R Blog

Juiced Up

I hope the claims of the many juice advocates are close to being correct because we are spending a small fortune on juice. For many years we had a Champion Juicer which sort of rips the juice out of veggies and can’t do much more than make carrot juice. That is, it can’t make green juice which the "experts" claim we need to insure good health. So, following the example of my two brothers we bought a Green Star Juicer which sort of squeezes the juice of stuff using a magnetized, twin screw, low heat device. Anyone who has owned a Champion has probably lost interest in making juice after a period of time because 1) you can get pretty tired of carrot juice and 2) the Champion is a bitch to clean up. Not so the Green Star. Easy to use and clean plus you can run just about anything through it. I’ve juiced blackberry canes in the darn thing. This is the great thing about the Green Star. No matter what you throw at it, it keeps on juicing. We basically have one juice recipe—everything. In the photo you can see that we are juicing: an orange, lime, cucumber, celery, apple, beet, garlic, sweet peppers, cabbage, ginger and carrots. The greens consist of a whole bunch of cilantro and Italian parsley, and copious amounts of kale and mustard greens. Other days the greens might include broccoli stalks, dandelion or romaine. This batch of fruits and veggies made about two quarts of juice, a two day supply. Some people suggest not mixing fruit and vegetables but our attitude is that it’s hard enough to develop the discipline of juicing every two days without worrying about food combining rules. Hopefully, we are getting all of the advertised benefit of vitamins, enzymes, phytochemicals and chelating agents in an easy to digest format. As anyone who has taken a shot of wheat grass at a juice bar knows, green juice can give you a kind of a head rush. Best drink this recipe seated. (Total time required from opening the fridge to reassembling the juicer after clean up—30 minutes). Note: anytime you add a beet of any size to your recipe the juice will be red.  This is what the juice would look like without the  beet.

Video Highlights of the Week

The history of "Stay the Course.

James Webb discusses George Allen's interest in literature and says, “They say I’ve writen more books than George has read...or, maybe they were talking about the other George.

Rush mocks Fox  (not Fox news)

Letterman vs O'Reilly

Quotes of the Week

Over the last quarter century, the portion of the national income accruing to the richest 1 percent of Americans has doubled. The share going to the richest one-tenth of 1 percent has tripled, and the share going to the richest one-hundredth of 1 percent has quadrupled.Jonathan Chait.

Regarding the interrogation (torture) of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Ron Suskind: The thing they did with Mohammed is that we had captured his children, a boy and a girl, age 7 and 9. And at the darkest moment we threatened grievous injury to his children if he did not cooperate. His response was quite clear: "That's fine. You can do what you want to my children, and they will find a better place with Allah."

Paper Tiger

This is mostly for golfers. There are lot of golf books but not many worth reading. Author Tom Coyne (who also wrote the novel which became the movie A Gentleman's Game) has come up with a very Plimptonesque memoir of his year trying to get as good as the pros. This is a fantasy that most golfers have. The short version is: how good could I get if I spent all day long for a year working on my game with the help of a top golf teacher, sports psychologist, trainer and nutritionist? In Coyne’s case, good enough to move his handicap from a 9 down into the minus range. His goal was to try and make it through Q School and get his card. So, he packs up his stuff, heads to Florida where he’s rented a condo, leaving his girlfriend of nine years and bears down on his golf game and his conditioning. Although he alleges that he used his savings to finance this effort, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he had an advance from Penguin to help out. And, the fact that he was a published author of a golf-themed novel and the screenwriter for the film version which starred Gary Sinise must have helped open doors. For example, a very big time teacher Dr. Jim Suttie took him on and traded his services for editing help on articles Suttie was writing. Suttie hooked Coyne up with Mizuno Golf and they furnished him with fitted clubs and bag. Titlest provided golf balls and shoes. Country clubs offered playing privileges. And well known sports psychologist Dr. Bob Winters also came along for the ride. Even with all the help and improvement of his game the year didn’t go smoothly, interrupted midstream by an unexplained tumor that mysteriously appeared then disappeared. Coyne’s handicap improved, his weight dropped, new muscles appeared and he shot a few good rounds. He also wrote a real page turner of a book which I gulped down in two sittings. Coyne is a skillful writer and gives us an inside look at high quality golf instruction, training methods and sports psych. He weaves his personal story through the golf and is engaging, entertaining and often funny. Since he failed so miserably to accomplish his goal it’s a wonder that the book is so good. He ratifies what all golfers know. The game is not easy. And the boys that play on the PGA Tour really are good, as are the fellows on the European Tour, the Nationwide Tour, the Australasian Tour and even the mini-tours. Having a minus handicap at your local club is one thing. Taking that to a tournament course in tournament situations is something else entirely. This conclusion does come through loud and clear. The real dramatic high point of Paper Tiger comes about three quarters of the way through when Coyne, visiting his father’s country club, reaches a 600 yard uphill par five in two shots and sinks the putt for an eagle, the second eagle on that hole in the history of the club and the only time it had been done by an amateur. Coyne’s father was duly impressed and proud which probably made the entire experience worthwhile.

