What The Hell Happened Last Night?
I don't know if it was the liquor or the debate or the chili I made.
If you were to ask me right after the debate to say who won, I would say Trump.
Trump is a known quantity going in. You know how he’s going to behave and you know how he’s going to attack. With Trump, there is no level of decorum that he won’t violate. These are all things we know good and damn well.
If Biden can’t stay composed and is forced to call Trump stupid, tell him to shut up, flat out call him a liar, and be belligerent in many of his exchanges, he is falling down to Trump’s level, not rising above it. If anything, American voters looking for a more presidential choice were left staring into empty glasses last night, wondering if it was possible to be any more pessimistic about the country’s future.
This morning, after a night spent largely awake and thinking about it, it’s hard for me to say either candidate won. I think Biden exceeded expectations, but still fell short of where he should be as a candidate. His rhetoric was sloppy, he stumbled over words, and he was frequently taking the bait Trump offered. I spent the last 45 minutes of the debate wondering if we’d see Biden challenge Trump to a fight.
But Trump was… Trump. You all know how I feel about him, and I am very much in the “character counts” camp when it comes to who I vote for. On an ideological level, I can’t vote for Biden, but when it comes to expecting credibility, character, and civility from a President, Trump is simply not an option.
Neither candidate “lost” last night. I expect the polling won’t change much over the next week, though I could easily envision a scenario where the polling swings in either direction. But while neither lost, I can’t say that either won. It was an absolute trainwreck from start to finish, and that’s the truth here.
The sure winners of last night’s debate were striped tie enthusiasts and distilleries. As for me, I don’t know whether I want to become an alcoholic or a 7th Day Adventist.
The New York Times Proves We Need Tax Reform
In a “bombshell” (note: I hate how overused that term is) report, the New York Timesexplores the tax returns of President Donald Trump, exposing how much he’s made and lost, how much he’s paid in taxes, and how much he was able to write off.
Within the report itself, we see no evidence of many of the accusations Democrats have leveled against Trump for the past five years (ties to Russia, the mob, or whatever). We don’t see that he defrauded anyone. We don’t even see that he’s actually a broke conman (though his business doesn’t seem all that healthy for how big it’s supposed to be).
You know what we do see, though? The pressing, urgent need for a reformation of the tax code that is both comprehensive and simplifying.
That Trump was able to use the tax code so effectively that he only had to pay $750 in taxes in 2017 doesn’t mean he committed a crime. It means he had a damn good team of accountants and that the tax code allowed him to do that. It’s probably why he’s under audit, as he’s claimed from the get-go, but if those audits had found anything in the years before his presidency, there’s no way we wouldn’t know about it by now. But we haven’t seen it yet. That means something.
What we see in the Times report is that the rich and powerful have the means to not only make more than your average American citizen, but also have the means to avoid giving huge chunks of it to the IRS. That is a privilege I’d love to have, and a privilege all of you reading this would, too. Wouldn’t it be great to only give $750 a year to the IRS? Think of how much of your income you could be stockpiling in order to actually do some good for yourselves and your families. Think of the economic boom we could have if everyone were in that position.
But we don’t have the means to hire lobbyists and buddy up with policymakers to make changes to the tax code that would benefit us. We don’t have the right people in our corner looking out for us and making sure the tax code is as simple and as unrestrictive on the middle and lower class as it is on the upper class.
The system is built to benefit rich businessmen like Trump. I don’t hold it against him. He’s doing nothing that the tax code wasn’t sculpted by the rich and powerful businessmen, corporations, and their lobbyists to allow.
I don’t know what the answer is. Could be the fair tax, a flat tax, or something along those lines. Could be something new that simply hasn’t been dreamt up yet. It’s crucial, though, that we stop doing tax reforms (yes, even Trump’s tax reform) that don’t uncomplicate things. We need something new and drastic, something that will forever change the game and make it easy for us to say that we were paid this and we are owed that.
Naturally, none of this matters when November rolls around. If Trump loses, it’s because people are out of their jobs under his watch and COVID-19 hasn’t been contained, and it will be because Joe Biden isn’t Hillary Clinton. If Trump wins, it’s because the Democratic Party scares the shit out of voters and there is no one who can convince them Biden won’t sell out to the far left. Trump’s business practices, his character, his personality are all known quantities. They won’t play a part here.
Homestyle: Paddle Up
On this week’s episode of Homestyle, my co-host Leigh Guidry and I interviewed paddleboard enthusiast Melinda Martinez. We discussed the activity, how one gets hooked, and all the fun that can be had taking part. I’m not really a guy with a great center of gravity BUT I’d be willing to give it a try.
If you want to hear more, you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, and we’d love to hear your feedback. Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast here, and if you have cooking, crafting, or family activity ideas, you can find us on Facebook and on Instagram (@Homestylepod).
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The Homestyle Podcast is a joint venture between myself and one of my best friends, education reporter Leigh Guidry. Throughout each episode, we discuss cooking, crafting, and other hobbies as well as how we make sure to spend time with our families despite how insanely busy life can be. The goal of the podcast has always been to take a moment to focus on what’s really important because, at the end of the day, family and life is more important than whatever distractions are going on in the world around us.
Recipe of the Week: Homestyle Chili
I will readily admit to you that this recipe is non-traditional in several aspects. First, the use of mushrooms. In my lower carb days, mushrooms gave a little extra texture and earthy flavor that was hard to find elsewhere.
There are some elements of Texas-style chili in here in that it uses beef stock as part of the base. The garlic and red onion mix well with the mushrooms and give some different levels of texture and flavor that make the whole thing really enjoyable.
There are two recipes here. The first is a standard chili base that you can vary up in whatever ways you want. The second is my most recent batch, as described above.
2 lb. ground beef
4 4 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 8 oz. can ranch-style beans
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
water as needed
Brown the beef in a large pot over medium-high heat, but do it in small batches and drain. Keep the rendered fat to the side.
Once drained, put all of the beef back into the pot and let it brown up. Add salt and chili powder, mixing well. Turn pot down to low heat.
Add the beans and stir, then add the tomato sauce. Spoon in some of the rendered fat then add water until the chili reaches a slightly thinner consistency than the one you want.
Let simmer for an hour or so, allowing some of the water to evaporate off and concentrate the flavor. Add salt and chili powder as needed.
That’s the basic chili. Here’s the one with the extra ingredients.
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork/sausage
2 4 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 8 oz. can ranch-style beans
1 medium red onion, minced
2 cups beef stock
1 cup baby portobello mushrooms, minced
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. salt
Water, as needed
Worchestershire, as needed
Brown the beef and pork in a large pot, but do it in small batches and drain. Keep the rendered fat to the side.
Once drained, put all of the beef and pork back into the pot and let it brown up. Add salt and chili powder, mixing well. Turn pot down to low heat.
In a separate pan over medium-high heat, add red onions and mushrooms, and spoon in rendered fat to sautee until onions are translucent. Add to pot with ground beef and pork.
Add beef stock and Worchestershire and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add ranch-style beans and stir well, allowing more time to simmer. Repeat with tomato sauce.
Let simmer for an hour or more to concentrate flavor. Add a little water at a time as needed for consistency, but water will dilute that concentrated flavor so use sparingly.
Final Thoughts…
I may push back next week’s newsletter to Thursday to accommodate the debate. Or I may just give you a bonus issue. Who knows? What I do know is that this is gumbo weekend at the Cunningham house. Celebrate with me.