Monday, April 5, 2010

The Work of Nations

We are at war with Pakistan, bombing and killing thousands of people who might otherwise object to our war with Pakistan, which is urgent and vital and necessary to secure the success of our war with Afghanistan, in which we are bombing and killing thousands of people who might otherwise object to our war with Afghanistan, which is urgent and vital and necessary to secure the success of our war with Pakistan, which together with our war with Afghanistan is urgent and vital and necessary to our national interest, which is defined as that collection of things which our nation happens to find interesting. You may say that all this is arbitrary and inhuman and evil and insane, and you'd be right, but I ask you: if the United States doesn't step up to the task of killing people the United States has decided to kill, then who will?

21 comments:

  1. From our friends at Carnation. You could substitute strawberries or blackberries.

    with best wishes,
    Fannie Farmer (Mrs.)

    Creamy Lemon Raspberry Pie


    This pie features fresh raspberries, whipped topping and lemon zest for a refreshing flavor.

    Ingredients

    * 1/4 cup seedless red raspberry jam
    * 1 prepared 9-inch (6 oz.) shortbread crumb crust
    * 1/2 pint (about 1 cup) fresh red raspberries, divided
    * 4 ozs. cream cheese, softened
    * 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
    * 2 pkgs. (about 3.4 oz. each) lemon instant pudding and pie filling mix
    * Grated peel of 1 lemon
    * 1 container (8 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
    * Additional grated lemon peel (optional)


    Directions

    SPREAD raspberry jam over bottom of crust. Sprinkle 3/4 cup raspberries over jam.

    BEAT cream cheese in large mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually add evaporated milk, pudding mixes and lemon peel. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in half of whipped topping. Spoon into crust; top with remaining whipped topping.

    REFRIGERATE for 2 hours or until set. Garnish with remaining raspberries and additional lemon zest, if desired, just before serving.

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  2. Make pies, not war. Mmmm...pie....

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  3. A recent foray with Key Lime pie finally taught me what I imagine many men already know; that condensed milk and evaporated milk are not the same.

    The latter, makes delicious delicious Key Lime pie. The former, make curdled milk with lime flavoring...

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  4. At least we get to destroy all those weddings, because I ask you, is there anyone that really enjoys an Afghan wedding?

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  5. Fannie Farmer (Mrs.), we have missed you!

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  6. Well, if we stop killing all those civilians, then we won't need drones and clusterbombs and mercenaries, and if we don't need drones and clusterbombs and mercenaries, then our streets here in Pleasantville will fill with the unemployed.
    And if our streets fill with the unemployed, because our economy stagnates, then our citizens will start to wear dirty clothes and our children will have to go to religious schools and eat paste pie and everyone will hate America, and then we will have to invade America and bomb and kill ourselves, which is clearly not in the national interest at all. Except maybe the people we don't like much, like that guy up the street whose dog barks all the time.
    Maybe when we're victorious in East Asia we can invade that guy's house and tie his dog up and shoot it and say it was an honor killing or something.
    Democracy rocks.

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  7. if the United States doesn't step up to the task of killing people the United States has decided to kill, then who will?

    Finland.

    I mean, I'm not sayin' for sure they will, but have you asked?

    They seem super helpful.

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  8. Doubtful.

    Ask Albania, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan.

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  9. It's this kind of negative attitude that ignores the plight of the true victims of the war on terror - our unmanned drones.

    Those thankless defenders of life and liberty, who give their all in the defense of this country and our way of life by selflessly flying overhead and raining hellfire on people who cannot possibly retaliate.

    They are the real victims, not the countless citizens of Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and sooner or later every other country in the area.

    Those people are sometimes terrorists! That's not just an arbitrary definition coined thousands of miles away by bureaucrats, that means that they might someday terrorize someone like you, or me, or this innocent child here! Or worse, they might know someone who knows someone who did that very thing once! Or be marrying someone whose uncle knows someone who did.

    Until the Middle East is out of people that Washington can label terrorists, this war can never end. And until then, I'll weep for the drones before I'll waste tears for the men, women, and children their duty prompts them to butcher and murder.

