It's About Coalitions, Not Purity, Part Forty-Seven

The Chickens Come Home To Roost, But It's Too Hot In The Hen House ... The Financial Meltdown, Part 4

Before getting into further information on the financial crisis that was then developing, the political situation was not at a standstill. 

The 2008 Democratic Party nominating process: the two main Democrats involved were Hillary Clinton, a U.S. Senator from New York, and Barack Obama, a U.S. Senator from Illinois. Clinton, the wife of former President Bill Clinton, started the race with a decided advantage, as she was well known, and both she and her husband remained popular among traditional Democratic constituencies, like many labor unions, non-union working class voters, older white voters and moderate Democrats. Bill Clinton had been very popular among black Americans, but the draw of a highly viable man of black heritage, Barack Obama, was a difficult challenge for the Clintons, and it cut into what would have likely been a staunch Clinton group of supporters, and Clinton's likely nomination, had Barack Obama not run for president at that time. On the other hand, many Democratic women voters were immensely excited about Hillary Clinton's candidacy. Besides black voters, Obama had a good deal of support from highly educated voters, younger voters and many liberals. Supporters of both candidates were encouraged by the rough political landscape for their Republican opponents, so that if they could get their candidate nominated, they felt there was a good chance that candidate would win the presidency in November, given the unpopularity of George W. Bush, the then Republican president. Further the 2006 election had given Democrats control of both houses of Congress, leaving Republicans reeling. It would get worse for Republicans.

The early results gave Obama a surprising win in the Iowa Caucus, which temporarily gave him a major boost in the nation's first actual primary election, New Hampshire. In the end, Clinton won a close race in New Hampshire, and the tough quest for the Democratic nomination between Clinton and Obama accelerated. A big endorsement for Obama came from Senator Ted Kennedy and his niece, Caroline, who was the daughter of John F. Kennedy, the president assassinated in November 1963 (Ted Kennedy was the brother of the former president). As the primary and caucus season drew to a close, Barack Obama had a lead of less than a hundred delegates over Hillary Clinton, but Obama then got pledges of support from further delegates, giving him sufficient delegates to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in late August.

On the Republican side, the major candidates were: former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani (a former Democrat, and then independent), Mitt Romney, who was just leaving the governorship of Massachusetts, John McCain, a U.S. Senator from Arizona and Mike Huckabee, who was just leaving the governorship of Arkansas. When the Republican nomination process actually started, Giuliani melted down, then Romney faltered, while McCain and Huckabee became the main remaining candidates. Huckabee won the Iowa Caucus, and McCain won the primary in New Hampshire. After a mixed showing by both Romney and McCain in the following states, McCain pulled out a narrow, but big win in Florida, bringing Giuliani to withdraw from the race. McCain gained major momentum, and Romney soon quit the race, leaving only Mike Huckabee to contest McCain, but the Arizona senator won enough delegates by early March, and the nomination was his.

McCain had been able to draw from various parts of the Republican Party, but more traditional type Republicans increasingly favored him. Giuliani's "major" candidacy never materialized, and Romney's loss to McCain in New Hampshire (neighbor to Massachusetts) hurt him and gave McCain a big boost. Mike Huckabee was supported by many evangelical Christians and very conservative elements, including many Southerners, who fit into both of those categories.

Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden of Delaware for his vice presidential running mate, and John McCain chose Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Biden, long a member of the U.S. Senate (elected in 1972!), helped Obama with long time Democrats, especially white working class Democrats and independents, and his long experience in government and foreign policy in the Senate, helped to balance Obama's short time in government and on the national stage. Palin proved to be controversial, although she helped McCain with more conservative elements of the GOP, including evangelicals, and she likely also helped with women voters. Palin, however, was not well known nationally, and her introduction to the country made a negative impression on some, and a majority of Americans either felt she was not qualified to assume the presidency if need be, or they felt uncertain as to her qualification to do so. Two significant things happened when Palin did interviews. First, when interviewed extensively on television by Katie Couric, then with CBS, Couric asked Palin what newspapers and magazines she read. Her general response, that she appreciated the media and that she read all of them, brought Couric to ask her to name some, but she couldn't do it. That scene and her seeming lack of knowledge even about John McCain during the interviews, including about his views on the economy, which was reeling at that time, left a negative image of Palin. Secondly, while comics took this out of context, Palin was asked by Charles Gibson (ABC) about what she had learned by living so close to Russia,* and she mentioned that Alaska and Russia were neighbors and that you could actually see Russia from one of Alaska's islands. Comedians, to the delight of Democrats, quickly turned this into Palin claiming that the fact that she could see Russia from Alaska gave her foreign policy experience, something she did not claim, although her answer did seem to say that being able to see Russia was important, but without further explanation.           

So the stage was set for the election of 2008.  

* Alaska and Russia are very close in places, something many people may not know. 

WORD HISTORY:
Parable-"Parable" is related to "parlor" ("room for sitting and talking") and to "parley" (to speak, to converse"). The first part of the word, "para," goes back to Indo European "per/pr," with the notion of "forward, off, away from, beyond, beside." "Para-" is distantly related (through Indo European) to English "for," "for-" and "fore-," all from native English forms from Old Germanic. The main part of the word, distantly related to "ball" (the form meaning, "a dance"), goes back to Indo European "gwele/gwela," with the notion of, "bubble up, rise up, overflow, throw outward or upward." This gave Ancient Greek "ballein," ("to throw"), which produced, "bole," meaning, "a throw, a toss," and the two parts gave transliterated Greek "paraballo," meaning, "a toss beside;" thus, "side by side;" thus, "a comparison." This was borrowed by Latin as "parabola," also meaning "comparison," which then passed into Old French, a Latin-based language. English borrowed the word during the 1200s, initially as "parabol," which became "parable" about one hundred years later, with the meaning, "a story used to compare to another story in meaning." The word has often carried a religious component to it from translated Biblical usage.   

