Entries from January 2004 ↓

Six years from AARP membership.

Twenty-one years from retirement.

Now, for those who’d like to help me celebrate…

From the �News We Already Knew� department comes a report confirming what anti-war protesters and Bushwhackers alike felt in our hearts, but seemed hard-pressed to get a post-9/11-weary, flag-waving, easily-duped general population to believe–there was no justification for the invasion, there were no weapons of mass destruction and the Bush Administration knew it.

A recent study from a private think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, �WMD in Iraq: Evidence and Implications,� reported on analysis of pre-war intelligence and official presentation of that information, as well as what was known about Iraq�s weapons capabilities, and issued findings and recommendations to hopefully prevent future acts of unilateral action by the United States or any other nation.

Among the key findings:

Iraq WMD Was Not An Immediate Threat
� Iraq’s nuclear program had been suspended for many years; Iraq focused on preserving a latent, dual-use chemical and probably biological weapons capability, not weapons production.
� Iraqi nerve agents had lost most of their lethality as early as 1991.
� Operations Desert Storm and Desert Fox, and UN inspections and sanctions effectively destroyed Iraq’s large-scale chemical weapon production capabilities.
Inspections Were Working
� Post-war searches suggest the UN inspections were on track to find what was there.
� International constraints, sanctions, procurement, investigations, and the export/import control mechanism appear to have been considerably more effective than was thought.
Intelligence Failed and Was Misrepresented
� Intelligence community overestimated the chemical and biological weapons in Iraq.
� Intelligence community appears to have been unduly influenced by policymakers’ views.
� Officials misrepresented threat from Iraq’s WMD and ballistic missiles programs over and above intelligence findings.
Terrorist Connection Missing
� No solid evidence of cooperative relationship between Saddam’s government and Al Qaeda.
� No evidence that Iraq would have transferred WMD to terrorists-and much evidence to counter it.
� No evidence to suggest that deterrence was no longer operable.
Post-War WMD Search Ignored Key Resources
� Past relationships with Iraqi scientists and officials, and credibility of UNMOVIC experts represent a vital resource that has been ignored when it should be fully exploited.
� Data from the seven years of UNSCOM/IAEA inspections are absolutely essential. Direct involvement of those who compiled the more-than-30-million- page record is needed.
War Was Not the Best-Or Only-Option
� There were at least two options preferable to a war undertaken without international support: allowing the UNMOVIC/IAEA inspections to continue until obstructed or completed, or imposing a tougher program of “coercive inspections.”

In short, Bush had bad �intelligence� and he knew it; he overstated the facts in order to influence a weak-kneed Congress and a gullible nation; he bullied the United Nations and violated the charter agreement. There were no weapons of mass destruction, nor any connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda. There was no imminent threat of attack from Iraq and war was never necessary. As a result of his fraudulent actions, American soldiers and innocent Iraqi citizens have been killed.

That ain’t no cum-stained dress.

And this story just in:
Bush planned Iraqi invasion pre-Sept. 11 - report

It has been wicked cold here in the northeast this week, and staying indoors is the best way to get through it. Another great idea is to make a big pot of soup. It will keep you warm, provide a nourishing meal in one dish, and leftovers can be put away and eaten another day with ease.

Here are some of my favorite soup recipes that are fairly simple to make, thanks to Cooking Light magazine.

Chicken Noodle Soup

8 cups water
4 (6-ounce) skinless chicken breast halves
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
3/4 cup chopped parsnip
1 tablespoon chicken-flavored bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (15.75-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
5 cups cooked egg noodles (about 8 ounces uncooked)

Combine the water and chicken in a Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan with a slotted spoon, reserving liquid. Remove chicken from bones; shred with 2 forks to measure 2 1/2 cups meat. Discard bones.
Add chicken, onion, and next 7 ingredients (onion through broth) to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in noodles; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

African Chicken-Peanut Soup

Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled sweet potato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalape�o pepper, seeded and minced
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 8 ounces)
1 cup bottled salsa
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans Healthy Choice Chicken With Rice Soup or any less-sodium chicken-and-rice soup, undiluted
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Place a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add sweet potato, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalape�o; saut� 5 minutes. Stir in chicken and next 5 ingredients (chicken through beans); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add peanut butter, stirring with a whisk; cook 2 minutes.

