pumpkin pie

Amazing Vegan Pumpkin Pie


Crust:
    1 1/2 cups flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoon sugar
    1/2 cup canola oil
    2 tablespoon plain soy milk (rice or almond would also work)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Mix pie shell dry ingredients in food processor.  Add liquids and mix fully (will be crumbly). 
   
3. Pat into 9-inch pan with fingers.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes and remove.

Pie Filling:

    1 can (16 ounces) pureed pure pumpkin
    1 package (12 ounces) silken/soft tofu
    1/2 cup vegan sugar (or 1/3 cup maple syrup)
    1 pkg vanilla pudding mix
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground allspice
    1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
    1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
    3 tablespoons cornstarch to firm up the pie filling
   
Directions:

1. Put all pie filling ingredients into food processor and blend thoroughly a couple minutes. 
   
2. Pour mixture into pie shell.
3. Lower heat to 375 F and bake for 1 hr 15 minutes. Test and make sure that knife inserted comes out cleanly.  If not, continue baking.
   
4. Chill and serve at room temperature.  

PETITION: AFSCME Workers and Supporters for Women's Reproductive Rights

Online Petition for a Health Care Bill that doesn't erode women's reproductive rights:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/afscme-for-womens-rights/

We are AFSCME members and supporters who are angry that the House of Representatives passed a bill that would make women worse off under health care reform than they are today. Our union has fought so hard for health care reform that will benefit our members, our families, and our communities, and we cannot allow the restrictions on access to women’s reproductive care that have been included in the House bill. We will not stand for this radical departure from the status quo and we ask that you stand with us.

Why?

1. AFSCME has historically taken a stand on women’s reproductive choice (see AFSCME endorsing the "March for Freedom of Choice" in 2004: http://www.afscme.org/issues/7... and should continue this brave tradition now by opposing the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

2. We have fought too hard at the bargaining table for the health coverage we currently have (more than 85 percent of private insurance plans today cover reproductive choice services) and won contracts for benefits fair and square. We can’t allow Congress to take that all away from us with the swipe of their pen.

3. We need to be clear that women are not second-class citizens, and that our right to safe reproductive care starts with our benefits. As a union whose membership is a majority female, we must stand up for our union sisters (and all women in America) and demand that we have national health care coverage that covers all of our medical needs, not just some.

AFSCME needs to ensure that lawmakers support health care reform that protects women's access to reproductive care as the next round of debate and voting occurs in the Senate. Our elected representatives in the House let us down when they passed a health care reform bill that will undercut women's access to comprehensive health care. We can't let it happen in the Senate, and implore AFSCME to lobby the Senate and President Obama to pass comprehensive health care reform that does NOT include the Stupak-Pitts amendment or any similar language.

Please join us and our AFSCME sisters and brothers to stand strong in protection of women's reproductive rights today and every single day until reform is passed.

welcoming our new president: inauguration day

on the way to DC on the train, i changed trains in chicago. that final train was 100% full, and almost every passenger was on their way to the inauguration. it was a celebratory ride, full of excited conversations and high energy.

inauguration day started for me (and my friends from portland, molly and tony) at 4:30a. we ate breakfast in the hotel lobby and boarded the metro red line into downtown DC. as groggy as we were, our spirits were high and we were surrounded by enthusiastic people. we had mapped out our route and proceeded in the dark to the washington monument. the cold was biting, but there were already swarms of people, pouring through the streets towards the mall. we arrived at our destination, had a big jumbo screen to watch and settled in for a long wait. an endless river of people flowed into the mall, until every available space was filled up. the sunrise warmed us and and a new day was begun.

as the inauguration ceremony began, the crowd went wild. surrounded by people as far as the eye could see, the sounds were overwhelming. the first major thing that struck me was that our constitution held, the transition of power succeeded once again. even though the previous president's administration undermined the constitution in many ways, even though we moved closer to facism as a nation, even though 9/11 pushed this nation into fear, power was transferred peacefully to our new president.

throughout the ceremonies, speeches, music and events, so many emotions flowed through me. people all around me--myself included--alternated between cheers, tears, and silent reflection. we all worked so hard and believed that this day was possible. in the darkest hours, when we were most discouraged, we imagined this day. overall i ultimately come back to what this means to me most of all: it is a time of renewal and a time for each of us to rise to the challenges we face. cynics say that our "hope" will be shattered when obama doesn't "turn out". but they miss a fundamental reality that has truly shifted for me and hundreds of others who i know personally who worked on this campaign. this campaign was a training ground for so many of us--most of us gen x or gen "we"--a training for a new america and a new planet. while we respect and admire obama, none of us are living with delusions that he is going to "solve everything for us". the election of obama is a symbol of hope and change, but it is up to all of us to roll up our sleeves and create a new future. i am reminded of the quote from lin-chi: "if you meet the buddha on the road, kill the buddha". it is now--and has always been--up to us.

and now, off to celebrate, drink, dance and shout!

welcoming our new president: cross-country train pt. 2

late last night, somewhere in north dakota, i had a long conversation with the porter reggie. it started by him asking me where i was going, and i replied "to DC to welcome our new president". he gave me a broad smile and said "i grew up in chicago, used to ride my bike past the house where the obamas live now. this inauguration means so much to me in so many ways." we were off and running.

