Dear Mr. President

Mr. President,
I wanted to express my concern over your exasperation. Thank you for being president, when you are needed most!

How I'd like to thank thee..... For making me work harder so those that don't work can have the right to live as I do. The "right" to have healthcare rather than the "right" to earn it. I feel silly for never understanding that if a family can't financially provide for one child that one, two or several more makes perfect sense. The "right" to extended extensions for unemployment because it's real hard to walk past the many "Now Hiring" signs and I'm pretty sure Google doesn't work on their expensive cellular phones to help find work. Since I'm on that subject. Maybe you could do some research and verify since I'm forced to appreciate you bringing it to my attention that the "right" to cellular privacy and the "right" to bear arms are merely overrated and that they can be forfeit at any time.

I feel so selfish for seniors (Vets and their spouses not included) not having healthcare when my retirement age is 78+ years of age and the social security that they are enjoying that comes out of my paycheck won't be there for me. Hell I won't ever see a pension or retirement for that matter, since nobody will be working more than 40 hours! I feel so selfish for not hopping aboard the "right" for immigrants to come to this country and take our citizens jobs (or start their own business for that matter) and benefits without speaking the English language. I now understand that the first bankruptcy of Chrysler was just a trial run and that it's ok to not learn from their many mistakes. (by the way these Union Members are exempt from your ACA but yet most make more than $25/hour in a nearly entirely robotic industry) I shouldn't question the fact that you run the US funds like a teen fresh out of high school with their first credit card. I shouldn't question that you act like a child well before high school when anyone in this country stands up to you, but yet take your balls off with any foreign related topic.

You have won your presidency through ignorance. You won your votes through the uneducated, unmotivated, and unemployed by giving them encouragement and acceptance that those are all the great qualities this country needs. You came into presidency assuring that you would do whatever it takes to make sure that both Republicans and Democrats would communicate and be heard and yet it stands divided. The worst it's been in years. I hope you've at least improved your golf game so that you might have the ability to say you've accomplished something in the last several years. I don't even have faith that you've done that. You not only lead this country into the belief that it is alright to be less than average but make it tempting and worthwhile to do so. You sir, are a failure! Bush was a horrible president as well, but you far surpass him. You have destroyed the hope that this country can climb out of the debt by devaluing the US Dollar, and borrowing more from our competition or just printing more. You run this country like an episode of Jerry Springer that continually repeats itself. And now.... When the country needs you most... You stand there pointing fingers?! Anxiously awaiting someone else to take the lead because you have no idea how. Can't sidestep this one like you did with your ACA can you? People are becoming aware of your crimes, your phony healthcare and leadership.

I figured I'd piss and moan since you want to fully financially support minorities. I work 60 hours a week and get paid for 40. I have no kids but pay for everyone else's. I help my elderly neighbors with their lawns and yard work. I regularly donate to many charities for vets, children and local authorities. I AM THE MINORITY YOU TWIT, AND YOU HAVEN"T DONE A DAMN THING TO HELP ME!!! See, I could have the "this country owes me" so get out your big ass rubber check book mentality too, but I'd rather do what's best for the majority of this country and ask you to step down. Might be a pleasant change of pace from the swan dive you have this wonderful country of ours in.
Yours Truly

tohellwithpoliticians

Vote!!

My apologies for the formatting, apparently Marxists aren't very conscientious, and really I just don't give two shits about their wanton behaviors.  1. Abolition of private property in land and application of all rents of land to public purpose.

The courts have interpreted the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1868) to give the government far more "eminent domain" power than was originally intended, Under the rubric of "eminent domain" and various zoning regulations, land use regulations by the Bureau of Land Managementproperty taxes, and "environmental" excuses, private property rights have become very diluted and private property in landis, vehicles, and other forms are seized almost every day in this country under the "forfeiture" provisions of the RICO statutes and the so-called War on Drugs..
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

The 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1913 (which some scholars maintain was never properly ratified), and various State income taxes, established this major Marxist coup in the United States many decades ago. These taxes continue to drain the lifeblood out of the American economy and greatly reduce the accumulation of desperately needed capital for future growth, business starts, job creation, and salary increases.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

Another Marxian attack on private property rights is in the form of Federal & State estate taxes and other inheritance taxes, which have abolished or at least greatly diluted the right of private property owners to determine the disposition and distribution of their estates upon their death. Instead, government bureaucrats get their greedy hands involved .
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.

