SUENOSDEUOMI'S RUMINATIONS: June 2015

Historic & Momentous Eulogy

President Obama's Eulogy starts at 1:21:01

MAD & GLAD!

My buddy Joe, Comedian and Senior Editor of MAD Magazine.

Freedom Won!

Freedom to chose - divorce -

as we know, most that marry will go through a usually painful divorce.

Scalia did not ask me, I am still considering myself a hippie, somewhat.

I am still anti-establishment,

I am still for freedom.

But I must admit, it took me a while to come around to the idea of marriage between other then a prince and a princess. That fairytale ideas from childhood had gotten stuck in my head and would not dislodge easily. It was my friend that introduced me 12 years ago to such an outlandish notion as same sex marriage in her thesis for law school. Of course I tried to argue her points. I am still against marriage in principle, but all for voluntary long term relationships, which I admire whenever I happen to come upon one.

George Harris (82) & Jack Evans (85)

Married in Dallas TX today, 6.26.2015

Daily Kos

I do not equate marriage with love.

Marriage is an arrangement and now those seeking legal immigration to the US should have double the choice of partner potential available to them for a marriage to qualify them for immigration!

What I really treasure is the discovery of the U.S. Treaty of Tripoli: "The government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion." I am sincerely relieved to have found a legal, valid point to refute the claim that US society is supposedly based in Christianity made by a former Tea Party dog walking buddy. I was surprised to hear that, but did not until today know of a legal answer to his claim. I am sincerely relieved, my thanks to Mary Bonauto, who made the argument in an exchange with Chief Justice Roberts. How odd that Roberts seemed unaware that marriage does not require a religious ceremony and does not have to twist any priest's unwilling heart or arm!

Along the lines of equal rights, our City Council, spearheaded by our gay Mayor, voted for ALL GENDER PUBLIC RESTROOMS meant to provide safe public bathrooms for everyone, despite such a thing seeming to me an oxymoron. There is no real safety in public bathrooms, now is there? It's a place to go in - and out as fast as possible, touching as little as possible. But lockable single rooms will insure that no one will have to listen again to another's conversation from another stall while in the process of doing their business. With gay pride happening this weekend, the LGBT community and our society as a whole has a lot to celebrate.

The one and only John Oliver in his wisdom explains matters to us:

YES!

Basket Case

Sumo spent all night for the first time ever in the cat bed,

a Nigerian straw basket bought in the eighties,

covered with a freshly laundered towel.

He looked cozy and not exactly eager to get up and out.

Silver

Lisa Law's Now Antique Hippie Bus

on the Railyard Plaza, Santa Fe,

for last Sunday's Summer Solstice Celebration.

Purple Peace

Fiesta Parade, Santa Fe, 2008

Yes, we had our own Ghandi complete with a thick german accent!

After decades of Lisa Law's participation in our local Fiesta,

a celebration of our local hispanic history,

there have been rumors that this rig is no longer welcome.

I suspect it may have something to do with proper registration for this bus.

Some suspect more sinister motives.

Time will tell (or Lisa.)

Good Morning

Behind El Museo Cultural which hosts our annual Currents new media art exhibit.

What a morning it already has been! I accused one of the workers on our 'monstrosity', our brand new 11-plex movie theater, who in a very nice chat had revealed to me that he is from Las Cruces, the southern, more conservative part of our state, of not standing up for his beliefs because he did not wish to reveal to me his political leanings. I had inquired, with a big grin, if he voted for Susana, my derogatory term for our Republican Governor!

Truth is I feel like I lived in a 'new-agey' bubble among like- and alternative minded folks. Somehow it seems to me we missed the turn to the right our country took. These days I feel a need to know, I really want to know what people are thinking, feeling and standing for. I wonder and ponder why we are in the mess we are in? Who are my fellow Americans whose political choices, or lack of, entwine us in to a shared fate? Yeah, blame it on others! Well, no, I blame myself some, ever since 9/11 for not having been engaged enough on a social and political level. So I ask, always with a smile, and express myself often to strangers, often with mixed results.

I do believe we are social animals. We tend to follow a herd kind of mentality. I can see it in myself, doing often unconsciously what others are doing, or demonstrating to me. Somebody does not pick up after their dogs, something I abhor, soon enough I find reasons to not wanna pick up after mine. Seems to me this is only natural, so I have to engage reason, sense and sensibility, to do the right thing. (I pick up after my dogs, I say 97% of the time and make up for it on those rare occasions I did not.) Seems to me that if enough people speak their minds and express themselves honestly and engage, rather then disconnect, the people as a whole, our society will move forward in a positive direction. Am I mistaken? No, blaming of course is not the way forward, but holding accountable ought to be part of it. Stating our truth and engaging with those that think differently ought to be part of it. Looking at any one thing from many different angles ought to be part of moving our society and social conscience forward. Dismiss this as the ramblings of an aging, socially isolated, lone and too talkative woman if you must.

Stormy Weather

My Breakfast Table Today

Pancakes topped with yesterday's currants,

picked at our nearby public park

(no pesticides allowed!)

Goat butter may just be my discovery of the year, I love it!

It allows me to use my new cast iron pans on my new stove without burning

or sticking, a dilemma I grappled with for the past 16 months.

I can even flip the darn cake,

and I am left with a nice golden crust.

Goat butter does not stink of goat at all,

sorry, I am not a fan of goat cheese or milk,

no matter how healthy it may be for us.

I like it so much better then Ghee, or clarified butter, which does stink,

terribly, left out in a pan for a bit too long.

Goat butter works much better for me then olive- or sesame oil.

I learned ages ago to avoid heating olive oil,

I do believe it is best used cold over salads and such.

I am experimenting with alternatives to the organic rice milk I have been using.

Coconut milk is what I added to my coffee and my pancakes today.

Dr. Weil has been on the fence on coconut butter

in regard to heart and vascular health and so am I.

The taste is fine, but beware of the additives.

Almond milk does not taste great to me.

Produced mostly in California for us Americans at least,

it requires a lot of water in now a drought stricken state.

Not the most environment friendly choice anymore!

The lettuce shows up on my table because it needs to be potted

and yes, I do have a small bowl of compost on my breakfast table.

John Oliver: Torture

John gives us another reason to vote for Bernie, or Hilary, but caution, you may not want to look at Hummus for a good long while to come:

6.16.2015 Good News:

Senator Udall Statement on Senate’s Vote to Prohibit Torture

Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s bipartisan 78-21 vote to reaffirm the ban on waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques. The amendment now moves forward as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

“Torture is a stain on our nation’s all too recent history. As the comprehensive investigation by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence confirmed, the CIA’s post-9/11 'enhanced interrogation' techniques were not just brutal and inhumane — but also ineffective. This amendment reaffirms the torture ban and ensures that we never again compromise our core values and resort to such methods. Americans should never torture in the name of security, no matter who is in the White House.”