This'n'That; March 6th[Cooking;Health;Limbaugh;UnEmpl;Paterson]

FUBO/NOBO Gear: http://www.fubowear.com/

BJ's Monthly Coupon Book

Anyone who's a member of BJ's Wholesale Club gets one of these coupon books each month. I've always thought the book was nothing but coupons and advertising. This month they included articles about the various areas of the country they buy fresh fruits and vegetables. On the page with the "apple" article, they included a recipe involving- naturally-apples. It was a kinda strange recipe; not written in normal recipe-ese, you know- one cuppa this, one tsp a that, etc. So I kinda put together my own. We had six fairly thin boneless porkchops, total weight about 1-1/2 pounds. [Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees] What I did was brown the chops in oil on high heat. I removed the chops from the "juice" left in the pan. I added 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice to the "juice." I cored and chopped three medium apples into the juice. I then sprinkled [a guess] three tablespoons of a splenda-brown sugar mix; 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, over the apples. The chops were served with the apple chips on top, along with paprika-fried potatoes. The "Young Miz Lovely" thought they were great.... so great, infact that I didn't get a "before-the-sun-goes-down" list for tomorrow!!

Bipartisanship On Health Care Reform[?]

[The new socialist definition of bipartisanship: The non-socialist party rolls over and plays dead while the socialists have their way with whatever wealth transfer program they're promoting at the time. I live in the dictatorial socialist State of New York where we conservatives HAVE NO REPRESENTATION at the state or federal level. ALL of our state and federal representatives and senators are members of the ruling socialist class. I had hoped that the republican minority leadership would not fall into the bipartisanship trap.... but it doesn't look that way:]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pledged bipartisan cooperation on health care reform Wednesday, but he also laid down markers on policy that immediately put Republicans at odds with many Democrats. “It is essential that we work together across party lines and we would like to express our strong desire to reject partisan tactics and move forward on this important challenge in a comprehensive, inclusive and bipartisan manner,” McConnell wrote in letter to The Fluffer, which was signed by four senators who sit on committees with jurisdiction over the issue. At the same time, however, McConnell suggested there were areas in which Republicans won't compromise, particularly the creation of a new public insurance program to compete with private insurers. “Forcing free market plans to compete with these government-run programs would create an unlevel playing field and inevitably doom true competition,” the letter stated. “Ultimately, we would be left with a single government-run program controlling all of the market. This would take health care decisions out of doctors and patients and place them in the hands of another Washington bureaucracy.”

The Limbaugh "Offer"

Before the media pundits get it twisted to suit their agenda, I heard the offer Rush made during his Wednesday show. He invited The Fluffer to debate the issues on his radio show, in real time. He offered to provide his private plane and fleet of SUVs for roundtrip transportation at no expense to the Treasury. He offered to house The Fluffer and his handlers at a local prestigious resort for the length of the stay at no expense to the Treasury. He offered The Fluffer the same $100-a-pound Kobe beef that The Fluffer had his handlers serve during the recent State Superbowl Party at no expense to the Treasury. There would be virtually no expense to the Treasury [what a unique concept!!]. Maybe with a calcium injection [a gain in bone mass, i.e., a spinal column], The Fluffer will take the plunge and let his fallacies see the light of day.... doubt it, tho'!!

Unemployment Outlook

[W-O-W!! Check the article below. Imagine how bad the numbers might have been, if The Fluffer had not saved some of the 3.5Million jobs he assured us he'd create or save during the "Campaign of Fluff".... did he actually save ANY?..... I wonder how many?.... I wonder how The Fluffer plans to explain the methodology his handlers use to measure "a saved job?".....More trickle-up poverty? GAWD, we're "bleeding" jobs at a monthly average of 655,000..... and this {insert descriptive tag here} is still intent on "givin' away the farm!!!" Although it won't buy many votes, a more logical, equitable solution is to reduce the welfare rolls by 15% annually, RATHER THAN the 17% "pay raise" they've gotten under the Porkulus bill]

