Opinion

Don’t let your plants fry this July

Jul 03, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By Jody Headlee

If July’s typical heat and drought have clocked in, get out the hose and supplement your garden’s moisture requirements. It may not be as satisfactory to the plants as a good old rainfall, but it will keep them alive and avoid drying from the ground up.

Don’t stew as to which time of day is most propitious to apply the water. As long as it is wet, any and all times are good.

When you do offer water though, remember to provide it freely even if thoughts of the coming water bill make you wince. Plants want a real drink, not just a sip or two, here and there.

If your municipality has summertime water rules, be sure to follow them. The water bills will be shock enough, without adding penalties for failure to adhere to the rules.

Remember, while heat-loving vegetables like eggplant and corn can survive on a tight water supply, others like lettuce, cabbage and celery must be watered generously.

Take time to keep the cultivator churning regularly to help conserve moisture already in the ground.

If you are tackling your first bed of celery, it is especially vital that you water well and cultivate generously to ensure a hearty crop for later use.

Old-timers suggest that a serving of nitrate of soda (one ounce to three gallons of water) will keep the planting growing fast. Be sure to hill it as it grows but don’t let the soil accumulate above the heart and keep your eyes open for blight.

To extend your harvest yield, keep setting out late celery in places vacated by early vegetables. Though not deep rooters, onions too thrive on water and feeding. If possible, alternately give them servings of manure water, nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia in solution, another old-timers hint for veggie success.

Keep your bed of leeks hilled up as they grow, feeding them regularly with the liquid manure and nitrates if you are eager to have a flavorful harvest to be proud of.

This is the month to make two sowings of bush beans. If the ground bakes too heavily, keep earlier sowings well hilled, mulching additionally if necessary.

To train lima beans, keep their leading shoots tied to poles until they start climbing on their own. Bush limas slated for early picking by the end of the month should not be allowed to get hard and dry. They should be green when cooked, not white.

Lettuce is a three-timer. To keep your supply adequate and healthy, you should sow lettuce seed three times during the month of July. It’s another water lover, requiring generous drenchings to prevent the plants from seeding too quickly.

If the site is bathed in too much sunshine, build a cheesecloth frame over the bed to protect plants that are heading up. Plus, plan a nightly and morning spray during the warm weather, you and the plants will benefit.

I am told this is the secret behind producing crisp, crunchy lettuce and there is nothing more tempting on a hot summer’s day than a salad bowl of lettuce highlighted by a combination of tasty meats and complementing veggies.

While you are planning for tidbits to heighten your salad desires this summer, don’t forget to make time to sow rutabagas for winter. The early part of this month is best but if you are short of space, hold off the planting session for a week or two until the right site is available.

Don’t forget your collection of fruits also need attention. Remember, in future years, fruit trees bearing heavily need thinning.

This includes peaches, pears, plums and apples.

Plan on taking out one-third of the young fruits so you will have room to watch the others grow to their capacity as they fill the available space with tasty temptation.

Raspberry and blackberry plants should be pruned back to 2 and 3 feet, respectively, to encourage side-branching and stocky growth.

Bramble bushes do best when their canes are strong. It’s the stronger canes that keep fruit production at its peak, not the size of the mother bush.

Everbearing raspberries bear the first year, in fall, at the tips of their canes. To encourage a second crop, cut off the tips after harvest. The following season they will then bear on the uncut portions in early summer.

Cut back the whole cane when it finishes bearing and do not be surprised when both crops prove to be smaller than one produced by traditional summer-bearing raspberries.

Mother Nature planned it that way.

Jody Headlee is a contributing columnist for The Oakland Press. Contact her at thegoodlife@oakpress.com.

More Articles

Horoscope

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

ARIES (March 21-April 19) – A cycle starting of new beginnings, home projects get done early then focus more on goals. Romance becomes more important to you, put some time in there also.

TAURUS (April 20-May20) – More people want to be around you, don’t be shy to ask favors for what you need. Career direction starts forward and it’s about time.

GEMINI (May21-June20) - Focus more now on making money, write out a plan. Those with children issues can find you resolving some of them.

CANCER (June21-July22) – Birthday month says treat yourself to something nice. Home front gives less stress. Let more people know your skills.

LEO (July23-Aug22) – Will spend more money then usual. Look for the sales and you will find them. Begin to learn a new money making skill.

VIRGO (Aug23-Sept22) – Good time to call an old friend, future benefits may come! Confidence comes to make more money.

LIBRA (Sept23-Oct22) – A restriction that has been around eases up, start doing a new goal. Minor diet correction rebuilds energy.

SCORPIO (Oct23-Nov21) – Time to disassociate from a negative person. Insights come to better see your career direction.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov22-Dec21) – Some surprise money is coming soon. Have more patience to a goal you are working on.

CAPRICORN (Dec22-Jan19) – Someone close wants more time from you, give it. Outline plan to remodel or enhance your home for better comforts.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb18) – Make a list of new fun things to do. Check out Meetup.com for activities you like. Set a new work goal.

PISCES (Feb19-Mar20) – Write out a plan to make more money. Good time to do a fun outing you never tried before.

Rich Milostan has been practicing astrology for 32 years. You can reach him at (248) 528-2610 in Troy. You can also read his monthly column at http://richmilostanonastrology.blogspot.com/.

Proud to be an American

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

Editor’s note: Third- and fourth-graders at Lakeville Elementary School in Oxford shared their thoughts on what it means to be an American.

