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Some days, all one can do is endure.
Anne Laurie has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2009.
This post is in: Open Threads
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Republican Venality, Jump! You Fuckers!
Before the strain of staying on our best behavior breaks us, here’s some more well-deserved invective concerning the food-stamp-free farm bill. Gail Collins, in the NYTimes, on the GOP’s “Tasty Bites theory of government”
… Lately, the House has begun chopping up big, complicated bills into what Speaker John Boehner once described as “bite-sized chunks that members can digest.” No more legislative sausage-making. No more bipartisan trading. The House was going to stick to clean, simple ideas, more along the lines of Liver Snaps.
So the farm bill got divided. The two parts were not equally tidy. As Ron Nixon reported in The Times, the rate of error and fraud in the agricultural crop insurance program is significantly higher than in the food stamp program. Also, the agriculture part has a lot of eyebrow-raising provisions, like the $147 million a year in reparations we send to Brazil to make up for the fact that it won a World Trade Organization complaint about the market-distorting effects of our cotton subsidies.
And while food stamps go to poor people, most of the farm aid goes to wealthy corporations.
So House Republicans passed the farm part and left food stamps hanging…
The House bill actually spent more money on subsidies for farmers than the bipartisan Senate version the Republicans scorned. It also dropped the Senate’s limit on aid to farmers with incomes of more than $750,000 a year. And while it mimicked the Senate in dropping most of the much-derided direct payments to farmers, the House gave cotton farmers a two-year extension.
Let’s take a special look at cotton, which is a particularly good example of the tendency of agricultural benefits to flow uphill. “Some of these guys — and they’re all guys — are getting more than $1 million in support. The bottom 80 percent are getting $5,000 on average,” said Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group.
Faber’s organization, which keeps careful track of these things, says direct payments to cotton farmers since 1995 have totaled $3.8 billion. That does not count the annual $147 million the United States has been sending to Brazil in hush money…
Open Thread: Billions for Millionaires, But Not One Cent for Hungry ChildrenPost + Comments (92)
This post is in: Open Threads, Readership Capture
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Earlier, on the “Friday Evening OT – Seattle Meet-up Tomorrow” thread, a comment:
Amir Khalid says:
I’m kind of bummed that Yutsano/Yatsuno is organising a Balloon Juice meet-up, on my birthday of all days, and didn’t invite me. Yes, I know it’s in a bar, and Seattle’s out of my way, and I don’t drink and besides it’s Ramadan, but still … Pout.
When I typed Malaysia happy birthday into the YoutTube search bar, the first several clips were variations on the one above. When I tried Happy birthday Seattle, I got the one below. But apart from my technological failures, and in all (Google translate) earnestness: Selamat hari lahir — Pulangan yang banyak gembira!
Late Night Open Thread: Happy Birthday, Amir Khalid!Post + Comments (83)
This post is in: Women's Rights Are Human Rights, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
Kat Stoeffel at NYMag:
Today, Malala Yousafzai — the Pakistani girls’ education activist who was nearly killed by a Taliban sniper last year — turns 16. The United Nations declared it Malala Day, and she gave a moving speech. Wearing a pink shawl that once belonged to slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, she said, “The wise saying, ‘The pen is mightier than sword’ was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them.”…
More at the link. What an awesome example for us all.
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From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
I’m travelling this week, so this will be quick. Grilled steak wrapped in a warm tortilla is a surefire winner for dinner at my house. Adding an herb paste takes it up a notch and makes a lesser cut of beef perfect for a taco or burrito meal.
Some additional ideas for other tacos/ burritos/fajitas:
Fresh from JeffreyW’s patio garden, Smoked Pork Tacos (pictured above and recipe here)
I made Homemade Fajita Seasoning to season either chicken or steak fajitas (recipe here)
And if you’re looking for something a little lighter, how about Naked Burritos? (click here) And the first person who goes for the easy joke has to do the dishes.
Also, in case you missed it, I have once again started posting a weekly dinner menu, complete with recipes and shopping lists on Mondays. First one is here.
With that I leave you to the comments. Tacos, burritos or fajitas, what’s your favorite? And what’s on your weekend menu?
Also, I would love to know what you like to grill on, as we move full speed into grilling season, I could use some recommendations for the perfect grill.
Now for the featured recipe:
Grilled Herbed Steak for Tacos or Burritos
Notes: Serve with either corn or flour tortillas and stuff with fresh garden items, such as tomatoes, lettuce, diced zucchini, grilled corn, and top with Fresh Garden Salsa (recipe here). And if you don’t like cilantro, there are alternatives offered at the bottom of the recipe.
Friday Recipe Exchange: Grilled Herb Steak for Tacos or BurritosPost + Comments (29)
Herb Paste
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves*
3 tsp crushed garlic
3 green onions
1 medium jalapeno, quartered – remove veins and seeds for milder, otherwise, use it all
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh limejuice
Pulse in a food processor or blender, cilantro, garlic, scallions, jalapeño, and cumin until finely chopped. Add oil and process until mixture is smooth and resembles pesto. Transfer 2 tbsps of the herb paste to medium bowl; whisk in lime juice and set aside.
Steak
2 lbs flank steak – cut lengthwise (with grain) into 4 equal pieces (cooks quicker this way)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Using dinner fork or tenderizer, poke each piece of steak 10 to 12 times on each side. Place in large baking dish; rub all sides of steak pieces with salt and then coat with remaining herb paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before cooking.
