The empty chamber

~ Patrick O'Grady

http://www.youtube.com/v/CVE72Ae82Tw&hl=en_US&fs=1

Here’s a fun story from The New Yorker about how the U.S. Senate works, or mostly doesn’t. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to his seat last year and is already running in defense of it, contributes a few comments that make me wonder why in hell he wants to stay there.

“Sit and watch us for seven days — just watch the floor,” the freshman Democrat told George Packer. “You know what you’ll see happening? Nothing.”

I appreciate that it should be difficult to create and pass legislation to fix things and help people. But it should not be impossible. And lately, it is. This is not encouraging if you’re among the growing fraction of jobless Americans that Paul Krugman fears are in danger of becoming a permanent underclass as Congress defines prosperity down.

10 thoughts on “The empty chamber”

  1. Aw c’mon Patrick!! Is it really that hard to see? I mean when was the last time you saw ANY politico do anything resembling ‘work?’ And I’m not talking about some photo-op where Prez. Ding Dong was lifting a shovel to move a pile of dirt from one side of the trail to the other….I mean work. As in not sit on his/her arse and press a button, or scream “You Lie!” like a two-year old. These people get elected because they are good at doing nothing. As a wise man once observed: “Those who do, do. Those who don’t, legislate.”

  2. Equally depressing.

    OPINION | August 01, 2010
    Op-Ed Contributor: Four Deformations of the Apocalypse
    By DAVID STOCKMAN
    How my Republican Party destroyed the American economy.

  3. George Carlin: “It’s called The American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”

  4. Senate Rule XXVI: why does the GOP hate the troops? And why are the Dema too stupid (or just too incompetent?) to exploit it?

  5. You guys are REALLY making me want to get back on an airplane to Italy! How ’bout a different subject — FOOD! The wife’s still in Greece, hobknobbing with her fellow philosophical wizards and pondering the reasons for the above political situation (hint – people are stupid!) so I’m fending for myself here on the steamy plains of Iowa. Whipped up a pasta dish the other night that was even better than I’d planned. Here’s the scheme: Boil up your choice of good spaghetti (Barilla, DeCecco, etc.) and while the water’s heating up, pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a big fry pan. Saute some fresh zucchini, sliced red pepper and red onion for a bit, just to cook it. Next, throw in some capers — these MUST be the salted kind from Italy, do NOT bother with those awful things in vinegar at the grocery store. The best come from Pantelleria, the island off Sicily and can be found on the ‘net from our friends at Gustiamo if you can’t find ’em anywhere else) Before you throw in the capers, wash them in water, then soak ’em in white wine for 5 minutes, then dump ’em in there. Thaw a frozen (or fresh if you live near the sea) tuna steak and cut into cubes. Throw those in and cook just until they start to get some color change — salt to taste, then turn the whole works off and cover the pan. When the pasta’s done, throw it in the pan and mix it around to coat. Don’t just dump the whole pound of pasta in there though, do it gradually until you have a nicely coated mixture, save the rest for some other project. Easily serves two or three. Enjoy with a crisp white wine and a crusty piece of bread. Molto buono! And if yours truly can make this, pretty much ANYONE can, trust me!

  6. Except for the fish (my wife is a strict vegetarian) that sounds like our board of fare often enough. Having grown up with Sicilian grandparents taking care of me while Mom worked (until Mom married some Anglo guy and the food in the house went to Hell), I had a lot of chance to both grow and cook good Italian food.

  7. Italian food is generally easy and simple, USE HIGH QUALITY INGREDIENTS and DON’T MESS THEM UP with a lot of fancy technique. Of course the further north you get, the more French influence there is but it’s still pretty simple and wonderfully varied. I’m amazed here in the midwest (but it’s probably not a whole lot different elsewhere due to the Olive Garden – “McDonald’s of Italian food” effect in my opinion) at how many folks think Italians eat pasta with red sauce at every meal….or worse, pasta covered in melted cheese. In our typical three-month bike tour season I’d bet we eat pasta with red sauce less than 10 times while of course there’s never any pasta dishes covered with melted cheese like you see on TV. I cringe and start yelling at the screen everytime I see some “Dog balls alfredo” creation being hawked by those OG philistines! Who eats that s__t?

  8. Thanks Larry for the recipe and all the tips. The info about the capers is great! I have gotten general food and prep techniques and alot of food and wine suggestions from the show “La prova del cuoco”. I have made ‘cooking’ recipes from the show. Would like to get more organized and get on the pastry recipes which will require a strict translation in baking terms!

    I miss Antonella Clerici and wish Anna was on more often. Elisa is adorable and has gotten more comfortable speaking with the lay-person chefs and involving them in the show. Of course, alot of the corny bits that Clerici did no longer feature in the show – I always assumed those were for the kids and Clerici is a very game host! I hope RAI International brings “La prova” back for the new season.

  10. We dined once in a place outside Rome where the chef/owner had competed on La Prova…I have to admit I didn’t care for the host so much, she came across as a complete phony to me…no real interest in the cooking or eating, to me she looked like she’d be just as happy mugging for the camera on “Il Prezzo e Giusto” (Price is Right) but the lady at this eatery knew what she was doing though I can’t remember if she was the “winner” or not as it was a long time ago, I’ve only seen the publicity spots for the current show with the new host lady. There’s a guy there in Denver who runs the Barolo Grill (dumb name, who can grill Barolo?) and closes the place down each year and takes some of his staff to Italy to eat, etc. A place we often visit in Castelmagno (yes, the home of the famous cheese) on the Passo Fauniera told me once about this American guy who visited for lunch. I later went to Barolo Grill (taking velo-journalist Maynard Hershon along) while in Denver a few years back and dined as well as talked to the guy. Interesting character and his food was pretty decent – next time I need to eat in Denver I’ll stop by there. (FTC disclaimer – we got nothing from Barolo Grill and I have no connection besides friendship with anyone importing salted capers into the USA)

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