the situation, desperately wanted to get bin Laden, but felt it wasn’t justified diplomatically. Clinton has always regretted not getting him, even before 9/11.
Then Bush came in and met with Clark only once in the months between being sworn in and 9/11. Clark (our terrorism tsar at the time) was not able to convince the President that serious action needed to be taken against terrorism.
So technically, Tenet is right. However, Clinton did do a hëll of a lot to curb bin Laden, and Bush didn’t.
Which I hate saying because I’m a republican and I didn’t like Clinton all through his presidency. Now I have to say, “I’m sorry,” on a near daily basis.
Peter – Off topic, but… I love your work. Just lettin ya know.
On the topic of the Simpsons.
I used to say that the Simpsons wasn’t good anymore, that the writers had completely lost touch. I even heard other people say the same thing, which must have meant I was right.
Then I started noticing people saying that it wasn’t as good as it was “6 years ago,” but 6 years ago was when I started saying that it wasn’t good anymore.
I still think that seasons 2 to 6 (approximately) were the best, but I’m more forgiving now. I think that getting tired of the Simpsons a few years after first seeing it is a cycle that a lot of fans go through. With so much content after all these years, maybe it just seems samey after awhile. But I think it actually has been enjoyable, and while I don’t love it as much as I did at first, it’s still a great show.
Bart: I had a nightmare that my life was being televised, and it had inadvertently given rise to a propaganda organisation called “FOX NEWS.”
The request was presented to our now idiot Secretary of State, Condi
She’s just NOW an idiot?
What a smeghead!
Red Dwarf fan? 🙂
wow – I’ve got a ‘by feel” meatloaf too – the sauce is great for pulled pork sandwiches too.
my sunday may have been less productive –
went to the mall & picked up a JSA TPB, mustard & peanut butter
I’d advise against using all three in the same recipe. But whatever tingles your taste buds…
Which I hate saying because I’m a republican and I didn’t like Clinton all through his presidency.
Well, he didn’t do everything right. I’d say “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was a mistake, for example. There’s nothing wrong with wanting somebody else for the job, and the Bush campaign fooled a lot of people with its “compassionate conservative” talk. Who’s he been compassionate to? He treats members of the opposition party like something he scraped off his shoe while walking Barney. He’s okayed the deaths of a record number of people in Texan prisons. He doesn’t care about wildlife. He doesn’t care about non-combatants who get injured or killed by strikes he ordered. He doesn’t care about the troops since he wants to leave them in harm’s way indefinitely, has chosen to throw them into the fray before they’ve been properly trained, has extended their tours, etc. You get the idea.
If he’s just Cheney’s puppet or something maybe I shouldn’t be blaming him for everything, but aside from fetuses and embryos I can’t think of anybody he’s really gone on record as saying he cares about. (I don’t think the Iraqi people whom he expressed such concern for while Saddam was around really count, since he willingly ignores the fact that they’re dying at a rate higher than when Saddam was in power and has actually said they OWE him a debt of gratitude.) I’m sure there are more than , but when you can’t remember somebody who ran on a ticket of compassion championing the cause of anybody except unborn and never-gonna-be-born, it’s pretty sad.
Actually, even if he’s not in charge, if he wants to act like he is and take credit for supposed successes then he should be saddled with the blame whenever something goes wrong.
I’d say Season 13 was the last season of “The Simpsons” where the majority of episodes were laugh out loud funny. There were a few years following that when it was consistently disappointing, and these days it’s kind of hit and miss, IMHO. I haven’t yet watched last night’s episode since I recorded it while watching the game between the Raptors and Nets…in retrospect, a terrible decision.
I seem to recall that there were a couple of times that they actually had bin Laden in the crosshairs of a cruise missile, so to speak, but didn’t get the “go” – and i also seem to recall that reason on one of them was that an Important Personage from Saudi was in the camp and we couldn’t risk an Incident.
Which I hate saying because I’m a republican and I didn’t like Clinton all through his presidency. Now I have to say, “I’m sorry,” on a near daily basis.
If nothing else, please allow a lefty to extend a sincere “thank you” for being intellectually honest. Lord willing, the Dems will never field a candidate that would bring as much interparty division and embarassment as the current GOP figurehead. But in the event that they do, I hope I am able to be as straight up about it as you have been.
