Author: Dick

White House officials have denied Barbara Bush is engaged after she was seen wearing a ring on the third finger of her left hand. Former President George Herbert Walker Bush said he was relieved to hear that.

Texas Dem hopeful David Van Os and Fraken Al.
And so I wound up looking at David Van Os’ Web site and found this picture of him when he was on Al Franken’s radio show. The problem was the caption says David Van Os with “Al Fraken.” Well, I don’t suppose you need to spell correctly to be the Texas attorney general which is the office being sought by Os or Van Os or Os Van David, whatever he is calling himself these days.

Soldiers in the war on Christmas prepare to blow up Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus.
Hey, Christmas is in danger! That’s right. The ACLU and the Democrats and everyone who doesn’t watch Fox News is trying to take Christmas away from God fearing Amerh-i-cans.

The religious right supposedly is in danger from the evil anti-Christmas forces. At least that is the case if you listen to the horse shit from people like Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Now even CBS News is starting to report on the War on Christmas. Seems like George W. didn’t kiss the religious right ass quite enough when he sent out “holiday” cards. Oops! There must be one of those atheists on his staff. Never mind that he had a verse from Psalms right above the greeting.

Hey you ignorant asses! There is no war on Christmas. All right? There are other religions in this country other than Christians. But the right wing Christians don’t seem to be very Christian-like in accepting it. Perhaps it is like Mark Twain said: “If Christ were here now, there is one thing he would not be — a Christian.” Maybe not, but it seems like a bunch of egomaniacs who would just as soon be liberals if it advanced their careers such as O’Reilly are just manufacturing this so-called “war” on Christmas. I don’t know a whole hell of a lot of Jewish people objecting to Christmas in the U.S. Ditto with Muslims or even Wiccans.

I think if you are seriously worried about Christmas being outlawed, then you need to stop watching or listening to right-wing propaganda. There is just a whole lot of crap being stirred up for political gain. Frankly, I’m more worried about the government outlawing “National Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Arrrggghhh matie! When they outlaw talking like a pirate only pirates will talk like a pirate!

Visualize swirled red beans. Or maybe not.

Among the fond memories I have of 2 1/2 years stationed in Gulfport, Miss., is red beans and rice.

Even though I grew up practically in Cajun country I never really came to appreciate wonderfully spicy red beans and rice until my Navy days in Gulfport during the middle 1970s. I remember Sundays you could go to many of the bars in town and could partake of free red beans and rice to accompany your beer. Not among those bars was Jim’s Lounge and Postman’s, down the street from Jim’s, where most of my Seabee friends and I hung out. I don’t know why they didn’t have free red beans and rice. Maybe because Jim, who owned both bars, was too cheap. Nonetheless, my friend Betti tended bar at Jim’s and she would invite us over to her place for what I believed was the best red beans ever.

Years after leaving Gulfport I tried to approximate the red beans I had back in my days on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I always fell short. That is, until today. I don’t know what I did right. Maybe it was the Cajun seasoning. Perhaps the ham hock or the garlic or maybe I just had good kitchen karma today. But these beans will make you slap your granny, for sure.

I did some doctoring on the photo because my beans don’t photograph well. Or maybe I don’t photograph them well. But take my word for it, after I cook some rice I will be entering culinary nirvana for awhile. I won’t say these beans are as good as Betti’s but they are the best ever that I’ve cooked. Ahhhh. Food is good.

Looks like we’re going to have to get another blue tarp from FEMA!
Right now it is still warm enough to wear shorts outside here in Beaumont, Texas, at least theoretically. But the 61 degrees is predicted to give way to a cold rain with a low in the morning of around 40 and it won’t warm up much all day. So says the weather service. These are the same folks who said Hurricane Rita would hit Corpus Christi. No wait, it’s going to hit Freeport. No wait, it’s going to hit Galveston. No wait, it’s going to hit Crystal Beach. And of course, it made landfall between Cameron, La. and Sabine Pass, Texas, then proceded to personally take aim at me.

I am just ribbing the National Weather Service for comic effect though. It’s hard to predict where a hurricane will land. It is also difficult to forecast winter weather in Texas, like getting kittens to march, if you will. It likewise is a big crapshoot guessing if we’re going to get any wintry precipitation here. I think it snowed here last year at Christmas. I was living in Waco, several hours to the northwest, at the time and it didn’t do squat.

After predominantly warm and hot weather since, I don’t know, maybe March or April, I look forward to a little blast of cold weather every once in awhile. I certainly don’t like anything protracted or crippling such as the ice storm we had here in 1997. No electricity for a week. After the hurricane I just as soon have electric power, thank you very much.

But it normally doesn’t get very cold here on the Texas coast. I like that. That is why I choose to live here rather than say, Madison, Wisconsin, or Minnesota.

Forecasters predict Friday morning will be the coldest weather here so far this fall with a low around 30. If you’re from the frozen north lands that’s not much, I know. A chance of rain exists through Sunday so it may be cold and rainy. Too much of it and I will fast become sick of it. But a little cold will be okay.

Oh, as for the photo caption. I am referring to the blue tarps that are so prominent throughout the Gulf coast, covering hurricane damage on roofs. A snow like that one and you would definitely need another blue tarp, perhaps even a new residence.