Yield: 11 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Lentil-Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/3 cups finely diced onion
1/3 cup finely diced celery
1/3 cup finely diced carrot
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups water
1 cup dried French dark green or other lentils
6 cups chopped spinach
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, celery, carrot, and bay leaves; saute for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, salt, and minced garlic; saut� 1 minute. Add 6 cups water and lentils; bring mixture to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 25 minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach, parsley, vinegar, mustard, and pepper; cook 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 2 tablespoons cheese)

Cream of Asparagus Soup

For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. Garnish with thin asparagus spears for a graceful presentation.

3 cups (1/2-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, divided
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
Dash of ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine asparagus, broth, 1/2 teaspoon thyme, bay leaf, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Place asparagus mixture in a blender; process until smooth.
Place flour in pan. Gradually add the milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add pur�ed asparagus and ground nutmeg; stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in 1/4 teaspoon thyme, butter, salt, and lemon rind.

Cream of Carrot Soup: Substitute 2 cups baby carrots for asparagus. Omit bay leaf. Yield 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

How to Make Soup Stock

Whether you are making soup from scratch or flavoring a favorite recipe, chicken stock is the “secret” ingredient that makes average dishes great.
You’ll need these ingredients to make about 6 cups of stock and 4 cups of cooked chicken.

1 (3-1/2-pound) chicken (broiler-fryer)
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt
10 parsley sprigs
6 garlic cloves, sliced
3 bay leaves
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch-thick pieces
1 medium onion, unpeeled and quartered
8 cups water

Combine all ingredients except the water in a large Dutch oven or stockpot — one that will accommodate at least 4 quarts.

Add water and bring to a boil.

Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. You’re at the right temperature when bubbles barely break the surface. This will keep the chicken tender; boiling will toughen it.

After about 45 minutes, carefully lift the chicken out of the stock by inserting a long metal spoon into the cavity and gently lifting. (At this point, the chicken is done, but the stock isn’t yet.) Let the chicken cool; then remove the meat from the bones. Discard the skin. Return the bones to the stock to cook for another hour. This develops and enhances the flavor of the stock.

Strain the stock through a sieve into a large bowl; discard the solids.

After the stock has chilled for 8 hours, remove the fat with a spoon.

Storing Chicken Stock: Cool up to 4 quarts of stock in the stockpot in refrigerator. For a larger batch, place pot in a bowl of ice water 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; then place the stockpot in the refrigerator. Stock will keep in the refrigerator up to a week and in the freezer up to 3 months.

Freezing Stock: Chicken stock will keep up to three months in the freezer. Just pour the stock into glass jars or plastic containers, filling them three-fourths full to allow for the liquid to expand as it freezes. Old pasta-sauce jars work well, but you can also freeze smaller amounts in ice-cube trays.

Frightening, isn’t it?

We’re barely into the new year and already there has been enough sports activity to fill a whole season. College football wound down with a major dispute over who should be national champion. The NFL post season is underway and the first weekend of wild card matchups didn’t disappoint. Teams are still searching for head football coaches. In the NBA the previously woeful New York Knicks now look formidable, and two baseball legends were in the news, neither for happy reasons.

PRO FOOTBALL

I was three for four in my NFL playoff picks last weekend, with the only wrong one the Denver - Indianapolis game. I expected Clinton Portis to have a better game and I still remain a Payton Manning doubter. But you have to hand it to him, he lit up the scoreboard, completing 22 of 26 passes for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns on the way to a 41-10 win.

