Epic Fail

From -- of all places -- the newspaper: Baby found in dumpster. Dead.

So we have here:

-Contraception Fail. If either party even bothered.

-Mothering Fail

-Fatherhood Fail: where's the daddy? Or did he help?

-Family Fail: Like that's a surprise. One wonders how often the abandoning mothers were thrown out -- or feared they would be if their condition was discovered?

-Public-Relations Fail: I quote: "Indiana's Safe Haven Law lets a parent who cannot care for an infant younger than 45 days old leave the baby with staff at hospitals, police stations or firehouses. The parents do not have to identify themselves or explain their actions, as long as the baby is unharmed."
Got that? You can go to any hospital, police officer station or firehouse with a tiny baby, hand the infant over and shamble out; no questions asked. So, how's it working out? Again, I quote, emphasis mine: "Six babies have been legally abandoned in Indiana since 2001. During that same time, 22 babies in Indiana were abandoned illegally, and seven of them died." WTF?

Y'know, I find this more horrifying than abortion and unlike that contentious topic, there aren't two sides and haven't been since Rome fell. Infanticide is a crime. It is immoral. There are other options, options that don't result in the baby's death (one chance in three of survival, so far) and the mother being tracked down, arrested, charged, probably tried and likely convicted.

Making A Real Hash

Update: Tam showed up from her rounds today bearing more onions, a couple of Serranos and a large Poblano pepper, saying, "Make more!" So now we have photos.

I am on vacation this week; plans include:

A. Sleeping a lot and very late, along with

B. Painting the house.

As a consequence of the latter, it is of course raining and cold.

As a consequence of the former, I didn't get to the market yesterday and at dinner time, faced a quandary. We had eggs and canned hash, but that's pretty bland, plus it's a bit lacking in the "fresh veggies" department.

A quick fridge check turned up a generous handful of green onions that wanted using and Tam (who'd just got in from Tamming about, zombie control or visiting a lonely doggie or some such activity) reminded me we had a Serrano pepper or two left and our neighbor had a surplus of small hot peppers to share, too.

Aha! So, chop up the onions (I had about a third of a cup) and peppers (seed them as your tastes dictate -- I cleaned out the Serrano, as ours are flamin'-hot); take about a quarter of the onions and all of the peppers and saute in a large skillet with a bit of olive oil; set aside when the colors go bright and the onion is getting translucent. Plop the hash in the skillet, mash it out some, add all the onions and peppers and mix, then spread it out in a smooth layer. Break 3 to 4 eggs on it, whatever it takes to mostly cover; leave the yolks intact or break them as suits you. Sprinkle on celery flakes (or saute real celery in advance and add later), season the eggs with a dash of black pepper and whatever else appeals (Cajun seasoning, or Worcestershire, etc. or even nothing at all).
Cook uncovered over medium heat for five minutes or so ('til the egg whites are just getting white along the edges).

Then cover until the eggs are done (firm, opaque); uncover and let it steam out a bit, divide and serve.

(I have now posted photos). I'd've posted photos last night but we inhaled the stuff. It's spicy enough without adding anything but not so spicy that the flavors are overwhelmed -- and that was one fat Serrano and a couple of Tabasco (?) peppers from next door. YMMV; adjust to suit your palate. (Just as good with two Serranos and a Poblano). And yes, it is by no means low-cholesterol. Better have oatmeal for breakfast. ...Sure does taste good!
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(I am reminded I'm overdue to cook up some corned beef brisket and make for-real c. b. hash with the leftovers and fresh taters. It's about 6X as good as the stuff in cans. Come to think of it, I could have the local market thick-slice some corned beef and start from there...).

Endorsements: Me, Too

...Star made decent, affordable sidearms, though a Sistema Colt is even better; an MGB is a nice car if you enjoy doing routine maintenance and small repairs yourself and can stay ahead of the rust; Bajaj's Chetak is a good motorscooter, Remington and Corona made the best portable typewriters and Western Electric produced a darned fine telephone. When it comes to pens, Pelikan and Conklin are excellent but I still prefer a Parker Duofold, especially the "Lady Duofold," with a pendant loop (or chatelaine ring) on the cap. If you must have a word processer, PerfectWriter running on a Kaypro II or IV is faster, cleaner and more flexible than anything I have used since, though Q10 (freeware!) is the closest when it comes to staying out of one's way.