To me, being an American means being free. In some countries you have to do certain things. We call this command economy, which means you don’t have any freedom.
I am lucky to be an American because we have rights to do what we want to like, eat what we want, wear what we want and be a free citizen. —
Rebekah

To be an American means to be free. We can’t have slavery! And we can go to a public school or a private school. Girls can vote! — Hudson

America has freedom. America has love. America has happiness. America has independence. America means being strong. America means working hard. America means red, white and blue. — Salina

What it means to be American to me is that I can be free (believe in what I want to believe in). Go to school all the way up to college. Wear what I want to wear. It doesn’t matter what color I am. I can do any job I want to do. I can play sports. I can do most things that boys can do. I love being an American so much. Go America! — Raquel

Being an American means a lot to me. I am glad to be one because in other countries girls have to wear scarfs on their head and if they don’t they get in big trouble and some girls can only do school for 11 years so one reason I love being an American is because of our freedom. I will enjoy being an American for my entire life. — Sydney

(Being an American) means freedom. It means independence. It means we can say what we feel. It means being strong. It means hard work. It means love. — Ava

Sophia Frye (left, age 2) and Hope Frye (age 5) show off their patriotic colors. Photo taken on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

To me, to be an American is to be free, other places have to wear certain things. We don’t. Other places are under leadership. In America, we’re a democracy. In other places you can only do certain jobs. In American you can do any job you want, that’s what America means to me. — Zachary

It’s an honor to be an American. We are lucky, some people in other countries don’t have an opportunity to do the stuff we can. It’s an honor to be an American. — Robert

It’s an honor to be a part of the U.S.A. Our country is free and not all states are free and they should be. And America has the best president to help us to be safe. Follow the law and he does all his duties and gets them done as fast as possible. — Skylar

We are free. We don’t have to wear certain clothes. We can be how we want to be. — Gracie

What it means to be an American. It means to have freedom, have rights. Live life like we please. Have fun, relax, have kids, get a good education and go to college. Vote, live life, have fun, relax. — Luke

What it means to be an American is we are free to not have slavery, free to wear what you want to wear, and free to eat what you want to eat. — Reagan

To be American is to believe in freedom. I can wear what I want, unlike in the East. I get to go to school, unlike other places where girls can’t go to school. I have my rights to speak. In America they keep kids safe. I have a home. My dad lost his job and he got right back on track within a couple of months. He got the job he wanted. I meet the nicest kids in America. I love the teachers, the families, even the nature and the animals. I love America. — Maddie

What does it mean to be an American? To me it means we have freedom to do what we want. — Andrew

To me, being an American means having freedom by not having a dictator who tells you what to do and how to do it, but to have a president who lets you make choices on what your religion is or what you want to do with your life. Also being American also means to have the same rights as everyone else no matter what your skin tone or religion is or what gender you are. Being American also means to have an easier life, to get access to technology.
Another great thing about being American is having the ability to go to the hospital whenever you had a stroke or a seizure or even a heart attack and get help. It also means to have nice clean water, unlike some countries who have unsafe water. — Abbey

To me being an American means that I have freedom to say what I want, I can vote, and choose my religion. We have soldiers that fight for our freedom. This is what it means to be an American. — Connor

What it means to be an American is to have freedom and the ability to choose your own path in your life. — Logan

I like being an American because we have freedom, freedom of speech. You can believe whatever you want. No slavery, you can look like you want and wear what you want and talk like you want. — Felix

What it means to be an American is a part of a big family, following laws and leading, helping and supporting each other, freedom and justice, and never being lonely. — Elsa

I think it takes a lot to be an American. I think one of them should be appreciation.You should look at a picture of a gone soldier and say “He was one of those people who gave his life to our country and freedom, and I thank him a lot.”
Another thing I think it takes to be an American is freedom. You should be treated equally.
My last thing it takes to be American is independence. We are ourselves and only ourselves. We make our own laws. — Evan

I’m proud to be an American because we grow good food and great American friends and family. You should be proud to be an American. America rocks. — Leah

I am proud to be an American because we are all independent workers and we grow a lot of different foods. — Dade

I’m proud to be an American because we’re free as Americans and we all help the world. — Adam

I am proud to be an American because we’re all independent workers and because we all have great schools to learn in. — Sam

I am proud to be an American because America has liberty and justice, also because we help stop bad things that happen. — Shane

I’m proud to be an American because there are many people and places to see and meet and people protect mother earth and her creations. — Gabriella

I’m proud to be an American because I have free freedom of speech and so I can say my opinion without getting in trouble and everyone gets treated fairly and I think that’s important because if you were not treated fairly you wouldn’t be happy. — Andrew

I’m proud to be an American because people help other people and because a lot of people in America care about the earth. — Emilie

I’m proud to be an American because we can be helpful to other Americans and I can reduce, reuse, and recycle. — Paige

I’m proud to be an American because we have freedom and because we have the Constitution.— Ian

I’m glad to be an American because when there becomes oil spills people try to stop it so it doesn’t kill animals and make them endangered. — Sabrina

I’m proud to be an American because I love English and I like being an American. — Emma

I’m proud to be an American to live in a free country and I’m also proud our country cares for the environment. — Jon

I’m proud to be an American because it’s what I am and we fight and fight and never give up. — Rickyia

I’m proud to be an American because we help animals in need and because I care about  Michigan and I will not litter and I do not pollute. — Gabbi

I’m proud to be an American because of all the good food and because all the interesting facts we have in every state. — Vanessa

I’m happy that I’m an American because we grow food, vegetables, and fruits. — Kayden

It means very much to be an American because you get to live your best life. Also we are a great democracy (and) it has lots of states that I would really love to go to. That’s why it’s an honor to be in a great country like America. — Vanessa

What it means to be an American, to me it means I can be free, my family and friends can be free and my pets can be free. It means I can get a good degree or wear what I want to wear, eat what I want or to have freedom to be free. — Claire

What it means to be an American is to be yourself. You can be a silly American, or a caring American or a joyous American. That’s the best part about being an American, being you. And it’s OK to be you. Inspire yourself. Be an American and like living in America. — Sydni

