To Wash or Not To Wash
Let’s talk about berries. You know, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. The kind you buy in the store in the little square plastic containers. Do you wash them at home before you eat them? I don’t. I just pop open the plastic lid and dig in.
I guess I am comfortable with the belief that no seller of these items is going to put them in the chain of distribution without having at least washed them in some fashion.
I am not foolish enough to believe that the little berry comes right off the vine and is handled meticulously throughout the entire processing routine. They are handled, dropped on the ground, put in unsanitary containers and run across machinery that may not be the cleanest. But in the end, or at least somewhere near the end of the process I firmly believe they are washed before being put in those little plastic boxes.
I suppose my main comfort comes from knowing that a company engaged in that business probably figures they would be sued if they put them out for consumption without them being washed. We have seen what happens to the spinach industry when their product hit the market contaminated with e-coli.
Now I don’t know if there is a regulation requiring the berries to be washed or not. There really shouldn’t have to be one. If a person were injured or made sick by unwashed berries they could file a suit and let a jury determine who is right.
That, in fact, is one of the best arguments against the need for government regulation. But the insurance industry and big business does not want to allow juries to decide such issues. So they fight to change the laws of civil liability. At the very same time they are claiming they do not want government interference or regulation. I say that they can’t have it both ways.
But I have gotten away from my main question? How many people actually take the time to wash these berries when they get them home? It seems when I was young we washed every piece of fruit or vegetable we brought home from the grocery. Things were different then.
Now, I fear that what may be on the outside of the fruit is less dangerous than the chemicals put on the inside of the fruit to make it grow, or be more visually appealing. My mother always worried about the pesticides that may linger on the surface of the apple, peach or berry. My father always warned about the chemicals they were starting to use to make them grow.
I live in Monsanto land. Their headquarters is right down the street from my house. If any one company is doing more harm, or arguably more good, to the foods we eat, it is Monsanto. I don’t know the answer. Genetically engineered agriculture products may help the world be fed. But it may result in the world being fed foods that will alter the makeup of mankind. I firmly believe we are seeing it slowly happen before our very eyes.
I am not a scientist. I do not pretend to know anything of use on this subject. I have done no experiments, let alone read any journals on the subject. I just see a lot of things happening around me that make me wonder whether my father was right.
So I will go on eating my berries without washing them first. I can’t believe that what is on the outside is worse that what may be on the inside.
Competitive Contests
A little over a month ago I filed for the office of St. Louis County Democratic Committeeman from the Jefferson Township. I didn’t think the current guy who held the office was doing a particularly bad job. I just feel that competition breeds a better product. So a contested race in something at this level can actually stimulate party interest.
One of the many jobs of the committeeman is to identify party members and get them involved when he can. This is where new blood comes from. New faces get involved and maybe new candidates develop as the level of involvement increases.
I have always been a Democrat. I remember my father and mother going to township meetings. I remember my father telling me that the Democrat Party was the party of the working man. Now I am an attorney and I feel even more that the Democrat Party should be the party of the working man.
We have serious problems with our political situation in this country. The sad truth is there is blame to go around on both sides of the aisle. The fault is with both parties. The Democrats and the Republicans in Congress are more interested in re-election than they are in advancing the good of the nation.
Party leadership is to blame. A new member of Congress is beholden to the leaders in the various parties for almost everything. And one of the big things is money. If you are a new Congressman and want to have a fundraiser you want it to be successful. Who can help with that? The leadership. So the first thing you get is a list of things the power brokers have on their agenda. Are you for them or against them?
Of course if your are not in lock step with what they want you can count on not getting their support or help. That is they way power works everywhere.
So as much as I want to help Democrats I am also in favor of removing some of them from office. In fact in some ways I am in favor of removing everybody who is in Congress whether they be Congressmen or Senators.
Therein lies the dilemma. How can I be a Committeeman for a party and also believe that some of my own party office holders should be replaced? The answer, of course is to run somebody against therm in the party primary. The way that the Congressional Districts are carved up it would be hard to put a Republican in a Democrat District of the other way around. The Senate races are a different story.
Of course nobody likes to have a primary race within a party. But sometimes it is necessary. That is what makes for a better political system. People need choices. People need to say, “hey what we had is no longer what we want.” If we don’t give them a chance to choose, they lose interest and enthusiasm. They become disenchanted, like they are now.
I am in favor of toppling Congress and replacing them all. They need to be shaken up and reformed. They need to hear from us. They need to be responsive to what we want and need. They need to show more leadership. They need to be more like us.
My First Meeting
I went to my first meeting of the St. Louis County Democratic Central Committee on Thursday night. I found it quite interesting. The meeting was conducted in a very professional fashion. Sitting in as the acting Chair was mary Elizabeth Dorsey. The Chairman was absent on some other business.
