How Republicans Can Separate Themselves From Bush.

The Republicans are worried.  And they can’t seem to figure it out. 

Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) thinks that President Bush is “absolutely radioactive” and that any Republicans close to the him will suffer electoral consequences.

Davis says, “GOP members have ‘got to get some separation from the president.’”  He further states, “Republicans, I think, have time to turn it around to some extent.”  Then he adds, “But, if they don’t, we’re cruising for a bruising.”

Almost all Republicans are “close” to Bush, in the sense that the Bush administration has been running roughshod over the people and constitution of the United States, and the Republicans have been great enablers during his tenure.  People are fed up.

I am sure that their strategists will find some way to strive for “separation”.  They’ll publicly criticize him while communicating to him through back channels that they don’t really mean it.  They’ll call it ‘theatre’ and Bush will understand, even if he doesn’t appreciate it.

Some of the people will buy it.  Maybe ten percent or thirty-five percent.  Who knows?  It probably won’t be enough to help them in November.  They’ll still get bruised badly.  There’s another segment of the population that won’t be fooled by the ‘theatre’ of Republican candidates criticizing Bush.  It will seem so contrived.

There is a way, however, that the Republicans can create the “separation” they desire, and achieve it in a fashion that will come across as totally honest and genuine.  It could be so powerful that it would have Democrats lining up in their corner to support them, too.  Instead of “cruising for a bruising”, they might even have a good election.  It is not just a strategy to win the election, it is a way to turn the country around.

I’m talking about impeachment.  It could be accomplished in very short order.  A very solid majority of the population would support it, once his crimes become the topic of media coverage.  And there are numerous grounds for impeachment. 

One website lists four arguments:

• Bush misled us about the threat from Iraq.
• Bush Conducted Illegal Wiretaps of American Citizens.
• Bush Condoned Torturing Prisoners.
• Bush Violated International Law.

Wikipedia lists more arguments:

• The Constitutionality of the Iraq Invasion.
• The Grounds for the Iraq War Violate the U.N. Charter.
• Unlawful Combat Status.
• Extraordinary Rendition.
• Commutation of Lewis Libby.
• Alleged Declassification for Political Purposes.
• Alleged Politicization of the United States Attorney Offices.
• Hurrican Katrina.
• Expanded Executive Powers.

Bill Maher thinks we should impeach Bush for failing to act on 9-11 (video).

The family members of the victims of the 9-11 terror attacks say the White House has smothered every attempt to get to the bottom of the outrageous intelligence failures that took place on his watch. 

Keith Olberman says that going to war with Iraq, when they had nothing to do with 9-11, instead of protecting us from those who attacked us, is an “impeachable offense”.

We could go on and on.  This is just to show that the grounds do exist.  I’m sure we could come up with more if we thought about it. 

Remember when Clinton was impeached?  It was for lying under oath about a personal affair.   Many Republicans supported Clinton’s impeachment.  The grounds for impeaching Bush are so much stronger.  Where are the Republicans on this one?  You’re cruisin’ for a bruisin’, all right.  And it will be well deserved.

Phoenix Farmers’ Market

 
Last Saturday, Wen-Ling and I paid a visit to the farmers’ market on Central Avenue in Phoenix.  It was a warm, bordering on hot, sunny day.  We were looking forward to the trip.

We wound up buying a fair amount of food.  Wen-Ling had sampled some orange blossom honey and had to have it, even though we have a jar of honey at home already.  That was ok with me.  Before I met Wen-Ling, I used to keep bees.  I appreciate the product and everything that goes into producing it.

I bought some Rainbow Valley Farmer’s Cheese.  It is a rennet-free cheese.  Although I enjoyed it, I prefer cheese produced from rennet.  It has a much fuller flavor, and a somewhat better texture.  This cheese was made from vinegar.

We also bought some fresh vegetables, as well as a dozen chicken eggs and a big goose egg.

We ate the goose egg on Sunday morning as part of an omelet.  It tasted great.  What was quite remarkable about the egg was just how thick the yolk was.  It resisted the puncture of the fork.  When we were scrambling the egg, the yolk created a lot of drag within the egg white. 

The omelet was completed with the addition of some of the vegetables we had purchased Saturday morning.  It made for a very satisfying meal.

 The farmers’ market is certainly worth checking out, if you have the chance.  In addition to the market, they also put on classes.  On May 17th, they will have a Solar and Sustainable Open House (off-site), May 21st they will discuss preparing your garden for summer, and on May 24th they will have a class on raising urban chickens.