We call it government seizures, tax liens, "forfeiture" Public "law" 99-570 (1986); Executive order 11490, sections 1205, 2002 which gives private land to the Department of Urban Development; the imprisonment of "terrorists" and those who speak out or write against the "government" (1997 Crime/Terrorist Bill); or the IRS confiscation of property without due process.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.

The Federal Reserve System, created by the Federal Reserve Act of Congress in 1913, is indeed such a "national bank" and it politically manipulates interest rates and holds a monopoly on legal counterfeiting in the United States. This is exactly what Marx had in mind and completely fulfills this plank, another major socialist objective. Yet, most Americans naively believe the U.S. of A. is far from a Marxist or socialist nation.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transportation in the hands of the state.

In the U.S., communication and transportation are controlled and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established by the Communications Act of 1934 and the Department of Transportation and the Interstate Commerce Commission (established by Congress in 1887), and the Federal Aviation Administration as well as Executive orders 11490, 10999 -- not to mention various state bureaucracies and regulations. There is also the federal postal monopoly, AMTRAK and CONRAIL -- outright socialist (government-owned) enterprises. Instead of free-market private enteprrise in these important industries, these fields in America are semi-cartelized through the government's regulatory-industiral complex.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

While the U.S. does not have vast "collective farms" (which failed so miserably in the Soviet Union), we nevertheless do have a significant degree of government involvement in agriculture in the form of price support subsidies and acreage alotments and land-use controls. The Desert Entry Act and The Department of Agriculture. As well as the Department of Commerce and Labor, Department of Interior, the Evironmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, and the IRS control of business through corporate regulations.
8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of Industrial armies, especially for agriculture.

We call it the Social Security Administration and The Department of Labor. The National debt and inflation caused by the communal bank has caused the need for a two "income" family. Woman in the workplace since the 1920's, the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, assorted Socialist Unions, affirmative action, the Federal Public Works Program and of course Executive order 11000. And I almost forgot...The Equal Rights Amendment means that women should do all work that men do including the military and since passage it would make women subject to the draft.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the population over the country.

We call it the Planning Reorganization Act of 1949 , zoning (Title 17 1910-1990) and Super Corporate Farms, as well as Executive orders 11647, 11731 (ten regions) and Public "law" 89-136.
10. Free education for all children in government schools. Abolition of children's factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc. etc.

People are being taxed to support what we call 'public' schools, which train the young to work for the communal debt system. We also call it the Department of Education, the NEA and Outcome Based "Education" .

---

So, is the U.S. a "free country" today? Hardly! Not compared to what it once was. Yet, very few Americans today challenge these Marxist institutions, and there are virtually no politicians calling for their repeal or even gradual phase-out. While the United States of America may still have more freedoms than most other countries, we have nonetheless lost many crucial liberties and have accepted the major socialist attacks on freedom and private property as normal parts of our way of life. The nation, whose founders included such individualists as Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, James Madison, John Adams and Patrick Henry, has gradually turned away from the principles of individual rights, limited constitutional government, private property, and free markets and instead we increasingly have embraced the failed ideas and nostrums of socialism and fascism. We should hang our heads in shame for having allowed this to happen.

But, it is not too late to reverse these pernicious burdens and instead enact pro-freedom reforms to put our nation back on track again. It can be done.