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Fifteen

After long negotiations by President Jimmy Carter and his administration to secure the release of the American hostages being held in Iran, a deal was struck in the final hours of Carter's term, but the hostages did not leave Iranian airspace until Ronald Reagan was officially president.

Republicans controlled the United States Senate for the first time since the early part of the 1950s, and while Democrats controlled the House of Representatives, conservative Southern Democrats, who were called "Boll Weevil Democrats," provided enough support to some Reagan supported legislation to help pass that legislation. There were contradictions in Reagan's life and rhetoric, as one of his core groups of supporters was the "religious right," which pushed a theme of "family values," including opposition to divorce. Reagan was divorced from his first wife, actress Jane Wyman, and he was estranged from a couple of his children: nevertheless, religious right leaders Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson loved Reagan, who rarely went to church and who was not an especially religious person. Reagan's rhetoric opposed abortion, but Reagan never did much on the political front in support of that position. Reagan and his wife, Nancy, came from a Hollywood background in their earlier years, and, as such, they had many gay friends and acquaintances, but neither spoke out about political ads aired on television in the former Confederacy during the 1980 campaign knocking Jimmy Carter's support of equal rights for gay Americans.

President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981. Besides wounding the president, Hinckley also wounded Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, DC police officer Thomas Delahanty and White House Press Secretary James Brady. Brady was shot in the head which caused speaking difficulty and the need for a wheelchair for the rest of his life (he died in 2014). President Reagan required surgery and it took more than six months for the president to recover (he was 70 years old).

In August of 1981, a large economic package pushed by Reagan passed Congress. The package included large tax cuts skewed toward business and the wealthy, but not exclusively. The most crucial vote in the House was 238 FOR to 195 AGAINST. Democratic members in states of the former Confederacy voting for the bill: 2 from Alabama, 6 from Florida, 7 from Georgia, 2 from Louisiana, 2 from Mississippi, 1 from North Carolina, 3 from Tennessee, 8 from Texas and 1 from Virginia (none in either Arkansas or South Carolina). So, to put this into some perspective, the bill passed with 48 Democrats voting for it, with 32 of those Democrats being from the former Confederate states. In contrast, only one Republican from Vermont voted against the bill.

In a controversial act, in early August of 1981, Reagan fired thousands of the nation's air traffic controllers who went on strike. The controllers wanted better pay, but the main issue was a shorter work week in the stressful job. Reagan had voiced support for the controllers' cause during the 1980 campaign and the union endorsed Reagan over Carter in the election. During the campaign too, Reagan touted how he had twice been the president of a union, the Screen Actors Guild (now combined with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). In states of the former Confederacy, Reagan's action likely caused little concern, as unions were relatively weak in the southern part of the country, where they even existed there.

Meanwhile, the economy was slipping, as the high interest rates of the Federal Reserve took more of a toll on economic growth, and the nation went into a severe recession, with unemployment reaching nearly 11 % by 1982. In the election of 1982, the first held under the redistricting of the 1980 Census, Republicans weren't spared the wrath of voters, and they lost a combined 26 seats to Democrats in the House of Representatives. Changes in the delegations in the former Confederate states: Democrats gained 3 seats in Virginia, making that delegation 6 Republicans and 4 Democrats; Republicans gained one seat in Mississippi, making that delegation 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans; Democrats gained 3 seats in Texas, all newly created by redistricting, making the delegation 22 Democrats and 5 Republicans, in Tennessee, Democrats gained one newly created seat, making the delegation 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans; Democrats gained a seat in South Carolina, making the delegation 3 Republicans and 3 Democrats; in North Carolina, Democrats gained two seats, making the delegation 9 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in Florida, four new seats were created due to reapportionment, with each party winning two of those new seats and the other seats remaining in control of the same party from the previous election, but now the increased delegation being 13 Democrats and 6 Republicans; Democrats gained one seat in Alabama, making the delegation 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans (states not listed saw no change in party representation in their delegations). In Senate elections, the Republicans gained a seat in Virginia, for the only change in former Confederate states. In elections for governors, George Wallace once again was elected in Alabama as a Democrat, but he replaced a Democrat, so no change in party control. In Arkansas, Democrat Bill Clinton defeated the Republican who had defeated him in the previous election, thus changing the party control there. In Texas, Democrats defeated the Republican incumbent, thus Democrats gained the governorship there.

WORD HISTORY:
Issue-This word, with both noun and verb forms, is related to "exit" (a word borrowed by English). The first part of "issue" goes back to Indo European "eks/eghs," with the notion of "out from, out of, out." This gave Latin "ex-," a prefix with generally the same meaning. The rest of the word goes back to Indo European "ei/ey," which meant, "to go." ^ This gave Latin "eo," with the same meaning. Together, Latin had "exeo," which produced the infinitive form "exire," which meant "to exit, to leave, to go out (from)." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "eissir/issir," with the same meanings. One of its participle forms in Old French was "issue," and it was this form that was borrowed by English in the late 1200s. The meaning of a person's or couple's "children" derived from the notion of "children coming from the parent or parents," and developed not all that long after the word was borrowed into English. It was the legal system in England where the meaning, "legal matters," developed, a meaning that then broadened beyond court. The verb meaning of, "to send out, to give notice, to present to an individual or to the public," was also sometimes used in legal matters, as well as governmental matters, as it usually conveyed a sense of authority ("The court issued a summons to the man," or, "The traffic cop issued a ticket to me for speeding." Ah, unfairly, of course!) Later it also came to be used for "handing out, distributing, supplying," as in, "The commander issued weapons to the civilians in the town."

^ It "seems" that Old Germanic also had a form from this Indo European word, which gave Old English "eode," which later became "yode," and was the past tense form used for "go," although it was unrelated to the word "go." To confuse matters more, "yode" itself was replaced by "went," a word related to neither eode/yode" nor "go," but rather was the past tense of "wenden," which is now simply "to wend."