Lord willing, the Dems will never field a candidate that would bring as much interparty division and embarassment as the current GOP figurehead.
I wonder if Lieberman would be this bad.
here’s my wife’s meatloaf recipe. It’s good. Ðámņ good.
1 lb ground beef, 18 crumbled crackers, brown sugar (about 1/4 cup though this varies), 1/2 cup tomato soup. 1 egg, dash of ketchup
Mix it all up and make into a loaf. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hr. After 40 minutes top with sauce and continue baking
Sauce- 1/2 tomato soup, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, dash of ketchup. Blend together.
Now the actual amounts of brown sugar are hard to say since she eyeballs it but try that and adjust as needed. It’s really really good and I don’t particularly like meatloaf.
Hey, how about a PAD carnival of recipes one day?
Actually for a really good meatloaf mix in about 1/2 lb of pork sausage with 1 lb groundbeef.
I didnt say it was healthy =)
Anti-Bush posts AND tasty-sounding meatloaf recipes. By God I love the internets.
Right on, PAD, The Simpsons still rocks. Can’t stand it when people say its garbage now. Stinkin’ liars, all of them!
The Simpsons is still pretty good–I think that if it runs fifty years, it’ll still be pretty good, just because they’ve got solid writers and a good premise. But for my money, they started realizing they could get away with a lot of lazy endings somewhere around season eight or nine (“And then they were all rescued, by oh, let’s say Moe” ring any bells?) which made it hard to like the later seasons as much as, say, Season Four (still the best season of all, I think.)
And isn’t it great when the kids get to the age where they love dinosaurs? I still have a picture of my niece, Lindsey, looking oh-so-serious as she arranges her little toy dinosaurs into position. (Lindsey is also a big fan of ‘Land of the Lost’, or as she calls it, “Chaka and Holly”, and is probably the only four-year old who responds to “How does the Sleestak go?”)
(Of course, that isn’t her best party trick. Her best one is when you ask her, “How does the shark go, Lindsey?” she responds, “Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum!”)
Almost right next door to Dinosaur Walk is the Atlantis Acquarium; there’s an outdoor space. Also on the same street but heading to LIE is a restaurant called Spicy’s. Great BBQ and good dollar value. Try to Dipped Chicken.
” john zacharias at April 30, 2007 10:52 PM “
If you substitute minced (ground) “Heart smart” lean pork with minced “Heart smart” lean beef, wouldn’t that be okay?
I finally watched that Simpsons episode and have to agree, this was one of the better ones. Favorite parts include:
-“Do you mind if I hum while you talk?”
-Homer whispering to Lovejoy how sex worked.
-Homer’s expression and comments in church.
-Laboot’s disgust with Bart as soon as he found out who he was talking to.
-Laboot running forward to catch Bart and screwing it up, even though you could see it coming.
-Wiggum yelling “Jump!”
-The title of Lenny’s novel.
-Somebody raising a “we’re sorry” sign after Marge berates the crowd.
-For some reason, the delivery of Homer’s “d’oh” after he reached out and caught the ball before Bart could.
-Homer & Marge being unable to resist having sex on the mattress they were in the process of stealing.
-Comparison of cut mattress to grilled cheese sandwich.
-The stuff with the bum.
-Ghost Homer being scared of ghost Marge because she was a ghost. (Which was kind of like when Homer scared a beachful of swimmers by wearing a shark fin on his back and then screamed “Shark boy!” and freaked out when Bart swam up wearing the same thing, but never mind.)
And to meet my personal quota for pointless observations that I’m sure other, more sensible people would just ignore…during the do-over, when Bart dropped the ball the first time, why didn’t he just pick it up and try to get somebody in a rundown or throw to first or something? One run would’ve scored, sure, but in order for Shelbyville to win they would’ve needed all four runners to score. Plus, when the line drive knocked Bart unconscious, couldn’t the third baseman or pitcher have grabbed it and made the out? Bart wouldn’t have gotten the glory that way, but he wouldn’t have been the goat either. Anyway I’ll shut up now.