In some ways the Left has a head start over us on the pro-freedom Right. The enemies of American freedom do admittedly dominate the entertainment industry, television news media, and academia -- but we have the tremendous strategic advantage that reality (including man's nature) is on our side; so, unlike the socialists and "liberals" (welfare-state fascists), we are not in the position of having to advocate a system which constantly tries to "make water to go uphill" -- or force human beings into a rigid utopian staitjacket based on the whims of some clique of central planning bureaucrats. We know that individual freedom for peaceful people within a constitutional republic works in practice; our country's history demonstrates that. The piecemeal abandonment of those principles and institutions which once made America great has proved to be a a dead-end road to failure. That is why I tend to be a long-term optimist even though things often look pretty glum in the meantime. Just as Prohibition was eventually repealed, I feel encouraged that such key statist achievements as the income tax, government schools, fiat money/central banking (the Federal Reserve), "environmentalist" regulations, property forfeiture laws, and other Marxist planks and leftist institutions can be rolled back and repealed altogether, although it may take several decades.

Those who would carry forward the ideas and principles of self-ownership, private property, free markets, laissez faire, the rule of law, and constitutionalism which informed America's founders must become more active on the key ideological battle fronts. We need more influence not just in politics, but in areas of entertainment, academia, journalism, think tanks, churches (we need our own individualist Walter Rauschenbushes), literature, art, and other venues of expression and activism.

Marxism and socialism have proved to be colossal failures all over the world. As Frederic Bastiat wrote in his classic The Law just prior to his death, "let us now try liberty"!

Take it how it's written, that's what we do with the 'Good Book'!!!

Happy New Years!

@ http://sweetpeasurry.wordpress.com

Sleepy Potato Latke's in a Snowbank

Okay ... so I have a fair few updates to give you, which is why I'm actually writing a full post. As my regular followers know, my schedule does not follow the 1960's model of Monday-Friday, 9-5. I am, in fact, working Wednesday - Sunday 11pm-7am, and even that changes from time to time. So ... armed with that knowledge ... on with the adventures in driving story.

On Wednesday night, I was heading into work, through the snow and the muck. Hmm ... for those of you who don't know ... here in Omaha NE we got around a foot of snow Tuesday night. So I'm tooling down the road, I hit the on ramp for the expressway and halfway down the ramp I spun out. Now, mind you, I have a 4x4; it's a baby 4x4 ... but still. However ... when I landed front wheels into an embankment of snow, I was unable to push, pull or prod my little Suki truck out. I was thinking to myself ... 'hell's bells, I'm gonna need to call my dad and have him come out in the cold'.

Alas and luckily some VERY excellent sameritans stopped to help. One of these fine fine people had a truck with a winch and pulled my little Suki truck right out!!! Oh good times. Adventures abound. Needless to say I was tense and on the verge of an anxiety attack the entire rest of the way to work. I did get there, without further incident.

I have been pretty blessed and have avoided being sick this fall and winter flu season. *knocks wood* However, this evening (after my evening nap before work) I woke up achy from head to foot. I'm hoping it subsides after a good and fair amount of sleep.

Speaking of sleep, mah doggies do not let me sleep more than 4 hours at a time. (Which has likely contributed to my illness here folks!) Saturday morning when I get home ... I'm playing with them for an hour, locking them back in the kitchen and closing my bedroom door to sleep for at LEAST 6 hours straight. I must do this, sorry pooches!!!

Another note on the Pooches ... Kadee is a loverly doggy ... Sookie can now be renamed 'destructo'. Oh yeah ... if there's a scrap of paper or plastic somewhere ... ANYWHERE ... she'll find it ... and rip it to shreds. My vacuum is getting a workout.

On a final note, I do believe I'm going to take some photography classes at the local community college this coming spring. Hopefully, you'll be seeing more original photos from yours truly. I'll keep you up to date on all that.

Now, I'm going to crawl under my desk and take a nap, do not disturb.

ஜ~§Quote Of The Day§~ஜ

It is by the fortune of God that, in this country, we have three benefits: freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and the wisdom never to use either.
Mark Twain

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

What’s your favorite movie quote of all time?

My favorite? It's still, "Yipee ki ay, Mother F*&$er" Gotta love Die Hard.

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Lentiginous

PRONUNCIATION:
(len-TIJ-uh-nuhs)

MEANING:
adjective: Covered with freckles.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin lentiginosus (freckled), from lentigo (freckle), from lens (lentil).

USAGE:
"I realised that my freckly Celtic complexion wasn't a curse I had to endure for life, and my offensively lentiginous skin could be smoothed into picture-perfect ivory."

