Jeez

 

COVID Vaccine Costs Just Spiked for Millions Thanks to RFK Jr.
RFK Jr peddles dubious health claims as CDC roils under his leadership.

RFK Jr. has never been briefed by CDC experts on measles, COVID-19 or flu, former official says.

As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered.

Science or Trump? The impossible choice faced by the ousted CDC chief.

RFK Jr. attacks pediatricians’ group over vaccine recommendations.

Red states last in health.

Podcaster speaks the truth.

“We’re 50th in education. We are 50th — the worst in the whole country for women to live. We’re poorer. Worst health care. If you look at the bottom ten states in the United States of America, they are all MAGA supermajorities,” she explained.

“These policies hurt people. They use people’s faith to lure them in and say, ‘Oh, we’re family values.’ But then they don’t vote to help women have children, they don’t vote for health care, they don’t vote for child care. They demean the poor.”

She went on to stress, “These policies have horrifically impacted people in rural America that vote for this very party because they weaponize their faith and lure them in.”

Blues Stay Away From Me

Around the ranch...

I have several fairly large stands of cactus on my ranch. Standard stuff really, I'm not much of a collector. More of an agave or aloe buff. Natives and epiphytes.

I have several different columnar things going, a huge stand in the back of the ranch of the San Pedro type which I will snap a shot of one day.

And this one, which you have seen before.

The Jubea chilensis palm behind it is really doing well, Todd recently pruned it for the first time.

The Chilean native, which can grow in the snow, has the widest palm trunk in the world.

I hope I live long enough to see it in its glory. 

There is one growing on the street on Leucadia blvd. that is massive and worth a fortune.

Todd trimmed the echium up and now there is more room for other things to catch sun.

We rediscovered a beautiful blue cactus that I will have to take a picture of.

Anyway, I wanted to show you my opuntia cactus.

I have two different strains, one of which I planted but the prickly pears are of an entirely different color.

I call the one with the deep red pears my mickey mouse.

The pads of the one above one get really big and rounded.

I am not sure what the real name of the cultivar is, there is one called Mickey Mouse that looks nothing like it.

The weight of the pads or nopales gets so great that the thing has a hard time staying upright.

Its growth is a series of intermittent crashes, sort of like my own history.

The pears are called tuna.

The great horticulturalist Luther Burbank made the study of the opuntia his life's work. He felt that it provided more nutrition per acre than any other food source in the world. He hybridized over 60 spineless varieties.

Luther and his cactus

This one of mine has a yellow fruit. Two species of dasilyrion next to it, wheeleri and longissimum.

My expensive Australian grass tree has expired. Couldn't take our harsh climate I imagine. I replaced it with a native yucca that I bought at grangetto, hopefully it will have better luck.

The princeps cycad I got from Doug when he moved is very happy.

It has a beautiful blue color.

My Sea Squill keep surprising me, think it's dead and it pops back up.

All for now...

Omara Portuondo

Cocina Catrina

I first saw the sign a few weeks ago, on my return from New Mexico. 

A posada woman, adorned in day of the dead makeup. 

The graphics were incredible.

Cocina Katrina.

Katrina's Kitchen. Hmmm. I would have to give it a try.

It was out there on East Mission, in the old Ramirez nursery encampment. 

I had seen a lot of parties there over the years and a lot of cars parked there on the weekend but never felt exactly welcome.

Would I be?

I asked some Mexican people about it and my friend Anna said that for a while it was three old mujeres cooking big vats of food the old fashioned way for the gente.

I asked a few friends if they would try it with me but only one manned up, Tony Campbell.

Tony grew up on the res and is the one person you would want at your back in a bad situation.

He said that he ate there once about a year ago and that it was great.

We met at five and I ordered for the both of us.

I can't tell you how nice and welcoming everybody was.  

A family restaurant, we met a very gracious brother and sister.

The parents have a place on Scott Rd.in Menifee.

They have been open here for about a month.

The food truck was clean and there was ample room to sit.

It is so nice to finally have a birria restaurant in Fallbrook! 

I love quesobirria! The menu is quite heavy on the beef as you can see. Originally birria was made from goat but those days are obviously over.

I ordered both a flour and corn tortilla birria taco. 