And -- despite the fact that original products I like best of those listed above are no longer made and in several cases, the company no longer exists -- the FTC can go irrrigate a rope.

(Thanks to Unk, Sebastian and others)
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PS: Chatelaine.

Our Failing Newspapers, Part Whatever

It's official: the dwindling Indianapolis Star no longer keeps pace with the urinary output of my smallest cat, who has for years refused to tinkle on anything but newsprint (or bare floor if there is no newsprint in her litter box, a powerful incentive to give her what she wants).

It's a problem, as the local newspaper has traditionally been the cheapest source of newsprint. The stuff is sold in pads at art-supply stores but it costs more. I may have to subscribe to The Wall Street Journal.


Related: an editorial this weekend from Andrea Neal, former editor of the Star's opinion pages, expressed her admiration for Indiana's Blue Laws, specifically barring the Sunday sale of alcoholic beverages (other than by the drink at restaurants with a liquor license -- most of which have bars). "I think," she opined, "it's a good thing that Hoosiers can't buy alcohol at supermarkets or liquor stores on Sunday. Do we really need another day to stock up on intoxicating beverages?"

...Point, missing: "stocking up" would be what Hoosiers -- Tam, for adopted instance -- do prior to Sunday, so they can keep on enjoyin' a beer or whatever; or the poor dears must hie themselves to the nearest tavern with a kitchen and a Sunday permit. About the only thing the law does now is give folks working in liquor stores one guaranteed day off a week, just like car dealers. It's a bother for grocery stores and drugstores that sell hooch, as they have to post signs on their aisle of alk; and they're the ones pushing to do away with the Sunday ban, since it costs them nothing to sell it Sunday. (Liquor stores and those gin-and-steak joints with Sunday licenses, on the other hand, take a dim view of the change).

...But Ex-Editor Neal waves off these mere economic concerns; no, she frets about substance abuse. (Cue dramatic organ fanfare).

'Cos drunks would never, you know, go to an eatery with an open-Sunday bar, or stock up Saturday, or swill down some cold medicine or mouthwash, or shoplift a bottle, or bum from a friend. Shucks, no! And that one sober day a week does-- Does what, exactly, assumin' they actually do go Dry? Not too much.

Never fear, we learn from Ms. Neal, "It's almost as if policymakers don't care about the social effects of drinking. A growing number seem to think it's not the state's business to tell consumers what they can do on Sunday."

One: Oh, I suspect they do care about those "social effects;" they've passed rather strict laws about operating a motor vehicle while under the influence, for instance. Why, they may even be helping to fund a few treatment centers for substance abusers with her and my tax money. (It's also just as illegal to get drunk and beat your spouse on Sunday as on any other day -- or even to spouse-beat while sober. Just like it is legal to watch A Streetcar Named Desire as though it was a documentary, which it isn't).

Two: why would it be the State's business to tell consumers adults what they can do in re the legal purchase of a legal product any day of the week? Don't we have preachers, priests, imams, rabbis, shamans and gurus to offer us moral guidance on, among other topics, what we should or should not ingest and when?

...But Andrea Neal informs us -- and cites a few studies to back it up -- that "we need a day off from vice." From every vice (well, not card-playing or dancing or even outta wedlock s-e-x; but buying a car is Right Out) except the vice of trying to control our neighbors. For their own good, of course, poor, dim savages that they are. Geez, it's not as if they were citizens or any...thing...?

Here's a thought: if you'll trust 'em to vote and at the controls of an automobile or even (oh, shudder) to buy a firearm on the Sabbath,* maybe it's time to stop trying to be their Mommy. It's especially time for the State to stop being Mommy.
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* Warning, Sabbaths are sold by duration, not volume or weight; Sabbaths not distributed equally or even spelled the same; the Sabbath you were issued may or may not fall on the same day as that protected by Indiana's Blue Laws and may require and/or prohibit activities not proscribed or mandated by State law. Which seems awfully unfair of them, really.