In a future post, I will spend some time discussing some of our criticisms of the market.  Wen-Ling and I spent our dinner on Saturday discussing our impressions, and they weren’t all positive.  Stay tuned for that.

 

Saguaro Blooms

The title of this blog is Love/Hate Phoenix. So, I’ll take just a moment to mention something I love. Saguaro blooms are some of the most succulent flowers (no pun intended). They are incredibly rich in pollen, and probably nectar, too. Bees and other insects love them. Some birds love the flowers. Other birds love the insect feast that ensues. It happens every May.

This photo is of the saguaro in my front yard. I couldn’t get a direct frontal shot of the flowers without a ladder. So, I used the telephoto lens to zoom in on these from ground level.

Phoenix Sustainability Project

Good news.  Local government is considering issues of sustainability here Phoenix.  Debating the merits of what they are doing can be left to another date.  You can check out the Phoenix Sustainability Project here.  They are addressing many important issues, like transportation and air quality, energy use, recycling and pollution prevention, historic preservation, riparian area restoration and preservation, water, and land use.

The one thing missing from the site is the use of the term ‘peak oil.’  This doesn’t mean they aren’t aware of the problem.  But, it is something I find curious about political dialogue within the United States.  Governments in general aren’t discussing it.

There are exceptions.  I was pleased to discover that the Minnesota state legislature passed a resolution asking the governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, to prepare a response plan. 

Roscoe Bartlett, former (and possibly future) governor of Maryland addressed Congress about peak oil back in 2005. 

Even so, most of the time discussion of the issue takes place within the context of ‘climate change’, or ’sustainability’.  Few people in government specifically speak directly to declining oil reserves.  And yet, the fallout from peak oil potentially could impact the average person more than climate change.

There is a lot of resistance to acting on behalf ‘climate’ within American politics.  There are quite a few climate skeptics on the Republican side of the debate.  I myself am not entirely sure how much of it I buy into, myself.  Perhaps, switching the terms of the debate to ‘peak oil’ would be more effective in generating intelligent debate and support for well thought out initiatives.

Certainly climate change activists would like to reduce carbon consumption.  Peak oil has the potential to do just that.  Both issues could be addressed through broadbased initiatives to develop renewable sources of energy and energy independence.

Without a frank political discussion of how we are to meet our energy needs as oil supplies begin to decline, there is the possibility of panicky behavior and irrational decisions too focused on the short term.  That could be disasterous.

This Evening’s Meal

This evening I came home to a beautiful meal. Wen-Ling prepared it from some food that she bought through a local CSA (community supported agriculture) chapter.

The CSA provides food on a subscription basis. They drop off once a week at Community Christian Church near us in Tempe. The food is locally grown.

I spoke to Andrew a couple of weeks ago. He was the CSA representative two weeks back manning the drop-off at the church. He told me Crooked Sky Farms sells their produce through a number of CSA drop-offs in the valley. They operate two farms, one in Glendale, and another in southern Arizona.

During the summer months the food comes from the farm in southern Arizona, where the higher altitude allows for cooler temperatures. Glendale, in the heart of greater Phoenix, is too hot for most produce during the summer months. But, Glendale is ideal for growing vegetables during fall, winter, and spring.

Wen-Ling had sent me to check out the CSA chapter two weeks ago. They bring food to the church once a week. Subscribers come in from 4 to 7 pm to pick up what Crooked Sky Farms has produced for that week. If my memory serves me correctly, each subscriber was entitled that week to something like three grape fruit, seven or eight potatos, a bunch of carrots, some dandelion greens, a fennel plant, some dried beans, some nuts. I might be forgetting some of what they had.

Andrew said they try to challenge people to eat at least one or two types of plants they normally wouldn’t find at a local grocery store. For instance, the dandelion greens and fennel were the unusual ingredients for that week.

They also brought locally baked bread and fair trade coffee from some local vendors. The coffee, of course, was not produced in Arizona. It was more likely from Mexico or Central America. But the bread was from a local producer. Those items were not part of the weekly subscription price. You purchase them separately.

Wen-Ling visited them today. They had eggs from another local producer, as well as goat cheese, which you see adorning our salad in the photo above. The goat cheese is from Black Mesa Ranch in Snowflake, Arizona. Snowflake is not what I would consider truly local to Phoenix. It is a couple of hours from here, above the Mogollon Rim. But, it is a hell of a lot closer than Europe or even Wisconsin.

The rest of the salad ingredients came from Sunflower Marketplace here in Tempe.

