The Secret to Donald Trump’s success

Americans probably do not know that their country is possibly the most corrupt in the world.  The average citizen has little comparison to make; but with the sheer order of magnitude of money, complexity, sophistication mixed with technology give our politicians much leverage in many dimensions.  They are corrupt, the legality of which is twisted in the complexity of the laws and rules (which they wrote).  Donald Trump is many things, but he is not overtly corrupt.

When Donald reminds us that the money forces cannot affect him, he is ‘speaking truth to power.  they're going to say what others don't want us to hear’(from Geoff Nunberg).  and Donald is speaking a truth that Americans want to hear, finally.

He reminds everyone how money has corrupted every single politician.  We need the reminder, and I hope that as his lead in the polls dwindles his clear message does not.

Media commentary (radio, TV, web) is mostly Bloviation

bloviator

1. A public figure, with access to media coverage, who makes outlandish, strident statements on issues, thinking that the average man will care about their opinions.
   
   2. Someone who pontificates on issues of which they are uninformed, yet pretend to be expert.
   
   3. Pompous blowhard, intentionally speaking about topics on which they are totally unqualified.  

bloviator criteria:

Inflammatory rhetoric works best when the

speaker can square off against traditional targets

 

When they portend to be speaking truth to power,

bloviators deliberately attempt to say what others

don't want us to hear.

 

Their bravado is always sham bravado. They're not

 going to run the risk of saying anything that will make

 their own partisans shift uncomfortably in their seats

 

The "hard truths" bloviators tell are claims intended to

get a rise out of the people on the other side, to the

gratification of the people on their own.

 

In today's clamorous media world there aren't any

silent corners left— everybody is talking at once,

 

The bloviators have to be pretty strident to get heard

over the din and clutter.

 

These days, telling it like it is means testifying

to your anger with plain talk and raw invective.

 

 

 

July tomato (and garden) tasks

Sure it feels like Louisiana…and we should all check on the elderly….but don’t neglect your tomato plants.  Keep them tied up and remove the bottom leaves (they are useless).  You want as much air to flow through as they ripen. Weeding does not have to be perfect, but do your best in the heat.

Summer squash of all varieties comes fast and fuurios right now CHECK BOTH MORNING AND EVENING so they do not get elephantiasis and become relegated to the brad line.  Try this handy idea for surplus:

ZUCCHINI PANCAKES

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□   3 eggs
□   2 zucchini, grated
□   1/2 c. whole wheat flour or stoneground cornmeal
□   Add more flour or a little milk to make pancake consistency

Stir the eggs into the grated zucchini, then mix in the flour until all the lumps are gone. Fry the batter like pancakes with a bit of butter to keep it from sticking. Delicious topped with grated cheese. (or nothing)

These are a great finger food and a balanced meal, and you can add corn or other veggies. Put them in the fridge as a cool side dish for later.

 

Gardens after a heavy rain

I enjoy when my visitors/neighbors laugh at my shoes—the ones piled up on the porch caked in mud and stone.  I have a particular devotion to getting out in the gardens after a heavy rain.  Good news – although the weeds are easier to pull it might not be necessary to ‘clean weed’ everything.  The bad news is that cultivation of some sort is, in my view, critical especially after a heavy rain. So is mowing.

Insects of all sort love puddles of water, and not even puddles.  They come out to party after every rain, but the soaking and pounding rainfall of late forms (courtesy of Chester County clay) a particularly fertile surface for bugs. So I encourage everyone to join the muddy boots club and scratch/hoe/or even Mantis every surface you can around the plants you cherish.  Even the Japanese Beetle visitors can be slowed.

The more serious issue is rutting when cultivating with a machine large or small.  Soil compaction is not your friend, so you have to pick and choose where to run equipment depending upon how quickly it drains or dries. I start at gardens at higher levels and work down very much my experience. As mentioned, mowing is also a deterrent to bug proliferation – too many of the critters are airborne so that even nearby weed patches can be breeding grounds for visitors you do not want.  Again try to avoid rutting, but running a mower as soon as possible after a rain is not to cut the grass, but to thwart bugs.

Best mud boots?  I still love muck boots and their imitators.  Older crocks which lace up work as well – and so do wind surfing booties, but the rubber slip ons generally slip off.