Beatitudes

I hope everyone who voted for Bruce Rauner is happy he is doing what you elected him to do. In the short time he has been governor of Illinois, he has been merciless in his attack against the most vulnerable in our state: impoverished children, our elderly and infirm seniors, the debilitatingly sick, the mentally ill and disabled, the hard-working families hanging by their nails to lower middle-class. Thousands have been thrown into poverty, and hundreds into the streets.

Now, in his latest move, without even the ruse of attributing it to budget cuts, he has denied a source of relief for our desperate veterans. These sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, husband and wives, who have sacrificed and served and suffered for our country, are still bleeding. Yet Rauner's own malicious, narrow-minded, political agenda forbids them, under the threat of prison, the means to cauterize their wounds.

His policies have driven business out of the state, yet he is determined to squash a budding industry (no pun intended), and undermine a program voted into law by our state Congress.

The bill was called the Compassionate Care Act for a reason. I guess compassion is not a word in Rauner's vocabulary.

chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-illinois-medical-marijuana-met-20160129-story.html?utm_content=buffercb418&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Better Than Nana's Meatloaf

Today, boys and girls, we're going back to Comfort Food 101. My son Ben, and daughter-in-law Ashly, came out for dinner last night with the grandkids. I wasn't sure what to serve, but my wife Shellie suggested meatloaf.

I make a mean meatloaf. I am always experimenting with combinations of meats, spices, and additions. I even did a venison meatloaf with cranberries one year for Thanksgiving. (It was fabulous). But for the family, I wanted to get back to basics. So I thought back to the meatloaves I grew up with, picturing our old 1960's kitchen and all the products we had in the house.

We sat around the table (as well as you can sit around a table with a one, four, and six-year-old running around). Ben served Owen (the four-year-old) some meatloaf, and leaned down to whisper in his ear, "This is better than Nana's (Ashly's mom Lori)." Owen took a bite, chewed it thoughtfully for a moment, looked up at Ben, and said, "This IS better than Nana's."

So I call this:

Better Than Nana's Meatloaf

Serves 6

Ingredients for meatloaf

2 lbs ground chuck (or 1 lb ground chuck and 1 lb ground pork)
2 whole eggs, beaten
1/3 cup Heinz ketchup (catsup can be substituted)
3/4 cup Swanson beef stock
1 tablespoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
1 and 1/2 cups Gonnella seasoned breadcrumbs
1 package Lipton onion soup mix
1/2 teaspoon Morton iodized table salt
1/2 teaspoon McCormick ground black pepper

Ingredients for glaze

1 6-ounce can Hunt's tomato paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon French's mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whip together, with a half-spatula, all ingredients for glaze. Set aside.

Place all ingredients for meatloaf in large mixing bowl. Mix with hands just until all ingredients are combined. Place mixture into baking pan and shape into loaf. Spread glaze over top of meatloaf with the half-spatula. Place in oven. Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Serve with Hungry Jack mashed potatoes, Franco-American canned gravy, and Birdseye frozen green beans.

Black and white TV, for garnish (optional)

Just A Sliver For Me Please

My friend Julie recently boasted, "Ha, had pie last night after The Capitol Steps show. Bakers Square French Silk, yum."

This reminded me of a funny story. Years ago, my brother Jeff and I were hanging out with two friends at their apartment and smoking a little pot. Jeff and I had picked up a French Silk pie from Bakers Square on the way over. After a while, we brought out the pie, and Jeff and our friends were arguing back and forth on how best to slice it -- in sixths, in eighths. In the midst of the discussion I called out, "Quarter that sucker!" That's exactly what we did. To this day my family jokes about that.

Parliament At It's Very Best... America At It's Very Worst

I watched some of the British debate last evening about banning Donald Trump from entering the UK. Although it appears I was the only one wearing a black robe and powdered wig (although this is what I usually wear), what struck me most was the sheer civility of the politicians. They were intelligent, well-spoken, well-prepared, respectful, reasonable, and worldly-wise. In a nutshell, everything our elected officials are not.

They gladly yielded the floor to the opposition, and then thanked them for their remarks. They also displayed a tolerant attitude towards America, like a patient parent talking about a wayward child. The debate was punctuated with the droll humor associated with the English, and many of the remarks had me laughing till my side hurt. It's always fun listening to them mispronounce our language, but one young MP from Northern Ireland had me spellbound with his Irish brogue. Kissed the Blarney Stone did that one.