Hey LA People: Buy Our House

"Gang-related violence has soared in the San Fernando Valley, with 36 killings in the past 10 months and gang crime in some neighborhoods increased 50 percent over last year, according to a report released Thursday.” Must be scary living down there. Why don’t you move to Ashland, Oregon and live two blocks from Main Street? We are just above the activity layer and just above the fog layer and just below the snow layer. The house is on a steep hill—like San Francisco. The hill provides security. Goofballs don’t bother to climb up here (we don’t have gangs, just strange people we believe are hired by the Chamber of Commerce to add a bit of local color). We can walk from our house to the following places in less than five minutes: library, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, movie theater, Starbucks, bakery, accountant, attorney, Lithia Park, Safeway, post office,  and many, many nice restaurants (if you don’t cook, you’d never have to). In ten minutes we can walk to Southern Oregon University, our doctor or dentist, the Ashland Community Food Store and the hardware store. You could even walk to the top of Mt. Ashland from our front porch if you have six hours (and a ride home). And if you need to get out of town the airport is twenty minutes north. This house is small, very charming but has room for guests in separate quarters. If you fancy yourself artistic you can call our backyard cottage a “studio” and practice your art without fear of gang violence. (Also, Ashland is reportedly very low on the Al Qaeda target list).
We don’t have a driveway or garage. If you own three cars and change your own oil, this place isn’t for you. There is parking for three cars, however, in front of the house and if you insist on a parking place off street you could cut into the beautiful heather and chop out the rock wall that was built with the house in 1912. But really, don’t you just want to get away from the maelstrom and into a safe, secure, quiet environment in a house that is easy to care for and maintain? It takes good care of itself while we are gone. And, we have left for up to two months at a time. We’ve updated and redone everything except the kitchen countertops (if you are hung up on granite you can put it in). There’s something quite nice and environmentally sound about living small in 1400 sq. ft (1058 in the house; 360 in the cottage) and walking everywhere. Plus, we have a a custom built sauna that adds warmth to chilly winter nights. Why would we leave such a paradise you ask? We're trying to get away from all the people moving here from LA and SF (Just kidding!)  We are serious about selling. Call our realtor DeAnna at 541-732-4922.Download 3_hillcrest.pdf  Did I mention there's a view? And wildlife?

More On Gangaji and Eli Jaxon-Bear

In my recent post about Gangaji and her husband Eli Jaxon-Bear I inferred that there might be financial motivation to cover up the affair or abuse of power that involved Eli with a former student. One commenter took issue with my conclusions suggesting that Jaxon-Bear and Gangaji (aka Eliot and Toni) were not living the high life. There is now a lively discussion with some excellent ranting and analysis taking place on the Topica email discussion list and I found the following comments purported to be from a former Leela Foundation staff member (or members) to be quite interesting in what they were charging:
"the two people who have taken my money for the past four years to support their increasingly lavish, 1st class, Trump Tower, gas guzzling, philandering lifestyles.”
"I mean they live like kings  off a mostly volunteer force that
literally slave away for them. 5 star hotels everywhere they go, 1st
class everywhere they go, face-lifts and the finest clothes from the
highest end shops, two homes, etc. etc. etc.”
The students and disciples of Eliot and Toni are having problems with the abuse of power exercised by Eliot over a student/disciple/patient thirty years his junior and Toni’s coverup of same. They feel it is a breach of trust. It’s a fascinating discussion which should be of great interest to anyone who has set a guru, teacher, pastor, or political leader on a pedestal. One can sympathize with how conflicted some of these followers are. We are getting lots of examples recently of how power corrupts in any sphere. I’ll bet Gangaji and Eli Jaxon-Bear/ Toni and Eliot aren’t even Republicans.

UPDATE: For even more, see Brian Hines' Church of the Churchless.