Tony had a birria taco and a chile relleno. Don't forget you have to dip your taco in the cup of sauce. That is the key to birria. It takes a long time to make the rich and fabulous beef broth.

They also make delicious aguas frescas to drink.

Mine was with cucumber and mint, not sure what Tony had.

The food was terrific and they gifted me a lovely buonelos dessert to take home!

This place  is a bit out of the way but wonderful. Do not be intimidated. They are the nicest people you can imagine.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

And tell them I sent you.

Generation Landslide

Your offerings

 

Nigel's son caught these pictures of a beautiful bobcat in his yard up in Beverly Hills.

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A seven year old Kip Peterson admiring his father's new 1964 Ford Mustang. Funny enough, my dad had a red 1964 mustang convertible with a giant plastic phone and briefcase.

Very cool.

And young James is definitely a kip off the old block.

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BigDave sent a more disneyfied AI shot of me in the hospital.

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I don't remember how I got this reddit post but I like it. Autistic comedian talks about the Grateful Dead.

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Loughlin sent this. Watch out who you let in your home.

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I've been getting a lot of political stuff from you. I still have my head under the covers and can only take so much. The current occupant of the oval office is hellbent on turning every institution upside down. One day even his most faithful supporters will be shaking their heads and asking how in the hell they let that happen? But I'm not holding my breath.

From Chandler:

When Silence Screams: Did Biden and Harris Pull Their Punches Because of Kremlin Threats?

Reframing Jan. 6: After the Pardons, the Purge

From DeGoff:

What Is Trump Hiding in His Secret Budget?

Comrade Trump

From Melanie -  In your head, rent free

From Ricardo - Bagley

Roy Cohen's brother Mark is running for Congress. Mark for Nebraska.

I appreciate all your submissions. If I can summon up the strength I want to write an extended dive into the havoc Kennedy is causing and creating and the danger to American citizenry. I believe in getting rid of harmful dyes and a couple other things he advocated but honestly he is a complete disaster to our health.

He just demanded that a Danish journal retract a study. They said no. Good for them. I trust scientists and doctors a lot more than I trust ex junkie politicians. 

The man running the NIH, Jay Bhattachary is pulling all MtRNA vaccine funding. Not because it doesn't work but because it has failed to gain "public trust." What a dolt. This is more post covid pandering to the dumbest among us.

Very sad.

Forchettina

I told my wife I would take her anywhere she wanted to go for a birthday dinner, Pampelmousse, Jakes, Mille Fleurs, anywhere.

It was really hot here and we had a monsoon wind this morning. Neither of us felt like working. We decided to leave for the cooler coast around 3:00 and figure it out on the way.

She knew that she wanted to walk on the beach but had two choices for dinner, good pizza or roast duck curry at Bangkok Bay, a Thai restaurant in Solana Beach. "Why not do both," I asked?

Fine.

But where would we go for pizza?

I remembered a nondescript place in Encinitas, located in  a large strip mall on El Camino Real that Ron and Lena took me to. It had outrageously good pizza. It also had a connection to Buono Forchetta but I was stumped on the name. We drove around through the endless malls and looked for it but couldn't find it.

We called Lena and she said the name was Forchettaboutit. We looked it up but couldn't find it, maybe it had moved or gone out of business? 

No, Lena called with the address. 252 El Camino Real. It has a new name, Forchettina. But they wouldn't open for another forty minutes. That's alright, we would wait. 

We drove back up to Leucadia Blvd.and made the circle east again, maybe the third time.

The sign on the door suggested that reservations were required. The busboy told us that it wouldn't open for a half hour but that we were welcome to sit down outside on the patio. The owner finally arrived and we were on.

We started with grilled long stem Italian artichokes, carciofi. She had a rose prosecco, I stuck with water. 

It was a tough decision but we ordered the large parma pizza, with arugala, prosciutto and burrata. 

It was totally amazing.

We had been to Buono Forchetta on coast highway twice last year. 

The first time it was great, when we went with chef friend Melissa later it was less so. Inconsistent.

And then they had their well documented problems with ICE.

Well three months ago the new owners of Forchettina bought their independence from the mother ship. 

The young Sicilian owners Joele and his wife, could not have been any nicer.

And this is a great pizza and looks to be a very popular spot with the locals.

We ate about half the pie and realized that Thai food later was a fantasy that our stomachs could not cash, another time.