Oakland County veterans fought for American rights

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By JERRY WOLFFE
Of The Oakland Press
Without citizen soldiers such as Jerry LaLonde, who “sacrificed” three years of his life in Vietnam, we would not have freedom of the press.
Without Pfc. Kip Carie, 24, formerly of Waterford Township, who has served in Afghanistan and is going back, we wouldn’t have freedom of speech.
And without World War II veteran John Snow of Highland Township, we might not understand one another.
Snow, 85, served from 1943-46 in World War II and won a Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
“If you can read this story, thank a teacher,” he said in an interview before this year’s Independence Day. “If you can read this in English, thank a soldier.”
Cpl. Snow was in the Third Army as part of an amphibious division.
“We became a band of brothers,” after he was shipped overseas following his basic training, Snow said.
“I had a Browning automatic rifle,” he said of the 21-pound weapon and 20 pounds of ammo. “It was April 25, 1945, and the war was almost over. We got into a battle in the woods in Germany.”

He said his ammunition bearer and his assistant were with him.
The ammunition assistant, Bob Leeson, was killed during that morning’s fighting — five days before Germany’s Adolf Hitler committed suicide, bringing the war to an end.
“They (Germans) just stitched him up the middle,” Snow said of Leeson, describing how his friend was hit five times in the chest and abdomen by machine-gun fire.
“He had rolled too close to me and he got up and that was it. You never forget those guys.
“When you look back at it, terrible things happened but it was one of the best experiences of my life because we became self-confident. Survival was luck, skill, good leadership and being well-trained.”
He also was part of Operation Olympic, where soldiers from Europe were placed on ships in the Philippines or the Pacific waiting orders to invade Japan.

“(Commanders) predicted 1 million casualties if we had to fight door-to-door in Japan,” Snow said. “Fortunately, Harry (President Truman) ordered the U.S. to drop those atomic bombs, or I and so many others wouldn’t have been alive today.”

Politics, not patriotism
LaLonde, 60, of Commerce Township, was a Vietnam veteran who spent 19 months in southeast Asia.
He was a Spec. 4 by the time he was discharged in 1973 after going through basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., in 1969.
“I was a bulldozer operator,” he said. “We built roads, compounds, airstrips. We were in the middle of where the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army were.”
He said he thought Vietnam “was handled too politically.”
“It seemed our political leaders were more concerned about the enemy’s opinion and world opinion than about winning the war,” LaLonde said. “You want to get a war over as fast as possible.”
He said soldiers “all supported each other.”
“You have this band of brothers. You will do anything for each other, but kind of keep a mental distance because they might get killed and you’re going to lose them.
“I don’t even know how to explain it. You were afraid of the new guys who might do something foolish and you’d get killed, too,” he added.
He said “training comes in” during combat. “If you have to think what you have to do, it takes too long.”
He said when he got home, “I was relieved. But over there in combat, you don’t think about getting killed. If you did you would freeze up and go crazy.”
LaLonde said the lack of respect people have for the American flag “diminishes our sacrifice.”
“I was in a Memorial Day parade this year. Through the whole length of the parade, I saw two people salute the flag. And, one of them was a police officer. All the others acted as though the flag was a candy machine going by.
“People today think patriotism is showing up for a parade, and it’s not.
“Our liberal government has dummied down the respect to the flag and to the Fourth of July and Memorial Day,” he said. “I took three years out of my life to defend this country and these politicians are more worried about losing a day’s vacation.”

A job to do
Army Pfc. Kip Carie, a Waterford Township native, is at Fort Hood in Texas awaiting redeployment to Afghanistan. He joined the service in November 2008.
Carie, 24, was in Afghanistan from July 2009 till just a few weeks ago.
“I’m in a signal battalion,” Carie said in an interview from the Army base. “We provide voice, video and satellite information to the higher command.”
He said he and the other soldiers faced a constant threat of rocket-ropelled grenade attacks and attack from small arms.
“It’s a challenge living out there under that kind of constant stress. But, it’s something you have to deal with. You have a job to do and you have no choice,” the Waterford Kettering High School graduate said.
He said his fellow soldiers “are the greatest people I’ve ever known.”
“You feel like you have a responsibility for not only the country but the men and women with you in the combat situation,” he said.
Carie believes his sacrifice and that of others since the Iraq/Afghanistan wars “is making an absolute difference.”
“The Taliban have to be controlled,” Carie said. “It’s not good for radicals to enforce views on other people.”

‘Worst sight I’ve ever seen’
Pfc. Larry Schwartz, a World War II vet who lives in Berkley, recalls the Battle of the Bulge, where he received a Purple Heart for being wounded in battle when shrapnel hit him in the head, leg and arm.
“The Battle of the Bulge was the worse sight I’ve ever seen,” he recalled.
Schwartz, now 88, was in charge of a 75-mm anti-tank gun in a tank platoon.
He went through basic training at Camp Clayborn in Louisiana.
“If they showed what combat was really like, people would be shocked,” said Schwartz, who was married to his late wife, Patricia for 63 years. They had five children.
“If we didn’t have the armed forces, we wouldn’t be living in a free country,” Schwartz said. “You do what you have got to do, and we had to do it.”
Like LaLonde and other veterans, Schwartz is not sure “people really appreciate what we did.”
“I’m proud of the guys now in service who are scattered all over the world.”

‘Never forget’
For some military veterans, the war never ends.
Mike Harris, who served in Okinawa in the Marine Corps between 1975-1979, is the executive director of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America in Novi.
Harris, 53, went to basic training in Camp Pendleton in California before serving one year on the Japanese island.
After he was honorably discharged, Harris was in a car accident in 1986, which left him paralyzed.
“Mike’s training as a Marine helped him survive his spinal cord injury,” said his sister, Patricia, 45. “His injury was so devastating that the doctors were amazed that my brother survived.”
But Harris found his calling helping paralyzed veterans in Michigan and advocating for the civil rights of people with disabilities.
“My mother made us write Mike every day when he was in boot camp, and once a week when he was in Okinawa,” Patricia recalled.
“It’s not only the soldier but their families are going through it, too,” she said. “We can never forget these soldiers or families and not forget them when they get back.”
“This is time they lost they can never get back and so many never lived to come home to their loved ones.”