The US private sector shed 697,000 jobs in February, a survey of business employment showed yesterday. "The nightmare continues," said Ian Sheperdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. "Every indicator tells us that employment is tanking across the economy." Results from the monthly ADP Employer Services survey, which tracks private non-farm payroll employment, were worse than expected and followed ADP's January report estimating a revised 614,000 jobs lost. The so-called Beige Book, which collates reports from the Fed's 12 districts, said that national economic conditions deteriorated during late January and early February and were not expected to pick up until the end of the year or into 2010. Ten of the 12 regional reports indicated weaker conditions or falls in economic activity. The employment survey showed that the services sector was hit the hardest last month, shedding 359,000 workers. The goods-producing sector lost 338,000 jobs, the 25th consecutive monthly drop, including 219,000 manufacturing jobs and 114,000 in construction.

Paterson Droppin' Like A Brick

[Elliot Spitzer-even after being caught "mid-stroke" with his hooker-of-choice, Kristen-had higher approval numbers than Guvner Dave!! YUP-True!!! Spitzer-30% approval; Paterson-26% approval. If Guvner Dave is to regain ANY credibility, he has to govern as though he can't seek re-election. He has to put the interests of New York STATE taxpayers at the fore! Taking on the state's most powerful organizations, the state teacher's union [NYSUT] and the government employees' union [CSEA] would gain him increased stature in the taxpayers' eyes. Both unions exert undue pressure on the executive and legislative branches for increased salaries, health and retirement benefits. For instance the lowest/highest CSEA salaries in April, 2007 were: $19,977-$86,018. Through annual increases, the April, 2010 levels will be: $22,041-$92,974. A tidy sum, indeed!!]

On Tuesday, theMarist College Institute for Public Opinion released a poll that pegged Mr. Paterson’s job approval rating at the lowest point in the 27 years that Marist has been surveying public opinion of New York governors. Only 26 percent of the 1,045 registered voters surveyed said Mr. Paterson was doing either a good or excellent job, while 71 percent said he was doing a fair or poor job. Even Eliot Spitzer had a higher approval rating, 30 percent, in his last days as governor after being implicated in a prostitution scandal almost a year ago. The poll, conducted in late February, indicates that voters believe Mr. Paterson is working hard and understands the state’s problems, but suggests that people do not have confidence in his ability to lead. Mr. Paterson and his aides declined to comment on the survey Tuesday. After a series of missteps, including his botched handling of the selection of a senator to replace Hillary Rob'em Clinton, the governor has acknowledged his political troubles. The Marist poll also showed that he would be trounced by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a hypothetical primary matchup. Mr. Cuomo has not ruled out a run for governor. “You’re dealing with a bad economy, low scores on his handling of the budget, a messy Senate pick, a lot of TV ads about cutbacks and a drop in his leadership numbers,” said Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist institute. “There’s a lot of erosion at the core, not just at the edges.” Roughly two-thirds of those surveyed feel the state is not headed in the right direction. Among Democrats, Mr. Cuomo would beat the governor in a hypothetical primary matchup, 62 to 26 percent. In a general election, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani would beat Mr. Paterson, 53 to 38 percent, the poll found. The Marist poll also suggests that Kirsten Gillibrand, whom the governor tapped to replace Mrs. Rob'em Clinton, has yet to win over voters. Ms. Gillibrand, a former congresswoman from upstate New York, was rated as fair or poor by 32 percent of voters and good or excellent by 18 percent, with half still unsure of her performance. The Marist poll was conducted by telephone last Wednesday and Thursday; it has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. His primary task will be successfully navigating the budget negotiations amid perilous fiscal circumstances. An array of powerful Albany interest groups, particularly labor unions, are spending millions of dollars on commercials criticizing his proposed cuts.

Til Nex'Time....