Under The ACLU Radar

They haven't found us... yet!

Afternoon Farm-Wifery

We were predicted to have a little snow the other evening, so I decided to pull up the remainder of the garden goodies.  I got a fair amount of Thai Hot peppers, along with some green tomatos, oregano, and young garlic and onions.

I spent half my time getting  the basil leaves off the stems, while not getting the dried flower bits into the bowl at the same time.  I don't know if the dried flower parts are useful or not, but they smell stronger than the leaves.  Research required, as it is with the oregano flowers.

I decided to de-leaf the pepper plants, instead of making a pile of individual peppers (I have a small one going already).  Then, I got even more creative (hah!), and now have them hanging from the Pepto-Bismol pink shelves to dry!

All of that reminded me of farm and family.  My parents were first generation "off the farm" - dad from Billing MT, mother and step-mom from Illinois.  I have spent a fair amount of time 'on the farm' over the years.  One of my earliest memories is sitting on Uncle Paul's lap, steering (and I use the term loosely) the tractor down some king of chute from the stockyard to the barn.

I remember feeding chickens at Uncle Jordan's, and gathering eggs.  That's where I learned to 'candle' eggs too.  When I wasn't being a tourist, I'd go out and help the boys set the irrigation water for the sugar beets.

I discovered that cleaning produce is a form of medditation.  My mind was free to wander about.  I thought Deep Thoughts on relationships, family, politics, even (alleged) global warming.

I plan on doubling the amount of raised beds for next year, and making them all at least 12" deep.  Deeper - with Miracle-Grow soil -seems to yield significantly better results.  And a BBQ deck, and fencing so I can let Koda and Suzu out to meander in the back without worrying about them wandering off into traffic.

More, later...

Public Service Announcement

I have discovered (by careful trial) that green Thai Hot chili peppers are about 98% as effective ("hot") as red Thai Hot chili peppers.

That is all.

Voter Turnout...

...in S.E. Pa:

I arrived just after 11 AM.

I guess signage around the  place is OK?  This isn't L.A. County, so I don't know.

Quiet as a church yard.  Oh, wait...

No pictures inside, of course, but they were doing a steady business.  One gentleman was waiting patiently for something to get cleared up so he could cast his vote.

There were only six items on the ballot: president/vice president, U.S. Senator,   U.S. Congressman, State Representative, Attorney General, Auditor and Treasurer.

Voting machine appeared to register my vote correctly...

Thank God Bush Isn't In Charge... (Updated & Bumped x3)

...or Ray Nagin.

Note: I thought I'd cross this post here.

Update VI:  Jewel, over at Gerard's, tells a great story:  

"Today, my husband witnessed a wondrous act of resourcefulness. A man with a horse trailer hitched to his truck was filling up individual 5 gallon jugs of gas in order to transport them back to New Jersey. He went out into the wide world of American plenty that lies just beyond disaster. He didn't wait like a hopeless fool in a line of idling cars for gasoline that is rationed by the spoonful. His neighbors hired him because he had a big, gas eating truck, and gave him money and jugs and sent him to Lancaster County to go shopping. He brought back not only gasoline, but food, water, clothing, blankets, batteries, and other things they might need. Those people are heroes, because they used their God-given talents and brains and didn't go crying to the cameras, asking for the government to come and help."

It's easy to get "wrapped around the axle" in a mess like Sandy.  Jewel's post is a wonderful reminder that everything you need is available a couple of hours away.

Update V:  Daily Caller reports that the IBEW sent a letter to the Florida electrical utility demanding that the emergency workers join the (damned) union.  Class act, brothers!

Not to be out done, nanny Bloomberg answers THS's question.  Seems he disapproves of the National Guard's policy of carrying weapons, particularly guns.  He's afraid of "martial law". (Ed Driscoll at Instapundit)

Did I mention that truth is stranger than fiction, because fiction has to make sense?  Yeah, 's true. 

Update IV:  Tree Hugging Sister over at the Coalition asks:

FEMA Is Out of Water Redux ~ Anybody Ask the Army Corps of Engineers for Help?

Seems they are waiting to be activated, but none of the super-geniuses in charge have thought to do that.  So supplies that are pre-contracted (like water and ice) are gathering dust while everyone waits for FEMA to get a contract out.  Tomorrow.

And this, from the New York Post: "Some Rockaways residents who work as firefighters in The Bronx and Manhattan were fuming yesterday — sitting idly in their firehouses while their neighbors and family members miles away struggled to get help."


 


Update III:  The proverbial $64.00 questions that need asking are, "Why weren't Cuomo and Bloomberg setting up relief sites two weeks ago?  Why weren't they pre-positioning bottled water, MREs and blankets?  Who says you have to wait on FEMA to do it??  WHO??"

They have let down the people who have (foolishly) trusted in them.

Update II:  You have to, HAVE TO  be ready to live in isolation for at least a week after something like Sandy or Katrina or the Sylmar quake.  There just aren't enough Official First Responders to come and wipe your nose!!  So far, the only real assistance in Rockaway or Staten Island has been neighbors helping neighbors.  And that is how it happens - you take care of yourself, your family, and your neighborhood.

Update: Mary Katherine Ham at Hot Air has a great piece up about Federal vs. local disaster recovery management, and (of all things) "The Waffle House Index".

Previously:

From Drudge:

I am willing to bet that I am not the only one who was paying attention to the news, particularly the weather, in the last two weeks or so.  I made sure the truck had a full tank.  I made sure that I had propane for the camp stove, batteries for flashlights and camping lamps, a well-stocked freezer and fridge, a clean bathtub full of fresh water,

 Here's the money quote from nanny Bloomberg:

“We are, over the next few days, going to have to work out some procedures to make sure people can get food,” Mayor Bloomberg insisted.

Let that sink in.  Like New Orleans in Katrina, whose disaster preparedness plan amounted to "We should have one".

Yup.  He obviously took lessons from Nagin.