Corned Beef and Politics

For Immediate Release: Corned Beef and Politics

March 16, 2008

Beaver Pond, Vermont, Mayor Bibs Fisk

I’m sure, as Vermonters, most of you are aware of the news around New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s plan to resign as governor tomorrow because of his alleged affair with a prostitute. Well, I got to know Eliot a bit over the last few years. I first met Eliot when I was a delegate to the Northeast Homeland Security Conference held back in 2005 in Potsdam, New York. Eliot, then Attorney General of New York, gave a very informational presentation on how local communities, such as Beaver Pond, can help guard against interstate crime in the age of terrorism. It seems he was a bit too focused on the interstate travel of Islamic extremists, a didn‘t realize that his “Pretty Woman“ wannabe from New Jersey might also get caught!  Anyway, I also got to know him quite well while working on Hillary Clinton‘s campaign for president.  Eliot has long been a supporter of Hillary‘s, and he was in Montpelier to speak at a “Heels for Hillary” event back in January. The event was held at the Capital Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Montpelier. http://capitolplaza.com/.  After the event, Eliot, who was staying overnight at the hotel, invited a few local dignitaries, myself included, to have drinks with him in the hotel’s lounge. Interestingly, even though Amber LeMay has denied rumors that she was involved with Governor Spitzer, I did see her lurking around the Capitol Plaza Hotel that night. Shortly after I saw her, Eliot asked me if he could borrow five bucks and a bottle of beer, and quickly retired to his room. The funny thing is, Amber usually gives it away for free, so what was the five bucks for?

Well, all that drama aside, I did want to update you all on the results of Beaver Pond’s Presidential Primary. Sadly to say, even with the write-in votes tabulated, Hillary did not garner the type of support I had hoped.  Barack Obama ended up carrying Beaver Pond with 69 votes to Hillary’s 11. As Margaurite LeMay always says, “a Beaver Pond girl just can’t say no to a black man!”   Because I consider myself to be a representative of all the people, I have tried hard, other than my occasional work for the Hillary campaign, to remain neutral during the primary season. But, because of the results of our primary, I believe it is my civic duty to become more vocal in my support of Hillary Clinton. This morning, as is my usual custom, I decided to do my nails and watch “Meet the Press” on NBC, followed by “You Can Quote Me” with Marsillyass Parsons on Vermont’s Own Channel 3. Tim Russert had as a guest former Senator Bill “Turkey Neck” Bradley as a representative of Barack Obama’s campaign. Now, I don’t know if you recall, but leading up to the 2000 presidential campaign, the one that resulted in George W. Bush taking the White House, Bradley ran against Al Gore for the Democratic nomination. As a fervent supporter of Al Gore’s, I felt that there was no contest. But, there were many people out there who thought that it was time for change, and that electing Gore as president was just more of the same thing. Some even felt that there was no real difference between Gore and George Bush, and felt that Bradley offered something new. They probably even voted for Ralph Nader when Bradley didn’t win the nomination. Well, it appears to me that many of these folks are now saying the same thing about Hillary as a basis for their support for Obama. Makes you think, doesn’t it? Oh, I guess Russert just got my blood boiling this morning. I should probably change the subject.

As most of you know, tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, unless you happen to be Catholic, in which case you should have done your celebrating on Friday because the Pope changed St. Patrick’s day to Friday, March 14th. http://catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0801013.htm. Well, as Pastor Deuter always says, “If you ain’t Catholic, who gives a shit what the Pope says?”  So, I expect that most of us will be drinking green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage on March 17th as usual. Following is my great-grandmother Fisk’s corned beef and cabbage recipe.

Ingredients:

5-1/2 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet

18 small red potatoes

9 carrots, peeled and diced

2 large heads cabbage, cut into small wedges

Directions:

Place corned beef in large pot and cover with water (or beer if you like). Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef, or if you don‘t have that, throw in some pepper corns, a few bay leaves, and a dash of mustard weed. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes. Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

Yum, yum, I’m getting hungry already! Oh, I also just want to remind all Beaver Ponders that exterior Christmas decorations must be removed by today, Palm Sunday. Of course, as Palm Sunday falls on a Sunday, you have until Monday to comply!

Sincerely,

Bibs