Trump & The United States Are NOT One And The Same

Way back in 1934, in Nuremberg, Germany, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party held their annual party rally, a series of special events and speeches that took place in September of that year. Hitler had been chancellor of Germany only since January 30, 1933, and he had only been total ruler for about a month, as President Paul von Hindenburg had died in early August, bringing Hitler to combine the presidency with the chancellorship, as "Führer." During one event, Rudolf Hess, a major Nazi official, declared: "The party is Hitler, Hitler however is Germany, just as Germany is Hitler" ("Die Partei ist Hitler, Hitler aber ist Deutschland, wie Deutschland Hitler ist.").

The most important aspect of Hitler's assumption of the presidential powers was that he became the supreme commander of the armed forces, a situation that worked out so well for the world (written, of course, with GREAT SARCASM, for those in need of clarification). With this power now vested in Hitler, he had the military forces swear loyalty to HIM, not to Germany: "I swear to God this sacred oath, that I shall give unconditional obedience to the Führer of the German Reich and people (and) supreme commander of the armed forces, Adolf Hitler, and, that as a brave soldier, I shall, at any time, be prepared to lay down my life for this oath." (German: "Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, daß ich dem Führer des Deutschen Reiches und Volkes, Adolf Hitler, dem Oberbefehlshaber der Wehrmacht, unbedingten Gehorsam leisten und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusetzen.")

So, one can see the entwining of Hitler and the German nation with the idea that an attack on, or criticism of, Hitler, being seen as an attack on, or criticism of, Germany itself. It had stunning affect, as German officers (including Austrians), long associated with respect for powerful, and even autocratic rulers, but with otherwise a general lack of political involvement, could not easily bring themselves to oppose this little man with the toothbrush mustache, because of this oath, even though they could see the terrible destruction he was bringing to others and to Germany. A few independent thinkers in the military opposed many aspects of Nazism from early on, but most German officers remained in denial right up to the very end, cowering behind the above oath. A few military officers, with the knowledge they had of Nazi crimes and the downward spiral of the war, did act, risking their own lives FOR Germany, but AGAINST Hitler. They finally admitted the truth to themselves, that Hitler and Germany were TWO different things, not one and the same. While their attempt against Hitler and the Nazis failed, there is a memorial plaque in Berlin where some of the anti-Hitler participants were executed. The plaque reads: "Here died for Germany," followed by the names of those executed on that spot, but it represents ALL who tried to overthrow the evil they saw. And note, it says, "died for Germany," not a word linking Germany and that son-of-a-bitch Hitler.

Any president of the United States, including Donald Trump, is chosen by Americans as their temporary national and international representative and head of the executive branch of a three part system of government, along with the legislative and judicial branches. Criticism of our presidents, including Donald Trump, does not mean Americans hate their country, as the president and the nation are separate, not linked in any way as the Nazis did with Hitler and Germany. Presidents of the United States are asked direct questions by the media, and sometimes even by every day citizens. Presidents also receive criticism, fairly, unfairly, or somewhere in between, by the media and every day citizens. It is not only permitted, it is expected. We are not a nation of lockstep zombies, although some Americans seem to be doing a great imitation of such. Americans also can, and should, question military leaders, including four star Marine generals, an act we recently were told was "highly inappropriate," by the spokesperson for the current Trump administration. In our system, no one in a position of authority is immune from being questioned or criticized, it goes with the territory, and those who assumed those positions of authority "knew what they were getting themselves into," as Trump told the widow of Army Sergeant La David Johnson, a man who was killed in operations in Niger, along with three other Green Berets, in October 2017.   
     
WORD HISTORY:
Cower-This word, unrelated to "coward," in spite of the modern similarity in spelling and meaning, has a cloudy history, but it goes back to Indo European "guh/geu," with the notion, "to bend, to curve, to arch." The problem comes as to how some Germanic languages got their forms of the Indo European word; that is, was it by a direct offshoot from the parent Indo European? Or an indirect borrowing by way of another language? I can find no form in Old Germanic, and "perhaps" a form entered Germanic by way of its North Germanic branch, where it then spread southward to Low German, which eventually passed it to High German and to English. Its basic meaning in the long distant past seems to have been, "to sit or kneel down in a hunched (arched, bent) position." Lithuanian, a Baltic language in northeastern Europe, had "gurnas," from the Indo European form, and meant, "hip, hipjoint;" that is, "the bone or joint that permits crouching down." The word first appears in English circa 1300 as "curen," although there could have been an earlier unrecorded form, but it seems to have been borrowed from Low German "kuren" ("watch or peek out from a hiding place in the woods"). Some relatives are Old Norse "karr," more directly tied in meaning to the Indo European, meant "curly, wavy" ("bent, curved"), while Swedish "kura" means "huddle." German has "kauern," which means "to crouch in an arched position, to cower." The Brothers Grimm, who not only assembled fairy tales, but who also did extensive work on word histories, wondered if "cower" might be related to the English verb "cow," meaning, "to intimidate;" thus with the possible original meaning, "to cause someone to crouch in fear." I must admit the two words likely come from the same Indo European base (Old Norse had "kuga," meaning, "to oppress;" so, a likely relative of "cow." It has nothing to do with the noun for the name of the animal, "cow.")