The meetings are held at the Gas Workers Union Hall on Olive. They are open to the public but they obviously do not expect many guests. The room is small. It is just big enough to accommodate the members of the Central Committee. There are not any extra chairs and there really isn’t space for any. I don’t expect that there are many people who just drop by to view the meetings.
Most of the meeting was dedicated to explaining the process for holding the caucuses to select delegates that will eventually go to the National Convention. This is not an easy process. Each step must be done precisely as set out in the rules.
The first round of caucuses will be held on March 29, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. But I am a little distressed over the fact that a lot of people do not know that and that it is not clear where the Township caucuses will be held. As Democrats we need to get as many people to the caucuses as we can, even though the race for President is not contested. Missouri still has to fill out al of its delegates.
Please be aware that you must be in the caucus room before 7:30 p.m. At that time the room is closed off and anyone who enters after that is ineligible to run for delegate. So if you want to participate be there early.
I did not get a chance to meet the current committeeman. The meeting went on for quite a while and since I was leaving for Atlanta the next day I had to get home to pack and prepare. I hope to get a chance to meet the current committeeman.
The people who serve on the Committee do so for no pay and for very little recognition. They are a dedicated group although some obviously work harder than others. I am looking forward to this upcoming election.
Heading For Atlanta
Okay the first thing I want to go over about this trip to Atlanta is Delta Airlines, and I guess this now applies to almost all of the airlines. There is a $25.00 charge for each bag. Well I guess it is per bag. We only checked one bag and it cost $25.00. So I guess what the airlines are saying is we will fly you to your destination for the ticket price but if you want to stay a day or so, you have to buy space for your clothes.
In some ways that makes sense and in others it just seems downright fraudulent. Look why not just add the $25.00 to the ticket price? How many people take airline trips without baggage?
Next is the online Wi-fi. Of course I was not listening that closely when the flight attendant made her little speech. But I sort of heard her mention inflight Wi-fi. So I turned on my iPad and sure enough there was a network called gogoinflight. And without any difficulty my iPad connected to it. Hey, great. I have been waiting for inflight wi-fi for years. There is no reason not to have it. The technology has existed for years. Trust me about that.
But for years the airlines acted like the planes would fall out of the sky if anybody used their cell phones or wi-fi while the plane was in the air. Now, finally, they have put on their big boy pants and allowed the passengers access to wi-fi.
Well, at least I thought they did. Although I easily connected to the network, I have yet to be able to access anything on the Internet. All I get is that little symbol and the words "Searching…"
Well, so much for inflight wi-fi.
The weather to Atlanta is pretty bad. Typing in an airplane in this kind of weather is a challenge. And, if this is not posted it means we went down. But the bad weather also means the passengers cannot get up to use the bathroom and the flight attendants cannot do the beverage service. I guess it is a good thing they can't do the beverage service if they are not going to let the passengers get up to use the bathroom.
We are about an hour into the flight right now. Maybe more later.
The rest of the flight was uneventful We are in Atlanta. The weather had cleared. Let the fun begin.
Meeting Thursday March 15, 2012
This Thursday night will be the first meeting of the St. Louis County Democratic Central Committee since I have filed for the office of Committeeman from Jefferson Township. The meetings are held at Gas Workers Hall located at 7750 Olive, University City, MO on the third Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
Now I have looked around the Internet to try and find this information. I am fairly sophisticated with computers and the Internet. I can usually find most things I am searching for. I have yet to be able to find the meeting information on the net.
Here is the link to the St. Louis County Democratic Central Committee web site. If you find it on there let me know.
That is the kind of thing that got me to file. I was simply trying to find out when and where my Township had its meetings. I mean this is an election year. We are going to have some very hardly fought races. The Democratic party should be doing everything it can to get people active in the party.
I see the role of a Committeeman as the guy who is on the bottom rung of the political ladder. He is the guy who should be a sort of census taker for his Township. In an ideal world he should know who the Democrats are in the Township and he should be responsible for getting them connected with the party.
My race will be a simple one, with one goal. I want to energize the Democrats in Jefferson Township. Right now there is an incumbent Committeeman. I have no quarrel with him. He may be a great guy. He might already being doing a great job as Committeeman. But I assure you, the level of his game will go up with an opponent.
Let The Campaign Begin
Since I have filed for the Democratic Committeeman’s position in Jefferson Township of St. Louis County I have to come up with a budget. I have been doing a little research and found that there are about 2,200 votes cast for the winner in this race when it is uncontested. Remember, the job pays nothing and actually results in the Committeemen and women dipping into their own pockets to attend various fundraisers.
