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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Unsexy, Unpopular and Unflattering Political Cartoons - 3 Apr 2010

From Denny: Politics and the economy sure are wearing on people. On top of that all these new sex abuse scandals in the religious sector has people hopping mad and the cartoonists along with them.

Religious Sex Scandal Cartoons

Then there is the bombardment from the negative conservatives in this country: Conservative Republican politics joined at the hip with talk radio and flooding the airwaves with lies, deception and hate propaganda. There statistics are that 91% of talk radio is conservative hate talk and only 9% is progressive or liberal. So, who do you think is winning the war on "the hearts and minds" of the average guy? Hmmmm, a lot of weak minds out there who can't resist being programmed to believe obvious lies.

Yet with the bondage sex club scandal and other sex scandals from the national Republicans people actually are still funding these guys - to do it again! Where does the negativity, emotional stupidity and enabling end?

The same could be said of the Catholic Church. Well, at least one piece of good news in Europe. Austria is a country that has been rife with sexual abuse and pedophilia for centuries. When I visited there I certainly heard plenty from local Austrian women about how much they hated Austrian men, especially the fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins who abused them. It was shocking to hear just how much it was tolerated.

In light of the current garbage spewed out by the Catholic Church to enable the pedophile priests there is a Bishop of Vienna, Austria, who challenges that notion. He is demanding validation and healing for the abuse victims and a change of course in the Church. Well, at least one man has the courage to stand up against the establishment.

Follow him for the next few months and it will be interesting to see if he gets recalled to Rome and stripped of his authority. Hopefully, that won't happen. He represents those good priests who are doing right by their authority and looking out for the people and children. Unfortunately, Pope Benedict's arrogant refusal to purge the Church of this true perversion of goodness - which is evil by any definition - tarnishes the reputation of the quality priests doing good work.

The Pope's constant defense of "The Business" rather than attention placed upon true spiritual development is driving people away from God. What the frustrated, disappointed and angry people should be doing is walking away from organized religion that is corrupt like the current Catholic Church. These abuse charges are nothing new and have continued for centuries, helping to cause the Protestant Reformation.

Looks like the Catholic Church as we know it is now toast. On a spiritual level, the Church has already fractured and broken off. Expect the "Roman" part of Catholic Church to disappear from the title except in Italy. Things will evolve into each country's centralization of the Church, each country or continent with its own Pope. Rome as the center of the religious world to govern one billion church members is cooked. Put a fork in them because they are done. God has been trying to discipline them for the past 50 years and each time they spit on Him. When you spit on little children you are spitting on God in my book.

Moving on to President Obama's waning popularity it was to be expected with the long drawn out drama from this health care mess of which the Democrats did an horrendously bad job of selling to the public. Too much foot dragging, not enough countering of lying media and not enough factual information put out there on a continual basis as the legislation was fought. If the Democrats had any sense they would have mobilized all the liberal and progressive bloggers.

The CBS polls in regard to the President's popularity as well as other issues do tend to poll older Republican voters as opposed to fewer Democrats. The CBS demographic is elderly and older Baby Boomers. I'd like to see an NBC poll as NBC News is more female oriented and a cross section of ages. You often discover gross misrepresentation from the media when you go to read the internals of the polls - how the questions were framed. It's obvious the questions were set up to predict a particular outcome to please who was bank-rolling the poll. That fact explains why two polls about the President's popularity produced strikingly different results.

In spite of that, President Obama needs to get a grip on his weak campaign to constantly court and therefore enable the Republicans to screw over the middle class in this country. That is the heart of the anger in this country - how the Republicans so broke our government and economy and continue to defend those criminal actions that our lives continue to have surprise problems hitting us from every angle.

Now President Obama proposes extra oil drilling off American shores? Is he allowing them to go for the continental shelf? Has the Democratic Party so quickly forgotten the damage done to Louisiana, especially New Orleans, by the oil and natural gas companies? It's the very reason for the excessive flood damage from Hurricane Katrina. And now you are going to allow the same damage up and down the Atlantic coast? Are you crazy???

Oh, by the way, Mr. President, did you at least broker a good deal for the middle class from the oil companies and Wall Street to quit artificially inflating prices at the gas pump? Do you know how to play political hardball and slam back the serve to Big Business? Big Business and Wall Street are lucky I didn't become President because I would be hell on wheels with Speaker Pelosi looking like the sweetness Tooth Fairy.

Mr. President, you are simply not "leading from the front" and taking the best care of the American people. Get on the job and quit talking about an "A" game and get serious about walking the talk. And, if you don't know how to get more bills passed in the Senate, go seek out former Senator Tom Daschle who does understand. Quit allowing the tail to wag the dog, start barking and take a bite out of these nasty junkyard dogs who are killing the soul of the American people. There is no simply no excuse for the fact that Speaker Pelosi passed 291 bills and the Senate passed only one. Take care of the American people; quit talking and start doing.

