lummi island wine tasting july 10-11 ’26
July- August Hours: 4-6 pm Friday & Saturday
cloud reflections….
Friday Bread This Week
Whole Wheat Levain – Sourdough mix fermented overnight to start gluten development. About 25% fresh milled whole wheat, a ‘toothy’ crumb, great texture and flavor and a nice crisp crust. – $5/loaf-
Breton – Flavors of the French Brittany region; bread flour, fresh milled buckwheat, and rye make for interesting flavor, and sel gris – Brittany grey salt adds minerality to pair w/meats and cheeses- $5/loaf
and pastry this week…
Black Sesame & Candied Lemon Brioche: Brioche dough full of eggs, butter and sugar. Filled with fresh lemon zest and candied lemon and topped with a black sesame streusel before baking. – 2/$5
This week’s wine tasting flight
MAN Chenin Blanc ’24 South Africa $14
Free-run juice preserves a crisp, clean, natural character; light, bright flavors of quince, pear, and pineapple, palate of fresh stonefruit and apple, and a round, soothing mouthfeel.
Kiona Lemberger ’22 Washington $14
Perfumed aromas with traces of orange zest and flower, with notes of blueberry; an agreeable palate that pairs particularly well with spicy foods!
Pascual Toso Reserve Malbec ’22 Argentina $21
Dry, full-bodied and richly layered with aromas and flavors of ripe blackberry, sous bois, and toasty oak, with firm, fine-grained tannins that go well with savory, rich. or spicy spicy dishes. A long-time local favorite!
Economics of the Heart: Revisiting Joan Robinson, Pondering Graham Platner
Maine Senate Candidate Platner
Over the years on numerous occasions I have instinctively been drawn to a brief phrase from early 20th century economist Joan Robinson. Born in 1903 in England, and an early proponent of Keynesian economic theory, she established what came to be known as “The Cambridge School,” and was a prominent force in shaping economic theory during the Depression.
Here’s the quote: ““Every economic system requires a set of values, a set of rules, and a willingness in the people to carry them out.”
That concept was a central plank in FDR’s New Deal, which increased taxes on the ultra-rich to fund projects that created jobs for unemployed workers and spurred infrastructure development to boost economic development. Like cranking to start an old Ford of the era, it stimulated employment, production, and individual incomes just as Japan and Germany were building war machines.
The very rich were very unhappy about increased taxation on their vast wealth, which they considered as, to quote Dick Cheney, “their Due” for some reason, an entitlement for their investments. This idea that the owners of the means of production deserved huge profits went hand in hand with the notion that workers were sort of drone-like, undeserving creatures who served them at subsistence wages for which they should be grateful.
For nearly 50 years a handful of the world’s wealthiest white men have been plotting to take it all back, reducing wages, eliminating public funding for the expendable needy, embracing climate change, abandoning environmental regulations, and replacing the Constitution with some kind of dumbed-down, compliant, Christian police state.
All of this is the background for strange goings-on around Maine’s 30-yr Democratic Senator (lifetime appointment?!) Susan Collins, who has perfected the art of saying she will vote one way, but always voting with the nastiest Republican version.
Enter Graham Platner, unlikely political contender for Collins’ seat in the coming election. As a Marine he did three tours in Iraq and a fourth year with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan. Service in Iraq and Afghanistan were considerably more risky than service in the earlier Gulf War. Nevertheless, numerous Afghan War and Iraqi War veterans have recovered and returned to combat and have served two or more tours. Also, it is important to note that while the Vietnam War had a 2.6/1 wounded-to-killed ratio, the Afghan and Iraqi Wars registered ratios of approximately 15/1…lots more injuries.
I take a particular interest in this election because a grew up in Maine (Bangor), took ROTC at Bangor High, graduated from the Naval Academy, and my ship did one tour in Vietnam, carrying various cargo and personnel in and out. Later, as a psychotherapist, I learned a fair amount about PTSD, how it blocks people, and how to work with it. And it is that understanding that makes me sad that Mr. Platner was forced to bow out of the election at the last minute because of behavior that was almost certainly a result of PTSD, and a result of his service to this country.
That brings us squarely to operative hypocrisy that the so-called President, a convicted rapist, can steal $billions from our Treasury, fire our professional civil servants and top military leaders on a whim, sever ties with our historical allies, sell national secrets to our enemies for personal profit, and do and say any F-ing thing he wants without consequence while making us a second-rate nation in the eyes of the World. But a decorated combat Marine with PTSD from his service gets humiliated with big slaps in the face from Democratic “leaders.”
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2072 Granger Way