LOTUS blog

Since both McCain and Obama’s cookie submissions both left me unsatisfied, I contacted the Bob Barr campaign for a recipe.  I give you Jeri Barr’s Bars!

Chocolate-Toffee Cookie Bars

3/4 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar

1 cup Butter-Flavored Crisco

1 teaspoon Vanilla

2 Eggs

2-1/4 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup Heath Bar (chopped), approximately 20 miniature bars

1/4 cup Georgia Pecans (chopped)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl, cream sugars, Crisco and vanilla.  On low speed, add egg, one at a time.  Set aside.  Sift together flour, salt and baking soda in separate bowl.  Gradually add dry mixture to creamed mixture and beat at medium speech.  Fold in chips and toffee.  Spread entire mixture into lightly greased 13 x 9 pan.  Top with pecans.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown on top.  Cool completely and cut into bars.

These are in the oven right now.  Pictures coming soon.

Since I have some leftover McCain Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies, I’ve decided that we’ll put Barr’s bars up against them tomorrow.  Stay tuned for the results and remember that the cookie contest has predicted the last four presidential elections!

UPDATE: Barr’s bars are currently beating McCain’c Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies by 6 to 1.  Let me remind me you that this is not a case of Barr taking cookie votes away from McCain.  Any votes that McCain’s cookies don’t receive are because the family did not come up with an adequate recipe.

LOTUS is now doing a weekly “Obama Watch” column on HumanEvents.com.  This week’s column is “Change Obama Can’t Afford”:

Last week Senator Barack Obama announced that he is opting out of the public financing system and spending limits and instead relying on private donations. He gave a litany of phony reasons and mischaracterizations of the financial picture on both sides.

Click here to read the rest.

It was reported this morning that comedian George Carlin, 71, died after a history of heart trouble.  Carlin is one of the few on the Left that understood that political correctness is the enemy of comedy.  Last summer he was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Also a guest that night was Ann Coulter.  When Carlin moved to the next seat so Coulter could sit down he said, “I never thought I’d be moving to Ann Coulter’s right.”

Click here to watch Carlin’s hilarious bit on death.  (Do I even have to say that the language is a little salty?)

UPDATE: Via RushLimbaugh.com, “Carlin Took on the Arrogant, Environmental Left”

Each presidential election cycle, Family Circle magazine publishes a cookie recipe submitted by each candidate’s wife.  Readers are asked to vote on the winning cookie.  It seems to be a pretty good system, as their cookie contest has predicted the last four presidential elections.  Of course, this is a historic year.  This year neither recipe has any chocolate in it!   

I decided to bake a batch of each and let some friends and coworkers vote.  First up, Michelle Obama’s Shortbread Cookies.

The amaretto, lemon and orange zest make these cookies a little different from typical shortbread.  The optional dried fruit (I used Craisins) didn’t add much flavor.  It looks pretty though.  The ingredients for this recipe were more costly than the other and made less cookies.  (Feel free to make your own comparisons to the Obamas’ political views.)  I also had to buy a lemon and orange for just one teaspoon each of the zest.  Ditto on the amaretto — I bought a bottle to use just two tablespoons.  I think I’ll save the rest for election night results.  All in all, it’s a good, buttery cookie.

Next up, Cindy McCain’s Oatmeal-Butterscotch Cookies.

Ok, I hate oatmeal cookies, so you’ll have to wait until I get the verdict from everyone else tomorrow.  Regarding the ingredients, it’s stuff that most people have in the pantry, except for the butterscotch chips.  Obviously, these cookies are a little more old-fashioned than Obama’s cookies.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s verdict!

UPDATE June 23, 2008, 12:00 p.m.:  So far Obama’s shortbread is in the lead!

UPDATE June 23, 2008, 1:30 p.m.:  Now we’re tied 3-3!

UPDATE June 23, 2008, 3:48 p.m.:  I couldn’t have planned it better.  Intern Pete from Florida (!) just broke the tie.  McCain’s Oatmeal-Butterscotch cookies are now in the lead.  Exciting stuff.

Coming soon: Jerri Barr’s cookie recipe!

There are thousands of authors that would sell their souls for a positive 500-word New York Times review of their book. No doubt that many of these authors have groundbreaking books on important issues. Putting those aside, last Sunday the Times featured a children’s book that blatantly copies the classic Goodnight Moon. Its purpose is bashing the Bush Administration, natch.

Click here to read the rest on Townhall.com.

A photo taken by Heather Brand at the John McCain for President headquarters:

UPDATE: Thanks to Michelle Malkin for linking!  Also, some people seem to think I took the photo or did some kind of trickery.  The photo was taken by a McCain campaign photographer and was posted on his daughter’s blog (see link above).  Can’t we all just appreciate a good joke? 

Step 1: Copy a classic

Step 2: Bash Bush

Step 3: Get a book deal

Step 4: Get primo article in the NY Times

Step 5: Profit

The cover of “Goodnight Bush” looks almost exactly like “Goodnight Moon — green and orange, with an image of a window and fireplace — and uses a similar rhyme scheme. But there the thematic similarities end.

The authors, Erich Origen and Gan Golan, set their story in “a situation room.” There is no bunny snuggling into bed, but rather George W. Bush, grinning and wearing a “Mission Accomplished” flight suit. Instead of three little bears sitting on chairs, there are “war profiteers giving three cheers.”

Subsequent pages tell of “A grand old party to war in a rush/And a quiet Dick Cheney whispering hush.” The vice president is illustrated seated in a rocking chair — with a shotgun in his lap and bunny slippers on his feet.

…

While the authors’ considerations were largely political, the publisher worried more about sales potential. At 48 pages, “Goodnight Bush” is the sort of short read that publishers fear will be quickly digested in stores and thus will not make it to the cash register.

The authors’ motives were “largely political”?  No, really?!?!?!

“But this had so many brilliant gags,” Mr. Shandler said. “You could spend so much time looking page by page.”

For example, the mouse that flits about the pages of “Goodnight Moon” has been replaced by a tiny scurrying Osama bin Laden. At the beginning of the book, a pristine Constitution hangs on a wall; by book’s end, it is full of crayoned redactions.

It’s amazing what passes for “brilliant” in leftists’ circles.  These authors must have honed their skills in college by making ”Bush is Hitler!” placards.

I’ve been reading several comments on Fark, Wonkette and others and I can’t believe that liberals think conservatives would be elated over Tim Russert’s untimely passing.  It really shows how blind they are.  Russert is one of the few reporters/interviewers in the mainstream media that was just as tough on Democrats.   This is a loss for everyone.

Click here to read some of Russert’s great questions during the last debate with Clinton and Obama.

This week I visited the shooting range at the National Rifle Association of America in Fairfax, VA.  Also visiting that day was a group of wounded soldiers from Walter Reed.  It was great to see so many volunteers from the NRA donate their time, ammo and firearms for the day. 

The NRA recently launched a program to provide free one-year memberships to those currently serving in the armed forces.  Click here for information on helping NRA provide these free memberships.

LOTUS takes aim…

Cindy Sheehan campaigns the same way she signs books.