Based on my limited research the Township has about 35,000 residents. That means less than 10% of them cast votes in the August primary for the Committeeman’s job. The trick is to find out who those Democrats are and then get them to the polls. There are various methods for doing that. Some are expensive, some are time consuming.
In fact, dear readers, the above formula is the formula that wins all elections. Identify those who like you and get them to the polls on election day. The sophistication of the effort changes as the breadth of the race increases. It s easier to identify supporters in one precinct than it is in a State. But the successful campaigns get it done.
So do I attack this campaign by going door-to-door and asking people if they are Democrats or Republicans and then making a database? That is one way to do it. Clearly that is the most labor intensive and least expensive. I could by frequent voter lists and do a mailing. I imagine that would cost a pretty penny.
That leads to other decisions about Campaign Committees, bank accounts, PACs and more. This will be fun.
I Am A Candidate
Recently I decided to file for the post of Committeeman for the St. Louis County, Missouri, Democratic Central Committee from Jefferson Township. My decision came after trying to find out some basic information about meetings and events. To say the least I was disappointed.
The post of Committeeman does not pay any salary. It is the lowest rung on the political ladder. But in some ways it can be a very important position.
In years gone by, way by, the Committeeman was a very influential position. He was the go-to guy for political jobs on one hand and could deliver votes on the other. Now, too often, the Committeeman is relegated to going to meetings and fundraisers.
I served years ago as Chairman of the St. Charles County Democratic Central Committee. It is a job that takes a lot of organizational and people skills. I do not aspire to be anything more than a Committeeman and in the process help to strengthen a party that I believe in deeply.
Through the years I have seen the party go off the tracks. When I was a young man the Democratic Party was the representative of the working man. Everybody knew that. Now, and not totally through its own doings, it is seen as a group of tax and spend liberals who want everybody to get some form of Government assistance.
There are those in our party who are too liberal in spending our tax dollars. I agree with that. But it is necessary to balance the needs of all the people. As our economy struggles, and it will continue to struggle in the foreseeable future, Democrats need to show leadership. We need to show the working person the we support them and their endeavors and we need to endeavor to work toward a country that employs more people.
There are many issues facing all Americans right now. I don’t expect to have to address those issues. My goal is to find the people in the Jefferson Township who identify themselves as Democrats and from those people find those who are willing to put in a little effort to keep this Country great.
Storms Everywhere
It has been an interesting week.
Mitt Romney defeated Rick Santorum in the Michigan and Arizona primaries. That didn’t do much to settle the race, however. It would have been a big boost for Santorum had he won Michigan but it appears God may not have been in his camp. I am not sure if God is registered as a Republican in Michigan. I think he is smarter than that.
I would not be surprised to see the nomination go all the way to the convention. That should bring some interesting results. If it does go to the convention I believe Romney will get the nomination. But it will result in some very bad planks being put into the Republican platform.
On a side note, I think Santorum and his ardent followers are doing a bang up job of demonstrating why we need to keep religion out of government. Santorum would have us saying grace before each meal and encouraging children to turn in their parents if they don’t.
I was raised a Catholic. I have seen too many Catholic men just like Santorum and I think they are dangerous. When they limit themselves to meddling in the lives of those in their various parishes they are despicable. When they turn their efforts to having their beliefs injected into government policies they are dangerous. Believe what you want in the way of religion but do not make me try to adhere to your beliefs.
The net result of all of this is probably going to be a victory in the fall for Obama. The Republicans could have walked away with this race. Instead, I predict they will lurch to a fall in the fall.
North Korea has decided to curtail its nuclear weapons program. Now that is really interesting. The big question is why and what this signals? Kim Jong Un has not been in power very long and has the other North Korean leader looking over his shoulder. Many think this move is a slap in the face to his father, Kin Jong Il.
It should be cautiously encouraging the America and the rest of the world that the first big foreign policy decision to come from the new regime is a peaceful one. I am not particularly trusting of North Korea. I think we should certainly give them a chance to prove themselves but we should keep a careful eye on their every move.
The price for the agreement is 240,000 metric tons of food to feed the starving North Koreans. But don’t worry, we aren’t sending them prime beef or even large amounts of rice. The food we are sending is a nutritional supplement aimed primarily at pregnant women and starving babies.
An additional benefit to this agreement is that President Obama can point out to Israel that diplomacy can work and it is not always necessary to bomb your way out of a problem. Israel, understandably, is concerned with the Iranian nuclear weapons program. They are maneuvering now to bring it to a stop and I am sure are taking a hard look at the military option. We should all hope it doesn’t come to that.
It has been a terrible week for Americans all over the country. Storms have destroyed towns and killed people in major proportions. Is this a sign of climate change or just one freaky set of events. That question really can’t be answered and people are lining up on both sides of the issue. It is hard to take such a small window of time and declare that we are having a long term change in climate. I believe we are and it doesn’t matter to me whether it is because of humans or just because.