The salad had lettuce, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, and the goat cheese. Wen-Ling also ground and sprinkled some home-grown rosemary. The only dressing was a tablespoon of olive oil. The combination of the kalamata olives with the goat cheese was tremendous. The goat cheese by itself was tasty but light. When combined with the olives it provided a very rich flavor. The artichoke played nicely into the flavor.

The dish of potatoes, leeks, and carrots was seasoned with some olive oil in which Wen-Ling has been steeping some chillis, rosemary, orange peel, and who knows what else. It added a spiciness that creeps up on you after you have had a bite or two. Delicious.

What was remarkable about this dish, too, was the flavor of the carrots and the texture and flavor of the potatoes. Because it was locally produced, the potatoes were very different from the type you get at your typical grocer. I guess the best way to describe them is they didn’t seem old. They weren’t the slightest bit shriveled and they had a meatier texture. The carrots were much more flavorful than the kind you get in an orange bag. They were slightly sweet, like home grown carrots. The leeks were very tender because they were young and smallish. Most grocery stores sell giant, mature leeks which are often on the tough side.

We intend to sample what they provide about once a month. We may eventually try out a subscription on a weekly basis. But, we weren’t sure about committing to that through the summer. Our schedules might conflict with the weekly pickup.

After this evening’s meal, though, I am intrigued with the possibility of subscribing on a weekly basis. It might provide a nice way to augment what we grow in our own garden with other fresh, locally-produced food.

You Never Know Who Is Reading Your Blog

A week ago I posted to this blog about my experience in corresponding with John McCain’s office.  I pointed out his complete lack of responsiveness, and highlighted Jon Kyl’s office for being unusually responsive to communications from constituents.

Flash forward to this past Sunday.  I came home and realized the mail had not been checked the day before.  I opened my mailbox and found a letter from Jon Kyl’s office.  I assumed it was junk mail.  Either some general communication to the residents of Arizona, or more probably, a solicitation for money since I had recently registered Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul in the primaries.

I found, to my surprise, that it was a personal communication from Jon Kyl himself about my blog.  You can read it here.  The only alteration I made to the scan was to remove my street address before sharing it.

Thank you, too, Senator Kyl, for you kind words. I’m impressed!

What I found particularly surprising about this is that I just started this blog, and to-date have under one hundred hits. It just goes to show the power of the internet as a tool for communication. You really don’t know, when you post something, who will read it.

It also goes to show that Kyl is unusually responsive. I didn’t write my piece for him, or communicate to him that I had done so. He still responded. Almost spooky. I wonder if “[o]ne of your readers” is some computer system digesting the blogosphere in the bowels of Langley? Hmm.

However, while I am on the topic of Senator Kyl’s letter, I also wanted to speak to this quote:

It just goes to show that reasonable people can communicate thoughtfully and respectfully, even when they might disagree about underlying issues.

When the issues are taxes and public policy, yes.  But, when the underlying issue is an illegal invasion of a country that posed no risk to our wellbeing, it is hard to be reasonable.  This war has cost us thousands of American lives, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives.  For what noble cause?

Phoenix, drying up and blowing away?

Hillary is battling hard for a chance to upstage Barrack at the eleventh hour. If she is successful in beating Obama tomorrow, it could be due to broad support from ignorant masses who eat up the notion that she can do something about the power of OPEC.

“That’s not a market. That’s a monopoly,” she said. Ben Smith states in his blog, “It’s a potent message, like the attack on ‘Wall Street money brokers,’ with deep roots in American politics.” It also happens to be an absurdity, another phenomenon with deep roots in our political tradition.

Ignore the crazy image of the male leaders of the middle east kowtowing to a female American president representing a country without the financial or political capital to force the issue. The reason she can’t do anything about OPEC is that they can’t do anything about the supply of oil.

World oil production has been nearly flat for the last three years. It’s not because the oil producers aren’t trying. The price of oil is at an all-time record. Why would any sane business person hold back?

This was predicted first by a geologist named M. King Hubbert back in the 1950’s. Peak oil theory states that we won’t be going up much further, if at all. And then, oil will become increasingly scarce. (Even if supply doesn’t fall in real terms, which it eventually will, oil will become increasingly scarce due to growing demand.)

Any way you cut it, high oil prices are here to stay and grow, Hillary be damned. The price of oil will fall eventually, when people stop demanding it. But, people won’t do that unless we create some viable alternatives.

