maryland

real news begins a series of interviews with gerald friedman, author of a recent study on what single payer health care would look like in maryland.  gerald friedman is a professor of economics at the university of massachusetts, amherst.


 

lazy woman's blues

lonnie johnson (1894-1970) in a 1941 recording.


 

happy birthday medicare

illinois congresswoman jan schakowsky - who has been a single payer advocate (supporting an improved medicare for all through h.r. 676) - "pops myths" about the affordable care act [youtube below] - and on medicare's 47th birthday on friday.


 

on the same occasion, the houston chronicle runs an article by margaret nosak, professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine and president of Health Care for All Texas.  

she writes, "Before Medicare was enacted 1965, most retired older people were at risk of financial ruin when they got sick. Medicare changed that picture, and our state and nation are much better for it."

hmm, sounds familiar nowadays to many in other age groups, too, doesn't it!  including the recently horrifying story of the shooting victim who faced a possible 2 million dollars in medical bills (the studio for dark knight rising now taking on his bills).  if i were an opponent of guaranteed health care for all, i might have been asking why that young man didn't have enough money saved up for these possible medical expenses!

for i have been told as much in debates on this subject with opponents.

also from margaret nosek:

Ironically, the best way to save Medicare is to improve and expand it to cover everybody. By establishing an improved Medicare for all, a single-payer health-care financing system, we could recoup about $400 billion that is wasted each year on unnecessary, private-insurance-related profits, paperwork and bureaucracy. That's enough money to provide health care to everyone in the U.S. with no co-pays or deductibles and without spending a penny more than we do now.

We would also acquire other cost-control tools like the market clout needed to negotiate lower prices for medical supplies, and the ability to set global budgets for hospitals.

This type of system would bring back free choice of doctor and hospital - the one thing everyone agrees is among the top goals of health-care reform.

Polls show an improved-Medicare-for-all approach enjoys the support of about two-thirds of the public and more than half of all physicians. Yet up to now, this commonsense solution has been blocked by private insurers, pharmaceutical companies and their allies in Congress.

On Medicare's anniversary, what do you say we give them a run for their money? Tell your elected officials the ACA doesn't go far enough. Cut the private insurers out of the picture. We need an improved and expanded Medicare for all.

if the houston chronicle is printing margaret nosek's article, perhaps we're approaching a time when it won't *just* be 2/3rds of americans and more than 1/2 of american physicians supporting such a strange idea - like the one they have in canada.

and maybe when we write to our representatives, that time, he or she will write back, saying (instead), "you're so correct!  and that's exactly what we're going to accomplish today in congress.  so i just signed h.r. 676 (or its senate version)."

then we're really gonna party.

poetry

minnesota poet lauren martinez catlin in a poem about living on minimum wage - the math works.

 

teach in

if you missed the national gathering in philadelphia, here's a participatory workshop with paul getsos on whether you are an activist or an organizer, the differences between the two, and the importance of knowing those differences.

 

drum roll

occupytvny releases more footage of the occupy guitarmy arrests on july 11th after the group completed its 99 mile march from philadelphia to wall street.  n.y.p.d. takes a lead drummer.  but can they stop this music?

why did the police officer in question find the drummer so threatening? the answer, in the opinion of this blogger, lies in the question the crowd poses to the police, at the tape's conclusion:  "who do you protect?  who do you serve?"

not The People, we know, in this instance.  for, historically, drummers symbolize the bravery leading soldiers into just battle - on behalf of The People (not corporations) - the stirring of insurrection, the call of liberty, the spirit of principle.  perhaps the bravest of all, their drum roll readies the troops, maintains them, as the musician walks without gun, often at the front of lines, or in other places within the crowd, but headlong into battle armed with nothing but his or her music and courage - and often, innocence of faith, as they have also been children or youth inspired by what they believe to be heroism.

as standard, the soldiers/crowd protects the drummer, sometimes sacrificing themselves to save the musician - the proverbial inner child - the nation's ideals - its resistance, the heartbeat.  so, of course, in this case, the crowd responds with righteously equal and greater strength to the police officer's fear of, and aggression towards, the "drummer lad" and all that his presence may deeply evoke in americans - as the police actively suppress this important american symbolism - that is supposed to be protected under the first amendment - and by arresting the drummer, even dressed in an american revolutionary's hat. 

