Greed is vile

I'm re-reading Paul Wellstone's book "Conscience of a Liberal".  First I can see why the secret powers had him killed.  Yes, I said it.  I think his death was planned.  He just made too much sense and resonated with the average voter and created plenty of healthy bipartisan legislation.  They hated him.

What has become very clear to me with each passing year: leaders like Paul Wellstone, Dennis Kucinich, MLK Jr, etc. see the simple truth - when we all do better, we all do better.  A rising tide lifts all boats.  No wealth grows without labor.  What is also clear - the 1% and corporate powers want none of that.  For them, a rising tide threatens their shores.

I truly believe that the 1% - the Dick Cheneys, the Koch brothers, the entire military-industrial complex, fares much much better when there exits a groveling peasant class.  If they can keep the teeming masses poor, hungry, pregnant, desperate, stupid, and most of all AFRAID of each other, then their wealth and power is secure.  So they think.

They need us stupid and fearful - so they pump the airwaves full of nonsense, and sprinkle their propaganda heavily with word like "communist", to which they add a lethal dose of racism and misogyny.  Keep the average working poor family focused on gay marriage, women's rights, or some ethnic boogey-man as the enemy.  But keep the focus OFF the giant corporation poisoning their water, ruining their lungs, and pocketing everything but the most meager of crumbs.

So how do we get greed out of our system?  I think deep inside every single human heart we instinctively know we all live or die together.  Yet show one human a way to cheat his fellow man and make an extra kill, an extra buck, an extra car, and the whole notion goes up in flames.

Stewed

"On My Gods She's Writing on her Blog!".
Yep, still here.  Facebook seems to have become my mouthpiece of choice lately.  But I will not completely abandon my blog.  Not when I have something really GOOD to share.  Something warm and cozy to eat while watching Mittens Romney self-destruct on live TV.  The family loved it.

CROCK POT BEEF STEW
2-3 lbs stew meat (I had exactly 1.7lbs, work with what you have)
3 carrots, sliced (I used more because I love cooked carrots)
1lb pkg frozen green peas with onions (I had none so skipped this, and instead added some frozen chopped onion from my garden)
1lb pkg frozen green beans
16 oz can whole or stewed tomatoes (instead I used a bunch of homegrown fresh tomatoes - chopped in chunks, skin and all)
1/2 cup beef broth (all I had was those little tiny pkgs of concentrate, so I used 2/3 of one and some water - just plopped the blob right on top of everything)
1/2 cup white wine (again, I had none)
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 T pearl tapioca
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 t salt (I put in pepper too)
1 bay leaf

Combine everything in the crock pot.  Cook on low 10-12 hours.
Warning!  Photo stolen from the internet below!

Another crock pot victory this week - I cooked a whole chicken!  Put the whole thing in there - salt and pepper it,  put in some onion, maybe a little garlic salt.   Then cook on low 10-12 hours, or on high for 5-6 hours.  Luscious meat just falls off the bones.  Hot Chicken Sandwiches tonight!