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Fourteen

The 1980 election proved to be decisive, as former Democrat turned Republican, Ronald Reagan, defeated incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. Reagan, a former actor, had previously been governor of California, while Carter was a former governor of Georgia and a peanut farmer. The hostages being held in Iran certainly weighed on the election, although as I recall, Reagan didn't directly exploit the issue, because he didn't have to, everyone knew about it, and no one really knew what to do about it, including Republicans. Instead, Reagan talked about a military build up and "a strong America" as a way to get respect abroad. The economy was really the central issue of the campaign, as high inflation, led by the high oil and gas prices of the 1970s, dragged on the economy. Carter appointed Paul Volcker as chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1979 and the Fed began a policy of constant interest rate hikes to wring inflation out of the economy. The whole process was very painful, as interest rates soared, and borrowing money became an expensive proposition, if it could even be done. As part of this, the 1970s had seen an increased issuance of what was becoming an ever more popular form of credit... CREDIT CARDS! The interest rates on these cards soared right along, and the economy slowed. Many Americans didn't necessarily blame Carter for the country's economic problems, or for the hostage situation in Iran, but he also couldn't solve the problems; at least, not as quickly as Americans wanted. A decade and more earlier, Southerner and segregationist George Wallace had often claimed, "There's not a dime's worth of difference between the Republicans and Democrats;" thus, Wallace ran for president as a third party candidate. In the 1980 election, we began to see a shift in ideas, as the more conservative Reagan laid out his plans, including large tax cuts, which were touted to largely "pay for themselves," and large increases in military spending; thus, drawing some sharp contrasts to Democrats, whom Reagan and conservatives termed, "liberals," not that that this was the first time that designation had been used. The thing was, Reagan's conservatism worried many people, but after a reassuring performance at the lone presidential debate in Cleveland, polls shifted dramatically and Reagan won a big electoral victory over Carter, including in the former Confederacy. Overall, Reagan won 489 electoral votes, including those of all former Confederate states, except for Carter's native Georgia, although Reagan won Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee by close margins.**

In the Senate, Republicans made gains in the former Confederacy, as they took seats in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. In the House of Representatives, Republicans gained a seat in Florida making the state's delegation 11 Democrats and 4 Republicans, while Republicans gained two seats in North Carolina, making the delegation 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans, in South Carolina, Republicans gained two seats, making the delegation 4 Republicans and 2 Democrats, in Texas, Republicans picked up one seat, making the delegation 19 Democrats and 5 Republicans, and in Virginia, Republicans gained 3 seats, giving them 9 seats to 1 for the Democrats. In a hotly contested  governor's race in Arkansas, Republicans defeated incumbent, and future president, Democrat Bill Clinton.
 
* During the Republican nominating process (primaries and caucuses), Reagan's major opponent was George H.W. Bush, who dubbed Reagan's economic ideas as, "voodoo economics," a term which continued to be used long after Reagan defeated Bush for the nomination. 

** Reagan talked about support for "states' rights," a term that drew fire from civil rights groups and Democrats for its history as a "cover or code term" for pro-slavery positions, and later, for support of suppression of civil rights for black Americans and for pro-segregation positions. Reagan said he meant he supported things like education being turned totally over to states and local communities, and that he felt the federal government had been unsuccessful in many endeavors, declaring that the government had declared war on poverty (under Lyndon Johnson), but that poverty had won. He also would often say that one of the most fearful things for a person to have happen, was to have a knock at the door and be told, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help" (he often tended to pronounce the word as, "govment"). It all played well with people in the former Confederacy, who perpetuated the South's long contentiousness with the federal government over slavery leading up to the Civil War, then the war itself and then the occupation of the former Confederacy by federal troops in the aftermath of the war (Reconstruction). Of course, the contentiousness and hatred continued with many of the things I've covered in previous parts in this series, including the battles over segregation and civil rights. 

WORD HISTORY:
Trend-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, but it goes back to Old Germanic "trandijanan," with the notion of, "curve or bend in a rounded course." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the verb "trendan," meaning, "to turn about/around, roll." This then became "trenden," before the modern form. It wasn't until the mid 1800s that the meaning, "events moving in a particular direction," became fixed to the word, as this developed from a late 1500s seafaring meaning, "the course of a shoreline or coast." The old form also spawned "trundle," of "trundle bed;" "a low setting bed on wheels" (round objects), and also the verb of that spelling, "to roll something on wheels." English also once had "trendel," "orb, ring," and "trinde," "lump, rounded mass." The various meanings over time make it difficult to research other Germanic relatives, but an interesting relative is Danish "trind," meaning, "plump, rounded." 

Aioli, Is It Garlic Mayonnaise?

"Aioli," and there are variations in the term by language or dialect ("allioli" in some areas of Spain, for instance),* is a general term for a sauce common in the western Mediterranean area of eastern Spain, southern France and northwestern Italy. There are "generally" two types of aioli; one of olive oil combined with garlic, which "seems" to be the traditional sauce, and the other, a combination of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and egg (either whole eggs or just yolks), now often simply with prepared mayonnaise substituted for the raw egg. The traditional aioli method involved crushing cloves of garlic with a mortar and pestle, then gradually adding olive oil while stirring the mixture until it formed a sauce, with some adding a little lemon juice, others omitting it. Nowadays a blender or food processor is used to make the sauce. The "egg type" seems to have developed, or at least to have become popular, in southern France. The blended egg and ingredients made a garlic mayonnaise, and this type has become the best known, with even two of my Spanish cookbooks giving recipes for this type, with only scant mention of the traditional aioli, which is still used in parts of Spain. Of course, for the egg style aioli, the use of store bought mayonnaise is both convenient and safer than using raw egg. Aioli is commonly served with fish or other seafood, steamed vegetables, as well as with other foods.     

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat style is fine)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch pepper

In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients until smooth. Chill the aioli.  
 
* One of my Spanish cookbooks spells it, "ali oli" (two words), and it also notes that in some parts of Spain it is called "ajiaceite" and "ajoaceite." 

