Reader Ctribution

Thanks John B.

Eating

“You are what you eat,” — Anon.

Among work and sleep, eating is right up there in terms of taking up our time. And so, after many years living my life, eating and drinking; I have assembled a few quirky food rules ... not all of which I have always followed religiously ... but at least I know I should have. Here are a few of my simple dietary tenets:

- Listen to your body and eat what it whispers to you.  Eating things that you don’t like ...or what you have been told you should eat is a bad idea.

- Noshing because of your emotions is unhealthy ... particularly between meals.

- Vinegar is an underutilized and healthy condiment ... or even a drink.

- It is good to eat a wide variety of foods. Sticking to just a few favorites is a sure way to problems.

- Ethel alcohol is a poison, an enjoyable poison, but still a poison. Never have more than three drinks at a sitting.

- Butter, eggs, milk and salt are not nearly as bad as they are made out to be.

- I am a little silly superstitious ... I think earring calve’s liver somehow aids your liver. Eating tripe, helps your stomach. And so forth.

- If you are obese, you should eat less. If you are skinny, you should eat more. Simple! If you are in between, relax and enjoy.

- Activity levels can and should be used to adjust your food intake.

- Every once in a while one should go without a meal ... or two ... or even three.

- Never, never, never have a midnight snack.

- Your parents were wrong. You don’t have to eat everything on your plate or drink everything in your glass,. Always leave something there for the gods.

- Surprise recommendation: Cold buttermilk is a very refreshing thirst quencher on a hot summer day

- And as Julia Chili’s used to say, “Everything in moderation.”

Butter

President Obama’s recent Mideast tour was so laden with butter that the arteries of all involved must be crying out for mercy.  The President released $500 million to the Palestinians and donated $200 million to King Abdullah of Jordan to help with his Syrian refugee problem.  He gave a stirring belly-rub to Israeli students in a speech in Jerusalem (for this whole tub of oleo read: Political Ticker).  He spoke to the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in the West Bank promising a new start to the peace process with the aim of a “contiguous” Palestinian state … see: Algemeiner Story.  (A contiguous Palestinian state, of course, is an impossibility.) He also appeased the Turks by having Bibi Netanyahu call them to apologize for an Israeli attack on a Turkish blockade-running ship in 2010 … see: Breitbart Story ...  even though the U.N. has determined that this raid was justified.

What is not so clear is what dairy product Obama promised to Israeli's President, Netanyahu.  It must have been considerable for Netanyahu to eat so much humble pie and allow Obama so much purchase in this tour.  Many suspect that the United States has given Israel the green light to attack Iran … and maybe threw in a few bunker-buster bombs to boot.  If he did, it goes against what I have been predicting and what appeared to me to be U.S. policy vis-à-vis Iran … allowing it to get the bomb and then guarantee “containment” (a public promise to retaliate if Iran were to use this weapon.)  I hate to be so cynical, but if this was the ton of margarine promised and, if the U.S. does not follow through with this commitment, U.S.-Israel relations may be forever destroyed … just like the country, Israel.

Potato Head

The federal government is making one more insane intrusion into the life of its citizen sheep.  It is considering baning the potato from its child nutrition programs.  See Baning Potatoes.

I recently wrote a blog about another chuckle-headed move by the feds ... its banning of certain incandescent light bulbs.  See Junkier Science.  Now Big Brother has sharp-elbowed his way into our lives once again.  When will he stop?  When he pushes his way into our bedroom?  Oops, of course not, government bedroom intrusion will only be allowed when food or tobacco is included (but not involving cannabis, underage children, or illegal immigrants.)  One medium baked potato has only 160 calories and it is loaded with potassium and vitamin C.  Yet, it is now to be "relegated to the secular arm."  Those in favor of this insanity say that it is not so much that the potato is evil, but it is the butter, sour cream, and salt that we put on the potato ... or the fat in which it is fried.  Isn't that the same argument that was once use against marijuana ... that it was what went along with pot usage that was evil?  (It was a "gateway drug.") Can now we call this carom-shot morality?