then an elderly female protester collapses, and bedlam ensues .. thanks to the boys and girls in blue .. just doing their job for you-- at the gates to zuccotti park:  where the heart of a nation still beats.

courtesy of sonofthesouth.net

on the historical significance of drummers 
to americans - thomas nast's drummer boy

"The illustration shows a spectacular sunrise scene in a Union Civil War camp.  As the sun is rising, a group of Civil War drummer boys can be seen marching through the camp, playing a spirited cadence on their drums as they march through.  The soldiers can be seen waking up and stretching as they realize the time to arise has come." 

occupytvny reports:

Police instigated a conflict shortly after the Guitarmy arrived in liberty plaza, arresting drummer Brandon Hunt as he played on the site of the Occupy Wall Street drum circle in Liberty Plaza. As Occupiers rushed to the West side of the park, the police also arrested a photographer, and seized both his camera and his dog. One protester, Mary Hath Spokane, well known for her Lady Liberty costume, collapsed in the park. Some onlookers said she had been pushed by police as she tried to intervene in one of the arrests. The fire department later claimed she had fainted.

Later, the police and Brookfield Security tried to stop the occupiers from feeding pasta to those assembled. High ranking security made the ludicrous claim that it was a violation of park rules to have food in the park. Local residents and workers constantly dine in the park, often on food purchased from carts lining Cedar Street on the South side of the park and across the street on Broadway. The cops and guards chose to back off but shortly thereafter rushed a homeless man for laying down on a bench. Later in the evening they arrested the livestreamer known as JCOZ, and forced out of the park Marsha Spencer, a resident who often knits there, saying she was not allowed to bring her folding chair.

courtesy of chron.com

photographer:  matt rourke/ap

mary hath spokane of olympia, washington in her well-known lady liberty costume at occupy protests.  ms. hath spokane collapsed as n.y.p.d. arrested the guitarmy drummer.  some say she was first shoved by the police.

courtesy of dalje.com

photographer: monika graff/up

marsha spencer of new york city knitting stars and stripes in zuccotti park prior to bloomberg's "night to remember."  ms. spencer, a familiar occupy protester - evoking for many, the spiritual presence of betsy ross - was forced out of the park by n.y.p.d., july 11th 2012, on the pretext that she was not allowed to have a folding chair.

 Also below, RT discusses how filming police in washington d.c. is, indeed, legal (in case they told you otherwise).

kansas city

math and meaning laid out simply enough?  for a financial analyst in washington d.c.?  or just why the 1% (and their water carriers in congress) suck?

a minimum wage/part-time worker at a "raise the wage" rally in kansas city, missouri shares what he lives on, and in an economy that isn't producing more jobs, or more jobs beyond fast food joints.

more below from the same rally, calling for an increase in the federal minimum wage .. to 20 dollars per hour .. oh excuse me, that amount was too much sanity speaking through my fingers to the keyboard .. for is the amount mildly suggested (above the present minimum "wage") even enough to be considered "a raise?"

it's really time for this country to start talking about a guaranteed minimum liveable income, say, 25-30,000/year for an individual.

outsourcing

los angeles times reports health insurance companies (like wellpoint) outsourcing clinical services and decision-making to india and the phillipines - dumping nursing jobs in the u.s., heightening medical risks - and privacy risks, too, sharing privileged medical information outside the country, where protections don't exist.

in a related article, the paper reports that another 10% of employers anticipate dropping health insurance coverage for employees over the next 3 years, and as medical costs keep rising.

locomotive breath

jethro tull, 1982.  aqualung recording here.

methinks shakespeare would be proud.  in the words of simon and garfunkle, "the writing's on the wall."

nhs 1948

a 1948 animation introducing the aims of the british national health service (nhs) introduced that same year.  if you go to the doctor in the u.k. today, you don't see a bill. you don't see a monthly premium bill, either (or a bill for what your premium didn't cover).  if you need to go to the doctor, you just go to the doctor.  the way you enroll your children in a local public school, or the way the sanitation or recycling people just come by ... or the way the police (are supposed to) respond if you call them to report a crime in progress (and you don't get billed) ..