WORD HISTORY:
Ball (#2)-This is the noun (related to "ballet") meaning, "dance (usually a formal dance)," and it is a totally different word from "ball," with the meaning, "rounded object." It goes back to Indo European "gwele/gwela," with the notion of, "bubble up, rise up, overflow, throw outward or upward," and it is distantly related to Old English "cwylla," which meant "a spring;" that is, "a source of water" ("water that rises out of the ground," and German still uses "Quelle," with this meaning, as well as, more commonly, the general meaning "source"). The Indo European form gave transliterated Greek "ballizein," with the meaning, "to jump about in dance" (literally, "to throw oneself about"). Latin borrowed the term from Greek as "ballare," also meaning, "to dance." This passed to Latin-based Old French as, "baller," with the same meaning, and which produced the noun, "bal," meaning, "a dance." English borrowed the word from French, circa 1650.

Spicy Spanish Potatoes: Patatas Bravas

This dish is common for "tapas" in Spain, especially in Madrid and Barcelona, and there are variations in recipes. "Tapas" are "snacks," which in Spain are something of a whole segment of the Spanish food and beverage business, as tapas bars specialize in the serving of a variety of snacks, or "appetizers," if you prefer another word for this type of food. "Patatas Bravas" are crispy fried potato pieces served with a spicy tomato sauce (salsa brava); and in Barcelona, they are served with aioli (garlic mayonnaise). In Spain, the potatoes are most often fried in extra virgin olive oil. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 cups olive oil + 2 tablespoons
2 teaspoons salt (divided use)  
1 teaspoon mild smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika
2 tablespoons chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small fresh red chili, or 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1  14.5 ounce can tomatoes, drained
aioli* 

Simmer cubed potatoes in salted water until just beginning to soften. The potatoes should not be cooked through; thus, they will still be relatively firm. Drain and put the potatoes on some paper towels to help dry them. Fry potatoes in 1 1/2 cups of olive oil over medium heat until browned and crispy (the inside should still be sort of creamy), which will finish cooking them through. Remove potatoes to paper towels and season with one teaspoon of salt. In the meantime, in a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for about a minute. Add the garlic, the chili (or chili flakes or cayenne pepper), saute for another minute. Add the sweet and hot paprika, one teaspoon of salt and the tomatoes. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add all to a blender or food processor; combine until it's a relatively smooth sauce. Serve the potatoes with some of the tomato sauce poured over it, and then with some dabs or streaks of aioli on top.  

* Aioli is essentially a garlicky mayonnaise, although in some parts of Spain it is more olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Here's the link to the article for "aioli:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/10/aioli-is-it-garlic-mayonnaise.html
  

WORD HISTORY: 
Brave-For what is a pretty common word today, the history of "brave" is more than a little shaky, and, to be totally honest about it, I must say the word's overall history is "uncertain," if not "unknown." One theory, which I like, has it going back to Ancient Greek "barbaros," which meant "not of Greek background;" that is, "foreign," and further, "uncivilized, wild." There is a theory that this may go back to an Indo European form "bar bar" or, "barbar," with the notion of being "unintelligible, incapable of being understood." Anyway, the Greek form, also the basis of "barbarian" and "barbarous," two other words borrowed by English, was borrowed by Latin as "barbarus," also meaning, "foreign, uncivilized, wild;" thus also, "fierce." This then produced Latin "brabus," then the altered, "bravus," meaning, "wild, fierce," and where "barbarus" was not only contracted, but where the "ar" reversed to "ra," a process called metathesis, a linguistic change that is not totally uncommon.^ This then gave Italian "bravo," where the "wild, fierce" meaning was coming to indicate "bold;" thus, "courageous (brave)." This was borrowed by French as "brave" (pronounced "brahv") and this then was borrowed by English in the late 1400s. 

^ For example, "bird" was once "brid/bridd," in English.

Indian Shrimp Vindaloo

The basic recipe for "Vindaloo" came to the Indians from the Portuguese, who colonized a part of western India over 400 years ago. The Portuguese used pork that was marinated in wine and garlic, but generally only Indian Christians eat pork, so over time, shrimp, fish and chicken became popular as substitutes for the pork, and many spices were added, which is very common in Indian cuisine. This is a spicy hot curry, but naturally you can lower the heat by using fewer chili flakes, although chili flakes can vary in heat level. "Vindaloo" is the Indian rendering, from the Konkani language of southwestern India,* of Portguese "vinha d'alhos" (wine and garlic).

Ingredients:

1 pound large (31/35) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons olive oil (NOT extra virgin olive oil)
2 to 3 tablespoons red chili flakes
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon brown sugar

In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the chopped onion. Saute about a minute, then add the garlic and ginger. Saute until the onion begins to soften. Add the chili flakes, the red wine vinegar, the ground cumin, the cinnamon, the ground cloves, the nutmeg, the ground coriander, the turmeric, the paprika, the salt and the brown sugar. Stir well and cook the mixture for about one minute. Add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until opaque, turning the shrimp once during cooking to coat them with the spice mixture (overcooking shrimp can make them tough). Serve with white rice.

* In and around the state of Goa, where the Indian version of this dish originated.

WORD HISTORY:
Bale-This word, related to "ball" (round object), goes back to Indo European "bhel," which had the notion of "swell, bloat out, to bulge." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "balluz," which meant, "swollen or bloated object;" thus later actually, "round object." This was borrowed into Latin from Lombardic, an old Germanic dialect, as "balla" ("ball, round object"), which was taken into Latin-based Old French as "balle," with the same meaning, but also, "material(s) rolled into a rounded object;" thus, "package, bundle." This was borrowed by Flemish as "baal," and English borrowed the word in the early 1300s, with likely reinforcement from both French and Dutch.