I was happy to see the Titans beat the Ravens 20-17 largely because I feared the Ravens. They have a defense that reminds me of their Super Bowl winning team. I don’t really like Baltimore–I want the Patriots to win the AFC–and thought they could be trouble if they got past Tennessee.

Here are this week’s divisional games, with my picks in bold:

NFC
Panthers (12-5) at Rams (12-4)
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX

AFC
Titans (13-4) at Patriots (14-2)
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET on CBS

AFC
Colts (13-4) at Chiefs (13-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on CBS

NFC
Packers (11-6) at Eagles (12-4)
Sunday, 4:45 p.m. ET on FOX

My Giants ran true to form in picking Tom Coughlin as their new head coach. Not only did they not pick a Black head coach, but like 11 previous Giants head coaches, they picked someone who has worked for the organization before. Coughlin who was out of the game the past year and previously head coach at Jacksonville, had been receivers coach under Bill Parcells when he led New York.

Playing devil’s advocate, some of the Black coaches under consideration for several openings, Romeo Crennel of New England, Lovie Smith with the Rams, even Maurice Carthon with Dallas, may be victims of their own success. Some teams want to hire their coaches now, and the farther their teams go into the playoffs, the less room they have to negotiate. There are limitations on how much a still active coach can interview, and most don’t want the distraction of a new contract negotiation while they try to plan for a game.

I do hope Smith and Crennel get an opportunity because they’ve earned it.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Why is it Division II and III can find a way to decide their champions through a playoff system, but Division I can’t? Because the whole system of bowl games gets in the way. They are a heavily entrenched old guard that doesn’t want to give up their prestige and revenue by knuckling under for the sake of a tournament system. That’s the game’s loss.

USC and LSU should go head to head to settle this thing on the field the way everyone wants. LSU should never have been playing Oklahoma anyway, after the Sooners got skunked in their final game against Kansas State. Were they to meet, I’d put my money on USC.

PRO BASKETBALL

I could shoot Scott Layden. He’s the Knicks former general manager who assembled such a mediocre team over his entire tenure that fans stayed away in droves and they failed to make the playoffs every year. Isiah Thomas takes over the job and in ten days, shakes up the team, putting some talent on the floor and casting off the dead weight. Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway are now in the fold and while it will take awhile for the new team to mesh, you can already sense a new excitement around the Garden.

What agenda Layden had is anybody’s guess, but it wasn’t winning basketball games.

BASEBALL

After 14 years, Pete Rose has finally admitted he bet on baseball games. For 14 years, he looked everyone in the eye and swore up and down he didn’t. So that makes him a gambler and a natural born liar. Sorry, but I don’t have any sympathy for him.

Pete is a dumb jock who doesn’t know how to do anything but play baseball, and deprived of that, he’s lost. The cheering stopped and he can’t really function. He needs a 12 step and a job retraining program, but he doesn’t deserve another shot at managing a baseball team, because he can’t be trusted not to bet again, and he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame, because he has violated baseball’s most sacred trust.

People will argue that the Hall is full of drunks (Babe Ruth) and racists (Ty Cobb) and that Rose isn’t any worse. I disagree. Gambling, and betting on your own team, is the worst offense any athlete can ever commit. When fans buy a ticket to a game, they have a right to know the outcome has not been predetermined or deliberately affected for the benefit of any outside parties. A manager, as Pete was, has the power to change lineups, move players around, change pitchers at inopportune times, and affect the outcome to cover his own bets. That is an unpardonable sin.

Someone who played the game during Rose’s era has left us. Tug McGraw, the always upbeat and happy go lucky relief pitcher for the Mets and later Phillies, succombed to cancer. I remember Tug as a member of the World Series Champion 1969 Mets and NL Champion ‘73 team, where he rallied the team with his “Ya Gotta Believe” battle cry. Tug and those Mets teams were some of the heroes of my youth, and I am sad to see him go.

It is the inevitable passage of time.