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Archaic Torso of Apollo

We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,

gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.

Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast’s fur:

would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.

Rainer Maria Rilke

ஜ~§Recipe Of The Day§~ஜ

Tasty Potato Latkes



Typically served for Hanukkah, latkes are a traditional side dish beloved by people inside and outside the Jewish culture. Grated potatoes are held together with an egg liason and fried for a crispy potato cake made silky from the olive oil. Non-dairy sour cream keeps this dish kosher, but if that's not part of your tradition, try this cake topped with real sour cream or with plain yogurt. Latkes are a crowd-pleasing side dish, but they also make a delicious base for appetizer dips and spreads.

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, about 1 1/2 pounds
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cloves garlic (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Non-dairy sour cream

Directions:

Peel and finely shred potatoes. In a mixing bowl combine potatoes with olive oil, eggs,garlic (if desired), and salt. Using 1/3 cup mixture for each latke, press mixture into patties about the size of the palm of your hand, squeezing out excess liquid.
In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Carefully slide patties into hot oil.
Cook over medium-high heat about 2 minutes or until latkes are golden brown, turning once.
Repeat with remaining batter. Add cooking additional oil during cooking, as needed.
If necessary, reduce heat to medium to prevent overbrowning. Drain on paper towels and keep warm. Serve with non-dairy sour cream, if desired. Makes about 10 latkes. (Nutrition information is given per latke plus 1 teaspoon non-dairy sour cream.)

Brightest Blessings,
~Surry~

The Holidays

Okay … so the Holidays are upon us.  You might have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much.  Honestly, it’s not that I’m so busy … but I am highly addicted to Facebook games at the moment. 

I know I know … I’m sort of a dork.  I am however, doing things for the holiday too, got my tree up, got some presents and wrapped them.  So it’s not all FB all the time.

I actually only have a few more things to pick up and wrap for Christmas and then I’ll be done. 

I’m planning on being back more regularly after the first of the year, until then my blogs will be pretty sporadic. 

In the meantime, a short tug-o-war video for you.

I’m thinking I probably should have put it to music. 

Testing 1 2 3

I’m testing out windows live writer, to see what it does on my bloggy blog … YAY!!!

Oh … super easy to add piccies!

I think I’m diggin’ this!

My President, always on TV

Sometimes it's hard to be human
Sometimes you have to have empathy

But not always

My President doesn't have to be on TV all the time!!!

Could he be doing something better? Like LEADING the country? YES he could!!!

Some Canine Kid shots ~ edit

Hah ... I got them playing tug!!!!

Napping together, earlier I had missed a shot of them playing tug with the rope. I need to be quicker on the draw. Plus my camera is SUPER DUPER slow!


Here are Kadee and Sookie waking up from naptime!

More of the two of them, playing with their respective toys, atop my 'big dog' jammies!

Ode to Sookie, Kadee and Solitude

Hullo folksies and bloggers and whatsiwhositers!!! How's your weekend going so far? Mine was pretty fantastic!!! I have Thursdays and Fridays off ... so the beginning of my workweek is Saturday at 11pm. Really not too shabby but there's always something wrong with starting your week on a Saturday. *sighs*

Such is life when you live in a world that's 24/7/365!!! I know you all are happy for your produce, pampers, scott towels and such ... which is why I LOVE to come to work on the weekends!!!

I'm so freakin' pleased that I've installed Windows 7, I can't even begin to tell you how much better it is than Vista!!! I love love love it!!! *end gush*

My kidlets were pretty playful this weekend. I got a couple of shots of them ... but they were rather supine at the time. Hehe!!

Sleepy Sookie Bear sleepin' on da bed

Kadee Belle Burrowing in da laundry basket

I have no more news ... so here's a bit of a funny for ya ... and then on with the show!

What is Generation Y? I've wondered this myself... Now I know.

- The Silent generation , people born before 1946.

- The Baby Boomers , people born between 1946 and 1959.

- Generation X , people born between 1960 and 1979.

