Flaming liberal

I got a political season forwarded email from my brother today and it got me a-thinking. The email made a great argumentative analogy using the folk wisdom (which I am all about) of the Aesop fable the Ant and the Grasshopper. The liberal "spread the wealth" philosophy was criticized as punishing the industrious and and rewarding the lazy grasshopper in our society.

I remembered Hilary and I (My views do not represent hers) had recently watched this cartoon from my youth back in the late 1900s:



Watch it--It's good. Note the ending, which departs from the age-old Aesop's fable's usual ending where the lazy grasshopper is kicked out into the winter (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ant_and_the_Grasshopper). I think the Disney happy ending represents well one of the main rationales behind the bleeding heart liberal plan to help poor people: maybe if we give them a hand up now, they can contribute to society a little later on. Consider for example a student grant (or subsidized loan, like the ones I have used). Hopefully the students using them will be able to pay back by contributing to society (and to the tax base that can subsidize others who want to get an education or stay out of the almost inescapable hole of poverty). This, of course, is an easy example to base my argument on. Other welfare programs, though more fraught with abuse and loopholes, use this as a supporting rationale.

You all know me and how I love to debate. By no means do I want to create a spirit of contention. Nor do I mean to make an overt liberal argument--just a rumination. Thank goodness for the grasshopper that he could fiddle. There are lots of people who can't give back in any way and can't play any sort of figurative fiddle for society, that's for sure. Are we still motivated to help them if they're helpless? Then there are lots of people (but not all) who won't end up giving back because they're lazy. How do we distinguish between them? It's not easy to draw that line. The government tries to, believe it or not. And much of this trying, ironically, is thanks to Bill Clinton's welfare reform. There are definitely other ways to interpret the grasshopper cartoon--the tobacco product placement model--the insects are people too, and should not be eaten view--and the "I can find secret phallic symbols in any Disney cartoon" approach.

Andy Jorgensen

If only there were blue leaves too.

I know it's no Louisville,
Lex, but ya still gotta love 'em.
Ain't thousands of tress here
More like ten of 'em.

Leaf colors were stolen
From all over the rainbow.
'Cept for turquoise and pink--
We saw none of those.

Or navy or midnight
Or aquamarine.
Simply red, orange, and yellow
Is all that we seen.

But don't get me wrong.
I ain't a'whinin'.
It ain't the tree's fault;
It's for no lack a' tryin'.

They desperately tried
All them colors to catch.
Blue just took off
Before it was snatched.

Pink was too fast.
Must'a had somewhere to go.
But all them other colors
Were just too darned slow.

But lucky for us.
'Cause, all we'd be seein'
Over and over
Is green after gre-en.

Relish it now
Even if there's no blue.
'Cause red, orange, and yellow
Will soon have better things to do.

Polsih my boots, peon.

"East meets West" was the name of the benefit dinner and auction we volunteered at last night. People were encouraged to dress up in Asian or cowboy western attire. Although I was tempted to paint my face white and go as a geisha girl, I reverted to my I-don't-so-much-really-like-dressing-up ways and just slipped on my Harley Davidson boots. Andy conveniently has a small plethora of western wear, including his $5 bargain boots. Nothing says "Hey, everybody. Look at me" like a 6'7" white boy in camel colored cowboy boots, a belt buckle and a flannel shirt.

We were gonna get a picture with this guy sporting a kimono, but we thought he might Jackie Chan us, hence the solo couple.And all I can say right now, being 3 months pregnant (not quite, actually), is thank goodness for stretch denim. Trust me, I realize my thighs and booty are ginormous. I really should learn how to pose so I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

Andy suggested we create a cowboy boots club. He accepted the nomination to be president (mostly because his boots could totally kick my boots' butt), and announced that his first order of business as president was to make me polish his boots. The club was dissolved right then and there.

Ham-Burgahz!

What's the best hamburger out there?

These are the criteria, in order of importance:
Overall Flavor
Value (Price combined with how satisfying it is Satisfying=emotional and hunger satisfaction)
Culinary Harmonious Ingredient Combinations
Digestibility
Service and availability (hours, locations) of the restaurant that serves it

I have eaten many a burger in my day. So I got CRED!
I would say that with these criteria, Jack in the Box's Jumbo Jack gets the gold medal.

Keepin' Busy

If you have never been to Moscow, Idaho before, let me paint a picture. Imagine golden, rolling wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Image a beautiful college campus smack dab in the middle of those same fields. Then image a town where the best shopping is at Ross Dress for Less and the most exciting part of the week is the Farmer's Market on Saturdays. Needless to say, creativity is invented here in Moscow, Idaho.

To keep busy, here's a few things we've done. Andy rocked the fishes world on the St. Joe River; I got my world rocked on the UofI field playing powder puff football; and I'm giving the whole homemade bread thing a whirl. I optimistically signed up a month ago to bring two loaves of homemade bread to a luncheon. Now that I've finally made them, I'm having a hard time cutting the apron strings, if you know what I mean. I can't believe my mom makes bread all the time and never hesitates giving them away. I gotta admit, I'm coveting my loaves.

Speaking of buns in the oven . . . Andy and I are gonna have a little one running around pretty soon. And by "little" I mean young, because anyone who knows the both of us knows that if anyone's kids are gonna be little they ain't gonna be ours.