American combat deaths
War of Independence —  25,000
War of 1812 — 20,000
Mexican-American War — 13,283
Civil War — 623,026
Spanish-American War — 2,446
Philippine War — 4,196
World War I — 116,708
World War II — 407,316
Korean War — 36,914
Vietnam War — 58,169
Persian Gulf War — 269
Afghanistan — 1,084 and growing
Iraq — 4,400 and growing
Total: 1,312,811
Source: U.S. Army Military Institute

Contact staff writer Jerry Wolffe at 248-745-4612 or e-mail jerry.wolffe@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @jerrywolffe.

Tea Party movement finds conservative leadership lacking

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By CHARLES CRUMM
Of The Oakland Press

On Dec. 16, 1773, British colonists in America protested what they viewed as taxation without representation by dumping shiploads of tea from Britain into Boston Harbor — a historical event referred to now as the Boston Tea Party. Today’s tea party movement galvanized around the health care reform legislation in a debate that consumed much of last year and stretched into this year.

People who attended tea party events said the health care reforms limit personal freedom and contribute to soaring federal deficits. Rallies were held around the country and across Oakland County, attended by people who were basically mad as hell and not inclined to take it anymore.

That’s an anger that still exists and may well spill over into ballots cast in this year’s election.

But rather than tea, it could be incumbent officeholders of both parties who may be tossed overboard by supporters of the tea party movement.

In general, tea party web pages and supporters say they’re for constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets.

They tend to view taxation with their current representation as dimly as the original tea party protesters viewed taxation without representation.

And they hold members of both major political parties responsible for runaway deficits with the only difference being that a Democrat-controlled Congress has managed to outdo the profligate spending of an earlier Republican-dominated Congress.

A national telephone survey by Rasmussen Reports in late March found that 52 percent of those surveyed believe the tea party movement has a better understanding of issues facing America than Congress does, while 30 percent felt Congress has the better understanding.

“They’re all to blame,” says Gary Kubiak of the Rochester area and the Southeast Michigan 9.12 Project, one of the tea party groups in Oakland County. “The Republicans have been soft, too.

“The tea party is about limited government, responsibility and constitutional values,” said Kubiak. “Instead of government to the people, it’s people to the government. It’s gotten turned around.”

To change that, they’re encouraging involvement in civic affairs, including running for office, but have no intent on forming a third national party.

“We’re looking for constitutional conservative people,” he said. “We need somebody to stand up for their values and not worry about being re-elected every time an election comes up.”

That would be fine with Chuck VanPoperin of Keego Harbor, who has a “throw the bums out” slant on today’s current officeholders in both parties.
VanPoperin, a retired civil engineer, said he’s not active in the tea party movement but might be interested in attending a couple of rallies.

“I want to be a Republican, but I think they have totally sold out to big business,” he said. “And the Democrats are afraid to take on big business for some reason. I’m pretty shy about being political, but it’s time people spoke up. It’s a sad state of affairs and that’s why the tea party is becoming more vocal.

“Both the Democrats and Republicans are more interested in getting elected and getting big contributions than they are in passing reasonable laws,” he said. “We have a government that allows the regulators of industries to be captured by the regulatees so that what they’re supposed to regulate, they make (matters) worse.

“The banks are an example, the airlines are an example, the oil spill is an example,” he said. “We ought to throw the congressional bums out. We ought to throw the lobbyists out and their way of making political contributions.”

Out-of-control spending in Washington is often cited among tea party followers and those who sympathize with them.

“I know many people who belong to the tea party movement and know that they are intelligent, educated and they carefully study the important issues affecting us today,” said Marsha Baergen of Troy. “They are very concerned with the concentration of power in Washington and the horrendous debt and spending.

“I am very concerned that we send a lot of tax money to Washington for Congress to send to other states and for frivolous vote-buying programs to get themselves re-elected,” she said. “If we get any tax money back, it has tight strings attached. I think our country would be stronger if Washington were weaker.

“It is a sad day when a community like Troy has to send so much taxpayer money to Washington, and yet we cannot afford to keep our library, museum and nature center open,” she said.

For Steven Hendin of Waterford Township, the tea party movement, while not perfect, has become preferable to the current Republican Party.

Hendin, 41 and a married homeowner, is disabled and finishing his final classes of seminary. He’s the volunteer president of The Road to God Ministry, a Jewish evangelism-based ministry, and calls himself both a Jew and a Christian. “I am stubbornly proud of both,” he said.

“I would also proudly call myself a true fundamentalist, both religiously and politically,” Hendin wrote. “I must honestly tell you that though I have always been a Republican, for I have always been a moral-based voter, my views are changing quickly. The simple fact is that those who called themselves ‘conservatives’ are on a declining slope to become ‘liberals’ and those who view themselves as ‘liberals’ are on that same slope to that view I would call ‘New Age Politics.’ In other words, they are politically everything, simple political promises with no follow through.

“The tea party is far, and I do mean far, from what I would want from a political party, but at least it is truer to being conservative then the GOP has become,” Hendin said.

Contact staff writer Charles Crumm at 248-745-4649, charlie.crumm@oakpress.com or follow him on Twitter @crummc.

