Branded

I've been branded by the Federal Government. No, not the kind of branding that might make you think of Revelation and end times and all that. Just a moniker. "Rightwing Extremist". Yup. Just look at the following passage out of the most recent Department of Homeland Security memo

“Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.”

I added some emphasis to the bits pertaining to myself as a state and local rights advocate. I happen to think highly of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, particularly the Tenth Amendment, which states:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

I also oppose murder of innocent children, which puts me int the 'opposition to abortion' crowd. Never pegged myself as an extremist, even if the Obama administration does.

SPAMbalaya

So, apparently, jambalaya primarily consists of three ingredients, with other ingredients as a bit of an aside. As part of Mardi Gras I figured that this was as good a time as any to make some. Here are the 'big three':

1. Onion
2. Celery
3. Green Bell Pepper

Brown a meat, in my case cubes of SPAM, fry the veggies up together with a little oil, I added some salt, pepper, Louisiana hot sauce (peppers, vinegar and salt), garlic, sage and a couple bay leaves. Threw it in a crock pot with a few cups of rice... It smells good so far, I'll know more in another hour or so.

Final Day at the Fair

The final day of the '07 Nebraska State Fair was a blast! We went there in the early afternoon and ended up watching a polka band which the boys loved. I haven't heard a live polka band in a long time and it was a lot of fun. We picked up our winnings from the SPAM contest and the cookies my wife baked, then we went and saw the Charlie Daniels Band perform. He was spectacular and we had a lot of fun. On the whole, and on each part, this year's State Fair was an excellent experience. Having won the SPAM contest I'm not eligible to compete next year, and that's why I'm going to start working on brewing beer and drawing... Hopefully one of those activities will produce something of good enough quality to enter next year.