Ruth Marcus can’t excuse Obama, although that doesn’t stop her from trying

The New Neo Posted on by

Most of Obama’s cheerleaders lost energy for that enterprise quite some time ago. Now their efforts seem limited to attacking the Republicans who might oppose him.

For example, liberal Ruth Marcus of the WaPo is clearly running out of steam, as evidenced by this tepid effort, in which she’s reduced to saying something like, “Even though Obama has shown no leadership at all, and seems to have wanted the budget negotiations to fail so that he can blame Congress, in addition to previously having ignored the recommendations of his very own Simpson-Bowles committee, we shouldn’t blame him because, because…because…because Republicans are worse.”

One of the hallmarks of the Obama administration has been the combination of his own tendency to blame others—unprecedented (in my lifetime, anyway) in a president of any political persuasion—and the tendency of his supporters and the MSM (is that redundant?) to cooperate in blaming others and exonerating him. Over time that’s faded, but not entirely by any means, and Marcus is an example of its feeble remnants.

This tendency to excuse himself was one of the earliest things I noticed about Obama. In what I believe may have been the very first post I ever wrote about him, written in May of 2007, I said:

…[Obama demonstrates] a willingness to offer up excuses too easily. It’s okay for a Presidential candidate (or President) to be tired, but I’m not so sure he should be so eager to excuse himself on that score. I’ve often thought that, if the campaign is a grueling marathon, it’s probably a (pardon the phrase) cakewalk compared to the actual Presidency…

No excuses, although of course Presidents make mistakes. But, as Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here” for the President””and for the Presidential candidates.

But that was never true for Obama. And although it helped him get elected, ultimately the press did him no favor by cooperating in his excuse-making. It has allowed him to reach his present state, in which he’s managed to alienate a huge percentage of his own supporters.

Of course, he may end up getting elected anyway. But Obama has squandered (perhaps permanently?) the immense goodwill and enthusiasm with which so many Americans regarded him for so long.

Spambot of the day

The New Neo Posted on by

This one came with an Ugg boots URL. It was nowhere near this short in its full manifestation; the following is merely an excerpt. The original went on for at least thirty more lines, all of it nonsense but all of it consisting of pronounceable English-type syllables.

As you can see, it contains a few “words” that are surprisingly Jabberwocky-like and really quite fun, such as “dibwicky” and “jubaps” in the first and second lines (at least, that’s where they appear in the font size I normally use). I’m also quite partial to line 4’s “wracle” (a wrathful cackle, minus the “k”?) and the evocative “Potrolo Fate” in line 4, as well as the “Nopsmease” that ends this particular segment and sounds to me like an ancient herbal remedy.

ncutlecess immeddyslully Absolo ulcerty dibwicky Hawnblearmler, Bog Theltyinammala romy Fluola squally jubaps. faboumn Felltona pync Daurse som SoivaLon Grorvose Wreneurencielo AtmomSistaquam nonlisgugsloM Stow Stuptcrurness wracle TirlgoasTejall inhickycaby Potrolo Fate Trigbeibia SormaSereLam, StetleCher Gat Neatte voli fluriblybulty GragreeSog furobrirub. Wats doftAffoftCada Opine stanignaslergo RhydayChade elakCemeonetty WicIllulkykiz inwano plulkFask SteaniGrielit Gairlbeile ApemsFex Tece courry Dahadviggini utebmareelm Sygiepe, Vem TypecafEmattmet dredtake Invornerem mypory bern estiveBiopicom Nopsmease…

Post-Thanksgiving post

The New Neo Posted on by

Well, it’s over—and all that’s left are the leftovers, the memories, the extra poundage, and the recipes.

This dessert was one of the stars of yesterday’s meal at my family’s celebration:

Recipe: Cranberry Tart

Adapted from “Dolce Italiano: Desserts From the Babbo Kitchen,” by Gina DePalma (W. W. Norton, 2007)

Time: 2 hours plus 1 hour’s chilling

1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup instant or fine polenta
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg plus 3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups (12-ounce bag) fresh cranberries, picked over
1/2 cup heavy cream
Confectioners’ sugar, optional.

1. Place 1 1/4 cups flour, polenta, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and lemon zest in a food processor and process to blend. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. In a small bowl, beat whole egg with oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Uncover processor, pour in liquid ingredients and pulse until a ball of dough forms. This may take 20 or more quick pulses. If necessary, sprinkle in a little water if mixture does not come together. Form dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.