Another thing I found interesting was the debate itself was triggered by an online petition. By law, when a petition is signed by a minimum of 100,000 people, the matter must be taken up in Parliament. I also found it interesting that the Labour party legislator who introduced the bill stated whereas the petition calling for Trump's ban received over 570,000 signatures, an opposing bill received 40,000 signatures. The only thing is when investigated, 30,000 of those signatures were fake.

As the debate ended, with a non-binding vote of ayes and nays, the ban was approved. What an embarrassment for America in the eyes of the world.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/7351d87a-ba14-11e5-85cd-5a…

Suppository Thinking

Several of my doctors belong to a certain medical group that I like, and that are covered by my insurance. Their offices are convenient (in fact, they are a lovely half hour ride from my home), and they provide good service. I am known there (and even liked, if you can believe it), and I am comfortable there.

So it was only natural, when I needed to see a gastroenterologist, for reasons I will spare you, that I asked my wife to find out if they had any specialists in-network.

She happened to be stopping by the office, and she proudly came home with a glossy brochure about the practice. My relief upon taking the brochure quickly turned to dread when I read the names of the two doctors in the practice. Both names, which I will not print here, were clearly Arabic.

I looked up at my wife and said, "Damn it, this is America, I expect a good Korean or Indian doctor."

"Really?" she responded.

"What?" I said. "A couple of Middle-Eastern doctors come to the United States to stick things up Americans' butts. They could be part of a larger plot. Who knows how many people are right now walking our fair cities with miniaturized nuclear devices hidden deep in the colons of the hapless victims. How long will it be before we see exploding asses all across our great country?"

She just gave me "The Look."

I have an appointment for next Wednesday.

BB

What do women think about their husbands or boyfriends calling them "baby"?

"Hey baby, come sit on daddy's lap."

"Aw, come on baby. I swear it was a one-night stand."

"I love ya, baby. You drive me crazy. I can't get you out of my head."

Last night, my wife and I watched the film noir classic "Double Indemnity" on TCM. The glib, cynical, calculating character portrayed by Fred MacMurray, may be his best performance. Barbara Stanwyck, no slouch in the acting chops department herself, seems small against MacMurray's dominant personality.

An added bonus is supporting actor Edward G. Robinson, who delivers one of the greatest soliloquies of all time.

But what I noticed most amid the shadows and odd camera angles was how MacMurray kept calling Stanwyck "baby."

In thirty years of being together, my wife and I have never addressed each other by that term. I don't really like it when I hear it. Some members of my family use it and I don't really like it when I hear it. It seems like the epitome of patronization.

Sure, I'm as guilty as anyone of turning to a buddy and saying, "Hey, check out that babe." But it's not my style to go up to a woman, flick my eyebrows, and say, "Hi baby, wanna party with daddy?"

However, I would make one - and ONLY one - exception, and that is in the case of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. What baby wants, baby gets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKrrAa2o9Eg (Trailer)

Wallapop

Wallapop. I have never used the service, and at this time, have no intention of using the service. I just like the word. Wallapop. It sounds kind of Australian, actually. Wallapop. I think I'll hop down to the wallapop for a cold one with me mates. Save the Wallapops. He packed up his wallapop and headed into the outback. I always make it a habit to kiss my wallapop goodnight before we go to sleep. Wallapop.

This Recipe Was An Epiphany

We had this salad for our Epiphany dinner last evening, and it was superb. If these ingredients do not normally grace your table, you'll be surprised how exotic and delicious this salad is.

Three Hearts Salad

Ingredients:

15-ounce can hearts of palm, drained

15-ounce jar/can hearts of artichoke, drained

6-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

1/2 cup canned garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained

1 heart of Romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives

1 ripe avocado, sliced

3 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Freshly cracked black pepper

Feta cheese, crumbled

Pine nuts

We prepared and kept each ingredient in separate bowls because when mixed together all the good stuff falls to the bottom. We were also able to add a little more or a little less according to preferences. My wife, who can't have nuts, simply left the pine nuts off of hers.

We made a simple vinaigrette out of red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of fine sea salt, but champagne or balsamic vinegar would work great too.

To make this dish a chef salad for a complete meal, consider adding quartered hard-boiled eggs, prosciutto, Genoa salami, and/or capicola.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR53QamRpw0