Williston Observer

Chicken and spice

Sept. 25, 2008
By Ginger Isham

Cold weather means comfort food to warm the body as well as the kitchen. The following recipes are high in antioxidants, fiber and protein. Prepare your chicken the night before to make a hasty, quick, nutritious meal. You may want to double some of the recipes’ ingredients.

Fifteen-minute chicken chili
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (or to taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin (or to taste)
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes (no salt)
1 can (15 ounces) black, kidney or red beans (no salt)
1 small can green chilies, minced
1 cup corn, fresh, frozen or canned
salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Sauté chicken in oil over medium heat, about 3 minutes. Stir in cumin and chili powder to coat chicken. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and heat through.

In-a-hurry chicken curry
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 pound), cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons curry (or to taste)
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 cup fat-free and reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dried cherries or raisins
1 cup drained pineapple chunks
hot red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
Heat oil over medium heat and add chicken and onion, sauté 3 minutes. Add curry powder, stir and sauté another 2 minutes. Blend corn starch with chicken broth and add to chicken. Add cherries or raisins and cook until sauce is bubbly. Add pineapple and pepper flakes. Simmer until all is heated through. Serve with brown rice.

Chicken curry with apples
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into serving pieces
3 medium Granny Smith apples or other tart apples, cored and chopped
2 large onions, sliced thin or chopped
6 large garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 cup raisins
5 cups chicken broth, fat-free and low-sodium
2 cups regular brown rice, uncooked (do not use instant)
Salt and pepper chicken and brown in oil. Remove and keep warm. Add to pan the apples, onions, garlic, curry and cumin, and sauté 5 minutes. Add broth and raisins. Bring to boil and add rice and chicken and cover pan and simmer over low heat for 45 to 60 minutes. Serve with chopped peanuts or toasted coconut.

Ginger Isham was the co-owner of Maple Grove Farm Bed & Breakfast in Williston, a fifth generation family farm on Oak Hill Road where she still lives.

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Barrage attacks against Palin

Sept. 25, 2008
By Mike Benevento

Back in my Air Force days, while flying F-111F jet fighters, I was involved with practice attacks against simulated Soviet targets in Europe. Most of the time, a pair of aircraft would fly together to make laser-guided bombing attacks on high priority targets like bridges, dams and airfields.

However, on occasion, instead of only two F-111s, a package, or “group,” of airplanes assisted in attacking the target. The strike package included tanker aircraft, which gave in-flight refueling to extend the range of our jets. F-15 Eagles served as fighter escorts, clearing any opposing fighters from our path.

Meanwhile, F-4G Wild Weasels, F-16 Falcons and EF-111 Ravens took on the enemy air defenses, including their radar and surface-to-air missile sites. These aircraft used radar jamming and other electronic warfare techniques to “blind” the enemy. When the ground defenses tried to fight us, bombs and missiles were used against them. Thus, in order to avoid being targeted by American aircraft, the enemy was forced to turn off their radar.

Without any radar, the enemy could not aim or guide its weapons. Instead, it would fire a barrage of missiles into the sky, hoping to hit an American fighter. Oftentimes, they were just shooting at the sound of the passing jets. This wild, blind shooting rarely resulted in hitting an American aircraft, but it was all the enemy was capable of doing.

As I witness the Democrats’ criticism of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, their panicked attack reminds me of the barrage fire at my F-111 from enemy defenses. The Democratic Party has been firing at Palin with everything it has — desperately hoping something will hit and bring her down.

Like hunting dogs that have lost the scent, Democratic leaders are wandering aimlessly. They do not know what to do next. John McCain’s choice of Palin as his running mate caught them completely off guard. Injecting real change into the presidential race, Palin is a Washington outsider with proven executive experience as Alaska’s governor.

The Democratic talking heads first attempted to marginalize Palin by describing her resume as nothing more than just being a small town mayor. They attempted to mislead Americans by conveniently leaving out her experience as governor.

Their goal is to minimize her executive experience. They have to. Democrats Barack Obama and Joseph Biden have zero executive experience. Palin alone has more experience in her two years as Alaska’s governor than those two combined.

For the most part, elitist Democrats are stunned she is so popular. Their political leadership is out of touch from everyday Americans. Thus, they don’t understand that Palin appeals to common Americans because she is genuine and real. She is not another slick politician in a suit. She really does give a darn about the common folk.

In many ways, she is a typical American. She is a hard-working mother of five, who went into politics to help clean up corruption. She saw flaws in Alaska’s government and started fixing them.

Palin connects emotionally with Americans everywhere. She is a hockey mom who is plainspoken, open, honest and down to earth. Americans appreciate that Palin earned her way through good, old-fashioned hard work.

Americans realize that she does not know all the right answers. However, they see that she is willing to learn and is up front with her shortcomings. For instance, as governor she has no foreign policy experience. Because Palin understands that national security is key to America’s future, she is working hard to learn about foreign policy and eventually make it a strength.

As columnist David Limbaugh wrote, “It’s her very authenticity that appeals to us, her decency, her commitment to family, her unapologetic veneration for America’s founding principles and traditional values — the very principles and values that are repugnant to the elites.”