We had a lovely dessert instead, an elegant and understated ricotta, pistachio cake.

Quite yummy.

My go to pizza is still the Bronx in San Diego. 

But honestly the raw ingredients are better at Forchettina. In fact, Leslie says the whole pizza is better.

We will definitely be back and trying other things on the menu.

Happy Birthday Leslie!

Wishing my wife a happy birthday today. And one to my late mother Adelle, Robin Adler and Steve Stoops too! Lot of Leos in my world.

May you all enjoy a beautiful coming year.

Beware Of Darkness

Security Assurances

President Trump is pressuring Ukraine to cede a fifth of its land to Russia to stop the war. 

He is offering vague security assurances to protect the country, ones that would not include U.S. troops on the ground and depend on the Europeans.

 Trump believes that Ukraine should accept the deal because Russia is a big superpower and they are not. Just a few years ago he said that you can't blame Putin because he loves his country and wants to make it bigger. Watch your back, Canada.

The deal would mean that Ukraine could never join NATO, nor could there ever be European troops residing in the country. It would become another Russian satellite like Belarus.

When it comes to a security guarantee for Ukraine, there’s a divergence between what Russia wants and what the West is willing to accept.

Lavrov said earlier this week that Russia categorically rejects “any scenarios that envision the appearance of military contingents of NATO countries in Ukraine, which would be fraught with uncontrollable escalation of the conflict and unpredictable consequences.”

Yet the European Union’s ambassador to the U.S., Jovita Neliupšienė, told reporters Friday: “Russia cannot have the veto for E.U. or NATO membership, and decisions on territories are solidly Ukraine’s decisions and international borders must not be changed by force.”

I would tell Trump and Putin to pound sand. Because this is not the first time we have pledged to come to the Ukraine's aid. We also said that after they were cajoled into getting rid of their nuclear arms arsenal:

At the time of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, including an estimated 1,900 strategic warheads, 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and 44 strategic bombers. By 1996, Ukraine had returned all of its nuclear warheads to Russia in exchange for economic aid and security assurances, and in December 1994, Ukraine became a non-nuclear weapon state-party to the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). 

Looks like the previous security assurances didn't amount to much, did they? They were fools to trust both Russia and the United States and should never have given up their arms. Some in Ukraine rue the day.

...Ukraine’s nuclear arsenal included a variety of tactical weapons, with ranges between 100 and 1,000km. “As it turned out, the enemy was much closer,” Oleksandr says.“We could have kept a few dozen tactical warheads. That would have guaranteed security for our country.”

You think Russia has the balls to pick a fight with Poland or Finland now?  They are NATO members on Russia's flank too. Anyone who thinks they can trust Putin and Russians is clearly delusional. And with friends like Trump...

Trains and Boats and Planes

Weaponized Incompetence

Sometimes for a "with it" guy, I end up being a little late to the party. I read this article the other day and was introduced to the concept of weaponized incompetence.

From Psychology Today:

Weaponized incompetence involves strategically avoiding responsibility—by pretending to be incapable or inept at a task so that someone else helps, takes over, or stops delegating tasks to them. In this way, the imbalance becomes entrenched over time.

I guess it has been written about for decades. Women get the drudge shit work and men throw their hands up and say, "Sorry, I am incapable."

Despite measurable advances in gender equality, the workload is not shifting at home, the Pew Research Center found in a 2023 report.

Dennis Vetrano, a divorce and family attorney in New York, said he's been hearing a familiar complaint from female clients increasingly over the past five years, "and that is the failure of their husband to be a true partner in their relationship."

"In fact," Vetrano added of weaponized incompetence, "that's become one of the core issues or one of the leading reasons for divorce these days."

Hey, I've got all the merit badges on this one, guilty, guilty, guilty.

This is how it goes down at my house:

She: Honey, I am taking off, you are going to have to clean the cat box. Please make sure that you do a thorough job (for once) and go all the way down at the bottom.

Me : Yes, dearest.

Invariably I am called out for my poor cat box technique. And the truth is I never want to get really good at it. A wise man once told me not to get really good at doing something you hate and for me it is the cat box.

I try to do an adequate job and have received no complaints so far from the cats but I am admittedly no Renoir in there.

Or how about this one, don't bother cleaning the pots in the kitchen, I just have to redo them. Or, please don't ever enter the laundry room again. Do not even touch that machine.