Some of the local tea party websites:
- North Oakland Tea Party Patriots — www.nocteaparty.com
- Tea Party Patriots of West Oakland — www.teapartypatriotsofwestoakland.ning.com
- Southeast Michigan 9.12 Project — www.semichigan912.org
- Michigan Tea Party Alliance — www.michiganteapartyalliance.com
- Metro Detroit Freedom Coalition — medefco.ning.com
- Give Me Liberty — www.givemeliberty.org
- Lakes Area Tea Party — www.lakesareateaparty.ning.com-
- Michigan Tea Party — teapartypatriots.org/Group/Michigan_Tea_Party
- Tea Party Patriots — teapartypatriots.org/State/Michigan
- Pontiac Tea Party — www.PontiacTeaParty.com

Ready to sizzle: Readers send in holiday barbecue favorites

Jul 01, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By JANE PETERSON
Special to The Oakland Press

Each change of season brings new flavors into the kitchens of home cooks. Just as winter prompts us to cook big batches of hearty chili, soups and casseroles to share, so does summer inspire us to use our grill, prepare a bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables and dig out lighter salad recipes and picnic favorites. The great thing about summer cooking is that it is easy to try out new recipes. Take casual grilling fare like hamburgers and hot dogs, and instead of pairing them with potato salad, serve Danish Cucumbers, a recipe shared by reader Donna Nienhaus.

The tasty side dish has always been a hit, reports the Troy resident. This recipe is one that she has had in her recipe files for a long time and is similar to one she remembers growing up.

The Danish Cucumbers recipe is a great way to use up all ripe cucumbers that are so plentiful in home gardens mid- to late-summer. It pairs perfectly not only with hamburgers and hot dogs, but also various picnic side dishes like summer salads and baked beans, Nienhaus added.

The recipe is also wonderful because it can be made in advance of a picnic, family reunion or summer cookout. In fact, it tastes even better when the cucumbers are given the opportunity to marinate longer, she said.

Reader Kathy Gotts of White Lake Township wrote that everyone has a recipe for cold pasta salad for a picnic, but hers is different because of the seasoning she uses.

“I buy it at GFS. It’s called Trade East Salad Seasoning with Cheese … I also use the Creamy Italian Dressing called Peppermill, also at Gordons. It looks like Italian – robust,” she said.

Summer also means potlucks, picnics, graduation open houses and other occasions where people enjoy bringing a dish to share or need to serve a large number of guests. Doug Lysak of Waterford Township shared a recipe for Unstuffed Cabbage that would be perfect for such events.

He wrote in an email that he is of Polish/Ukrainian descent and his wife is from Hungary. Both have always appreciated good stuffed cabbage.

“The only problem seems to be the labor intensive preparation,” he said.

Lysak explained that he would watch his wife prepare traditional stuffed cabbage, which is a very time consuming process. He said they experimented with a quicker method and came up with a version that their family loves for its simplicity, taste and easy cleanup. He shares the recipe below, which he said they make frequently, although they also prepare traditional stuffed cabbage from time to time.

Lysak remarked that ingredients may be altered to taste. For example, the recipe calls for herb spaghetti sauce. Although the Lysaks prefer a sauce with a basil and onion base, any type of herb sauce can be used, even a sauce with a meat flavor, he said. Lysak added that people can also add more cabbage or carrots – whatever they would like to do.

They have transported the dish to potlucks and other occasions many times with good results. Lysak added that leftovers also freeze well.

Also good for serving a crowd is the Boursin Cheese Dip recipe Gotts submitted. The recipe for the herbed cheese spread is below as well as a recipe for Baguettes that Gotts likes to serve alongside the Boursin Cheese Dip. It can be served with crackers, as well.

Another recipe good for potlucks is Spaghetti Salad, submitted by Donna R. Cooper of Auburn Hills. The recipe does need to be made in advance as it has to refrigerate for several hours, but Cooper wrote that the salad is delicious.

Enjoy the taste of summer with these flavorful seasonal recipes from our readers:

Wondering what to do with all those cucumbers from your garden? Let them take a dip in white vinegar and onions for a while. This refreshing side dish recipe was submitted by Oakland Press reader Donna Nienhaus of Troy.

Danish Cucumbers

1 large cucumber

1 small onion

1 teaspoon salt

Pepper, to taste

3 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

Peel and thinly slice cucumbers (food processor works best). Slice onion in thin slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mix sugar into vinegar until dissolved and pour over cucumber and onion. Refrigerate 2-3 hours before serving.

Any type of pasta can be used to create this flavorful Cold Pasta Salad. Reader Kathy Gotts of White Lake, who shared this recipe, said you can cut costs by reducing the amount of vegetables in the recipe and using tri-color pasta to add visual appeal instead. On the other hand, if you want to use more veggies, feel free to do so.

Cold Pasta Salad

1 pound cooked rotini, drained and cooled

1 red, orange and green pepper

1 celery, chopped

1 large red onion, chopped medium

Roma tomatoes, cut up or cherry or grape tomatoes, cut

Trade East Salad Seasoning with Cheese (available at GFS), to taste

Creamy Italian dressing called Peppermill, also at Gordons, to taste

Any kind of cheese (Gotts likes the little pieces of Colby Jack)

Mix all ingredients except cheese together. Add your choice of cheese just before serving.

On a rainy or chilly day, this tasty recipe work well, says Doug Lysak of Waterford, who shares his family’s streamlined version of the popular stuffed cabbage dish. Serve with toasted garlic bread or toasted baguette, he suggested.

Unstuffed Cabbage

1 medium onion, chopped

½ pound lean ground beef

2 cups cooked rice

1 cup shredded carrots

3 cups shredded cabbage

1 16-ounce jar herb spaghetti sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

Sauté onion until soft. Add ground beef and break up and cook until no longer pink.

On a separate burner, prepare rice according to package instructions. Combine meat, onions and rice.

Prepare a 2-quart casserole dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray. In the dish layer shredded carrots and ½ of shredded cabbage.  Salt and pepper to taste if desired. Add meat/rice mixture. Press down gently until firm. Add remaining cabbage.

Mix spaghetti sauce with Worcestershire and chives. Pour over casserole.

