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Healthy Grains, Squash, Apples, Sausage, and Kale
Maxwell W. (original recipe)
D.C. is always a good time. Love the museums. My dad marched on Washington
(he was at the Reflecting Pool when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the I
Have a Dream speech) and I did too (during the lead-up to the invasion of
Iraq).
Joe Biden thinks the war would have been justified if the intelligence had
been correct. He thinks hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children had to die, because
we were impatient with the on-going weapons inspections on the ground in Iraq.
Of course, the glaring issue around D.C. is "taxation without representation."
I thought this would be a good opportunity to discuss the problem of the Electoral
College more generally, then circle back to D.C.
Obviously the Electoral College is stupid and unfair and probably we should
simply shift to a popular vote like every other sane country on the Earth. OK.
But what if we are nostalgic for the Electoral College? Maybe there is a solution
that is undeniably more fair, but retains some of the anachronistic charm of the
current system?
For whatever reason, Electoral College votes are Senators plus Representatives.
Eg., NY:
Since Senators are elected statewide and Representatives by geographical
districts, why not allocate the two Senate Electoral College votes based on
the winner of the statewide popular vote and divide the however many
Representative Electoral College votes proportionally among the candidates
based on percentage of the vote. It's a great solution, more fair than the
Electoral College, but drawing from it to create a system more interesting
than a popular vote.
Eg., NY:
Every state will matter, while retaining the current power balance that
a straight-up popular vote would threaten to topple, good lucking getting 2/3 of states
for that, but for this, maybe a snowball's chance?
As long as we're amending the Constitution, D.C. really deserves representation!
The solution seems simple. Give their congressional delegate a vote in Congress and
therefore one Electoral Vote in the Presidential election. UPDATE! Apparently D.C. already
has an Electoral Vote! (Still no vote in Congress.)
This is why we read books. D.C. deserves full representation, but at least you
aren't silenced in Presidential contests.
Are we really a democracy with the electoral college as is? Maybe democracy
isn't the end all be all of responsible governance. Maybe it's popular sovereignty.
Maybe it's having a system we believe in that delivers results we can live with.
My reforms aren't going to happen overnight, but I'm here to build
approaching-consensus that there is a better way, specifically, my plan!
(If you have a catchy name, contact me!)
(Electoral College 2.0, because it's an improvement but still not the popular
vote!)
Election night would be so exciting! -And for a while, this paragraph ended there.
But exciting elections mean higher participation. And it's more exciting because we all matter.
An election is made more legitimate by high levels of enthusiastic,
non-coerced participation.
Also please note you cannot really look back at past election statistics to
evaluate my approach (at least without this context) because our election system
influences strategy. Right now, you mostly want to campaign in swing states, which
is a stupid system. Swing states, you are still interesting and matter! And we'll
remember you (who can forget Florida 2000?!). But it's weird that a handful of
states elect the U.S. President. We can do better, while still being weird about
it.
Ingredients
- 1 Delicata squash, 1" slices
- 1/2 cube Vegetable bouillon
- 1 1/2 tsp. White wine vinegar
- 2 vegan Italian sausages, chopped, browned
Preparation
Spread baby kale in a single layer over a baking sheet to determine quantity,
then toss in a bowl with oil, salt, and pepper. Return to baking sheet and bake
for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake squash for 10 minutes, then turn each piece
with tongs and add apple. Bake another 10 minutes, remove squash, and continue to
bake apple for 5 minutes more.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add couscous, quinoa, and bouillon. Simmer
for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar. Or you can forget
to add the vinegar and it will still be delicious. Serve with
sausage, browned in a pan, and baked baby kale.
Discussion
I left this discussion for the last minute, I'm writing about D.C., and we are three weeks into
Black History Month.
So the very first thing that comes to mind, about Black History, is to share another fun anecdote
about my dad. My same dad who saw Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak in 1963 also saw Malcolm X speak in
Rochester, NY. A black friend took him. So that is pretty cool! My dad was the only white person
in the room.
It feels a little futile to acknowledge all of Black History in the throw-away end to a post,
so let's arbitrarily narrow in on an inspiring figure that deserves attention irrespective of
the Month. As a child, my public elementary school took us to visit the Harriet Tubman house
in Auburn, NY, 45 minutes away, which in retrospect and not entirely unfamiliar with wrangling
groups of children seems like a profound act of dedication to experiential learning. And
Harriet Tubman is one of those figures that never didn't seem awesome but the more you learn
about her (not unlike Dr.MLK,Jr.) the more awesome they prove to be, so filtered as it may be,
there is worth in History, for sure. As Bob Marley sings, "if you know your history then you know
where you're coming from!"
As for the recipe with a long title, I basically couldn't get enough of it. It feels like
people fuel.
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North Dakota