Fresh Loaf

At the GOP rally/Tea Party at the U.S. Capitol yesterday, Rep. Paul Broun (R – CrazyPartsOfGeorgia) had a stern warning for Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:

“Go tell your Congressman you’re not going to eat this rotten, stinking fish that is . . .  [awkward pause] Pelosi health care!

We’re going to put a stop sign in front of her steam roll of socialism! Go to it, patriots!”

I haven’t played Rock-Paper-Scissors in a while, but I’m pretty sure steam roller beats stop sign. Here’s a video. Broun’s comments begin at the 4:35 mark.

While we’re on the subject of gratuitous dumbassitude masquerading as steadfast patriotism, at the same event yesterday House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner’s held up what he claimed was his copy of the U.S. Constitution and read aloud from the section he described as its preamble:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Those words are not from the Constitution, but from the Declaration of Independence.

Doh!

The video:

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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(photo by Joeff Davis)

Tea aficionada Carmelle Killick has hosted a Victorian-style tea ceremony at her home every spring for a decade. The Alpharetta resident invites friends and neighbors for a formal sit-down steeped in tradition, with international teas, waltzing and hat contests.

“We make tea every night, practice tea etiquette every night, so it becomes second nature. I try to keep that tradition in the family, and try to keep it as formal as possible.”

She’s a tea-totalitarian. “There’s no such thing as coming here and not having tea. If you come here I’m giving you tea.”

“I went to Catholic school in Haiti. You know how Catholics are. You have to sit straight, can’t talk, can’t laugh. I guess all this stuff stayed with me. I’m not a loose person at all. Even in a relaxed situation, I sit straight and am very formal.”

On sweet tea: “Southern tea is excellent. … But I see Southerners like their tea sweet. To me the sugar kills the taste of the tea.”

Killick’s French grandmother introduced her to tea and to her favorite tea, basil lemon honey.

She’s versed in a wide array of tea etiquettes, including English, French, Iranian, Turkish, Japanese and Arabian. “It’s something that, when you get into the practice, the etiquette, the tradition, the china, the settings, you can fall in love with it.”

“We travel a lot. Everywhere we go we bring tea back with us. Some of them we can’t pronounce, but we know if it’s good.”

Killick says she’s addicted to buying teacups and saucers on eBay, adding that some cost more than $500. “Some tea parties are like weddings. You can go broke if you’re not careful.”

On the tea party’s turnout: “You never know how many people will show up. You send out a lot of invitations hoping not everyone will show up.”

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