Pimento Cheese Spread

Perhaps best known as a popular dish in the American South, and especially so at golf tournaments in Augusta, Georgia, pimento cheese spread actually "seems" to have developed in New York state, which, if it became widely known, would likely cause a spike in late night viewings of "Damn Yankees" by Southerners tossing and turning at nights, unable to accept the reality of the situation and looking for a way to vent. Hahahaha

In the past, the cheese was grated by hand on a box grater and the pimentos and onion were diced or chopped by hand. Then all of the ingredients were stirred together with a large spoon. Later, as electric mixers became more popular, the ingredients were often mixed that way. Now, you can use a food processor and make the spread to the consistency you like; chunky or smooth, or somewhere in between. There are many recipes for pimento cheese spread, including one I have in an old Southern cookbook I've owned for more than 40 years, which has NO mayonnaise! (Ah, that is, the cheese spread, but I have never noticed any mayonnaise in the book either.) Many recipes have some element of "heat;" that is, cayenne pepper or hot pepper sauce are a part of the recipe. This recipe here is my own and you most certainly can pass the hot sauce for users to apply in the amount they choose.

Ingredients:

1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 ounces pimentos, drained and sliced
2 tablespoons roughly chopped onion
1 teaspoon paprika (sweet or hot)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cut or slice the pimentos in some way, just so they are more likely to get mixed in well; you have have to make them "pretty," as they will be put into the processor/blender. Cut the cheese into chunks and put it into a food processor. Process the cheese very briefly, just to start it, then add the well softened cream cheese, and the other ingredients. Process to the consistency you want, making sure everything gets mixed in well. Cover the spread and chill it for several hours. Great served on crackers, on pumpernickel or white bread triangles, or as sandwiches. Try it on your cheeseburger.

WORD HISTORY:
Yet-This fairly common word has a bit of a shaky history, although it and its known Germanic relatives have meanings related to time. The best I can come up with is this: it goes back to something on the order of Indo European "aiu/aio," which had to do with "length of time in life." Its Old Germanic offspring had something like "aiw(ut,)" also with reference to time. This gave Old English "giet," which meant, "up until now, up until this time." (The "gi" combination produced a sound like "y," a pretty common occurrence in the Germanic dialects of the North Sea area, as Low German still has such with "g" to this day, and the dialect of Berlin, which kept features from the time when the area was settled by Low German speakers, also has the "g=y" sound; thus, standard German "geben" (to give), pronounced as if "gayben," is pronounced like "yayben," in Berlin dialect.) The Old English spelling then became "yit" and then "yet." It has relatives in the first part of the German word "jetzt," actually a compound meaning, "now," and also the beginning of German "immer" (always) and the beginning of "ewig" (forever), as well as, "je" (ever), Dutch "ooit" ("ever"), West Frisian "yit" (meaning, "yet, still"), the beginning of the second syllable of Low German Saxon "alljümmer" (always, anytime)

It's About Coalitions, Not Purity, Part Forty-Six

The Chickens Come Home To Roost, But It's Too Hot In The Hen House ... The Financial Meltdown, Part 3

As the nation continued to struggle with record oil and gasoline prices, the best we could get from the Bush administration and many Republicans was how this was all part of the free market at work. On top of this, reports of escalating foreclosures began to scare the hell out of many people, including people who worked on Wall Street, or who were in some way connected to Wall Street, as they began to wonder when the financial consequences of large numbers of foreclosures would become more evident. The consequences began to show up.

In March 2008, large investment bank "Bear-Stearns" teetered on the brink of insolvency, largely as a result of the then developing mortgage and foreclosure crisis. Bear-Stearns could not get loans from other banks, as confidence in the old bank (the bank dated from the early 1920s) went out the window, and financial markets were shaky over the whole situation. The Federal Reserve (aka, "the Fed") stepped in and through a complex deal, including bailout money, orchestrated a deal whereby Bear-Stearns was acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the Fed's decision to intervene was made in order to prevent a spill over into the rest of the economy if Bear-Stearns went down. The "free marketers" nearly had a collective stroke, as this whole process went against their vaunted principles of "free market capitalism;" known to some of us as "dog-eat-dog capitalism." I also explain the concept as, "We can do ANYTHING to the public, and we mean ANYTHING, and they can't do a damn thing to us. We don't a give a good damn about people, only about money!" I actually think the public should return the "favor," and not a give a good damn about these miserable, insatiable merchants of greed.*

The Fed intervention didn't come close to righting the miserable shape of the American financial system, but it calmed things briefly. A few months later, it became more and more evident the American banking system, and, therefore, the entire American economy (and the world's, for that matter), was on the ropes, and that the predicament with Bear-Stearns had not been an isolated incident. We waited for the other shoe to drop. Lehman Brothers, another large investment bank, dating to the mid 1800s (yes, 1800s!), was next to suffer the consequences of irresponsible capitalism. After serious declines in its stock price and announced layoffs of personnel, clients abandoned the bank in droves, withdrawing their money and assets almost instantly. The bank announced it would file for bankruptcy, and the DOW dropped 500 points in one day, with further staggering losses to follow. The Fed did not intervene, thus giving the "free marketers" their wish. With Lehman's collapse, the situation became so serious, the Bush administration, that bulwark of "free market capitalism," having oft essentially said about American economic problems, "we can't do anything about anything, because its a free market economy," announced, along with the support of the Fed, that they needed a special fund of $700 billion (with a "b") to shore up the financial system or that the country faced a new DEPRESSION, perhaps worse than the one dubbed "the Great Depression." With that name taken, what the hell would we call it?

Folks, having principles is one thing, but carrying principles to an extreme is lunacy. Driving off a cliff doesn't make you pure, it makes you NUTS, and then DEAD!

With the economy unraveling before our very eyes, the nominating process for candidates to succeed George W. Bush was taking place. On the Republican side, John McCain, who had made a run for the nomination in 2000, faced a number of candidates, most of whom dropped out of the race early on, with only Mike Huckabee of Arkansas posing any real challenge to McCain until March 2008. On the Democratic side, New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton made a strong bid to become the first woman to secure a major party nomination for president, but she was challenged by Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a powerful speaker and a man of mixed black and white racial background. So Democrats had two choices, one of which would be for the history books: the first female presidential candidate or the first African-American candidate. 

Next, the economy plunges and the political coalitions of the election of 2008 ...    

