Government disaster as reality TV

Watching the political shows these days is almost like being strapped into a chair and forced to watch endless reruns of Jersey Shore or Big Brother.  You want to scream at the idiots who are trotted out each night to affirm that yes, "white is black", "up is down" and not least, "freedom is slavery".  The 30 or 40 Teahadists and the Koch brothers are forcing the country to the brink of default in an ultimately futile attempt to rollback the 21st century's likely most important social accomplishment, health care for the majority of Americans.  Like social security and medicare before it, this is an imperfect program, but it will get better and ultimately will be known as the precursor of universal health care.  Much as the generation that grew up with the New Deal, the generation that experiences Obamacare will be a force for the Democrats.  The dead enders in the Republican party know this and the present apocalypse is their reaction.  I believe cooler heads will prevail, but the cost will be high. Meanwhile, we have to wonder how much longer we'll be experiencing groundhog day.

Frosty start

I had to scrape the windshield this morning for the first time since late April.  We barely touched 36 degrees, so most of the tender veg are probably still okay.  I'm sure the galinsoga will live to grow another day.  With the rain on Monday and warmer temps coming up for the weekend there should be plenty of maturing going on in the garden.  The beets and carrots are still coming on strong.  I noticed more teacup size heads of cauliflower in the last planting and the broccoli is bulking up.  The second cuttings of spinach will be plentiful for the next couple of weeks and the third set of peppers will be in the offing next week.  All in all, the late garden is almost making up for the nightmarish June and early July of our discontent.  

Racism and the Republican Id

It seems the teahadists in the House are determined to destroy the Obama presidency even if it lays waste the American economy.  That is the clear message the lemmings with the suicide vests are spreading through the media.  By some strange coincidence almost all of these nihilists are from the south.  Of course many residents of the old confederacy have little use for the rest of these United States, and for brown skinned people in general.  Obama presents the perfect pretext to bash both of these bugaboos using the rubric of patriotism.  They are fighting to keep the debt (mostly accumulated under republican presidents) from swallowing the country.  If the country dies due to their tender ministrations, at least they can say they tried.  What they did not count on was a unified Democratic party and a president with a mandate and a spine transplant.  Now they are backed into a corner with no way out but to capitulate in a most humiliating fashion.  Like a cornered rat, this is when this movement is most dangerous.  It is also when its foundational racism is most likely to be outed.  When this happens, perhaps the nation can begin another healing process.  But I doubt it.  As long as their are people who fear the "other", there will be hate and destructive actions.  We need to call these out and excise them from the nation's politics.

Springing back

Another mild weekend here on the NCR.  Still no frost predicted for the next 10 days and it looks like most if not all of the late crops will mature, even if the customers are not available.  The farmers' market closes next week, but if the latest returns are an indicator, the customers have moved on to other activities of a Saturday morning.  I guess fresh vegetables are a summertime thing for many people and they will return to chain store fresh for the rest of the year.  It's a shame, because the most vitamin dense veggies are available now.  Cauliflower, broccoli, kale, winter squash, etc. are way more nutritious than green beans and summer squash.  I tried roasted kohlrabi this weekend and it was delicious.  It has been a bountiful fall so far and it looks like it will extend through much of the month.  Certainly it has been a better season than the spring and summer that preceded.

Republican roulette

It looks like Boenher has taken most if not all the bullets from the gun his party was holding to America's collective head.  By telling moderates he is willing to use Democratic votes to raise the debt ceiling he is effectively neutering the teahadist wing of his party.  Maybe the collective sigh of relief from most Americans will give the speaker enough cover to keep his job.  The alternatives are not pretty.  We can hope the next election will be a referendum on the party of stupid, in which case Nancy Pelosi will be pounding the gavel when Hilary takes the oath of office.  There will be a collective explosion of heads at FOX nation, but the future of the country will look immeasurably better with grownups in charge again.

Weather is beautiful, wish Congress was

At least the weather is beautiful for a government shutdown.  No natural disasters to remind the teahadists the need for a functional federal government.  So, until the pain of their constituents and the need for some semblance of responsibility forces them, the shutdown will continue with each side's cheerleaders egging them on.  On the face of it is a no-brainer.  However, brains are not something the tea party is noted for.  Meanwhile, summer has returned to the garden.  I hate to even mention it, but it is actually getting dry out there.  The lettuce for next week should be full size in time for the last farmer's market of the year.  The cole crops continue to jump, although with fewer daylight hours it is a little slower than this kick of warm weather would otherwise provide.  The tomatoes are about done, with excessive cracking on the slicers.  I picked the last few plums, but I don't think their flavor is good enough for sauce.

Proving old maxims

Looks like the republicans are going to prove the old saying "Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result".  They can continue to pass the same idiotic riders delaying or defunding ACA on the back of the continuing resolution to keep the government operating and the Senate will continue to reject the bill and send it back to the House.  Meanwhile, real people will begin to suffer as the government shuts down.  What this comes down to is a lack of leadership on the GOP side.  Someone needs to stand up to the teahadists and tell them you cannot govern the country in a constant state of crisis, regardless of the fundraising opportunities it creates.  The spineless speaker of the house is obviously not up to the task.  Boehner is too consumed by his need to stay on the job until he can land that lucrative lobbying gig to do his duty to the country.  This is what it all boils down to; greed and ideology feeding off each other.  Meanwhile, the rest of us get to watch the trainwreck and hope we are not collateral damage.