 

poetry

poet luis rodriguez, just announced as the vice presidential candidate on the newly established justice party ticket - and running with rocky anderson.

luis rodriguez is an award winning writer, a journalist, artist, human rights activist and community organizer, recognized as a major voice in contemporary chicano literature.  he is a former gang member.  the following youtube is from a uc berkeley television series called lunch poems. 


 

pardon

today's opinion piece is from rocky anderson, one of the presidential candidates in our series on 3rd parties supporting an improved medicare for all. it follows today's blogging on wikileaks developments and the bradley manning case.  mr. anderson states that he would pardon bradley manning, if he were elected president. rocky anderson is a twice elected mayor of salt lake city running on the newly established justice party ticket.

window

wikileaks announces a window of opportunity for donors formerly blocked by visa and mastercard, and via carte bleue. 

The French credit card system, Carte Bleue, is coupled with the VISA/MasterCard system globally. VISA and MasterCard are contractually barred from directly cutting off merchants through the Carte Bleue system. The French non-profit FDNN (Fund for the Defense of Net Neutrality- Fonds de Défense de la Net Neutralité) has set up a Carte Bleue fund for WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks advises all global supporters to make use of this avenue immediately before VISA/MasterCard attempts to shut it down.

also, the australian reports today that australian officials have at last responded (in part) to a 6/30/2012 10 page letter from julian assange's legal team. in that letter, barrister burnside requests information on australian government communications with the u.s. government, including whether an indictment has already been prepared by the u.s.  the paper reports australian officials stating yesterday that u.s. officials had not given them any indication (one way or the other, i gather) whether mr. assange would be extradited and charged.

julian assange asserts that the case is about freedom of speech and the press.  he expresses fear that if he were extradited to the united states from sweden, he would be charged with espionage and terrorism related offenses and held under the same deplorable conditions as bradley manning;  he could also be held punishable under the death penalty where capital punishment may still apply to espionage charges in the united states. 

mr. assange has requested asylum in ecuador.  he is presently staying at equador's embassy in london while ecuador considers his request.

below, bewareofyak shares a live update on private manning's case from court reporter alexa o'brien.

mexico

real news carries the video piece below on mass protests in mexico against the presidential election results, including a critique of what neoliberalism is doing to the nation, economically.   

paul imison reports, while an elite and upper middle class become even wealthier, mexican poverty is actually growing, with 52 million people or 46% officially classified as "poor," and 12 million in extreme poverty.  the oecd now ranks mexico the 2nd internationally for the greatest income disparities.

vision

the rumored document from the occupy national gathering in philadelphia is now published online here.

titled vision for a democratic future, it reflects the collective work of occupy activists who traveled from various parts of the united states to network, put their minds together, and articulate common concerns which brought the occupy movement together, to begin with - and on the anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence.

another group in austin, texas (that couldn't travel to philadelphia, i gather) also met, in solidarity with the national gathering, and released this document, as a result of their visioning process.

below is a video also released by the national gathering, with a clip of one of the philadelphia sessions, and a presentation of the document's contents, along with framework for its meaning in the context of the entire occupy movement.

 

the student poverty song

from nova scotia, director dillon garland, and the dalhousie student union, the student poverty song.  

 from dalhousie student union:

Executive Producer: Richard Clark Cinematography by Mitch Bank Edited by Dillon Garland Song by IGA Song recorded at The Music Room by Tyler Myalls Cast: George Woodhouse Anthony Manuele Iain MacNeil The Dawgfather Dillon Garland Desmond Wolkins Paige Northrup Keagan Nickerson Hailey Horachek Emily Watson Fiona Chetty Rob LeForte Laura Dimand Richard Clark Hannah Dahn Cuddles the cute puppy. A special thank you to those who held up signs showing their student debt and to all the students who volunteered to appear in the Student Poverty Video.

oil addiction

filmmaker:  Greenpeace Nordic volunteer group in Norrköping, Sweden  genre:  real horror

poetry

lavinia greenlaw reads blue field.