* The basic argument by the "free marketers" is, capitalists take risks hoping to make a profit on something. If that risk blows up on them, they should suffer the consequences, and government should do nothing to help them out. I would dare say, most of us probably agree with that whole concept "on paper." The problem is, these banks had become so big (remember "too big to fail?"), the failure of any one of them posed a threat to the entire economy and people's livelihoods. Further, suspicions were then rising that Bear-Stearns was not the only big bank in serious trouble.

WORD HISTORY: 
Melt-This word, closely related to "smelt,"^ and related to "malt" and "mild" (all from Germanic), goes back to Indo European "meld," with the meaning, "to soften, to make soft." This gave Old Germanic "meltanan," which meant "to melt, to dissolve." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "meltan," meaning, "to melt, to turn solid to liquid with fire, to dissolve;" thus also, "to digest." This then became "melten," before the modern form. By the way, the adjective "molten" is simply the adjectival use of the archaic past participle of "melt." The relatives of "melt" in the other Germanic languages tend to be directly connected to the closely related "smelt," and, as far as I can find, only English has both forms, "melt" and "smelt," with the latter being borrowed from Low German or Dutch, and more typically applied to the process of melting metal; whereas, in the other Germanic languages, it means the more general "melt." Icelandic has "melta," which means "digest;" that is, "the dissolving of food in the digestive system."  

^ This is the word meaning "to melt metal." English also has used the same spelling for a form of the past tense and participle of "smell," more common in England and other parts of Britain, although not uncommon in "spoken" American English. 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Thirteen

NOTE: I forgot to mention this in an earlier segment: In the primaries of 1972, George Wallace ran in the Democratic Party primaries. He opposed busing, but said that he had changed his mind about desegregation in the general sense. In the former Confederate states, Wallace won a stunning victory in the Florida Democratic primary, winning 75 of the state's 81 delegates to the Democratic Convention, with nearly 42% of the vote, far more than any other candidate in the race. Hubert Humphrey finished a distant second with 18 1/2% of the vote, and he won the 6 remaining delegates. Wallace also won big victories in North Carolina, where he received more than half of the primary vote, and in Tennessee, where he garnered more than two-thirds of the vote. In May of 1972, Wallace, while campaigning in Maryland, was shot and paralyzed from the waist down by Arthur Bremer. Bremer, who had actually intended to assassinate President Nixon, but then chose Wallace, was released from prison (probation) in late 2007. The assassination attempt ended Wallace's presidential bid in 1972. I was on my way to umpire a little league baseball game when I heard the news of the shooting, as a man was running along the sidewalk shouting, "George Corley Wallace just got himself shot."

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The 1970s saw the American economy struggling with increased oil and gasoline prices (brought on by instability in the Middle East), which put upward pressure on overall prices, which put a drag on the economy, a situation that came to be called "stagflation." Further, automation continued to whittle away at jobs, and business people with industries in northern cities began to look more and more to the South for ways to cut costs. Southern states had resisted labor unions to a great extent, so business people saw this as a way of cutting labor costs. Gradually this transfer of jobs and industry (and not just heavy duty industry) southward to the "Sunbelt" (named for the warmer climate) would pick up steam, leaving behind the communities in the northern part of the country as the "Rustbelt;" that is, older, declining industrial centers. The Confederacy had surrendered more than a hundred years before, but suddenly the slogan "the South will rise again," began to come into play.

The Republican Party had long been tilted in the direction of conservatism, going back more obviously to the split in the election of 1912, which saw former Republican president, Teddy Roosevelt, run against his Republican successor, William Howard Taft, who proved to be too conservative for the more progressive Roosevelt.* This split allowed the election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson as president. Wilson was a Southerner, having been born in Virginia and raised there, as well as in North Carolina. He later became president of Princeton University in New Jersey, which led to his election as governor of that state.

With the Great Depression and the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in four successive elections, Republicans generally staked out positions at least somewhat to the right of Roosevelt. This general tendency toward conservatism was solidified during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, as Republicans, generally seen as pro-business, were also seen as, and campaigned on, being the party of law and order, especially as compared to the Democrats, who slugged it out with each other over the Vietnam War, segregation and many social issues, such as abortion and women's rights, in the 1960s and 1970s, leaving socially conservative elements of the party to come more into play for Republicans. If you've been following this series, you've seen the Republicans become more and more competitive in the former Confederacy.

A longstanding foreign policy issue was over the Panama Canal, or actually more specifically, the Panama Canal "Zone," which had been under U.S. control from the time of Teddy Roosevelt. The overall debate about the canal zone is complex, as the international situation of the U.S. versus the Soviet Union, the fear of the spread of communism and the political positions of Latin American governments had much to do with the politics of the canal. "Generally" speaking, many conservatives, sort of led by Ronald Reagan and South Carolina senator, Strom Thurmond, opposed the negotiation of a new treaty about the canal or the canal zone. The issue became highly  contentious, but in the end there were two separate treaties signed and then ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1978 (ratification requires 2/3 affirmative vote of the Senate).

In what became a major event of the times, following a revolution in Iran, which brought to power a fundamentalist Islamic government, more than 50 American embassy personnel were taken hostage and held prisoner beginning in November 1979. The crisis went on and on, and the network news shows (no cable news in those days) began opening their newscasts with, "Day 120," or, "Day 187."** An American military rescue attempt in the spring of 1980 failed and the hostage crisis continued to hang like a dark cloud over the 1980 election process.  

In the nomination process for the 1980 election, incumbent Democrat and Southerner, President Jimmy Carter, was challenged by Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts, the brother of slain President John F. Kennedy and slain presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy. Carter won all primary contests by big margins in the former Confederacy against Kennedy.

On the Republican side, Ronald Reagan easily defeated George Bush (Sr.), and a number of other candidates, in primaries in states of the former Confederacy, although the vote in Texas was much closer, Reagan 53% to 46% for Bush. Overall, Reagan won the Republican nomination by a comfortable margin.

