1. As our KHS Class of 1972 classmate, we know him as Kenton Bird. As a scholar and a writer, he goes by R. Kenton Bird. Kenton collaborated with another scholar, John C. Pierce, to write and publish the book Tom Foley: A Man in the Middle.
I finished reading it today.
I enjoyed how the book explores the history of the USA and the Inland Northwest during the thirty years Tom Foley represented Washington's District 1. The book's coverage of the years from 1981-94 when Foley was, first, the House Majority Whip, then House Majority Leader, and, lastly, Speaker of the House fascinated me the most.
To understand why I was fascinated, allow me to briefly state what I think the word "politics" means, ideally, and what I think the word has come to mean in its common usage.
To me, politics is the process of forming policy. To use an old and worn out metaphor, it's the making of sausage. Ideally, I think the practice of politics, more than establishing a position and holding it no matter what, is the practice of problem solving, of putting what action a moment in history calls for into action because it works, as opposed to having a predetermined position and never budging from it.
Tom Foley was a sausage maker, a problem solver, a public servant, and, at his best, eager to work with other public servants, both Democrats and Republicans, to encourage them to air their views of the issues, listen to them, and work to find common ground and workable solutions.
When I hear the word "politics" used online and in conversations, most of the time it means, not the process of hammering out policy, but what one's position is or what means one will use to see that one's own position prevails.
When we say, "we avoid talking about politics at the Thanksgiving table", what we are saying is that we avoid discussions in which people who disagree with one another stake out positions and fight about them. We are not talking about discussions in which disagreeing parties seek ways to solve problems that might require come compromise or a realization that one's position might be satisfying ideologically, but it's not contributing to solving the problem at issue.
Tom Foley was committed to bipartisan politics.
R. Kenton Bird and John C. Pierce's book examines the disheartening ways in which intensified partisanship in our legislative bodies and in the electorate opened the way for Foley to be voted out of office in 1994 on the heels of working in sane, undramatic ways to try to create sound policy in the House and serve his constituents back home in Eastern Washington.
It brought back to mind a moment outside the Center Building at LCC maybe twenty years ago. (I might have the time wrong.)
Our teachers' union, the LCCEA, had recently elected a new president named Jim.
Jim and I had been involved in a Eugene activist group back in the mid-1980s. We weren't close friends, but were always on good terms with each other.
We ran into each other outside the Center Building and he asked me if I'd like to get involved with some union activism.
I balked.
Sensing my hesitation, he said, chuckling, "Ah! Bill -- you're not exactly a knee capper, are you?"
I agreed.
I'm not much of a knee capper.
I've never been very effective in situations of conflict. I've never been very good at imposing my views on others, even the ones I feel the most strongly about.
I've never been skilled at politics, at policy making -- it's difficult for me to navigate others' disagreements and arrive at workable solutions.
Tom Foley could, though.
He wasn't, in Jim's words, much of a knee capper, but he was very skilled at building consensus, at leading disagreeing parties to find common ground, at working toward solutions.
He was great at politics, at policy making.
But in 1994, his sausage making didn't translate into votes and he was voted out of office.
2. Ever since discovering them, I've loved Israeli Couscous. They are pearls of toasted pasta that are cooked up much like a grain.
I bring this up because I had a blast this evening preparing tonight's HelloFresh meal: Spicy 'N' Saucy Turkey & Bell Pepper Bowls with Roasted Zucchini Israeli Couscous.
All I had to do was chop up a zucchini and roast it for about 15 minutes in the oven.
While the zucchini roasted, I chopped up an onion and a bell pepper and I combined the Israeli couscous with water and chicken stock concentrate, brought to a boil, and then let in simmer for a short while.
I heated up oil in a skillet, cooked the chopped onion until soft, added a package of ground turkey, the bell peppers and a good sprinkling of chili flakes. Once the turkey was brown and the bell pepper pieces were soft, I added two packets of Mariana sauce and heated it all.
In the meantime, I removed the zucchini pieces from the oven and combined them with the Israeli couscous.
Once combined, I divided the couscous between two bowls and added the turkey-marinara-bell pepper sauce and PRESTO! we had a delicious dinner.
3. I was in the mood to drink a beer while cooking and had a stovepipe can of No-Li's Cascade Fog in the fridge and slowly drank it. Debbie was also in the mood for a beer and we shared cans of Daft Badger's Blood Orange IPA.
Neither one of us had drunk a beer for about a week and we both enjoyed some time together eating a delicious bowl of food and enjoying two of our very favorite area beers.
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