Have You Noticed?

AMC has rebooted the paranoid classic, The Prisoner. IFC was pushing it the other night with a marathon of the original series and today, a totally unrelated web-crawl turned up the Namibian city of Swakopmund, about as unlikely a place as a Midwesterner might imagine but very real -- and the location where the new series was filmed. It's a small world but I am once again reminded just how small.

Innocent Intent?

It's one thing ("clever marketing," f'rinstance) to come up with a Web-browser intended for some particular group -- shotgunners, diabetic GLBT acrobats, European-Americans or African-Americans; and speaking of the last example, it's quite another thing to give it a name that suggests a profound ignorance of history.

C'mon, dad-rat it, there was already plenty of paranoia to go around.

Okay, Okay, I'm Awake!

...Now to shower* and then go shoot guns!
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* For those unfamiliar with the concept, especially the individual behind me in line at the supermarket.

T-Shirt Design?

I can't be the first to have thought of this satirical artwork?
At left, based on Chicago's first effort, which...well, it can't have helped; Olympic rules don't allow using the torch in your logo until you have been Officially Picked. At right, the revised version is the basis. Either one would make a nice T-shirt, wouldn't it?

Glowing In The Dark

Tam's been poking a stick at the crazy (I won't even dig it up to link to it but there's some right messed-up $DØØDs out there); Atomic Nerds happened on a two-year-old arrest report for the Radioactive Boy Scout.

Turns out the two topics kind of intersect: "Thumper235 18 March 2008 at 11:14 am I am David Charles Hahn (The Radioactive Boyscout) . I was arrested some time ago and Judge Viviano has sentenced me to a treatment facility. I am currently staying at Emmanuel House." Scroll down through the comments 'til you find "Thumper235." Oh, he's got a lot to say.

I don't know if folks needed any extra reasons to avoid Detroit but, um, this'd be a good one.

(Emmanuel House, Citehealth page. Interestingly enough, their listed web addy appears to no longer belong to them. Sure hope the place isn't a Superfund site now -- but I would not bet against it).

I got over being sick for this?

Argh.

Fridays.

The Bank With A Heart

Okay, it's more of a liquid helium pump than a heart as such -- still, you want proof that the little guy is not forgot as banks snuggle in with the Feds, warm an' happy as a tick up an elephant's-- ahem. Well, do ya? Shermlock Shomes points us to irrefutable evidence!

...Remember, once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, must be the truth: Blank of Acirema actively encourages and supports bein' jerks whenever possible.

Next week, kickin' the crutches out from under cripples? Cheatin' widows an' orphans? Whatever, I think we can count on high-larious, madcap hijinx. ACORN's banking suggestion, to bury your money in a tin can in the back yard, looks better with ever passing day.

Links: Idiots, Here And Abroad

Representative Alan Grayson, Florida Democrat bloviates up a health care strawman based on finding a blank sheet of paper; elsewhere, a loudly Lefty rag defends his spiteful fantasy (including his later comparing our present health care situation to The Holocaust) : in the same article, Congressbeing Grayson is "a Democrat with guts," while his peer Joe Wilson's outburst is decried as "boorish behavior." At least there's no question where they stand.

On the far side of the big water, a sternly-worded ad campaign in the UK reminds "girls*" not to hide guns for their menfolk. ...'Cos criminalizing weapons possession and barring handguns altogether wasn't quite enough but colorful posters and radio blurbs will do the trick? Helloooo? Expert analysis at Tam's in three...two...one.

It's a good thing we have Tam and Uncle and Old Grouch and the rest of you, bloggers and readers alike, 'cos we have no shortage of witlings in high places. Somebody's got to be the grown-up.
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* Sexist, ageist or simply revealing once again the nannystatist attitude that hoi polli are but children? Take your pick.