 

petrol

courtesy of the guardian

activists close shell petrol stations in u.k. to protest arctic oil drilling - this co-opted station features a polar bear model looking over the shell corporation logo.

the guardian reports greenpeace activists have shut down 74 shell petrol stations in edinburgh and london to protest shell's plans to drill for oil in the arctic.  the russian oil company gazpron is also scheduled to drill.

video here. 
 

courtesy of greenpeace

greenpeace activists close petrol stations in u.k.

the paper reports 24 arrests with police cars now parked at all shell stations across the capitol.

Protesters have scaled the roof of the Shell station on Queenstown Road near Battersea Park in London and on Dalry Road in Edinburgh, with police and fire crews attending the scene in Edinburgh.

Activists arrived at the Battersea Park branch at 6.45am and used the station's barriers to close down the forecourt. They have since covered the Shell sign with a Save the Arctic banner and positioned a life-sized polar bear model on the station's roof.

The activists are shutting down the stations by using an emergency shut-off switch to stop petrol going to the pumps and then removing a fuse to delay it being switched on again. The organisation has since posted a picture of an activist posting one of the fuses to Shell's head of Arctic drilling, with the message: "We're being careful not to destroy property. Even the carefully removed components will go back to Shell."

courtesy of the guardian

photographer:  Denis Sinyakov/Reuters

 greenpeace activist in a polar bear suit during a red square protest in moscow, as part of the save the arctic launch.

guardian reports the protest as part of greenpeace's save the arctic campaign, to prevent oil drilling and industrial fishing in the arctic by having the region recognised as a world park. 

   

keynote

democracy now! carries gar alperovitz' stirring keynote address at the green party's national convention in baltimore. youtube below, he states, "the system is running out of options," and that we may be living in the most important period in american history, "laying the groundwork for the next great revolution."  gar alperovitz is a noted historian and peace activist outspoken in his critique of truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb.

 

the green party has now officially chosen (by a resounding margin) dr. jill stein and cheri honkala as candidates for president and vice president of the united states.

more blogging on the 2012 presidential election here, and linking backwards from there.

chalk

courtesy of liz savage's blog, occupy los angeles

"chalking is not a crime."

"it all started with some sidewalk chalk"

occupy los angeles reports an aggressive, militarized police response to protesters chalking on sidewalks during a popular monthly artwalk, with more people joining in when they saw the crackdown on civil liberties.

ustream reporter and blogger liz savage says the police may have even tried to jam her ustream signal, recordings available for viewers here. she reports at the group's website that "it all started with some sidewalk chalk," and estimates 1200-1500 people at the scene.

Prior to artwalk we had has 11 arrests in two weeks for chalking, and near 20 in the past month. Last night there were 11 arrests for chalking. The only person arrested from occupy was the first person who was arrested for chalking.

LAPD responded to the chalk with 60+ officers. Some people who were arrested for chalking last night did it in spite of watching others get grabbed around them. They were not occupiers, but they could see the tyranny and were not going to stand for it.

As the arrests grew, so did the police presence. As the police presence grew so did the crowd around them of angry bystanders who had seen people being arrested for chalking on the sidewalk, or who had themselves been shoved by the very aggressive police.

"non-lethal" projectiles?

twitter photo, 

courtesy of anonymous, north carolina

on the scene at occupy los angeles, july 12 2012

police response to chalk artists

the l.a. times reports with video 19 persons arrested and that police used batons and "non-lethal" projectiles .. isn't that what the projectiles were supposed to be when they shot scott olsen in the head?

liz savage at the scene (echos of villaraigosa strategy):

Shots were fired, 40mm foam grenades, pepperspray rounds, and teargas, as they split the crowd in 3 to drive us away. Most of the people dispersed. Quite a few were injured by batons, and less lethal rounds. When I left there were maybe 20 people standing off with police, and about 100-200 in the bars, or watching from windows and balconies.

The entire scene was surreal. And it all started over washable sidewalk chalk. The most ironic part is there was light rain, and the chalk was washing away before the arrestees were even booked.

l.a. times photostream vieweable here.

 twitter photo

courtesy of juan carlos sanchez

on the scene at occupy los angeles, july 12 2012

"prisons are overpopulated and chalking is harmless!"