- Generation Y , people born between 1980 and 2009

Why do we call the last one generation Y? I did not know, but a cartoonist explains it eloquently below...Learned something new today!

ஜ~§Quote Of The Day§~ஜ

Come to the edge, he said. They said: We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said. They came. He pushed them, And they flew...
Guillaume Apollinaire

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

If you could go back in time to another decade, which decade would you choose and why? Would you want to return or stay there? What if you could bring one other person with you?

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Nihilarian

PRONUNCIATION:
(nih-i-LAR-ee-uhn)

MEANING:
noun: One who does useless work.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin nihil (nothing).

USAGE:
"You may find yourself worrying that you're turning into a nihilarian."

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Ode on Solitude

Happy the man, whose wish and care
A few paternal acres bound,
Content to breathe his native air,
In his own ground.

Whose heards with milk, whose fields with bread,
Whose flocks supply him with attire,
Whose trees in summer yield him shade,
In winter fire.

Blest! who can unconcern'dly find
Hours, days, and years slide soft away,
In health of body, peace of mind,
Quiet by day,

Sound sleep by night; study and ease
Together mix'd; sweet recreation,
And innocence, which most does please,
With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;
Thus unlamented let me dye;
Steal from the world, and not a stone
Tell where I lye.

Alexander Pope

ஜ~§Recipe Of The Day§~ஜ

Stuffed Shells w/ Arrabbiata Sauce



Ingredients:
12 ounces (1 box) jumbo pasta shells (approximately 36 shells)
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for greasing baking sheet
6 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, diced
2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups marinara sauce
2 (15-ounce) containers whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/3 cups grated Parmesan
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:
Lightly oil a 12 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish and set aside. Lightly oil the baking sheet and set aside.

Partially cook the pasta shells in a large pot of boiling salted water until slightly tender but still quite firm to the bite, about 4 to 6 minutes. You will continue cooking the shells in the oven after they have been stuffed. Using a slotted spoon, drain pasta shells and place on oiled baking sheet, spreading them out so that they don't stick together and allow to cool.

Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer, stirring often.

In a medium bowl, stir the ricotta, Parmesan, egg yolks, basil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spoon 1 1/4 cups of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Fill the cooked shells with the cheese mixture, about 2 tablespoons per shell. Arrange the shells in the prepared dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the shells, then sprinkle with the mozzarella.

Bake in the lower third of your oven until the filling is heated through and the top is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Brightest Blessings,
~Surry~

Sookie the Terrorist of V-Day

I really am around folksies ... AND I have some excellent news too!!! I finally upgraded my home laptop to Win7 and it's speedy fast now. What does that mean, you ask? It means that I can read and comment on blogs from home now. I can upload piccies and whatnot too. I can do a lot more on blogger than I could ever do before!!! WOOT WOOT!!! I love that!

Other than that ... I have been reading your blogs. I haven't really felt very good the last few days, sort of addled in the brain due to sinusitis ... so nothing clever is coming to mind.

I'll tell ya a little bit about Sookie and Kadee though. Sookie of course always wants to play ... and sometimes Kadee does and sometimes she doesn't. Kadee backs herself into a corner and Sookie won't let her out. I've resorted to using the water torture method for curbing this behavior. Sookie is now shooting me quizzical looks at this new phenomenon!

However, on Tuesday night ... the two of them were tearing after eachother through the apartment ... Kadee was chasing Sookie, it was good to see.

I was a bit afraid that Kadee would feel tortured yet again by another dog. (The reason she was at the shelter was because her original owners had her and her sibling. Kadee's sibling was a bully, and Kadee isn't very good at sticking up for herself)

My food plan is a bit shot again because of my schedule change, but I'll get back on track with that next week. I'm maintaining the loss I've had though, and being sick this week will probably help a bit too. *winks*

I will be settling in on my Sunday Book Stroll and I'll be doing that once a month. Probably the last Sunday of every month. I'll give you notice before it goes up though. The next one will be on The Lovely Bones

I'm going to be super sleepy Wednesday morning (I'm writing this on Tuesday but you'll probably be reading this Wednesday night so this will be in the past tense then. I sort of feel like I'm Hiro from Heroes ... travelling through time and such)

I only got four hours of sleep today, owing to the fact that I had to pick up my pc, get on the horn to the cable company, and then reformat my harddrive. Which by the way is EASY PEASY LEMON SQEEZY with Win7. Win7 is my NEW best friend!!!