In the end, Democrats have been reduced to trying to dig up dirt on Palin. They scour the Alaskan landscape, leaving no stone unturned in their worried attempt to undermine her popularity. Commentator Bill O’Reilly recently pointed out that attempts have been made to marginalize Palin as some kind of country bumpkin — a religious fanatic who is not fit to serve. He also noted, “The personal attacks against Palin and her family angered millions of Americans and, almost instantly, made the governor a folk hero in some circles.”

Instead of spending time tearing down individuals like Sarah Palin, Democrats need to spend more time focusing on fixing the nation’s problems. The American people challenge them to do that.

Michael Benevento is a former Air Force fighter jet weapon systems officer. He has a bachelor’s degree in Military History and a master’s in International Relations. Mike resides in Williston with his wife Kristine and their two sons, Matthew and Calvin.

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Back to (Electoral) College

Sept. 25, 2008
By Steve Mount

Every four years, we Americans go back to college — the Electoral College.

The Electoral College is important because despite conventional wisdom, it is not presidential candidates that we will vote for in November but instead the members of this exclusive college.

Officially, the president is chosen not by the people but by the states, and each state has as many votes as it has members of Congress. All states get at least three electoral votes — one for each senator and representative. Vermont, then, only gets three. California, by contrast, has 55.

These elector counts are how commentators can tell you how many electoral votes a candidate needs to win the election. There are 100 senators and 435 representatives in Congress, for a total of 535 electoral votes. Add three more for Washington, D.C., for a total of 538. You need half plus one to win outright, or 270.

It is these electors you are selecting when you cast your ballot in November, not the exact candidate, though each political party chooses its electors. In most states, including Vermont, the slate of electors that garners the most votes will vote in the Electoral College. The electors from the other parties get to watch from home like the rest of us.

After the electors all vote, the votes are bundled up and mailed off to Congress, where they are eventually opened and tallied, and a winner is officially declared.

This year, Election Day falls on Nov. 4. Elector Day, when the electors gather in their state capitals to cast their votes, is Dec. 15. Finally, Congress will count the votes on Jan. 6.

Most of this process is pro forma after Election Day. Though electors are not technically bound to vote for the candidate they are pledged to, they almost always do; and unless an elector goes against the grain, the reading of the votes in Congress is no surprise.

Why so convoluted a system? Why do we not just vote for the presidential candidate directly? The answer goes back to the great compromises the Framers made when they wrote the Constitution back in 1787.

The Electoral College does a few things. The biggest effect it has is to protect the smaller states, like Vermont, from the whims of the larger states. For one thing, large-state favorite sons can only get as many electoral votes as their state has; for another, because of equal suffrage in the Senate, smaller states have disproportionately large voting power in the College.

Another effect is our quadrennial reminder of the power of representative democracy. Just as we elect senators and representatives to weigh our demands with those of the nation, we elect electors to weigh our vote with the choices available. Even if the Electoral College always ends up voting as expected, there is always that slim possibility they could change their collective mind.

I have vacillated on the issue of the Electoral College over time, from supporter, to detractor, to compromiser.

As a resident of a small state, I am happy that my vote counts for more than a New York vote or a California vote. I am, however, uncomfortably happy, this being the equivalent of electoral schadenfreude.

The populist idea is a straight national popular vote. After the election debacle of 2000, I cringe, though, at any national plan. If there is dispute about the national vote, do we mandate Florida-style recounts in all 50 states? Would this grind the process to a halt?

Undoubtedly we could work something out, where recounts are by precinct or district or state, but still the prospect of needing a national recount is plausible. At least with the Electoral College as it is now, a recount in New York or New Hampshire does not necessitate a recount here.

A promising compromise is an interstate compact whereby, once enough states to total 270 or more electoral vote have signed on, those states would change their laws to select the slate of electors for the winner of the national vote, regardless of the state vote.

In any case, it is too late for change this year, so the Electoral College process is going to go forward at least one more time. So, revel in our little electoral idiosyncrasy and, as homework, try to find out the names of the electors you’ll be voting for when you cast your vote on Election Day.

Steve Mount has been a Williston resident since 1996. He is a software engineer at GE Healthcare and is devoted to his family, his country and his Constitution. You can reach Steve at [email protected] or read his blog at http://saltyrain.com/ls.

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Sept. 25, 2008

A Williston resident has launched her own one-on-one tutoring business to help local students in reading.

Michal Ricca, who holds a master’s of education and is certified as a reading instruction specialist, recently moved to Williston from Chicago. Before moving to Vermont and becoming a reading specialist, Ricca taught first and second grade for nearly 10 years. While in Chicago, Ricca also taught students of all ages to gain fluency in reading.

The reading sessions are one-on-one between the student and Ricca, and focus on understanding the sounds of the English language to comprehend the meaning of words.

Ricca is licensed through the Academic Associates Reading Program, which was designed by nationally known Cliff Ponder, reading instructor and former teacher.

Ricca’s reading program is geared to students of all grade levels, from elementary school to high school.

Interested parents can sign up their child for a no obligation reading evaluation. For more information, contact Ricca at 862-1820 or [email protected]

— Tim Simard, Observer staff

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