Monday, July 20, 2009

I Hate Mushy Peaches

Grown to Be Seen ... NOT Eaten

Have you ever had the unpleasant experience of biting into a delicious-looking peach, such as these, and ending up with a mouth full of tasteless mush? Well, I have, and it has happened one too many times for me. My latest experience comes from South Carolina peaches that I purchased yesterday at a boutique or upscale grocer in my neighborhood. In the past I've had good experiences purchasing fresh fruit there, but now it seems they have begun marketing mushy fruit too.

Three years ago when I first blogged about my disgust at purchasing mushy peaches, I asked America's grocers and fruit growers why they hoodwink American consumers into purchasing their picture-perfect fruit, such as these peaches, when the fruit is unfit for human consumption.

Mushy Peaches , 2 September 2006 - 3 Photos

I photographed the peaches to show their beautiful appearance before I flushed them down the garbage disposal. These peach beauties were home-grown. They spent months in orchard sunshine, precious Arab fuel was expended to take them to market, a customer spent hard-earned dollars to purchase them from a grocery store, and then they were sent down the drain, as they were too mushy and tasteless for human consumption.

At that time I received an email from a peach grower who told me I was being unfair to blame mealy peaches on the fruit growers, as he explained that the peaches are perfect when shipped from the orchards, but are damaged by being transported or stored at cold temperatures. He wrote that growers refer to this mealiness condition as “internal breakdown” and that it is the result of improper handling after the fruit leaves the orchard’s facility.

When fruit leaves the grower’s cold storage it travels in refrigerated vans, is unloaded to a retailers’ warehouses, sent to stores’ back rooms, placed upon store shelves, before being purchased by consumers. At any one of these points, if the fruit is subjected for too long to temperatures in the range of 36-46F, which growers dub the Killing Zone, there will be internal breakdown. Because the grower has no control over the fruit once it leaves his facility, he questioned whether growers deserve my bad publicity for as he claimed, “We do not ship mealy fruit.” Well, it was not my fault, as I never place fresh peaches in the refrigerator.

What infuriates me so much, is that when I as a consumer purchase pears and peaches, I cannot tell by their appearance that they have already been ruined for human consumption. The grocer obviously knows that they have, for he or she can taste-test samples. Yet grocers sell them anyway.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Obama DISSES the DAR

More Proof This is NOT Your Grandmother's America!

Obama Snubs America's Heritage While Praising Russia's! At the exact same time that President Obama dismissed the Revolutionary War heritage of America, he was praising with uplifted voice the "timeless heritage" of Russia.

For the first time in the history of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (The DAR), an American President officially snubbed its members at their yearly convention in Washington, D.C., appropriately named "Continental Congress." Every single American President for 118 years has addressed the respected, non-political woman's organization, either in person or via written or video address. This year, 2009, the stunned audience of descendants of Revolutionary War Patriots sat in silence awaiting a message from their President, for whom many of the women had voted.

The lineage society, whose motto is "God, Home and Country," accepts women who can prove direct descent from a patriot of the American Revolution regardless of race, religion or ethnic background. This year, civil rights legend Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was awarded the DAR's highest recognition, the DAR Medal of Honor, for her lifetime of service, leadership and patriotism.

Other events highlighted during Continental Congress were:
  • Founders Medals for Patriotism, Education, Heroism, and Youth
  • Americanism Award
  • Outstanding Veteran-Patient of the Year
  • Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year
  • Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee Award for the Army Nurse of the Year
  • Margaret Cochran Corbin Award for distinguished women in military service
  • Outstanding Teacher of American History
  • Outstanding Community Service Award

During 2008-2009, which included Barack Obama's tenure as America's President, women of the DAR volunteered more than 60,000 hours to veteran patients, awarded over $150,000 in scholarships to American students, and supported schools for the underprivileged with donations exceeding one million dollars.

While President Obama deemed that the women of the DAR were not worthy of their nation's gratitude, he did address the 2009 graduating class of the New Economic School at Gostinny Dvor in Russia on July 7, 2009, during the exact time that the Daughters of the American Revolution were in Washington remembering America's "heritage" and the sacrifices of their patriotic ancestors of the Revolution. Obama spoke to the Russians of their "heritage," with these exact words from The White House Official Web Site:
I speak to you today with deep respect for Russia's timeless heritage. Russian writers have helped us understand the complexity of the human experience, and recognize eternal truths. Russian painters, composers, and dancers have introduced us to new forms of beauty. Russian scientists have cured disease, sought new frontiers of progress, and helped us go to space.

These are contributions that are not contained by Russia's borders, as vast as those borders are. Indeed, Russia's heritage has touched every corner of the world, and speaks to the humanity that we share. That includes my own country, which has been blessed with Russian immigrants for decades; we've been enriched by Russian culture, and enhanced by Russian cooperation. And as a resident of Washington, D.C., I continue to benefit from the contributions of Russians -- specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin. We're very pleased to have him in Washington, D.C.