There are many ideas. None are easy to implement, especially as our nation goes broke. (Thanks, George, for the three trillion dollar (to-date) NEEDLESS war! History will judge you alright!)

Why does this matter to the good people of Phoenix? Because we live in a friggen desert, in a city that did not consider the antiquated notion of ‘pedestrians’ during its boom years! It’s the reason the gloomiest predictions regarding peak oil feature the absolute demise of Phoenix.

I have a problem with this idea, though. I realize we live in a harsh environment, and that the magnitude of the problems peak oil presents — which are just beginning to be felt — stagger the mind. But, I also believe we have the ability to innovate, adapt, and cope. I do foresee a lot of pain as energy shortages and economic problems set in. But, I don’t see Arizona just drying up and blowing away. It’s a state, for god-sake.

The previous statement may seem absurd to some people. Civilizations do collapse, after all. We’re not immune. It will come down to the choices we make, individually and communally.

I am looking forward to meeting people who are aware of the issue, and writing about how various people are handling it. No matter how you slice it, it’s our problem to deal with.

Many people will blame politicians. Some of it will be deserved. They do make some asinine decisions. But, that’s also because they represent us. We make asinine decisions, too.

Many politicians will be quick to scapegoat on the issue, while others will make fantastical promises. Don’t buy any of it. Hillary, Barack, and McCain are all too human. We will have to force our leaders to be realistic, if we are to have a fighting chance.

No Ice Cream Yet, But Sustainability May Exist In Small Pockets

Yesterday I wrote about my desire to make my own ice cream as a way to strike back at the food producers who shrink their products as a strategy for inflating prices while keeping prices relatively constant.  By selling smaller amounts for the same price, they don’t have to mark their prices up and explicitely tell the customer that inflation is taking place.

I talked it over with my wife.  She likes the idea, too.  So, I spent a short amount of time searching for a local milk producer.  My goal is to find someone who, preferably on a small scale, is producing either cow milk or goat milk.  I didn’t find a producer, yet.  But, I did find a couple of interesting links.

One link is to Downtown Phoenix Public Market.  This appears to be a farmers market.  We intend to check them out this coming week.  Hopefully, by meeting and talking to people we can find a supplier of milk.

Another link is to Phoenix Permaculture Guild.  Their members include people raising livestock within the city.  Mostly chickens and ducks, from what I see.  But, again, maybe someone knows someone who “gots milk”.  Not industrial milk.  Rather, wholesome milk.

Several days ago I was also surfing on the web for evidence of local sustainable culture here in Phoenix.  I came across Phoenix Slow Food.  This is local chapter – or convivium, as they call themselves — of Slow Food USA.  They also look like an interesting group of people.  They are fighting the fast food culture by slowing eating down and making it much more of an intimate experience.

This especially struck a cord with me since I recently read Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All American Meal, by Eric Schlosser.  Schlosser’s book is an eye-opening work that reveals the effects of the fast food culture on the economy, people, our communities, and on our individual health.  It certainly makes a person think.  It has me thinking about alternatives.

Of course, I am interested in alternatives for other reasons, too.  A big item in my anxiety closet is the phenomenon of peak oil.  I’ll probably be blogging about this more in the future.  Peak oil, in simple terms, is the end of cheap energy, at least for the foreseeable future.  There is evidence that we are at peak.  The implication is that life as we know and enjoy it cannot be sustained.  To what extent this previous statement is true is open to debate.  And that is part of the motivation for this blog.

I am interested in using this blog as a vehicle for discovering, and writing about, what people are doing that is sustainable here in the Phoenix area.

Breyers Ice Cream Scam

I just went to the local Fry’s store because my wife asked me nicely if I would go buy some ice cream. It wasn’t on my mind, but I thought, “Why not?”

I assume you are aware that most ice cream brands have for some time been offering ice cream in 1.75 quart-sized containers. Instead of raising their prices, they lower the quantity they sell. Same thing, but it burns me all the same. I want to buy ice cream in a half-gallon size, just like when I was a kid.

Well, I went to the Fry’s and made a beeline for the ice-cream isle. The Breyers was on sale! In fact, most of the Breyers was gone. I found a container of neapolitan, looking so lonely on this nearly bare shelf. But, when I picked it up something seemed amiss. The container seemed smaller. Not smaller than a half gallon. Smaller than 1.75 quarts!

They did it again, the fuckers! They shrank the container to 1.5 quarts! Give me a half-gallon, for gosh sakes, and put an appropriate price on it. I would rather they be up front about the price inflation, than to take the more deceptive path of slightly shrinking the container and hoping I won’t notice.