Using dinner fork or tenderizer, poke each piece of steak 10 to 12 times on each side. Place in large baking dish; rub all sides of steak pieces with salt and then coat with remaining herb paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Remove from the refrigerator 5-10 minutes before cooking.
To cook: Scrape excess herb paste off steak and sprinkle all sides of pieces evenly with sugar and pepper. Sear steak pieces on the grill for 3 minutes, then turn and grill the other side for 3 minutes. Continue to cook (don’t turn more than one more time) until internal temperature registers 125 to 130 degrees, usually an additional 2 to 7 minutes. Transfer steak to cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.
To Serve: Using a carving knife, slice steak pieces across grain into 1/8-inch-thick pieces. Transfer sliced steak to bowl with herb paste-limejuice mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve with tortillas and choice of vegetables, shredded cheese and salsa, etc. Garnish with additional limejuice if desired.
*If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute celery leaves or fresh basil, or try a mixture of both.
That’s if for this week. Have fun!
This post is in: Meetups and social events, Open Threads
Per commentor Yatsuno / Yutsano:
Saturday July 13th
8pm-ish
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Boston area (including RI and southern NH) meetup next Wednesday, July 17, 7pm-ish at the Watch City Brewing Company in Waltham.
Any other parties we should know about in the near future?
Friday Evening Open Thread: Seattle Meet-Up TomorrowPost + Comments (45)
This post is in: Domestic Politics, Republican Venality, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You, Assholes, Decline and Fall
… On a strictly Republican vote. Per Ed O’Keefe at the Washington Post:
House Republicans narrowly passed a farm bill on Thursday that was stripped of hundreds of billions in funding for food stamps, abandoning four decades of precedent to gain the backing of conservative lawmakers.
The 216 to 208 vote was a victory for a Republican caucus that has struggled to pass the most basic of legislation, but it also set up weeks of acrimony and uncertainty as House and Senate leaders must reconcile two vastly different visions for providing subsidies to farmers and feeding the hungry…
The 608-page measure that passed the House includes a package of subsidies for farmers worth about $195 billion over the next 10 years that would make significant changes to agricultural policy and conservation programs, including an end to direct subsidies to farmers. It is nearly identical to that aspect of the Senate bill.
But for the first time since 1973, the House measure says nothing about funding for food stamps, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which was set at about $740 billion.
Farm subsidies and food stamps have long been paired, in part for political reasons. Rural lawmakers backing payments to farmers and urban ones supporting money for food and nutrition programs formed a powerful coalition that served both interests….
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank D. Lucas (R-Okla.) said he would introduce a separate food stamp bill “as soon as I can achieve a consensus.”…
… and the thought balloon over everyone’s head read “Which will take place on the twelfth of never.”
…With three weeks remaining before the month-long August recess, House GOP leaders were eager to quickly pass a farm bill and begin talks with the Senate so they can spend the remainder of July voting on bills to repeal the health-care reform law and address recent Obama administration scandals.
The Agribusiness Protection Act Staggers Out of the HousePost + Comments (68)
GOP leaders rushed late Wednesday to set up Thursday’s vote after determining they had sufficient support to proceed, according to aides familiar with the plans. Unlike in other recent high-stakes votes, aides said that top leaders worked in unison to ensure the bill’s passage. Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) appeared ebullient for most of the day, the result, aides said, of an 11 a.m. meeting that determined they had sufficient support…
Shorter Cantor: It’s not about the productivity, it’s about the posturing!
Incidentally, the “anti-spending groups closely aligned with dozens of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers” are pissed that even this shallow pretense at legislating passed, so it’s not like any of the GOP goobers are going to put this on their K Street CVs, come the day when they’re reduced to sucking public dollars at second hand.
… The White House said President Obama would veto the bill if it ever reached his desk and urged lawmakers to work on “a comprehensive approach.”
Negotiations with the Senate on a final version of the legislation are expected to begin in the coming weeks. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) called the House measure “extremely flawed” and “an insult to rural America,” noting that hundreds of farming, conservation and food aid groups also oppose the legislation.
So, all parties agree: This is cruel, stupid, and pointless! Such a bargain!
Supplementary reading — Jon Chait at NYMag, “House Republicans Pass Bloated Socialist Monstrosity“:
The House of Representatives just passed a farm bill, which overlays a Byzantine political calculus atop what ought to be a simple policy question. Should the government subsidize business owners because their business is agriculture? The answer — even to somebody relatively friendly to government, like me — is obviously not. Running a farm is not inherently more virtuous or necessary than running a gas station or a bookstore. Farmers earn more than the average American. Washington should get out of the business of paying farmers directly (or indirectly, through price supports that drive up food costs) altogether.
The political complication that comes into play is that farm subsidies have traditionally been packaged together with food stamps. Food stamps strike me as an especially meritorious program. Giving people money because they’re so poor they struggle to eat regularly makes way, way, way more sense than giving people money because they’re in a particular (and generally lucrative) line of work. You could replace food stamps with some other kind of cash grant, but the main idea of helping people because they’re poor is sound.
Historically, the two programs have passed together. There’s some policy rationale for this. Some of the farm subsidies drive up the price of food, making it harder for poor people to buy the food and thus making it more necessary to subsidize them. But the main rationale for joining food stamps is political. It gets urban liberals to vote for farm subsidies that hurt their constituents, and it gets rural conservatives to tolerate food stamps that they’d otherwise oppose. And since advocates of both farm subsidies and food stamps fear losing their program more than anything else, they strongly endorse keeping them together…