Americans think of braised dishes – those delectable concoctions of long-simmered ingredients surrounded by, but not submerged in, liquids – as quintessentially American or (primarily Western) European. True, there are many such, from American Southern smothered roasts and chicken fricassees to Irish stews and boeuf bourguignon. But braising techniques are used in recipes worldwide. There […]
Americans
Posted inOpinion
Who’s behind “Fix the Debt”?
Top corporate chieftains and Wall Street gamblers want to tell Washington how to fix our national debt, so they’ve created a front group called “Fix the Debt” to push their agenda. Unfortunately, they’re using “fix” in the same way your veterinarian uses it – their core demand is for Washington to spay Social Security, castrate […]
Posted inMusic
End of the world or end of the world ending?
With nothing else worth discussing this week other than the much purported and often promulgated “end of the world” coming on Dec. 21, 2012, here we go. I reasoned that spending, as Bob Dylan called “my precious time” on the subject, makes sense because, if the world does end on that date, then I missed […]
Posted inOpinion
Bothering to vote, and bothering voters
Two heroes emerged at the polls this year, and neither was named Barack or Mitt. Their names are Galicia and Ken – ordinary Americans with extraordinary depths of civic spirit. While nearly 40 percent of eligible voters didn’t bother to cast their ballots this year, these two demonstrated that our democratic right to vote is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Affleck’s engrossing Argo
If there’s a recurring theme in the three films Ben Affleck has directed, it’s that he’s fascinated with how characters react when they’re trapped. Gone Baby Gone dealt with the long-term ramifications of an act done in kindness that ultimately results in inescapable and tragic consequences. The Town concerned itself with people trapped by their […]
Posted inOpinion
Organic subsidiaries out parent conglomerates
One of the most important elections being held on Nov. 6 doesn’t even have a Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian or other partisan candidate on the ballot. Imagine! Yet, this statewide contest in California will likely have a huge impact on national policy and on grassroots efforts to rein in the arrogance of corporate power that’s […]