Cover and bake at 350 F for 1 hour. Add cheese and bake uncovered for 5-8 minutes until cheese melts and starts to brown.

Makes 4 servings.

Serve this Boursin Cheese Dip with crackers or the recipe for Baguettes that reader Kathy Gotts of White Lake also shared.

Boursin Cheese Dip

2 blocks (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon garlic

2 teaspoons dill

1 tablespoon basil

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon pepper

Dash of salt

Cream butter and cream cheese in mixer. Add spices and combine. Serve with crackers or recipe for Baguettes that follows.

Baguettes

1 stick butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 loaf of Kroger take-and-bake bread

Basil, to taste

Garlic powder, to taste

Combine butter and olive oil. Slice bread and brush with mixture of butter and olive oil. Sprinkle with spices. Bake until light brown.

Reader Donna R. Cooper of Auburn Hills shared this recipe, which she says is delicious.

Spaghetti Salad

1 1/2 pounds thin spaghetti or linguine

1 bottle (16 ounces) Italian salad dressing

1 jar McCormick’s Salad Supreme Seasoning

2 or 3 tomatoes, chopped

2 or 3 red or green peppers, chopped

1 or 2 red onions dices (slightly chunky)

Cook off spaghetti or linguine, drain well, add all other ingredients in a very large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, mixing occasionally.

Franklin publishes ‘Poor Richard’ almanac on frugality, cynicism

Jul 01, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By Staff reports

Poor Richard’s Almanack (sometimes Almanac) was a yearly almanac published by Benjamin Franklin, who adopted the pseudonym of “Poor Richard” or “Richard Saunders” for this purpose.

The publication appeared continually from 1732 to 1758. It was a best seller for a pamphlet published in the American colonies; print runs reached 10,000 per year.

Benjamin Franklin – the American inventor, statesman, and publisher – achieved success with Poor Richard’s Almanack. Almanacks were very popular books in colonial America, with people in the colonies using them for the mixture of seasonal weather forecasts, practical household hints, puzzles, and other amusements they offered. Poor Richard’s Almanack was popular for all of these reasons, and also for its extensive use of wordplay, with many examples derived from the work surviving in the contemporary American vernacular.

The Almanack contained the calendar, weather, poems, sayings and astronomical and astrological information that a typical almanac of the period would contain. Franklin also included the occasional mathematical exercise, and the Almanack from 1750 features an early example of demographics. It is chiefly remembered, however, for being a repository of Franklin’s aphorisms and proverbs, many of which live on in American English. These maxims typically counsel thrift and courtesy, with a dash of cynicism.

Here are some favorites:

“Well done is better than well said;”

“A lie stands on one leg, the truth on two;”

“A penny saved is a penny earned;”

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise;”

“Then plow deep while sluggard sleep and you shall have corn to sell and keep;”

“There is no little enemy;”

“It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright;”

“Necessity never made a good bargain;”

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards;”

“If you would know the value of money, try to borrow some;”

“Drive the business, let not drive thee;”

“Kill no more pigeons than you can eat;”

“The sleeping fox catches no poultry;”

“Think of the things, whence you came, where are you going, and to whom you must account;” and “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

In the spaces that occurred between noted calendar days, Franklin included proverbial sentences about industry and frugality. Several of these sayings were borrowed from an earlier writer, Lord Halifax, many of whose aphorisms sprang from, his basic skepticism directed against the motives of men, manners, and the age. In 1757, Franklin made a selection of these and prefixed them to the almanac as the address of an old man to the people attending an auction. This was later published as “The Way to Wealth” and was popular in both America and England.

Franklin borrowed the name “Richard Saunders” from the 17th-century author of the Apollo Anglicanus, a popular London almanac that continued to be published throughout the eighteenth century. Franklin created the Poor Richard persona based in part on Jonathan Swift’s pseudonymous character, “Isaac Bickerstaff.”

In a series of three letters in 1708 and 1709, known as the Bickerstaff papers, Bickerstaff predicted the imminent death of astrologer and almanac maker John Partridge. Franklin’s Poor Richard, like Bickerstaff, claimed to be a Philomath and Astrologer and, like Bickerstaff, predicted the deaths of actual astrologers who wrote traditional almanacs. In later editions, the original Richard Saunders character gradually disappeared, replaced by a Poor Richard, who largely stood in for Franklin and his own practical scientific and business perspectives. By 1758, the original character was even more distant from the practical advice and proverbs of the almanac, which Franklin presented as coming from “Father Abraham,” who in turn got his sayings from Poor Richard.

Franklin began publishing Poor Richard’s Almanack on Dec. 28, 1732 and would go on to publish it for 25 years, bringing him much economic success and popularity. The almanack sold as many as 10,000 copies a year. In 1753, upon the death of Franklin’s brother, James, Franklin sent 500 copies of Poor Richard’s to his widow for free, so that she could make money selling them.

One of the appeals of the Almanack was that it contained various “news stories” in serial format, so that readers would purchase it year after year to find out what happened to the protagonists.

One of the earliest of these was the “prediction” that the author’s “good Friend and Fellow-Student, Mr. Titan Leeds” would die on October 17 of that year, followed by the rebuttal of Mr. Leeds himself that he would die, not on the 17th, but on October 26. Appealing to his readers, Franklin urged them to purchase the next year’s edition to show their support for his prediction. The following year, Franklin expressed his regret that he was too ill to learn whether he or Leeds was correct. Nevertheless, the ruse had its desired effect: people purchased the Almanack to find out who was correct.

The Almanack was also a reflection of the norms and social mores of his times, rather than a philosophical document setting a path for new-freedoms, as the works of Franklin’s contemporaries, Jefferson, Adams, or Paine were. Historian Howard Zinn offers, as an example, the adage “Let thy maidservant be faithful, strong, and homely” as indication of Franklin’s belief in the legitimacy of controlling the sexual lives of servants for the economic benefit of their masters.