2. In a 3-quart saucepan, melt remaining sugar over low heat. Stir in syrup and bring to a boil. Add cranberries and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes, until they begin to release juice. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool about 20 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to an 12-inch circle and fit into a 10-inch loose-bottom tart pan. If dough tears, it can easily be pressed together.

4. In a bowl, whisk together cream and 2 tablespoons flour. Whisk in three egg yolks, remaining vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour over cranberries and fold together. Pour into tart shell, place pan on a baking sheet and bake about 40 minutes, until filling bubbles but is not yet firm, and pastry browns. Cool in pan before removing sides; if desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Yield: 10 to 12 servings.

And for those of you who asked: no, the photo I posted yesterday of a Thanksgiving meal was not of mine, it was just a stock photo. But here’s a photo of our meal yesterday (none of which I cooked). It featured, among other things: a regular and a wild turkey (the latter shot by my brother after several years of hot pursuit); two kinds of stuffing; brussel sprouts with bacon; braised fennel with Parmesen; roast cauliflower with mustard-lemon sauce; braised chard with almonds and raisins; mashed potatoes with celery root and wild mushrooms; beet salad; sauerkraut with white wine; cranberry chutney with walnuts, raisins, and apples; gravy; sweet potatoes with brown sugar and lemon; salad with radishes, blue cheese, and pomegranate seeds; blueberry pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, tiramisu—and, of course, the above cranberry tart.

In case you think that was a lot of food, it was. But there were also a lot of people there.

Ninety is the new eighty

The New Neo Posted on by

Yesterday at my family’s Thanksgiving dinner in New York we had over twenty people, and two of them—my mother and my aunt—are over 90.

Not only are they over 90, but they’re over 95. My mother is 97 but not far from 98, and my aunt is 96. And this is true despite the fact that they’re not blood relatives, they’re sisters-in-law. They each were widowed quite some time ago and then had another man in their life for a few years who died quite some time ago, too. They each have some problems that require using walkers and hearing aids. They each have gotten very thin and don’t eat much anymore. But they’re each doing pretty well, especially considering all the possibilities.

They’re outliers. But it’s not anywhere near as unusual as it used to be for people to live to be ninety these days, as this article relates. This is especially true of women:

At ages 85 to 89, there is about one man for every two women; by 95 to 99, and 100 and older, there is about one man for every four women.

My mother and my aunt are also typical in their single status:

About half the [90-plus] men are widowers and a whopping 43% are married while 84% of women are widows and a mere 6% are married.

Extreme old age is most definitely not for sissies, from what I’ve seen of it, and I’ve seen quite a bit. And you better get ready to see a lot more of it:

In addition to growing in numbers, the 90-plus population has also increased as a proportion of the older population (aged 65 and over), up from 2.8% of the older population in 1980 to 4.7% in 2010, and it is expected to reach 9.9% in 2050.

I am not interested…

The New Neo Posted on by

…in shopping on Black Friday.

Are you?

And this sounds like a nightmare. Although shopping on Black Friday already sounded like a nightmare.

…Except of course for shopping online, at Amazon, through the neo-neocon portal (note how I cleverly snuck in that little advertisement for myself).

Romney’s distinctive hair

The New Neo Posted on by

Here’s a distinctive article about how Mitt Romney’s hair is his most distinctive feature:

By far his most distinctive physical feature, Mr. Romney’s head of impeccably coiffed black hair has become something of a cosmetological Rorschach test on the campaign trail, with many seeing in his thick locks everything they love and loathe about the Republican candidate for the White House. (Commanding, reassuring, presidential, crow fans; too stiff, too slick, too perfect, complain critics.)

It may be his most distinctive feature, but not distinctive enough for me. In fact, I never really noticed it before.

I think Romney’s most distinctive feature is his lack of distinctive features. His most distinctive feature is a handsomeness that looks like a computer-generated amalgam of handsome men, creating a generically handsome man of a certain age.

Cook that bird

The New Neo Posted on by

[NOTE: This is a repeat of an old post.]

The big day is tomorrow. As usual, there are many pointers on how best to cook that bird.

