P. S. Mauer just got us to the bottom of the eighth with an awesome throw to second! Eat it!

Irish Brown Bread

This simple crusty brown quick bread is one of the most popular Irish bread recipes and gets its hearty flavor from whole wheat flour and rolled oats.

Yield: 1 loaf (about 1 3/4 lb.)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cold butter or margarine
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup regular or quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
• Milk

1. In a bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture forms fine crumbs. Stir in whole-wheat flour and oats.

2. Add yogurt; stir gently. If mixture is too dry to hold together, stir in milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, just until dough holds together; it should not be sticky.

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead gently 5 times to make a ball. Set on a lightly greased baking sheet. Pat into a 7-inch circle. With a floured knife, cut a large X on top of loaf.

4. Bake in a 375° oven until well browned, about 40 minutes. Cool on a rack. Serve warm or cool.

“Please seek legislation to help improve the capability of woody biomass to be classified as a “renewable energy source”. By utilizing dead, down, diseased trees and shrubs, we can reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, as well as, help to reduce the risk of structure losses due to wildfires. This is a win, win, win, situation if you also include the fact that rural communities would also benefit from an additional revenue stream to their local economies. Currently, the Department of Energy has a facility in South Dakota that is an experiment in BioFuel production. We should have 1 or 2 of these facilities in Northern Minnesota to help speed the process to a better BioFuel production capability.

I appreciate any time and legislative support, in advance, that you will give to this issue.”

The more people that hold our elected officials to the fire, the better we can make our government.

And Klobuchar’s response (I’m guessing it is canned or a staffer wrote it, but I could be wrong).

June 30, 2010

Dear Mr. Glesener:

Thank you for contacting me about climate change. I appreciate hearing your thoughts and concerns on this important issue.

Environmental conservation and stewardship is an important part of Minnesota’s heritage – and it’s part of my own family heritage, too. Like most Minnesotans, I grew up in a family that values the outdoors. I believe that we must protect our country’s natural resources for the enjoyment of generations to come. Setting up the right long-term policies – such as encouraging recycling, developing renewable energy sources, and promoting innovation – will protect our environment and our economy and preserve our country’s leadership in the world.

As a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I am working to pass legislation to protect our environment, including legislation to address the threats from global climate change. In 2007, I cosponsored America’s Climate Security Act, and authored the first title of the bill – a provision that I call the “carbon counter.” This provision creates the first national greenhouse gas registry to monitor, verify, and report greenhouse gas emissions. I am happy to report that the new Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency recently unveiled new rules that include my greenhouse gas provision.

Creating a stable market for renewable energy is the key to unleashing innovation, the defining strength of the American economy.  That is why, along with Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, I introduced the bipartisan American Renewable Energy Act (S. 826), which would create a national renewable electricity standard similar to the current standard in Minnesota, where utility companies are required to produce at least 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2025.  This legislation will create a national and predictable domestic market for renewable energy, provide the long-term stability businesses need when deciding how to invest their resources, and drive economic growth and technological innovation.

As you know, we are already working toward a new energy and climate change bill in the United States Senate. With your support, I am confident that our efforts to tackle this historic challenge will finally prevail.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me. One of the most important parts of my job is listening to what the people of Minnesota have to say to me. I am here in our nation’s capital to do the public’s business and to serve the people of our state. I hope you will contact me again about matters of concern to you.

Sincerely,

Amy Klobuchar

United States Senator

So it has been a while since I posted last. For those out there that may be reading this, I’m doing it from my Motorola Droid using WordPress’s Android application. It’s pretty impressive what this little phone can do.

It used to be just an iPhone thing to say “there’s an app for that.” Not any more. The nice thing about AndroidOS is that it is Java over a Linux kernal, so if you are a good programmer, you can really had a custom phone.

I have toyed with some applications and rooted my phone so that I can more fully utilize the Linux kernal. Unless you really need to, I wouldn’t recommend it for the lay person. I now have some minor annoyances with how some things display.

The only gripes I have with my Droid is that its navbar (taskbar at the top) is stock white which is annoying if you are using Google Navigation at night. There are some theme/skin customization applications out there, but I have yet to find one that is both free and easy to use. And that the slideout keyboard is difficult to use efficiently due to its low-profile nature. It is really tough to find your keys, especially if you are used to something like a Palm Treo or Samsung Saga, which have very pronounced keys. Too bad i have yet to be able to get my laser keyboard to work with it. Oh well…

Well, enough for now. Stay tuned!

I think every voting person knows the fallacy of the lobby system. To bad there is no one to fix it. Chicken, egg, or dinosaur?! You pick. To bad we can’t stuff that chicken in side that dinosaur, coat it with the egg, batter it up (I think Widmere Hefewiezen would make a good batter) and have it for lunch, dinner, and…

By
Jeffrey D. Sachs

Nothing less than an overhaul of the systems that implement federal policies will suffice

The Failing U.S. Government–The Crisis of Public Management.

© 1996-2009 Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me.

Well, we’re doin’ mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin’ cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought ‘a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen’ that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen’ that we all were on their side.

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black.

~~Johnny Cash