Napoleon Bonaparte considered the Almanack significant enough to translate it into Italian, along with the Pennsylvania State Constitution (which Franklin helped draft), when he established the Cisalpine Republic in 1797. The Almanack was also twice translated into French, reprinted in Great Britain in broadside for ease of posting, and was distributed by members of the clergy to poor parishioners.

The Almanack also had a strong cultural and economic impact in the years following publication. In Pennsylvania, changes in monetary policy in regards to foreign expenses were evident for years after the issuing of the Almanack. The King of France named a ship given to John Paul Jones after the Almanack’s author, Bonhomme Richard, or “Good man Richard.” A later almanack by Noah Webster, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, was inspired in part by Poor Richard’s.

Thanks to wikipedia.com and American Literature Research and Analysis Web Site for their contributions to this article.

What it means to be patriotic

Jul 01, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By DAVE CLEVELAND

Am I a “patriotic” person? What a great question.

As a Vietnam-era veteran, we were not treated as patriots or with respect. Who can forget watching soldiers having urine and feces thrown at them and being called “baby killers” on television when they returned home? I still have memories of those not-so-good-old days. Patriotism takes many forms, I think. It is not simply waiving the flag and blindly supporting our troops:

n A  “patriot” would never provide tax dollars to corporate America as their backup plan for business failings. If businesses fail, they should be allowed a speedy trip through bankruptcy court and start over again, just like the rest of us when we fail. We have been promised the OPPORTUNITY for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Guarantees do not come with the deal. Jobs are not forever; they come and they go. Opportunities are always there if you are bright enough to seek them, find them and profit from them.

n A “patriot” would demand LESS government intrusion into his private life. This means smaller government. Of course, any government method of raising money to operate is based on the concept of taxation. Whether it’s a government controlled by Democrats or Republicans, they all believe in taxing and spending. It’s just a matter of definition as to where and how that will occur.

Tax dollars could be spent to actually benefit the people that elected our representatives into office in the first place who and provide the funding. We simply cannot afford to provide everything to everybody.

n A “patriot” would believe that it’s nobody’s business who can and who cannot have a family. Those decisions should be left to individuals and their doctors only. Supporting birth control and/or abortion after the pregnancy is none of the government’s business. If your religion believes other wise; that’s OK with me. Don’t force religious beliefs on my government or me. Religion is not government. Religion separate from government has been specifically dealt with in our Constitution and should stay that way.

n A “patriot” supports our troops for what they do, even though it is frequently immoral and criminal for politicians to send soldiers to die for reasons other than national defense. A “patriot” recognizes our country for what it is.

Our military as an organization may now be larger than all other military forces that threaten us today combined. We still cannot win a war; we still cannot leave a country once we have invaded it. We still have a military presence in Japan and Germany 60 years after we went to war with them. And we will never leave Iraq or Afghanistan and are probably headed for permanent encampment in Pakistan and Iran.

We are clearly a war-driven economy. We clearly have never been a true democracy, politically, nor a true capitalistic economy. We are a melting pot of Democratic, Socialistic and capitalistic principals. We have been at war with some country fairly constantly since the early 1900s: World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, The “Cold War” with Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and countless other wars in countries with names that I have long since forgotten. That is not patriotic – no matter how defined.

This clearly keeps millions of young men and women in the military and out of the private sector of the economy not competing for private sector jobs. This makes our economy appear to be stronger than it would otherwise be without such a large military.

Auto companies, munitions companies, aircraft companies, clothing companies, food companies and countless other corporations can continue to produce products for profit to our military; continuing business as usual as long as there is a perceived enemy to fight under the name of terrorism or in the name of God.

Sadly, our soldiers have been convinced that they are protecting our freedom. They ARE protecting us. It’s just that what’s getting protected here is our system of consumptive spending to keep our economy moving and that’s not patriotic.

The following quote from President Eisenhower’s “Military-Industrial Complex speech” in 1961 pointed this out decades ago: “We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations combined.

“We must never let the weight of this combination of the military and industry endanger our liberties or the democratic process. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

n At the same time, a “patriot” believes in a strong military for the purpose of national defense. Many times, it is not in the interest of our national security that sends our young men to invade other countries unless we were directly threatened or directly attacked by another country. When that is true, then by all means go in; take them out and then get out of someone else’s country with as much speed and dignity as possible. And have an exit strategy BEFORE you go in and actually execute that strategy. What other country can you name that has a military presence in the thousands for over 60 years located in the United States? Is it patriotism that gives us that right in someone else’s country? I think not.

At the end of the day, a “patriot” believes that America is still the best country in the world to live, with the most freedom of anywhere else I know of. As a patriot, I am willing to and I have defended her to the best of my ability. We are not and should not be the only culture of choice. We still remain one of the most hated countries on Earth and that may very well cause our own self-destruction in the near future. That is not patriotism in my book.

Dave Cleveland is a resident of Independence Township and a regular contributor to The Oakland Press Opinion Page.

Lest we forget our fireworks and frolicking weren’t free

Jul 01, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By BILL KALMAR

Summer in our nation is a time for frolicking, friends and fireworks.

Pleasant weather fosters the urge to participate in outdoor activities such as picnicking, swimming, camping, boating, biking or just sitting in a comfortable lounge chair outside as the soft winds of summer caress our hair. All seem to be on many an agenda. And of course throngs of us will have wanderlust and thus those drive-away vacations taking us to amusement parks, national parks, historic sites or just grandma’s home are often on our schedule.

As we traveled recently to visit grandchildren in St. Louis, I marveled at the number of people on the road in cars laden with suitcases atop the roof or just a camper being pulled behind an SUV. Highway rest areas were abundant with families making their way to a favorite vacation lane. What struck me was the ease in which all of us in this country can travel hither and dither without any restrictions or fear. But this freedom of travel did not come easily.