7.17.2012 update

the following youtube has been released by occupylamedia - an on-the-scene interview with the person shot by lapd with a rubber bullet - and apparently the same person whose photo was tweeted.  charlie shepherd reports being merely an artwalk visitor.  other youtubes have been uploaded showing the irrational and violent police response to sidewalk chalking, including another man who was shot, some presently viewable when the tape runs through.  rubber bullets permanently took the eyesight of several montreal students who were peacefully demonstrating.

rafters

democracy now! is covering the green party's convention in baltimore with three pieces linkable from here.  amy goodman reports that roseanne barr has also been a candidate for the nomination.  below, a mainstream media piece i found from about a year ago (usually not watching the stuff, myself). 

since we're digging around in the rafters of third parties, i also found this extended conversation with jerry levy of brattelboro, who was a presidential candidate for the socialist party u.s.a. nomination (they already had their convention in 2011).

 

there are no rafters for the justice party since they are newly established. 

but here is an interesting 2004 conversation with howard zinn on voting 3rd party during the kerry/bush battles.  he finds his way through the big morally troubling questions (the ones "they" never ask "themselves" about what "they're" doing) by asking whether or not one is in a swing state. 

more blogging on the 2012 presidential election here, and linking backwards from there.

student debt song

great student loan rap from the beat assassins.

 

the bank

director, dianetix.

 

poetry

The Goose And The Commons

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from off the goose.

The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.

The poor and wretched don’t escape
If they conspire the law to break;
This must be so but they endure
Those who conspire to make the law.

The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from off the common
And geese will still a common lack
Till they go and steal it back.

-- 17th century protest against English enclosure

star spangled banner

from native interface, the scene in n.y.c. after occupy guitarmy had marched 99 miles from philadelphia to wall street.  police swarmed in to clear the park, arresting people.  in the first video, a large group of male police officers gather around a lone older woman in a little orange hat sitting with her shopping cart with a little american flag and a small cardboard sign reading that she just wants a better future.  one officer points a bullhorn right in her face ordering her to leave - then the group of them throw her to the ground, and arrest her.  later, one of them says to the videographer, "careful, i wouldn't want you to fall and hurt yourself."  the videographer responds, basically asking him what the heck that is supposed to mean.  toward the end of the video, the videographer himself is arrested, the camera seemingly covered by some kind of fabric, while the audio is left running so that you still hear the arrest in this almost surreal manner. 


 
in the second video, the police arrest a photographer taking pictures of their behavior, while a musician plays the star spangled banner.  the videographer shares some thoughts.

 

break-in

a seattle s.w.a.t. team breaks into the home of occupy activists, searching and seizing property, without making arrests or explaining their presence.  in the youtube below, RT discusses the break-in with occupy seattle activist phillip neel (woken and handcuffed at the scene), the aggressive and unconstitutional crack-down on occupy by police agencies, and implications for the occupy movement.

 

also in occupy news, village voice reports here on a perceived attempt by n.y.p.d. to smear the occupy movement by connecting public transit activism with a grisly murder committed in 2004.

people's candidate

jill stein announces an outstanding vice presidential running mate - a real people's candidate - cheri honkala, one of the nation's leading anti-poverty advocates.  

from the green's party website:

Honkala is National Coordinator for the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign, one of the country’s largest multi-racial, inter-generational movements led by the poor and homeless. Compelled by her own experience as a homeless, single mom, Honkala has spent nearly three decades working directly alongside the poor to build the movement to end poverty, and has organized tens of thousands of people to take action via marches, demonstrations and tent cities.

“Ever since deciding to run for President, I’ve been thinking about who would have the strength and courage to take up this fight with me,” said Stein. “Cheri Honkala has shown tremendous perseverance and leadership, despite remarkable odds. Her selflessness and demonstrated capacity to inspire make her the perfect Vice Presidential candidate to help me reclaim democracy.”

honkala was the first woman to run for sheriff in philadelphia, and on a no-eviction platform, also endorsed by the national organization for women.  she is selected out of over 200 running mate recommendations.

below is a clip of cheri honkala speaking at occupy washington d.c. in october 2011:



the green party kicks off its national convention tommorow in baltimore.

jill stein's announcement of her 2012 presidential candidancy, also in october 2011:

more on alternative presidential candidates here, and linking backwards from there.

la tomatina

voters throw tomatoes.