Either way we are going to have to adapt to it and I don’t think most of us accept that.
As always I am interested in your responses. Feel free to leave one.
Sweetie Pies Serving Up More Than Good Food
There are two things I generally don’t do. Write restaurant reviews and go to “in” places. But today I will break those rules.
There is a restaurant in town called Sweetie Pies. It is located at 4270 Manchester, an area of St. Louis known as The Grove. The restaurant is run by a woman who used to sign with Ike and Tine Turner. That having been said, I have probably met her in years gone by.
Back in the sixties I was a regular patron at The Club Imperial at Goodfellow and West Florissant. The admission fee was a quarter. Ike and Tina played there on Tuesday nights. The real bonus is that when Tina was not on stage she would dance with the patrons. I was one of those lucky guys. I wasn’t much of a dancer but she was always gracious and never played favorites. So maybe once a month or so I would muster the courage to ask her to dance. She would always accept.
I learned recently that the lady who owns Sweetie Pies was a signer with the group. Her name is Robbie Montgomery. So, maybe there is a connection.
When I first heard about Sweetie Pies it was from many of my very white friends who had gone there on a Sunday morning for breakfast. It was the “in” thing to do. They would talk about the people, more than the food. Many of them seemed to be proud that they had gone to eat at a primarily black restaurant.
So for a long time I resisted going. Being a young boy born in New Orleans I had eaten with plenty of black people. I had an African American nanny for three years. (African American was a term not in use back then, she was referred to as a negro or black). I wasn’t going to a place to eat just to show how accepting I am of black people.
But the stories of the food kept haunting me. Soul food is a special thing. My mother was one of the best cajun cooks to have ever walked to face of the earth. But soul food is different. Certainly some of my mother’s offerings were soul food. And we would eat soul food when we went back to visit the relatives in Louisiana. But I hadn’t had any in a while. So I gave in.
What I found was actually exiting to me.
First of all, let’s talk about the food. The restaurant is set up like a cafeteria. You get in line and each of your choices is served to you by friendly women who seem to really enjoy their jobs. There is a menu that shows the daily specials. Today was Salisbury steak or short ribs. Of course you could order both. I went off the menu and got the chicken wings. I am glad I did. They had a wonderful crust and the meat was most, juicy and plentiful.
The side orders I got were Macaroni and Cheese. This is the way God wanted this dish to be prepared. Wow. I could eat only that and be happy. The other side was Okra. Now you either like Okra or you don’t. But if you are in doubt go to Sweetie Pies and try theirs. I love it. If you are on the fence, I guarantee you will like it.
But what I liked even more is what I saw.
This was a picture of St. Louis that I wish were city wide. The restaurant was filled when I got there. About half the patrons were white and the other half were black. The black people I saw there appeared to be middle class people who were on a lunch break. There were men, women and children of both races.
On an interesting note I saw a table of white people who, if we judged by looks only, you would never expect to see at a black owned restaurant. Yet everybody was happy and obviously comfortable with one another.
I hate to sound like an aging hippie but it just gave me a warm feeling. I wish that the entire St. Louis Metropolitan area could reflect what I saw there. I am not optimistic about that.
I will go back to Sweetie Pies. I will go there because the food is so good. I am not going to add my whiteness. The place doesn’t need my help.
But food, good food, can breach a lot of gaps. And maybe, just maybe, Sweetie Pies has two functions. Go there. Try it. You will be glad you did.
By the way, Sweetie Pies is the subject of a reality show on the Oprah network. I haven’t seen it. But it might be worth watching.
The Catholic Influence
I am not sure what significance to put on the Santorum victory in the Missouri Republican primary. Almost no one showed up to vote. I would imagine that those who did show up to vote knew that it was an empty exercise and would result in no delegates being assigned to the winner.
So who voted? I have not been able to sit down and look at the precinct reports. But I have a suspicion, at least in the St. Louis area that a lot of those who voted for Santorum were from the Catholic faith.
There are a lot of Catholics in the St. Louis area. Santorum is an outspoken Catholic. Plus a vote for Santorum is a very conservative vote and St. Louis Catholics can be very conservative when they are trying to foist their views off on others.
They are strong supporters of birth control and opponents of abortion, at least when it applies to others. When it applies to them they are pretty good about making their own independent judgment.
I don't know how this played out across the State. Rural Missouri is anything but Catholic. The Assembly of God church is dominant in the Springfield area of Soutwest Missouri.
I am looking forward to seeing what the caucuses bring. I predict that the Romney people will be better organized and will ultimately prevail. Romney really is the only chance the Republicans have of beating Obama, if Obama can be beaten at all.
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