Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is over. I have eaten all of the turkey and sweet potatoes I can stand until the next time. Why does it seem like this time of the year just flies by so fast? And why is left over turkey so good?

Ham and potato salad for Christmas anyone?

Adam Lambert AMA Performance.

After watching the AMA's last night I can say I will not be wasting my time listening to Adam Lambert again. With the talent that he showed during American Idol, the performance last night was "trash". Maybe what he wants is to be controversial, so people will talk about him. Well, he got the one time. From this point on I am not gong to listen to him, not going to purchase his records, and not gong to mention him. What a waste of talent.

As far as the AMA's...I will be sticking with CMA's. The AMA's are just not worth my time.

Welcome to Minnesota

Do I really want to risk getting pecked?

Palin-Beck Ticket?

Would a Palin-Beck ticket not be interesting to watch? I bet the two of them would hold nothing back.

To read the full story click here.

What do you think?

GOP's Coburn Plans to 'Read' Healthcare Bill

Again, this is why we need more Senators like Sen. Tom Coburn R-Okla. Go get them Tom!

To read the article click here.

Killing Myself

OK, I signed up Thursday night to torture myself. I got on some mid-evil machines on Saturday and Sunday, and today I had a hard time putting my shirt on because my arms did not want to bend without putting me into shock.

My sister-in-law says you just need to work through the pain, and it does get better. She better not be lying to me.

The pain does seem to be less if you can force yourself to move the appendage.

Does anyone know if I can buy "Icy-Hot" in bulk?

Conceal and Carry Laws

What do you all think? Should a person have the right to carry a firearm to protect themselves and their families? What do you think about signs saying "No firearms Allowed"?

It seems to me that a lot of the time a person goes on a shooting spree in an area where guns are not allowed. Would it have been different if a trained person with a concealed weapon had been there?

By the way, I am all for pilots being trained and armed. Let a potential hijacker think about negotiating with an armed pilot.

H.R.25 - Fair Tax Act of 2009

OpenCongress Summary
Resurfacing for the 6th consecutive congressional session, this bill strives to repeal the income tax, employment tax, and estate and gift tax, and to replace them with a national sales tax at a rate of 23%. It sets forth provisions for the states’ collection of sales tax revenues and the Treasury’s handling of the remittances of such revenues while setting up two new tax bureaus in the Department of Treasury in the place of the IRS.

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h25/show


What do you think would this be a good thing?

Blueberry Buckle

Below is a Recipe for Blueberry Buckle that I watched Alton Brown make on one of my favorite shows "Good Eats". It turned out great, and I have made it several times since. I used frozen blueberries which worked very well because you could stir them without damaging the berry. Try making it. It is something like a coffee cake.


Ingredients For the cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
9 ounces cake flour, approximately 2 cups
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
5 1/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
15 ounces fresh whole blueberries, approximately 3 cups
For the topping:
3 1/2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/2 cup
1 1/2 ounces cake flour, approximately 1/3 cup
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
For the cake:
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated, approximately 30 seconds. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add 1/3 of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until everything has combined. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:
In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients using a fork to combine. Continue until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden in color. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Learning to Love Fishing

At this time of the year, I am often asked by people “Do you hunt?” My answer to this question is always “No”. Maybe it should be “Yes”.

I went hunting twice. Once with a friend from college I walked the fields of Nebraska hunting for quail. I might add that I was not carrying a weapon, so I was more like the retriever. The second time was with my brother-in-law hunting for pheasants. I might add on this trip I was carrying a shotgun. I think I fired it 2 or three times, and never at a pheasant. My brother-in-law did manage to kill a rabbit which I can almost guarantee was never eaten once it hit the freezer.

So, do I hunt? I guess my answer is “No”. Then the question comes to my head, why?

I love the outdoors, and I would probably be a pretty good shot with some practice. So, why do I not hunt? I guess I will blame it on my father. He did not hunt as an adult, at least not that I ever knew. My siblings may know different, but they will have to answer that question. He did hunt as a child with his father, of which I occasionally heard stories. Coon dog, wild boar, no vet, you can figure out from there. I guess any hunting he did, did not carry down to me.

Did I miss anything by not being a hunter? I will probably never know.

I do know that my dad did teach me to fish. He gave me the bug early. He spent hours rowing me around the lake in the pictures below. Fishing for crappies, sunfish, or anything else that would bite. Some of you may not recognize the lake, but I had some of my best times fishing there. The Sea Girt Inn is gone, but in my memory I can still hear the squeak of the oars, and my father saying “Only one more cast then we have to go.”

Thanks Dad for that “last cast”.

Message from My Senator

I wanted to share this letter from my Senator from the Great State of Oklahoma. We need more like him.


Correspondence from Senator Coburn‏
From: Senator_Coburn@coburn.senate.gov
Sent: Mon 11/09/09 11:17 AM
To: ryalspr@hotmail.com




November 9, 2009



Dear Mr. Ryals,



Thank you for taking the time to email me regarding health care reform. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond to your email message.



I appreciate your kind words of encouragement and support. It is always nice to read encouraging email messages from fellow Oklahomans. As you know, I too am opposed to government-run health care. I will continue to advocate for a common sense alternative to socialized medicine. One way I am doing this is on a weekly radio show, which you can tune in to at http://republican.senate.gov/doctors. Please allow me to update you on the status of my own health care proposal, The Patients' Choice Act, S.1099.



The Patients' Choice Act was proposed before any Democrat sponsored bill, and has been seen as a legitimate, credible alternative to current bills which propose a government-takeover of our nation's health care. My office has received thousands of calls, emails, and letters from Oklahoma constituents, and we anticipate many more. I have discussed my bill at length with many Republicans, as well as Democrats, both in Congress and in the Administration.



Currently, there are eight Senators who are cosponsoring this bill. One independent estimate of the Patients' Choice Act concluded that it would save American taxpayers approximately $70 billion over a 10 year period. Further, I am currently working to obtain a cost-estimate of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office.



During the debate over the government-run health care system in the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, I offered the Patients' Choice Act as an alternative health care plan. Unfortunately, the Patients' Choice Act was voted down on a party-line vote. However, I plan to continue to advance my common sense ideas for reform and attempt to get this piece of legislation passed. I also plan to continue to discuss the merits of the Patients' Choice Act with my colleagues, and when possible, with the American people.



Thank you again for contacting me. For additional information, please visit my website at www.coburn.senate.gov. I can assure you I will continue my efforts to fight a government-run health care system and to advance the ideas of my health care proposal. Please feel free to contact me again if you should have any additional questions or concerns. Best wishes!





Sincerely, A

Tom A. Coburn, M.D.

United States Senator



TC: ler

Who Won?

The Republicans did not win yesterday, conservatism won. So the Republicans had better not start congratulating themselves, because the country is not giving them a free pass. We are expecting them to stand up and fight against what is happening in this country. There are a few (Senator Tom Coburn, Representative Michele Bachmann) who are standing up, the rest had better get on board, or the Conservative Express is going to run them over.

Home at Last.

I finally made it back home this past weekend. Boy do I miss it there, or maybe it's just that I miss my girls that are there.

Thanks to the three of you for making it such a nice weekend. It was really hard to leave this morning. I am already missing you.

I enjoyed handing out candy on Saturday night. How many kids do you think we had? I really wish all of the "ghost hunters" would find something, so I could get on with my life.

PHR