The Armies of Sauron and Saruman...

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...ride to their defeat. That is, the DNC and RNC and their picks are falling like flies. In some of the most hotly contested "Republican" primary processes, liberal conservatives are being shown the door. I think it started with Bennett here in Utah. If not the first, he was among the first of Sarumon's legions to fall. He has not been the last. Even the DNC is having troubles. Greene's nomination is the funniest of those. It is about time.

I had thought Libertarians might be the grassroots mechanism which would turn the Republican party on it's head. As it turns out, that party is too split between the truly libertine and the positive libertarian aspects to capture the imagination and interest of the American public. It was the same with me. There are libertarians with whom I share a great deal of commonality, there were too many with whom I shared nothing except political ill will. The Tea Party, however, filled the much needed role of undermining the Goliath monster known as establishment politics.

It has only been here and there. When their (our) pick is not chosen, the remaining candidate begins to understand the ire. All of them will be checking their principles and votes very carefully. The political guillotine Americans were given has been pulled out, sharpened, and used. The revolution is far from over. Those not up for election are hoping, now that surety has faded, that the war on politics as "we know it" will fade before they too face the fate so many of their dearly beloved fellow criminals of conscience now face. I think they hope fruitlessly.

This is not enough to save America, not everything and in all ways. We are headed for a crash. Who is in the drivers seat will only determine what we do, perhaps, when the total impact is felt. And, even if we win both both the House (probably to my mind) and the Senate (doubtful but possible in my opinion), conservatives will only hold a portion of a portion of the controls. Even if conservatives COULD do something, we still do not have enough of the steering to really do more than slow the "progress" progressives have made. No, we are, like terrorism, in it for the long haul. But it is a serious start. Can Americans stay awake and wary that long? To be honest, I am surprised they have stayed involved this long. Then again, a hungry belly and few prospects to ameliorate that situation nicely tends to keep people focused.

As much as I despise, truly hate, what we are about to go through financially I cannot but think that the event is a Godsend. I could even go so far as to hope that I-Pods, smart phones, and other such useless bling will become beyond the means of the common man. Imagine a world in which *gasp* people will have to be face to face to speak! Imagine not having people texting instead of simply talking to the person right beside them! Imagine people driving instead of texting or talking on the phone! Imagine mothers having time for their children since their is nothing else to do, fathers having time for their wives and children, and people not being so distracted by calls that they cannot do anything deeply for fear of interruption! Imagine John Lennon being shot by one of his own fans! Oh, right. Anyway. Odd that Lennon, like his virtual namesake, bringing about the reverse of everything they have worked for by getting done what they had hoped for... change. Yes, I do love to play with names, faces, places, ideas, in a mix and match way, sue me.

I was just thinking...

Oh, something I noticed recently, with eggs, is that I cannot peel them. I am an expert on eggs, simple as they are. Boiling them to a perfect (to my tastes) doneness, peeling them, and I have even learned to store them cooked and peeled for a very long time. However, the last two batches of eggs I have worked with ended up in the trash. Peeling them, and I tried several different ways, was impossible. I tried them hot and cold. I tried this old trick and that. They were impossible to peel and preserve enough egg to be worth the effort. Ah, I think, the recent egg recall has forced sellers to pasteurize the product. I think, really, that IS the problem. Once the skin under the shell becomes "cooked", or the water escapes it, or something, the moisture under the skin between it and the white is gone and this makes peeling impossible. I may have to try to find a brand of egg that does not pasteurize their eggs or just give up on them. I will bet that is our government doing something for a political reason. A man, men, or industry was targeted. There are no health problems from properly cooked unpasteurized eggs. Then again, it might be a favor to the health nuts who eat raw eggs or something? One more reason to end government as we know it!

On another food, albeit not government (sort of), topic... beans. I have been eating a LOT of beans. And while I love the little bits of mush in a skin, I must admit, it will be tough to live on these. Spice them as you may, mix in your rice, you will be full... and terribly bored. The only spice that really helps beans, unless you are a foodphile, is heat. Oh, sure, fresh spice in a bit of beans and rice can add that little something as a taste treat now and then. But in the long haul not so much. What DOES add to beans will not be all that available, that is meat. At least to my mind. And better, and more rare, meats with a healthy portion of fat. Ham, boys and girls, is a beans best friend. Rich (80% meat beef, perhaps even "richer") is good as well. Chicken? Tuna? Rabbit? No, not so much. In the end those taste like stringy beans rather than what they are.

It will be tough eating just beans, even adding in canned tuna, fresh fowl, or cuniculus (not in beans even), fresh fish, and most other easily available meats will add little in the way of fat. Trust me, you WILL miss fats. I have it from a man who grew up in the Great Depression that, as a treat, kids were offered (rarely, because of scarcity and poverty) fresh baked bread (they had no other) dipped in lard and covered with sugar. Lard, even sugar coated, is, well, lard. Imagine calling that a treat?

Still, my system is getting used to lots of beans, plenty of rice and other grains, and a more humble taste. I am still stuck on beef, pork, and other possibly soon to be gone meats. I will stay that way as long as I can, too. And I will add in other meats to my more humble diet before too long, the "skinny" meats like rabbit and chicken. I will be ahead in this way as in others. And, to some degree, I will know more surely what I have lost and will lament it the more? Who knows, but I think so. It will hurt when beef becomes a once or twice a year thing, offered as a community wide meal. It really could happen. Look to the real fall of Rome to understand. Realize how problematic our currency has become and the costs of using another currency (with it's own problems), throw in the fragility of electricity production and distribution, and how evil and stupid people can be, and the possibility is there. With the financial situation, it is more a probability, some say a forgone conclusion. *you, in the corner, babbling about off-grid, a screwy wife, and plants* Heh.

Bah, I am blathering now... again... Again, sue me.