That's all ... on we go with some other stuff ... *sneezes and sniffles*

I'd like to extend a special thanks to all of our veterans. Thanks so much for ensuring our freedom. It's certainly more than our government does for us! Bless You!

ஜ~§Quote Of The Day§~ஜ

All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you
Wayne Dyer

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

If you had one night left to live, what would you do? Would you prefer to spend your final night with a loved one or alone? What would you choose for your last meal?

(wow this one is kind of morbid!!!)

If I had one night left to live ... I'd spend a little time with my family ... and a lot of time getting it on with someone ... really ... nearly anyone would do! LOL

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Daymare

PRONUNCIATION:
(DAY-mayr)

MEANING:
noun: A terrifying experience, similar to a nightmare, felt while awake.

ETYMOLOGY:
Coined after nightmare, from a combination of day + mare (an evil spirit believed to produce nightmares). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mer- (to rub away or to harm) that is also the source of mordant, amaranth, morbid, mortal, mortgage, ambrosia, and nightmare.

USAGE:
"Reports like these give me a deep and sickening feeling, somewhere between a daymare and deja vu."

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Will V-Day Be Me-Day Too?

Over There,
World War II.

Dear Fellow Americans,
I write this letter
Hoping times will be better
When this war
Is through.
I'm a Tan-skinned Yank
Driving a tank.
I ask, WILL V-DAY
BE ME-DAY, TOO?

I wear a U. S. uniform.
I've done the enemy much harm,
I've driven back
The Germans and the Japs,
From Burma to the Rhine.
On every battle line,
I've dropped defeat
Into the Fascists' laps.

I am a Negro American
Out to defend my land
Army, Navy, Air Corps--
I am there.
I take munitions through,
I fight--or stevedore, too.
I face death the same as you do
Everywhere.

I've seen my buddy lying
Where he fell.
I've watched him dying
I promised him that I would try
To make our land a land
Where his son could be a man--
And there'd be no Jim Crow birds
Left in our sky.

So this is what I want to know:
When we see Victory's glow,
Will you still let old Jim Crow
Hold me back?
When all those foreign folks who've waited--
Italians, Chinese, Danes--are liberated.
Will I still be ill-fated
Because I'm black?

Here in my own, my native land,
Will the Jim Crow laws still stand?
Will Dixie lynch me still
When I return?
Or will you comrades in arms
From the factories and the farms,
Have learned what this war
Was fought for us to learn?

When I take off my uniform,
Will I be safe from harm--
Or will you do me
As the Germans did the Jews?
When I've helped this world to save,
Shall I still be color's slave?
Or will Victory change
Your antiquated views?

You can't say I didn't fight
To smash the Fascists' might.
You can't say I wasn't with you
in each battle.
As a soldier, and a friend.
When this war comes to an end,
Will you herd me in a Jim Crow car
Like cattle?

Or will you stand up like a man
At home and take your stand
For Democracy?
That's all I ask of you.
When we lay the guns away
To celebrate
Our Victory Day
WILL V-DAY BE ME-DAY, TOO?
That's what I want to know.

Sincerely,
GI Joe.

Langston Hughes

ஜ~§Recipe Of The Day§~ஜ

Spaghetti w/ Pinot Grigio and Seafood

Ingredients:
1 pound spaghetti pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cup Pinot Grigio (or other white wine)
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 pounds clams, washed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups arugula

Preparation:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and the garlic and cook for 3 minutes, until tender but not brown. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook for another minute. Add the wine, shrimp, and clams. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the shrimp are pink and the clams have opened, about 7 minutes.

Add the spaghetti to the seafood mixture. Add the salt and pepper and stir to combine. Add the arugula. Stir gently and place on a serving platter. Serve immediately.

Brightest Blessings,
~Surry~