UPDATE: The official statement from Linda Gist Calvin, President General of the NSDAR, graciously states “Rumors have been circulating suggesting that the absence of greetings was an intentional slight on the part of the President. Your President General is sure this is not the case. … Greetings from the White House to the DAR Continental Congress actually did not begin until 1910. There have also been more than a dozen years since that time in which greetings were not forthcoming. Regardless, please be assured that the DAR will continue to foster relationships with those in the White House and share our objectives of historic preservation, education and patriotism.”

Monday, July 13, 2009

Inquisition of Republican SCOTUS Nominees

"Borking" & "High Tech Lynchings" have been put on hold in case a Republican is ever again nominated. Today there is a "Sotomayor LOVE FEST" in Washington DC!

What a difference there is between the treatment of a Republican President's Supreme Court nominee and that of a Democrat President. Viva La Difference? Here are some of Kerfuffles' SCOTUS Posts from Inquisitions of Past Republican Nominations, all written after the "High Tech Lynching" of Justice Clarence Thomas, when there was no blogging: Republicans to Sonia Sotomayor: "You Will Be Confirmed!"

Sunday, July 12, 2009

If Sonia Sotomayor Is a Wise Latina, What Am I?

How has it come to pass that in today's "oh so politically correct" America, where gender-specific terms are fighting words, i.e. waitress, stewardess, it is A-ok for the MSM (Mainstream Media) to refer to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor as a "Latina?" Why cannot she be a Latino, which means "any" person of Latin-American or Spanish-speaking descent? Or why not refer to her as just plain vanilla "Latin," which is actually an English word? What next? Am I now an Americana?

And BTW, should not Justices on the highest court in the land be Americans? When have you heard the word "American" used to describe soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor?

Friday, July 10, 2009

ABC News - Covering Obama's Rear at G8

Big O was NOT Ogling! President Sarkozy of France Was!
Flickr Photograph
Big O was NOT ogling that 16-year-old Brazilian girl at the G8. It was President Sarkozy of France! Our State-run ABC News has the video proof. Remember ABC News? They proved that Obama did NOT bow to the Saudi king & that Brian Williams did NOT bow to Big O.
ABC News Covers Barack Obama's Rear - Once Again
But, it only gets worse for Big O the longer he hangs out in Italy with Sarkozy! Look at this and notice that the leader of Italy is behaving extraordinarily good: head hung low contemplating the ground:
 G8, foto di gruppo per i grandi del mondo.
Big O - NOT Ogling
The image, Obama & Sarkozy pull a Berlusconi on a girl at #G8, is subject to copyright by van Maanen. It is posted here with permission via the Flickr API by barneykin.

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Malia Obama in Peacenik Tee Shirt

Malia Obama Campaigns for Peace While Her Father Bombs Afghanistan. That is what is called playing both sides against the middle.
(Picture from Reuters - The Guardian)

From London come these most interesting photographs of Malia Obama and her family's political fashion statement. Pre-teen Malia was accompanying her father, the American President, in Europe. Why does the American media refuse to publish photographs of the Obama trip to Europe that America's taxpayers are paying for?

What was the message that the Obama family was sending to America and the world by having their daughter wear the American anti-war symbol on the very day that her father was shooting missiles into Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing scores of people? Is the Obama family protesting America's war policy? If so, why not tell the Commander-in-chief to just STOP IT? Or was Malia a walking poster child for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament? No one believes this t-shirt to be just an inadvertent wardrobe malfunction with Malia choosing a peacenik, anti-nuke logo instead of a smiley face or pink flower. Oh no! This European trip was an "official" state visit by the White House entourage, which apparently even included American celebrities. Official state visits are always very well planned in advance, particularly the family's public wardrobe.

Even if one does not find the message of the t-shirt to be interesting of itself, what about the appearance of the President's daughter being abducted by P-Diddy while the Secret Service looks on? Should not that merit a mention by America's media? Here we see P-Diddy (at least that's who I think he is) trying to kidnap Malia Obama while one Secret Service bodyguard looks away, another looks bemused, and a third looks like he's either drunk or totally contemptuous of the entire scene. Meanwhile, the fourth and fifth Malia bodyguards are cross-moonwalking, while an Italian police officer is concentrating on nabbing a pickpocket. Who knows what else we would find in this photograph if we could see the rest of the characters. Perhaps everyone following the Malia parade was wearing a "Death to America" t-shirt. Believe it or not, but later on Malia Obama removed the Peacenik T-shirt to reveal underneath ... ta da ... another Peacenik T-shirt in a different color. At least it was not a logo of Che Guerrero.

Malia Obama in a T-shirt bearing the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament symbol in Rome ahead of the G8 summit: The Picture.

Don't look for this story at any "MSM" site or news outlet. It can only be found in English in the British Press. The America Press is afraid the Obama administration will punish them if they print the photograph. Don't think for one moment that David Letterman and his ilk will mention this photograph during their comedy routines that pass for News in America of today. They are all too occupied slandering the children of Sarah Palin.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/08/malia-obama-cnd-t-shirt

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1198393/Miss-Obamas-peacenik-T-shirt-sends-message-G8-leaders.html