The Worst Congress Ever

Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone Magazine  tells us what he really thinks.
It’s a long article and worth reading for the colorful descriptions. Samples:

“...a hairy-necked, raincoat-clad freak like Rep. Mark Foley...”
“...the U.S. parliament became a historical punch line, a political obscenity on par with the court of Nero or Caligula...”
“...the legendary Republican monster James Sensenbrenner Jr., an ever-sweating, fat-fingered beast who wields his gavel in a way that makes you think he might have used one before in some other arena, perhaps to beat prostitutes to death.”
“...Rep. Bill Thomas -- a pugnacious Californian with an enviable ego who was caught having an affair with a pharmaceutical lobbyist...”
“...GOP leaders cruised the aisles like the family elders from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, frantically chopping at the legs and arms of Republicans who opposed the measure.”
“...the "torture bill." It's a law even Stalin would admire, one that throws habeas corpus in the trash, legalizes a vast array of savage interrogation techniques and generally turns the president of the United States into a kind of turbocharged Yoruba witch doctor, with nearly unlimited snatching powers.”
“Watching Ted Stevens spend half a trillion dollars is like watching a junkie pull a belt around his biceps with his teeth. You get the sense he could do it just as fast in the dark. “
“Instead of dealing with its chief constitutional duty -- approving all government spending -- Congress devotes its time to dumb bullshit.”
“...the same Congress that put a drooling child-chaser like Mark Foley in charge of a House caucus on child exploitation also named (Duke) Cunningham, a man who can barely write his own name in the ground with a stick, to a similarly appropriate position.”
“...appalling moral blindness, a sort of high-functioning, sociopathic stupidity, has been a consistent characteristic of the numerous Republicans indicted during the Bush era.”
“...when Ohio's officious jackass of a (soon-to-be-ex) Congressman Bob Ney finally went down for accepting $170,000 in trips from Abramoff in exchange for various favors...”
“The greed and laziness of the 109th Congress has reached such epic proportions that it has finally started to piss off the public.”
“Sloth. Greed. Abuse of power. Hatred of democracy. Government as a cheap backroom deal, finished in time for thirty-six holes of the world's best golf. And brains too stupid to be ashamed of any of it. If we have learned nothing else in the Bush years, it's that this Congress cannot be reformed. The only way to change it is to get rid of it. Fortunately, we still get that chance once in a while.”

Extremism In Defense of Liberty

Today I joined the ACLU. I’ve always thought the ACLU took some interesting cases. Many seemed a bit extreme. But watching a documentary recently on HBO about that noted libertarian Barry Goldwater who famously said,  “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue,” I was struck by the necessity to defend liberty as outlined in the Constitution. Yesterday the President, surrounded by torture advocates from Congress, Justice and the Executive branch, signed into law the Military Commissions act.
“The ACLU has been vocal in its opposition to the act, noting its failure to protect due process, elimination of habeas corpus for many detainees, undermining of enforcement of the Geneva Conventions, and granting of a "get out of jail free card" to senior officials who authorized or ordered illegal torture and abuse.” Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution says, "The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it." There is no “Rebellion.” There is no “Invasion.” There is only fear of such and we have managers who play on these fears. Now they have the power to eliminate habeas corpus which requires government to show the legal basis for imprisonment. American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said, "The president can now, with the approval of Congress, indefinitely hold people without charge, take away protections against horrific abuse, put people on trial based on hearsay evidence, authorize trials that can sentence people to death based on testimony literally beaten out of witnesses, and slam shut the courthouse door for habeas petitions." The ACLU will fight against it, no doubt attempt to show the law is unconstitutional. That’s why I signed up. The President now has the authority to deem an American citizen an enemy combatant. That’s too much power for anyone, let alone George Bush to exercise.  Consider supporting the ACLU.

How To Save $4400

Once a year 1000 remarkable people gather in Monterey, California to exchange something of incalculable value—their ideas. What happens here has never been shared...until now. TED, a conference of forward thinkers in technology, entertainment and design. TED’s founder suggests that TED is the prerelease version of heaven because you get to listen to some of the most interesting people in the world. Now on their website you can see and listen to a group of fascinating speakers: Tony Robbins, Al Gore who you probably have heard of and many more you haven’t.. Eva Vertes, for example, a Princeton student who was recognized as a teenager for her work on Alzheimer’s; Mena Trott who founded the company who hosts this blog (Mena tries to explain why blogs are important); Jimmy Wales who founder Wikipedia; Majora Carter who won the Macarthur price trying to bring greenspace to the inner city; even Eve Ensler, discussing her vagina. There are more than thirty talks currently available, each one approximately twenty minutes long. The TED conference costs $4400 to attend and is already booked solid for next year. So click  here and enjoy the conference.

The Big Dog Talks

Your chance to watch a political genius at work. Hint: it’s not Mr. Bush. Heh, heh, heh.

Attention Evangelicals

If you missed David Kuo on last night's 60 Minutes talking with Leslie Stahl on his new book Tempting Faith, wherein he accuses the Bush Administration of cynically using the Christian community for political purposes, you can watch the entire interview here on Crooks and Liars.