I was so angry, I bought the cheaper house brand because at least it had 1.75 quarts. Take notice Breyers!

It’s like potato chips. They sell these snack sized chips out of machines. Used to be they had 2.5 ounces, then 2 ounces. Then they dropped it to 1.5 ounces. It really gets me angry when they don’t shrink the size of the package, they just put less in the package. All the while, the price has been going up. 25 cents…50 cents…75 cents…85 cents! Now, they have 1 ounce packs of potato chips for 85 cents where I work! That’s when I started packing more fruit with my lunches. I also began to buy snacks ahead of time. The last thing I want to do is put a buck in a machine, get back a few cents, and get a bag of chips — no, make that a bag with a chip. “Chips” is plural, and by definition needs to come in a bag bigger than an ounce.

My wife and I have been becoming more and more interested in the concept of local food, and eating locally. I know that complaining about junk food is pretty far from eating locally. But, it got me thinking. We have a vegetable garden and fruit trees. I began to bake bread because of the rising costs. Maybe I will start making my own ice cream. Take notice food industry! I will find someone who is raising milk locally. Maybe even goat’s milk. And I’ll make my own ice cream, rather than put up with your deceptive packaging, your inflated prices, the shitty conditions under which most of the cows are raised, the growth hormones you feed to your cows and refuse to put on your labels.

It’s not like I eat ice cream that often, either.

Is anyone raising goats or cows near the Tempe area? I would like to buy some milk and try my hand at making my own ice cream. Seriously, if you know someone from which I can buy some locally produced milk, I want to give this a try.

McCain — Indifferent or incompetent?

I was listening to the Charles Goyette Show this morning on KFNX. He was interviewing a writer for The New Republic, and the discussion was centered around John McCain and his candidacy for the Presidency. Goyette opened the discussion up to the audience by asking people to share their personal stories about McCain. I called in and shared what follows, in quite a bit less detail.

I don’t know McCain, and have never met him. I saw him two times that I can remember. The first was in 2000 when he ran against Bush. He showed up at the U of A down in Tucson for a rally. I went just to see. I have never been on McCain’s bandwagon. The second time I saw him was when I did the P.F. Chang Rock-n-Roll half-marathon. McCain was given the honor of firing the starting gun. He stood on this podium above the crowd. From my vantage point both times I could pick him out only because of his white hair.

However, I do write my politicians when I have something on my mind. I have written several times to McCain over the years, as well as to other politicos. (I hesitate to call them leaders, because I don’t like the idea of where they might be leading us.)

My McCain-anecdote amounts to this. He has never acknowledged in any way, shape, or form that he has received any form of communication from me. I have written letters and emails. I have also phoned his office at least once to express my opinion on a pending piece of legislation.

Why is this strange? Well, I would respond by asking if you have ever written to a person in public office. My experience has been that almost always, a response is usually given to a letter. It seems to be standard behavior. The average behavior of politicians is to have form letters with some bullshit standard verbiage. Something like, “Thank you for your recent correspondence. We appreciate your input and will take your views into consideration when acting on such-and-such an issue.” This is what I would consider to be grade ‘C’ responsiveness to your constituency.

The best responsiveness I have ever experienced is from Jon Kyl’s office. I have written several times by letter and email. Usually I have written in anger over Iraq and the manner in which Republicans of the last eight years have been running interference while the Bush machine is screwing this country royally. So, my letters have ranged from polite, to churlish, to sarcastic. But, Kyl has earned my respect for being responsive in this sense. His office always replies in a respectful manner and incorporates my points in the response. His office spends the time to explain his policy decisions. I definitely have been given the impression that my correspondence is being read, and registers at some level with Kyl. It hasn’t changed his voting record. But, he is at least responding to me as though I am being represented by him. I give him an ‘A’.

McCain’s office, however, is a black hole. My correspondence goes in and nothing comes out. I don’t know whether it is due to his indifference or his incompetence. In my mind it falls into one of those two categories. Either he doesn’t care about what his constituents think. Or, he is such a bad manager that he has never bothered to set up a process for responding to the public.

Either way, it doesn’t recommend him in any way to be the President. That is an office that requires some real management skills. It also requires that the person holding the office recognizes the public as his or her constituency.

McCain’s complete failure to follow up on correspondence from the people he represents demonstrates to me that he won’t be any better than Bush. Both McCain and Bush lack management skills. And both men have shown a disregard for the opinions and desires of the people they claim to represent.