Fine. My work is done here.

The truth is I want to be an equal partner and good hubby. I like to think there are other asymmetric aspects of our relationship where my contributions do shine, like my third house insurance installment payment due on Friday. But my wife does an awful lot. Place would not run well without her.

I would like to  think that most of us want to be equitable partners but lets face it there are a lot of pressures, child rearing, domestic chores and breadwinning notwithstanding. I think most of us adapt spheres of influence and responsibilities.

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I was talking to Barry at dinner the other night and he said there were two things you never find in a Jewish man's home, beer and a tool box.

As much as I would like to be, with the exception of sprinkler repair I am strictly call the guy. especially with plumbing.

But I will certainly strive to do better. Time to de-escalate the domestic war.

Prickish

I was leaving my home the day before yesterday when I saw a local jackrabbit run for cover under an opuntia cactus stand on the river I live on, the Santa Margarita.

 I wrote about this very same stand several months ago as I saw a bobcat taking shelter there and thought about the help sharp, spiny habitats can provide in keeping a creature alive against bigger foe. In our valley the apex predator is the mountain lion but they are rarely seen.

Later that afternoon I was amazed to see a huge doe cross the road in front of me running for the same cactus stand. 

I missed the shot, this was a second too late.

In any case, it has always been rare to see deer in these parts but the mule deer we do see can be very large. 

Neighbor Jerry M. got some good pics of a couple a few months ago.

When I had my horse (for 28 years) I ran into some bucks in the brush at eye level with my 14 . 3 hand Arabian gelding, Jasper.

It's great to see deer, I wonder how they manage to steer clear of the puma but I guess they do. 

I called neighbor Stephanie and she said this very same large doe was in her backyard a little while ago.

Anyway it is cool to think that animals are smart enough to surround themselves with very sharp spikes to occasionally keep themselves alive. 

Some of us humans have sharp spikes too and they operate similarly for keeping unwanted people at bay. 

They call us pricks.

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I mention this because we lost a favorite shrub of my wife's this week and were talking about replacing it and she said, "Please, nothing with the sharp points you keep planting around the ranch. You know, those awful plants intellectuals like to collect."

I asked her if she meant cycads and she nodded yes. I laughed.

She does most of the watering and there are a lot of plants that can lacerate you around here, from cactus to sagos, yuccas to puya alpestris, this place can lay you bare.

Even the oak leaves have a point.

We will be looking for something nice and soft.

Build the wall. How's it working?

Dave Torbert

The artistic itch

BigDave asked ChatGTP to strain my blog and come up with some colloquy regarding my artistic vision and temperament. Not quite too sure about it but you might want to read these choppy screenshots:

Speaking of art, I have decided to use the upcoming month of September to get off the hamster wheel and go back to two things for however short or long of a time they eventually take, I will take up painting and try to play my guitar every day for the first time in years. I have a self portrait promised for the show and am ready to nail it.

Southwestern Run

So where was I? I checked out of the emergency room, none the wiser and checked into my hotel on Cerillos which fulfilled all of my basic needs admirably, clogged sink and rust spots notwithstanding.

Hooked up with Friedman and we went to Piccolino for dinner, the first of three trips to the local's only Italian joint with great food, portions and an extensive menu. I had veal francese the first night. Place is a godsend. And cheap.

Next day I met Joseph at Linda at La Fonda for my annual trout breakfast. The server agreed to give me the blue corn batter rather than the new oatmeal, which I detest. Always great to catch up with them. 

Chris Lusher had a really nice auction at the Santa Fe Woman's Club on Tuesday.

I bought some good stuff including two weavings, a painting, jewelry and this beautiful early Tonto Apache 21" tray.

The painting was too big to store in the van all week and my archaeologist friend Ron Winters let me take it to his house to keep it out of harm's way.

This is he and his wife Lisa's beautiful backyard you see behind me.

I usually only have two must see galleries in Santa Fe and I stopped at both of them, Nat Owings and Zaplin Lampert.

Both have the most exquisite material and have had the best forever.

Show drop off was Thursday and I waited for my allotted time slot and started setting up.

In the new post John Morris reality my booth in Santa Fe is a third of what it once was, even smaller than Albuquerque, but I managed to somehow fit lots of good stuff into my eight x ten postage stamp.