Next... The Republicans Choose Reagan and The South Follows

* Teddy Roosevelt was a distant cousin of future Democratic president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he was the uncle of Franklin's wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, the daughter of Teddy's brother.

** A friend of mine told me that his wife, who suffered from bipolar disorder, was so distraught over the hostage situation, that he and his family had to keep her away from the television during the news, as it upset her so much. 

WORD HISTORY:
Ordeal-The main body of this word, "deal," goes back to Indo European "dail/dhail," which meant "divide." This gave Old Germanic "dailiz/dailaz," meaning "a part, a share, a portion." The prefix "or-" goes back to Indo European "uds," with the notion of "upwards, up, out." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "uz," meaning, "out, out from, away from." In Old English this developed into "or-," while in German, for instance, it developed into "ur-" (originally "ir-," and it also gave German the prefix "er-," for many words, and in English also "a-" as a prefix in some words). The prefixed form in West Germanic was the verb "uzdailijan," meaning, "to deal out a judgment;" that is, "to give a verdict." Lying behind the meaning was the notion of "judgment received from the gods," and later, after Christianity spread among the Germanic tribes, "judgment by God;" that is, "judgment rendered by a physical test," as survivors or those uninjured were seen as innocent and non survivors or those injured were seen as deservedly dead or injured, as they had been guilty. "Ordeal by fire" is still something we hear of in modern times. The West Germanic word produced the Old English noun "ordal," meaning, "judgment by test;" with the spelling later becoming "ordeal," and the meaning of, "something that severely tests a person," still very much a meaning in the word, which has kept it much closer to the original meaning; whereas, in the other West Germanic languages, the word has come to mean "judgment, verdict," in the more general sense, without the "physical test" element. Forms in the other West Germanic languages: German has "Urteil," Low German Saxon "Ordeel," Dutch "oordeel," West Frisian "oardiel." 

The Former Confederacy & Modern American Politics, Part Twelve

The former Confederate states were becoming more competitive politically, a situation that would only grow in the future, as the South's Democratic Party tradition strained under that Democratic Party's continued stand against any segregation and discrimination and its move away from absolute hard lines in foreign policy; interestingly, actually moved much to the forefront a few years before by Republican Richard Nixon in his meetings with both China and the Soviet Union.* The earlier antiwar movement was often centered in the nation's colleges and universities, with that movement also having linked to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, along with dress and hairstyle changes, trends not heartily embraced in the more tradition friendly southern states. **   

In the midterm election of 1978, Republican Thad Cochran won a senate seat in Mississippi, and this was the only party change in the former Confederate states in the Senate. In the House, Republicans gained 1 seat in Arkansas, making the delegation 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans; Democrats gained 2 seats in Florida, making the delegation 12 Democrats and 3 Republicans; in Georgia, Republican Newt Gingrich won a seat, making the delegation 9 Democrats and 1 Republican; in South Carolina  Republicans gained 1 seat making the delegation 4 Democrats and 2 Republicans; in Texas Republicans gained 2 seats making the delegation 20 Democrats and 4 Republicans.*** In governorships: Republicans gained the governorships of Tennessee and Texas, while Democrats retook the governor's mansion in South Carolina. This was not a party change, but future president Bill Clinton was elected governor in Arkansas.

* Nixon had gained prominence in national politics as a tough anti-communist while serving in the House of Representatives from California after World War Two, but especially so, when he ran for a Senate seat in 1950, by referring to his Democratic female opponent as, "the Pink Lady;" a reference, actually begun by her Democratic primary opponent, meant to accuse her of being "close with communists, while not actually accusing her of being a communist." This was all at a time of the early years of the conflict between communism, led by the Soviet Union and China, and "the West," led by the United States and Britain. When Nixon visited and negotiated with China and the Soviet Union, the selling line was that Americans could trust Nixon to negotiate with communist nations, because of his steadfast record against communism. It all became sort of reduced down to, "Only Nixon could go to China." I should add, in those times, China was always referred to as, "Red China."    

** Our definitions of "tradition" can be a hard chore to accomplish, as tradition based upon what era? In the former Confederacy, where the era of the Confederacy was looked upon favorably by a significant part of the population, that era had men with lots of facial hair and long hair, something much more akin to the 1960s and 1970s, where that style was more common among antiwar protesters and people advocating looser sexual mores and attitudes towards drugs, as well as support for women's rights (often called "the counterculture" by conservatives), something not so readily accepted by many in the South, where the often clean shaven and short hair of the World War Two and immediate postwar decade seems to have been the "tradition" being upheld, as well as opposition to drugs and women's rights. While I'm certainly generalizing here, I want to make the point that not all political change and openness to Republicans in the former Confederate states was about race.       

*** An interesting note in Texas: future president George W. Bush run for a congressional seat, but was defeated. 

WORD HISTORY:
Weevil-This word, related to "weave," goes back to Indo European "webh," which meant "to move to and fro, to move about;" thus also, "to weave." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "webilaz," the name for a type of beetle, "perhaps" from its motion? Or the use of its snout so as to seem to weave? This gave Old English "wifel," with the same meaning. This then became "wevel," before the modern form. Forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "Wiebel," now a seemingly archaic term for a type of beetle,^ Low German "Wivel" also seems to be less used in modern times, as is Dutch "wevel," Old Norse, the forerunner of Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish, had "vifill," used in "tordyfill," literally, "turd beetle;" that is, "dung beetle," but finding the use of a form in modern Danish, Norwegian and Swedish has proven to be difficult, although that doesn't mean they no longer exist, as they too, may now be dialectal or archaic.  

^ The more common modern word for a weevil in German is, "Rüsselkäfer," literally a, "snout or trunk (like of an elephant) chafer (beetle)." Weevils have a trunk-like snout.