Many years ago when our forefathers came to this new country, they decided that freedom of choice and freedom of travel were of paramount importance. And thus, in 1776, we were blessed with a Constitution and a Bill of Rights that have stood the test of time and that have become a beacon and a benchmark for other countries. It is called democracy and it is the envy of the world!

From the early beginnings of our country, we have fought to be free of tyranny starting with our separation from the British. Soon afterward, our country was embroiled in a brutal civil war pitting the North against the South. Once again the issue of freedom was on everyone’s mind. And then along came two world wars whose purpose again was to establish a beach front for freedom in our country and to destroy those forces that thought and acted otherwise. Even today the value of freedom is at the forefront as troops from the United States and other countries fight back an enemy hell-bent on destroying freedom wherever it exists.

Throughout all these skirmishes and battles, the people of the United States remain the most patriotic force in the world. One only has to witness some of the reminders of these events to understand and appreciate how significant the flying of the red, white, and blue is to our country. The flag has become the symbol for a people who are kind, generous and hard-working.

We recently had the distinct pleasure of visiting Greenfield Village for the Annual Civil War Re-Enactment. Watching a ragtag militia of men dressed in appropriate garb carrying muskets marching through the grounds of the village resonates with everyone who attends this festival. Whatever your allegiance is to the outcome of this conflict, today we are one nation upholding the rights of one another.

There are other significant reminders of our country’s fight for freedom and a way of life unencumbered with tyrants and bullies. Look no further than the ships run aground and sunk at Pearl Harbor or the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., or the World War II Memorial in that same local to understand that our patriotism crosses many borders and that we will respond wherever and whenever freedom is threatened.

So as we celebrate the Fourth of July with family and friends and as we fire up the grill, let us not fail to remember why we are having the freedom to do so. It is because of the men and women who came before us and for those who are currently battling evil elsewhere in the world that we have the freedom to celebrate this holiday.

And as we hoist that proud red, white and blue symbol of our country let us not forget that our freedom today was not gained easily. The graves in Arlington, the markers in the fields of Tennessee and the stately site of crosses in Normandy are stark remembrance of the men and women who died for our country.

As we celebrate our nation’s highest holiday, let’s pause for a moment to look at that wonderful, beautiful flag — the symbol of our freedom — and thank these brave patriots for their contribution in making this the best country in the world.

Lyrics from the Neal Diamond song “America” are indicative of the lure our country has: “Everywhere around the world — They’re coming to America — Everytime that flag’s unfurled — They’re coming to America.”

Also, let’s never forget the words of Abraham Lincoln when he said: “Freedom is the last, best hope of earth.” So when we travel freely around this great country during the next couple of months, keep in mind the reason we are able to do so — people just like us saw the value in fighting for freedom! Happy Fourth of July!

Bill Kalmar of Lake Orion is a former director of the Michigan Quality Council.

Tea party stands against modern day oppression

Jul 01, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By BRIAN PANNEBECKER

Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines “oppress” as; “to keep down by the cruel or unjust use of power or authority.”

In 1773, the legendary Boston Tea Party took place in the British colony of Massachusetts, when a few dozen brave colonists dumped a shipment of tea from Britain into the Boston Harbor in protest, rather than pay what the colonists felt was the “oppressive” tea tax. That protest against oppressive taxes was a key event leading to the revolutionary war, and the colonies subsequent Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and oppressive British rule.

In 2009, Americans again rose up in protest against an oppressive government, this time to protest runaway government spending that threatens to literally bankrupt our country and that will inevitably lead to higher taxes. The banking and credit crisis of late 2008 resulted in Congress passing legislation called “TARP” (Troubled Asset Relief Program), essentially a government bailout of the banking system that will cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion. The credit crisis also led the Democratic-controlled Congress to approve federally (taxpayer) guaranteed loans to the auto industry of nearly $100 billion and an $800 billion government spending plan that President Obama labeled a “stimulus” package, adding nearly a trillion dollars to government spending and debt. It is inevitable that this increasing government spending will eventually lead to calls for increasing taxes on American citizens and businesses to pay for the increasing size and rising cost of government.

The truly “grassroots” formation of nationwide “Tea Party” citizen-action groups in the last 18 months to protest the explosion of government spending and public debt has been haughtily dismissed as “Astroturf” by Democrat Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. The tea party has been repeatedly mis-characterized by some liberal mainstream media as “racist” and “extremist” when any objective observer would agree, it is neither. These accusations from the left simply come from individuals and organizations who have a vested interest in the status-quo, they do not want to see reform, or for that matter, for government to be forced to live within its means.

We in the tea party intend to see that government is forced to do exactly that — live within its means. Every dollar taken out of the American economy in taxes is not only a dollar taken away from a productive worker to support his family, it is a dollar not available for an entrepreneur to use as an investment in a new business or venture.

Every major government social program there is; Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, is in deep financial trouble. Social Security, while well intended, has proven to be an elaborate government Ponzi scheme. As American’s life expectancy increases, the ratio of workers-to-retiree’s decreases. The book-keeping gymnastics required to keep future retiree’s from realizing that their retirement is anything but secure would land a private accountant in jail. But the government continues to mislead the taxpayers, trying to put off the day of reckoning. We in the tea party are trying to alert the American taxpayers to the looming crisis. The economic threat is real. The Social Security program is going to be taking in less money than it is paying out starting in 2015, five short years from now.

It’s time to sound the alarms. Government spending is out of control and threatens not only the future retirements of us and our children, it threatens the future of our republic itself. We patriotic conservatives of the tea party simply want to see our republic returned to the people, and to the constitutionally limited government envisioned by our Founding Fathers.

Brian Pannebecker of Shelby Township is an employee of Ford Motor Co. and a self-described tea party activist.