The Republicans have never been the answer for America when it comes to quality of life or good government. The Democrats had better not sit down on their laurels thinking what they have done so far is enough. In my book you are still far behind the starting line without much of anything to show for your time in office.

The public is justifiably angry they have an unresponsive government, slow to react on major issues. You can't keep up a two front war and expect the public treasury to continue to bail out the economy every time. You passed weak credit card legislation and for the past 18 months the Big Banks have raped the wallets of the American people, good accounts along with the bad. Big Banks continue to take cheap money from the federal government and plunk it down on their bottom line, refusing to even fund car loans for the average person or help small businesses. Your mortgage loan relief fizzled because you did not pay attention to details and administer it correctly.

You took 18 months before you finally worked up the nerve to decide to finally fill needed government positions as recess appointments. How can you work without a government in place? What or who are you afraid of - what the whining Republicans might say? Who cares what they say about anything? They are going to lie about it every time. They have already been found in lie after lie.

Insurance companies continue to raise premiums beyond the average person's ability to pay. They even have the nerve to crow on the rooftops about how the current health care law will not set back their profits. CEOs on Wall Street continue to receive billion dollar bonuses. Where is the change, Mr. President? Where is the change?

You have no time to waste before the November elections, Mr. President. Get busy and lasso Big Business. While you are at it it's time to break up the Big Banks into smaller regional banks. If you are unwilling to break up the monopoly banks then nationalize the rat bastards because they are doing no good to the economy and no longer truly serving the people. You could also allow the smallest banks the same borrowing privileges as the current monopoly banks enjoy and you will see a lot of the middle class's issues melt away quickly. America needs positive change.






Yet more weak minds spreading violence and think it's funny:





















































Health care:





President Obama and foreign affairs:






















Senator Ted Kennedy who championed health care but did not see it pass in his life time:





The religious sex scandal mess:














NASA helping Toyota find their car problems:





U.S. Post Office in dire straits and cutting back services:





The flunking state of Education in America:





A teacher who pushed against a corrupt and lazy public educational system of low expectations and little teacher effort to graduate and develop some of the best minds in the country today:





How the average American is feeling right now:











And from our endearing beloved Vice President Biden who has a tough time minding his funny words making important moments funnier:





















Crazy Tax Season:


















President Obama's waning popularity:






And someone far less popular than the President:
















*** ALSO over at Dennys Funny Quotes blog:

Religious Sex Scandal Cartoons

Funny Marriage Quotes

Funny Surfing Peruvian Alpaca


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Chef Rocco Dispiritos Cheap Yet Healthy Comfort Food

From Denny: The Early Show on CBS runs this segment called "Chef on a Shoestring" where the challenge is to prepare a three course meal for four people that costs under $40.

Celebrity Chef Dispirito has appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" TV show and has a new best-selling cookbook called "Now Eat This: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All under 350 Calories." When we think of comfort food we usually don't think of the word "healthy." Well, Chef Dispirito will prove comfort food can be healthy with fewer calories and a lot less expensive! His cookbook is already topping the New York Times sales charts.

Recipes featured from his cookbook:

Wedge of Lettuce with Bacon and Blue Cheese
Charred Beef Burgers with Baba Ghanoush
Sweet Potato Fries
Peach and Blueberry Cobbler With Ginger And Cinnamon








Discounted over at my Amazon book store - Now Eat This: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All under 350 Calories by Chef Rocco Dispirito



Watch CBS News Videos Online



Food Facts from Epicurious.com:


Baba Ghanoush: A Middle Eastern puree of eggplant, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. It's garnished with pomegranate seeds, chopped mint or minced pistachios and used as a spread or dip for or Middle Eastern Flat Bread.

Blue Cheese: This genre of cheese has been treated with molds that form blue or green veins throughout and give the cheese its characteristic flavor. Some of the more popular of the blues include dana-blu , gorgonzola, roquefort and stilton. Blue cheeses tend to be strong in flavor and aroma, both of which intensify with aging.

Heirloom seeds (heirloom tomato): The advent of mega-agriculture in America has seen the gradual depletion of ancient varieties of native non-hybrid plants. Unfortunately for those who appreciate full-flavored fruits and vegetables, produce-seed conglomerates focus only on those strains that have mass-market appeal - which means they're beautiful and hardy, but not necessarily the best-tasting.