We all tend to hold back our greatest stuff for Whitehawk and I did.

I had a great selection of baskets, beadwork, silver and paintings.

I sold in all categories to a very knowledgable collector base, some of whom I go back with thirty years or more.

Sold a native woman a Bettina Steinke painting that she posed for when she was sixteen, she is eighty three today.

Sold her ex husband one of his paintings back too, they were both delighted.

Made some people happy and I was happy. Cut my prices in half but it didn't matter.

Do you see the pot on the third shelf with the Zuni frogs?

It was thrown by Cochiti potter Teresita Romero in the 1950's. I sold it back to her grandson Mateo through Mark Sublette.

George Lopez and Gloria Lopez Cordova

I sold my saltillo and found another one, later but still beautiful.

Sold that too.

I have been buying up some beautiful baskets. 

Basket prices have been falling of late but they had been ridiculously expensive.

There was a Carrie Bethell at the show that Wayne Thompson had once paid a million dollars for.

Now prices have become more affordable and I am buying the great ones that I can afford. 

They are too beautiful and precious to ignore.

What did Buffet say? 

Be fearful when they are greedy and greedy when they are fearful.

I am buying some great baskets right now, Yokuts, Kawaiisu, Washoe and Pomo. 

Bought a rare Mono Lake Paiute woven by Alice Wilson, Lucy Telles sister.

It was a work trip and I am a one man show and just kept merrily plugging along to the very end. 

I did well as did my longtime cohorts Steve and John.

I was probably low man on the totem but not by much. Booth was always full and humming along.

It was a strange week in the sense that I never made it to the plaza, or the Plaza Cafe, or Pasquales or many of the things I normally do. Stuck with the Pantry, Piccolino and Harry's. 

Here is a pic of the pork loin at Piccolino, they don't mess around.

They also made a great spinach salad with apricots, walnuts and feta.

Went out to Boca Taverna with Winters, Stoops and the Dodges one night, also to Paloma with Ron and Lisa.

Stayed away from the expensive joints and never made it to the Santa Cafe for the first time in memory.

Toward the end of the show a guy who I had photographed years ago came walking by with a weaving to sell.

It was a 19th century Germantown but almost resembled a Pennsylvania quilt. Condition is awful and needs more money than I have to make right but I bought it anyway.

Because I always favor design over condition. Now it helps to have both but give me something imperfect that actually says something over the inverse any day.

Later I met the person who sold it to this guy, Ernesto, he said it came out of Colorado. I love it, it is folk art and would be surprised if I had it forever. Too pretty.

Here are a couple more pictures from the shows.

Terry DeWald

Jamie Compton, a favorite booth

Alston's killer Germantown

The minimalist Mr. Cleary

Voracek

Farr

Traut

Smoot

Gallegos

Of course the people make the show and I go back with some of these traders a long way.

It's hard work and it definitely takes its toll but I love it and have never looked back.

The prednisone definitely kept me in the game but it was a small dose and it ran out quickly. I ended up green and running on fumes.

I had been promised move out help but it never materialized and I was totally beat up at the end, did it myself.

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Took off back to Gallup early the next day, for a lunch at Don Diegos, only non native there. Had the sheepherder.

Figured out something, get it with green chile, not the red, The red in Gallup is so hot it will kill you.

I made a serious mistake and stayed at the Twin Arrows outside of Flag that night. Wandered too close to the slots and had a serious bloodletting. Fessed up to my wife and said Never Again.

Did have the lamb stew and fry bread which wasn't bad.

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Took off the next day and stopped in Seligman. GPS said take the 17 to Phoenix but it was 117° there and I wasn't in the mood.

Was almost into my burger and eggs when the power went off. Cook finished it by braille. 

They shut the doors and I had the last flush in the biffy before I was back on the road.

So everything is cool and I'm heading for Barstow when I get the dumb idea of asking SIRI for the fastest way home.

I'm by the inspection station and it says turn here on five mile road. Really? Puts me on the 95 to Blythe and then somewhere near the Chemehuevi reservation and then I am in no mans land, no idea, on the 62, like a peyote trip without the pretty colors or the holy message, just stress at being lost in the absolute unforsaken spot in nowhere.

Takes me about ten hours to finally pull in my driveway.

Probably won't do that again.