Susie Bright's Journal

Trump’s Corona - And We All Fall Down

Look out the window. Trump is finis.

And so is every incumbent and crony at his sweaty side. —Yet not for any reason sought by enemies or competitors! 

 

It’s not our citizens who brought him down. No, eco-Karma has struck; Donald’s inescapable fate, his little thumb, is on the lever.

 

No one could hold the White House for a second term after what we’re about to witness. The Viper-in-Chief has always been an Olympian of poisonous self-pity—and now he holds the chalice.

 

“Hillary, or Obama,” we hear every day, “Or Mitt! —Would’ve been a million times more competent,” in the face of The Hot Zone.

 

But even gifted stewards would not survive the political backlash of a mass infectious disease unlike any seen in a century. The ignorant as well as the educated will wipe the incumbent out of office, a vox populi sweep.

 

Covid-19 has simultaneously revolutionized the Democratic primary in the blink of an eye.

 

Joseph Biden will be the general election candidate.  —NOT because he is the best, or simply better, or because of a single one of his “policies”— nor because he is a centrist, or got more dough, or ANY other reason except this: Uncle Joe’s Face reminds people of pre-Plague. That’s it.

 

It calls to mind Alabama’s widow, Cordelia Wallace.

 

There is nothing that will stop Biden’s win, other than being felled himself by the virus.

 

.... 

 

Bernie Sanders isn’t making a strategic error in the moment, or in any of his coming days. It doesn’t matter. There are no “if-only’s.” The Bros are irrelevant, and so are their critics.

 

It’s not even about red-baiting, anymore. The CoronaVirus breaks the Cold War; a feat incomparable. Bernie’s loss is unfair to him only in the sense that he isn’t the Etch-a-Sketch illustration of a book called The Old Days at the Oval.

 

The previous White House has achieved mythic Halcyon Status in one month. —Beyond any previous nostalgia. The Obama’s must be stunned to see it.

 

There is nothing Bernie could do or say to change the general election now, except to survive, and show up. —To press his influence at a time when corruption and capitalism are shown at their most pathetic and ugly. He’s going to do that; it’s just a matter of fighting off a fever. That’s what I hope for Bernie. —For Elizabeth. For all of them!  It crushes us to think of genuine public servants suffering from this. 

 

We’re going to lose so many people. The world already has. All kinds. People who fought for a moral and compassionate life, for a generational and bio-sensitive future, for human poetry in motion. People whose names will mean so much in memory.

 

 AIDS P.T.S.D is a bitch. 

 

I hope all the primary candidates are guarding their health like a precious jewel. We need competent hands in motion.

 

Speaking of febrility... President Zero is likely sick as of this writing. That’s his final nickname: (0).

 

We will witness Trump’s coded corporeal efforts to stay alive. It’s going to be a grotesquerie.

 

Yes, we’ll watch it, if we can lift our heads off our feverish pillows. Trump’s centrality to the disaster, and his irrelevance, will be a matched set in about 12 weeks.

 

Picture this: the physical survival or fatality of the Trump family line, will be eclipsed by funereal shame for all time.

 

Impeachment and removal would’ve been a kiss. 

 

If only. If only the coup de grâce was our royal species, our over-rated smarts, stepping up to the plate—instead of a microscopic corona-headed King of the Bugs. The cosmic humility is deafening. 

 

———————

Stats Link: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Potzo Balls for the Cure

I made matzo ball soup for the first time. It was inspired by a “potzo” ball soup recipe on a cannabis site.

As it turned out, my soup was as delicious as the best Montréal Jewish deli, the most fragrant Brooklyn memory. Really! I was so happy and surprised.

I’ll tell you below how to make all three parts: the broth, the matzo balls--  and the “canna-oil,” which is the taste-friendly oil you make from the weed.

Obviously, you can leave the pot out, but I have to say, it was delicious and not overwhelming.

BROTH:

Make the best chicken broth you can. You may already have a favorite recipe.

There’s a couple surprising spices and veggies in this recipe, I've  marked with asterisks*. Be sure you put those in!

10 cups water
1 whole chicken, roughly cut apart

(I didn’t have a whole chicken; I only had two thighs and a box of TJ chicken broth. It worked out great. You can use anything to start with, as long as it has “schmaltz” in it).

2  carrots, washed
4-6 stalks celery, washed
2 parsnips
1small turnip, washed and cut in half
1 medium red onion, cut in half. You don’t need to take the paper off
*Dill, fresh or dry
*1 bay leaf
*A half thumb of raw turmeric (it looks like fresh ginger). Dried is ok, too, a tsp.
*2 teaspoons black peppercorns
*3 to 5 whole cloves. Yes.
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1) Fill a large soup pot with 10 cups water. (or chicken stock)

2) Put in the chicken parts, whole carrots, celery, parsnips, turnip, onion and dill. Add bay leaf, turmeric, peppercorns, cloves and salt. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, because you’re going to take them all out, later.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.

Take out the solids:

Remove the chicken parts and set aside.
Remove the vegetables and discard.

While you’re simmering the soup, you can make the canna-oil and the matzo-balls.

MATZO BALLS:

1 cup matzo meal  (NO SUBSTITUTES FOR THIS)
2 teaspoons baking powder
Plenty of salt and pepper
4 eggs

1 tablespoon "canna–olive oil," plus 3 tablespoons regular olive or avocado oil--

OR:  4 Tbsp. Oil

*4 tablespoons seltzer or soda water

5) In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: matzo meal, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

6) In another bowl, whisk together eggs, (canna–) olive oil mixture, and fresh soda water.

7) Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.

8) Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

CANNA-OIL:

Obviously, this is more art than science. I used some nearly-forgotten “shake” from 2005, I’m not kidding. Do not use buds or expensive pot, ever. This oil is for the lowly-ignored leaves.

Ingredients--

1¼  cups olive oil or avocado oil

2 ounces trimmed leaf, dried and ground. Use a postal or kitchen scale to weigh it, you need to be precise. Use a coffee grinder to pulverize it so it’s fine.  I’ll post a link below for more info.

Method--

In cast iron frying pan or dutch oven, slowly heat oil on *low heat* for a few minutes. You'll smell the oil's aroma. You never turn the heat up.

Add a tablespoon of cannabis to the oil and then stir until it is fully coated with oil. Keep adding more cannabis until the entire amount of cannabis is mixed into the oil.

Simmer on low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This seriously stinks!  Open all the windows. It’s sort like burning dirt. Don’t worry, it will go away.

Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to cool before straining.

To Strain:

Press the cannabis against a fine colander with the back of a spoon to wring all the oil out of it.  Or squeeze it  through cheesecloth. 

In fact, if you have arthritis in your hands, and you squeeze a cheese-cloth ball of warm canna-oil, it is the most soothing thing in the world.

Throw the leftover cannabis in the compost. It’s useless.

FINISH:

9) Bring your delicious clear broth to a boil.

Take a little ball of the wet matzo dough in your hands,  plump golf-ball size. Wet your hands with water so it doesn’t get sticky, and just shape them into a cute round ball, like you’re a kid playing with play-dough.

Shape all your balls first, line them up on a plate or chop block. I got a dozen out of my recipe.

Drop all the matzo balls into the simmering soup. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.They will expand and plump up, like dumplings.

 IF you want to add some diced carrots here, you can, any  tiny diced veggies. But don’t go overboard, because the star is the dumplings and the broth.

10) Shred the chicken and place it in serving bowls. Add the broth and potzo balls.

Sprinkle parsley or scallions if you like.

YUM YUM YUM!

 

Photo Credit: Emerald Magazine, who has their own recipe that looks just as yummy!