Fortunately, about 25 years ago some dedicated individuals began saving what they could of the remaining open-pollinated (without human intervention) seed varieties, which have become known as "heirloom seeds." Among the many heirloom fruits and vegetables grown today are beets, carrots, corn, dried beans, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes. As the public becomes more aware of these wonderful alternatives, farmers are also becoming more interested. Heirloom produce can be found in some specialty produce markets and farmer's markets.





Wedge of Lettuce With Bacon and Blue Cheese

INGREDIENTS:

1 small head iceberg lettuce
1 small red onion, sliced very thin
1 large heirloom tomato, cut into large dice
3/4 cup of 3-Grams-of-Fat Blue Cheese Dressing or Bolthouse Farms Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
6 tablespoons crumbled reduced- fat blue cheese, such as Treasure Cove
6 tablespoons real bacon bits, such as Hormel Real Bacon Bits
Salt and freshly ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS:

Cut the iceberg lettuce into 4 wedges. Place 1 wedge on each of 4 salad plates, and top each wedge with some red onion and tomato. Drizzle each wedge with blue cheese dressing, and top it with crumbled blue cheese and bacon.

Season the salads with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.





Charred Beef Burgers with Baba Ghanoush

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium eggplant
2 tablespoons 5% Greek yogurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole-Grain Flourless Burger Buns
Nonfat cooking spray
12 ounces 90 percent lean ground beef, formed into 4 patties
1/2 cup "Russian Island" Dressing or store bought reduced-fat Russian dressing
4 slices heirloom tomato
4 slices red onion
4 leaves romaine lettuce, broken in half


DIRECTIONS:

Char the eggplant over an open flame, rotating it often to cook evenly, about 20 minutes. The skin should be completely blackened and the flesh should be cooked through.

Place the eggplant in a bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap (to steam off the skin), and set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes. Then remove the charred skin with a paper towel, leaving the flesh behind.

Chop the eggplant with a knife until it is a thick and chunky puree. Mix the eggplant and the yogurt together in a bowl, and season it with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over high heat.

Split the buns in half, and spray the split surfaces lightly with cooking spray. Season the burger patties with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the buns, cut sides down, and the burgers on the grill. Allow the buns to char slightly, and then transfer them to a platter. Cook the burgers for about 2-1/2 minutes per side for rare.

To assemble the burgers, spread the bottom buns with some of the eggplant mixture. Place the burgers on top, and then top each burger with some of the Russian dressing. Pile the tomato, onion, and lettuce on the burgers, and set the bun tops in place. Serve.





Sweet Potato Fries

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
Salt
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
Freshly ground black pepper
Sweet paprika
Cayenne pepper


DIRECTIONS:

Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut the slices into 1/4-inch-wide sticks. Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle generously with salt. Let stand for about 20 minutes to release some of their moisture.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet, and set it aside.

Spread the potatoes out on paper towels to absorb any excess moisture. Then place them in a large bowl, and spray them with cooking spray. Sprinkle with the thyme and salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne to taste. Spread the potatoes out on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the fries until they are golden and tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Serve immediately.





Peach and Blueberry Cobbler With Ginger and Cinnamon

INGREDIENTS:

Nonstick cooking spray
4 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated Splenda
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Bisquick Heart Smart baking mix
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar, such as Sugar In The Raw


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Spray a 7 X 11-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray, and set it aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the peaches, blueberries, the 1/4 cup Splenda, and the 1 tablespoon baking mix. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons Splenda, the remaining 3/4 cup Bisquick, and the ginger, cinnamon, and milk. Stir until the mixture forms a soft dough. Drop spoonfuls of the dough evenly over the fruit mixture. Sprinkle the sugar over the dough.

Bake the cobbler until the fruit is tender and the biscuit topping is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.





Breaking down the cost of the meal:

Steakhouse Salad

iceberg lettuce $1.99
red onion $.80
blue cheese dressing $1.49
blue cheese $2.99
bacon bits $1.99
total $9.26

Beef Burgers & Fries

eggplant $1.69
Greek yogurt $1.33
burger buns $3.19
ground beef $2.49
russian dressing $1.00
heirloom tomato $2.99
red onion $.80
romaine lettuce $1.49
sweet potatoes $1.49
thyme leaves $1.29
total $17.76

Peach & Blueberry Cobbler

peaches $2.24
blueberries $2.50
splenda $3.29
Bisquick baking mix $1.19
ginger $.25
turbinado sugar $2.49
total $11.96

His grand total: $38.98







Discounted over at my Amazon book store - Now Eat This: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All under 350 Calories by Chef Rocco Dispirito


*** For more recipes please visit:

Romancing The Chocolate
Unusual 2 Tasty
Comfort Food From Louisiana

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

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