 

jungle book

sweet street symphony in jungle book.

rebel, soldier, outcast

genre:  thriller  running time:  2:16  filmmaker:  andrew pengilley

 

poetry

poet kate tempest in her work, icarus.

interviews

continuing examination of alternative 2012 presidential candidates (link backwards for all posts), and supporting medicare for all (rocky anderson, jill stein, stewart alexander).  below are youtube interviews with each candidate.

amy goodman of democracy now! interviews rocky alexander of the justice party, december, 2011:



paul jay from real news interviews jill stein of the green party:




le moyne college radio interviews stewart alexander of the socialist party u.s.a.  (i don't immediately see a television interview, except for this one here and this one here when he ran for lieutenant governor in california, 2006):

document

amidst the general media white-out and an asserted police demolition of occupy, people have been wondering what really happened in philadelphia.

yes! carries this piece reporting an energetic intersection of minds and bodies meeting, networking, and mapping out a vision.

“It feels exactly like an Occupy,” said Michael Wilson, who came from his hometown of Salt Lake City with three fellow occupiers, each of them driving a three-hour shift. “It’s like all the months of an occupation compressed into just five days.”

The activities of the National Gathering—or “Natgat,” as occupiers invariably called it—covered a wide range of styles, tactics, and approaches to social change. At the gathering's center was a visioning process in which small groups of occupiers spent days carefully hammering out their ideas about the kind of changes they’d like to see. Then, these groups were combined and began compiling their ideas into a single document, which is rumored to now be 75 pages long.

scotland

real news asks whether an independent scotland will throw out trident missiles. 

 

radar

what else the u.s.s.c. was up to while everyone was talking about their opinion on the affordable care act.



 

caruso

lucio dalla singing his composition, caruso.

CARUSO

Here, where the sea shines

and the wind howls,

on the old terrace beside the gulf of Sorrento,

a man embraces a girl

he wept after,

then clears his throat and continues the song:

I love you very much,

very, very much, you know;

it is a chain by now

that melts the blood inside the veins, you know...

He saw the lights out on the sea,

thought of the nights there in America,

but they were only the fishermen's lamps

and the white wash astern.

He felt the pain in the music

and stood up from the piano,

but when he saw the moon emerging from a cloud

death also seemed sweeter to him.

He looked the girl in the eyes,

those eyes as green as the sea.

Then suddenly a tear fell

and he believed he was drowning.

I love you very much,

very, very much, you know,

it is a chain by now

that melts the blood inside the vein you know...

The power of opera,

where every drama is a hoax;

with a little make-up and with mime

you can become someone else.

But two eyes that look at you,

so close and real,

make you forget the words,

confuse your thoughts,

So everything became small,

also the nights there in America.

You turn and see your life

through the white wash astern.

But, yes, it is life that ends

and he did not think so much about it

on the contrary, he already felt happy

and continued his song:

I love you very much,

very, very much, you know,

it is a chain by now

that melts the blood inside the veins, you know...

I love you very much,

very, very much, you know,

it is a chain by now

that melts the blood inside the veins, you know...

[translator unknown]

courtesy of 0bollincin0

summer omelette

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  jack gavigan

Borough Market in London, England on 28th November 2009

summer omelette with roasted tomatoes

appliances

10" cast iron pan

spatula

mixing bowl

fork or egg beater

cutting board

knife 

pot holders or thick towels for handling the hot pan

 

 

courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  yuvalif

cast iron pan with blue handle

ingredients

1 medium sized yellow or white onion, sliced and chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic - peeled, sliced, and chopped

 

several red tomatoes on a vine, each cut into a few thick slices

6 large eggs

a few dashes of milk 

about a fist-sized mound of your shredded cheese of choice (examples: cheddar, asiago, or some mixture)

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, a few generous sprinkles of freshly dried basil

 courtesy of wikipedia

photographer:  raysonho @ grid engine

eggs in a supermarket

procedure

1.  preheat oven to 350 degrees;  prepare your onions, garlic, and shredded cheese.