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  10. Gotta watch out for those guys with cameras, too. Why, sometimes those cameras are even loaded with film!

    There is no excuse for that sort of thing, in a Democratically occupied state.

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  11. the interests in control of our nation

    Many in the blogosphere may be on the verge of adopting the acronym MICFiC -

    M ilitary
    I ndustrial
    C ongressional
    Fi nancial
    C orporate media complex.

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  12. By the way, contrary to the ignorant opinions sometimes expressed here (yes, there is ignorance everywhere, even here - the world's still the same, you'll never change it) there ARE people who enjoy Afghani weddings - attractive young yoga instructor Bria Tavakoli, for one:

    The opulent festivities didn’t disappoint, the peeps I hung with were cooler than cool, and the food was nothing short of amazing. There was so much of it and every bit was delectable. I was (mentally) playing detective with every bite, wondering what spice was in this chicken dish, if this bird was quail, pheasant, or pigeon, and how long this sauce had to simmer to reach perfection in flavor. For me, eating is one of life’s pleasures, but cooking is a close second, so if I can figure out how to reverse engineer some amazing dish, then it’s pretty thrilling. Of course, simply scoring the recipe will do.

    http://westofpersia.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/my-big-fat-afghani-wedding-adventure/

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  13. Oh my! Why people in that country do that? How horrible!

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  14. We have met the enemy and he is those guys over there.

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  15. And that one, too. And the kid.

    And I think they see us.

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  16. Ah, Missus (Mrs.), it's great to have you back. And you brought pie! rb

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  17. Yeah, but I ask you, does anyone really like Yoga?

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  18. Oh my! Why people in that country do that? How horrible!

    As much as I hate spam in general, I think I preferred it before it got smart enough to pretend it was taking part in the conversation.

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  19. Oh my! Why people in that country do that? How horrible!

    As much as I hate spam in general, I think I preferred it before it got smart enough to pretend it was taking part in the conversation.

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  20. I have a very strong personal interest in seeing my children grow up healthy and well educated. I have a very personal strong interest in living to see my grandchildren do the same. I believe most other people want to be left alone to do the same. I don't know this 'National' personally, but, I don't think his interests coincide with mine.

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  21. Thanks to our host, and to all who have expressed friendly sentiments. This blog is one of my personal favorites, with its intriguing combination of public affairs, the lively arts, home economics, and the contributions of the commenters.

    NutellaonToast is quite correct - condensed milk and evaporated milk are different. Briefly put, the former has sugar in it, and the latter does not. The recipe I've posted above uses evaporated milk, whereas the previously posted Kool-Aid Pie is made with condensed milk.

    http://fafblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/fafblog-interviews-hillary-clinton.html

    However, there are pie recipes that use both. Here's one.


    Easy Frozen Key Lime Pie

    Forget spending hours in the kitchen. Instead, celebrate the warming weather with a slice of this simple pie. Easy to prepare, you can enjoy the great outdoors while looking forward to this light and tasty treat.


    Preparation Time: 15 mins
    Cooking Time: None
    Cooling Time: 6 hrs 30 mins freezing
    Servings: 10

    Ingredients

    1 can (12 fluid ounces) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk, well chilled
    1 can (14 ounces) NESTLÉ LA LECHERA FAT FREE Sweetened Condensed Milk
    1/2 cup fresh lime juice
    1 tablespoon freshly grated lime peel (green part only)
    1 prepared (9 ounces) graham cracker crust
    10 thin lime slices for garnish (optional)

    Directions

    POUR evaporated milk into small mixer bowl; place beaters in same bowl. Freeze for about 30 minutes or until ice crystals form around edge of bowl.

    BEAT at high speed until evaporated milk doubles in volume. Beat in sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and grated lime peel. Spoon into crust.

    FREEZE for 6 hours or until firm. Garnish each slice of pie with lime slice. Cover any leftover pie and freeze for up to 1 week.

    http://tinyurl.com/y2z4mjl

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