I Sift and Strain, I Squeeze and Drain, and It's Not Cooking!!!!!

When faced with all of the "noise" within, and surrounding the political discourse emanating from our Nation's Capitol in the present day, I must admit to treating same with all of the detachment of a chef, challenged as he may be by disarray in his kitchen!!

His mis-en-place has been tossed into the garbage, and he must regather his contents and start afresh before the next round of seatings, and the time is extremely short to assure success.

He must sift through the available produce, herbs, spices, vegetables, and fruit varieties, with the eye of experience to guide his choices, and in the process he will discard that which does not fulfill the future needs of his kitchen.

He will prepare the soups, the sauces, the dressings, the salads, and inventory what entrees will be available to his clientele, should they desire to partake of the expertise of his staff, his own skills, and the skills and knowledge exhibited by the presentations at his tables.

He will squeeze every scintilla of goodness and flavor from his kitchen. He will drain every minute of effort for the best result possible in the end product. The end product being demonstrated by a satisfied dinner crowd, a profitable session of service, and the continuance of his reputation as a culinary force to be reckoned among his peers.

We must decide as well on whether or not we toss the present mis-en-place into the garbage bin, thereafter being satisfied with the peeling, paring, slicing and dicing, required for beginning a new service in our "kitchen"!

We face choices in our efforts which absolutely mandate a change in our philosophy, a re-evaluation of our "staff", especially those among them who would rather shout and posture while the kitchen goes to hell in saucier!!!!

We must sift through the prevailing winds, through the bombast as well as the realities of what we DO NOT presently observe as truly representative legislative and executive branches, of our Constitutional Republic, and to accomplish this task, the observance thereof, the writings coming therefrom, the actions as well as inactions must be strained through the colander of history.

The personnel of our "lines" must be squeezed into and out of comfort zones too well entrenched for ordinary upbraiding, while the realization of inaction on our part will most certainly result in closing the place!!!!!

Lastly, we, the experienced customers of this "kitchen" have lost our patience with bickering, with do-nothing line cooks, with profligate waste of our "tips" and reciepts, and shall most assuredly begin the process of draining the waste water from the "floor" of our "kitchen", after a thorough mopping up and disinfecting!!!!

Advice from behind the "doors" is offered in enabling the results desired:

Sift every ploy, every statement, every action, and every nuance of any candidate through the sieve of history, both theirs and others,

Strain every ounce of promise, every gram of intent, every dollop of news, and every word through the cheesecloth of alternate view, disparate opinion, and "devils advocacy", to ascertain where lies the true "soup" in the bowl,

Squeeze your sources, and there should be many of these, for journalistic reportage reflecting every view, and for any hint of "off-smell" conditions, biases, blatant extremism, or outright "sunshine blowing........", read copiously, seek truth among the cacophony, listen critically, and respond positively to the needs of the "kitchen"

Draining the kitchen, like draining the swamps, requires wading among the alligators, carrying a large mop and bucket, and making certain that every corner of our "kitchen" recieves the cleaning necessary, before we begin the tasks which will ensure the success we so earnestly seek to achieve in this coming season.

No, dear hearts, we're not cooking, we're electing, and we can either be successful in our efforts, if true they be, or we can continue in the mediocre service we've seen from our "kitchen" for several years.

I shall continue to insist upon impeccable service, precise execution of recipes, proper courtesy towards customers, and profitability from the efforts.

I shall read prodigiously among the writings of history, of the tomes of the present and recent past, I shall consider with a driven concern the course of coming history, and I shall not become embroiled in mis-management of a scale we presently witness.

I'll volunteer with at least three campaigns, I'll consider the messages and positions of each before lending my efforts, and I will Vote!!!! Be Well, folks, start cooking!!!!