I have a simple method: it almost doesn’t matter. Just get a good turkey and the rest will follow. A bird will be dry or moist, tasty or bland, depending on its nature more than on the cooking method you use.

Within reason, of course. The principle holds true as long as you cook it according to any of the generally accepted, tried and true methods. I’ve used somewhat lower longer heat and somewhat higher shorter heat, basted it more and basted it less, covered it with cheesecloth or not, and haven’t noticed any patterns—except that, since you bathe it in gravy and cranberry sauce anyway before you eat it, even a piece of bland dry turkey meat ends up tasting not so bad in the end.

The whole point is really the rest of the food, isn’t it? I’m a sweet-potato-sans-marshmallow gal, as well as a proponent of the pumpkin-pie-can-be-easily-dispensed-with school. Pecan pie, on the other hand, is a must-have, despite the fact that it packs in about 1,000 calories a bite.

The way it is

The New Neo Posted on by

Commenter “kaba” offers a nice summary of our present situation:

We have a president who neither knows or understands anything about the country he is supposedly leading. Despite what his birth certificate might say he is an alien in any meaningful sense of the word.

We have a Congress, both houses and both parties, who worry more about the next election than the next generation. They refuse to lead and won’t get out of the way so others might.

We have an American public who think that federal spending should be cut. Except, of course, for that particular program or programs from which they personally benefit.

There is plenty of blame to go around. And our heirs will rightfully curse us one day for allowing this to happen.

Climategate II

The New Neo Posted on by

Is this one of those cases where the sequel will be better than the original?

Or will it just go down the rabbit hole? The NY Times is doing its best to assure that, with an article whose thrust is to pooh-pooh the new emails’ significance. Its first sentence is typical of the MSM coverage of Climategate I, as well, “The anonymous hacker who…”

Anonymous”? Yes. But “hacker”? We don’t know; most of the speculation I’ve seen has always been that the release of the Climategate emails was an inside job.

A moral dilemma

The New Neo Posted on by

Barry Peterson is a man facing a dilemma (the video can’t be embedded, so you’ll have to watch it at this link). His beloved wife Jan has early onset Alzheimer’s, and she now lives in an institution where he visits her—with his new girlfriend.

Before you judge him too harshly, please watch it. My mind says he promised “till death do us part” and that he is a traitor to those vows. But my heart cannot condemn him. There is no good answer to this human tragedy.

Jan Chorlton Peterson was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 55, only five years ago. Before that, she was a journalist and television news personality (as is her husband). From the clips of them as a couple you can see how much in love they were, and from the old videos you can tell she was an exceptionally beautiful, sunny, and charming woman.

Funny thing, she still is, although her memory is terrible and she doesn’t even know that Peterson is her husband when he comes to visit her, despite the fact that she seems to know he’s someone she loves (in the clip this segment begins at 5:00). Like Clive Wearing (whom I wrote about here), her personality, her “Jan-ness,” still seems intact despite the huge deficits—for now.

But that’s quite different from being able to share the life she and her husband used to live. He’s lonely, and now he’s found someone to fill the gap. He says Jan would want this, and I suppose he knows her best, although I wonder.

If Peterson were a conventionally religious man it would be simpler although not necessarily easier: what he’s doing is wrong, and he would know that, although it wouldn’t necessarily keep him from doing it. Perhaps he’d divorce her so he wouldn’t be committing adultery, but somehow that seems wrong, too.

As I said, there’s no good answer to this human tragedy.

I wish, though, that he was more like Jimmy Hales, featured in the following video. But not everyone is able to be so noble and so selfless. Of course, this couple is much older; that helps, too, although it’s never never easy. But as Hales, says, it’s a labor of love. Truer words were never spoken.

Notice, also, how towards the end of the video, Jimmy speaks of prayer; he seems to be a religious man. And note how the newscasters watching the story get all choked up.

Another day, another debate

The New Neo Posted on by

Will you be watching tonight?

I have debate fatigue, myself. I’ve become convinced that the main function of these debates is to collect the largest possible assortment of gaffes with which to (a) destroy each front runner in turn; and then (b) create sound bites against the eventual nominee. It may only be political junkies watching now, but the MSM and later the campaign ads can use all this material as fodder for negativity.

On the other hand, best to find out now who can survive the onslaught and who can’t. If you can’t stand the heat—get lost!