2.  follow blog instructions for preparing roasted tomatoes with olive oil and garlic - here at this pasta recipe link - but do it in a cast iron pan instead, and using the seasoning indicated for this recipe.  In addition to sprinkling with chopped garlic, add chopped onion, too.

3.  roast in oven for about 1/2 hour - 40 minutes.

4.  while tomatoes are roasting, beat your eggs with the milk - when the tomatoes are ready (and carmelizing nicely), add your eggs to the cast iron pan, then your grated cheese (arranging as needed), and return to the oven for another 15 -20 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!  

Slice in pizza style wedges, garnishing each with a sprig of parsley or cilantro.  The wedges should come easily out of the pan with a spatula.

discussion

the cast iron pan renders this recipe especially iron rich, while also convenient. 

baked omelette can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - and leftovers refrigerate nicely in sealed containers (no more than a day or two) for snacks or easy early morning protein.

for lunch or a light dinner, serve with salad, oven fries, or grain dishes - also, a very well chilled white wine. 

variations include adding other vegetables to the cast iron pan for roasting with the tomatoes, such as lightly oiled and seasoned asparagus, brussel sprouts, or broccoli. 

poetry

the search for lost lives by james tate, animated, with the poet reading aloud.

stewart

next in old sauk river's coverage of alternative 2012 presidential candidates - stewart alexander, running on the socialist party u.s.a. ticket (he formerly ran on the california peace and freedom ticket for lieutenant governor, 2006).  stewart alexander is a democratic socialist and supports free college education for students, an improved medicare for all, a guaranteed minimum income, childcare for working families, and a steeply graduated income tax - with proper taxation of the financial assets of the 1%, and  taxation tied to the community with penalties for corporations that move their businesses elsewhere.  below, two stewart alexander statements - one on health care, and the other on education.








by the way, who says you can't compete with corporate media?  below, check out the stewart alexander for president 2012 commercial made by a student for a civics class project, with an actor playing stewart alexander.

jill

continuing examination of 3 alternative presidential candidates, a feb 2012 clip below from jill stein, running on the green party ticket.  she lays out an overview vision, including full employment (and an "employment office" instead of an "unemployment office"), an improved medicare for the whole country, a full forgiving of student loans, "breaking up the big banks," reducing military spending by 50%, repealing the patriot act, hand-counted paper ballots for all elections (whether they're computerized or not, if i understood correctly - and with a ballot that must be hand-marked by the voter), and much more:

rocky

oldsaukriver begins examining material for three third party presidential candidates:  rocky anderson of the justice party, jill stein with the green party, and stuart alexander of the peace and freedom party. 

rocky anderson for president recently released the clip below following the u.s.s.c. decision on the affordable care act.  he discusses how medicare for all would cost less while providing better health care for americans.

independence mall

tim pool's livestream channel from independence mall in philadelphia, and for july 4th.


 

 

factory

martha wainwright in factory.

climate change

what your weather report could sound like.

 

chinatown

meanwhile, in los angeles, a large demonstration against a walmart opening in chinatown.  

more blogging here on walmart's worker practices.

national gathering

courtesy of occupied stories

occupy caravan road trip

occupy activists are converging in philadelphia for a national gathering. from the nation:

“For me, this is a chance to finally meet face-to-face with people who are doing work in other cities and build real relationships,” said Jeff Rae, an Occupy activist who had his Twitter records subpoenaed by the New York District Attorney in March.

“In a much broader scope, I hope that at the National Gathering, we can have some real dialogue about what’s next for Occupy. New tactics and strategies.”

nbc philadelphia reports here on a day 3 of protests and arrests, including a march in solidarity with quebec student strikers and an incident in which police kettled and arrested 26 evening protesters, including the ustream reporter.  [a video is viewable at the nation link - for some reason (only known to the authorities), the blogger system isn't allowing the ustream to post.  you might also be able to link to it after the clip below runs through.]

in the youtube below, from NativeInterFace, a non-violent resister in a daytime philadelphia protest is hit in the throat by a national guardsman using his baton.

more blogging on philadelphia here and an occupy caravan on its way with some vegie pizza to share.