we talked for quite some time into the nite, along a wide range of topics. when we felt drowsy he would pause and open one of the window hatches to look outside, as a blast of refreshing frozen air would light up our senses. he told a story of being on the train one night during the worst blizzard of the season, and how the train kept pushing on, didn't skip a beat, with a total whiteout outside that same window. planes, cars, and buses were all at a standstill, but his train kept right on trudging across the countryside. he said it made him proud to be part of something so beautiful and simple.

then we got on the subject of the future. in his spare hours in his cabin, reggie has been writing long essays and creating charts and graphs for a "rail renaissance" in america. he dreams of a time when rail (including high speed rail) is clean, ubiquitous, efficient, safe, accessible to all and a core part of america's transportation system. like france's TGV but everywhere. he has been preparing for months now, and has a presentation scheduled with some amtrak executives in chicago soon. he knows that this is his part to play in a new america, and he credits obama's story of coming from nothing to now being president with giving him the extra courage to fight for his own dream. "if he can do that, i can do anything too. and nothing is going to stop me at this point."

and i explain how i have felt much the same recently, and how this type of conversation keeps getting repeated. i am simply no longer going to keep doing the things i don't want to do in my life. i will relentlessly pursue my dreams, knowing that i am only limited by my courage and imagination. i will spend my energy on real relationships of depth and honesty with people. i will work hard, but retain a commitment to fun along the journey. i feel like a sleeping dragon is awakening within many of us, and just in time because the problems we face are unprecedented. and our dreams are not idle fantasies, they are grounded and attainable, accompanied by a personal fierceness that says "this is OUR time!" time to roll up our sleeves and do what each of us--ordinary humans--came here (this planet, this time) to do.

welcoming our new president: cross-country train pt. 1

last summer, as the hard-fought democratic primary was drawing to a close, i knew right away that i wanted to go to D.C. for the inauguration of the new president in january 2009. i was optimistic that obama would win over mccain (hillary was a much more formidable opponent), but i figured that i would book my transportation and hotel 7 months in advance and i would be coming out to either celebrate or protest. as i travel across the country on the "empire builder" train, i am thankful that this journey is about celebration.

as i stepped on the train, i was greeted by reggie, the sleeper car porter. he pointed me to my room and asked where the other passenger was. i had to quickly figure out how much i wanted to explain to reggie. "yi was my wife, but she is not coming with me on this trip. it's just me now." he looked at me with an understanding look, and just nodded his head "oh". as soon as i entered my sleeper, i threw down my bags and got to the first order of business, putting up my "oregon for obama" signs in the windows. gotta represent.

i slept soundly as my train plowed through the snow and ice of the rockies, as trains had done 100 years ago on this same route, as they hopefully continue to do for at least another 100. i occasionally awoke to haunting images or feelings, peering out the window as snow covered trees and cliffs flashed by before drifting back to sleep. the next morning i talked to the conductor and asked about snowstorms and other intense weather, and he said nothing external stops this train. powered by three powerful diesel engines, it gets through anything, even a snowpocalypse. mechanical breakdowns sometimes cause delays, but that is mainly due to the infrastructure neglect of the nation's passenger rail system.

long hours spent reading and reflecting, watching the plains of montana and abandoned rusty equipment pass on by. like a river, continuously flowing, the thoughts and emotions rising and then fading, i feel light and at ease. as always happens on the train, conversations with strangers flow easily. i meet jordan, a heart-broken man who just said goodbye to his girlfriend to return to ohio (some complicated story involving the law and an overbearing girlfriend's mother). but i could see the pain in his eyes, his story punctuated by pauses as he looked out the window fighting back tears. we were quick to connect as i explained my recent separation, and efforts to start a new life. soon he grabbed his bottle of jack daniel's, and we were taking shots to a brighter future, him with his budweiser chaser and me with my corona. we watched a beautiful sunset in the big cold sky, both eventually feeling pretty close to OK.

end of the primary: three candidates...true colors

wow, what an amazing night! a year ago i would never have imagined that i would be writing this post. so many of us worked so hard, and last night brought the democratic primary to an end, and also gave us a closer look at the 3 candidates who have fought to make it to this point (and things looked better from afar for some).

mccain: since his speech was the first of the night, i will lead off with him. one has to wonder what mccain's operatives were thinking by staging this speech of his tonight, during prime time. i imagine there was some intent to draw a contrast between him and obama, but i couldn't get past his monotone repetition of his lame phrase "that's not change we can believe in". a note to mccain's handlers: "PLEASE get mccain some training on the teleprompter and speaking skills, you are embarrassing the man." speaking of "true colors" and embarrassing, green was mccain's color, and since that is also afscme's color, i kept wondering what his set design people were thinking. the best review of his speech tonight comes from an online comment:

'Oh, Go with the Green Background. It’ll make you look like the cottage cheese in a lime jello salad.' Always a good look for an older gentlemen. The aesthetics of McCain’s speech, just mercifully completed before a slightly energized crowd of literally dozens, was awesome in how dreadful it was.

now i am reminded of what almost every obama staff person has been repeating for the last several months: "we just want this primary to be done so we can turn our sights on mccain". let that game begin!

clinton: oh hillary, what have you done? i went into the night with hope for you and bill. i didn't want to believe the cynics who said you would not concede and would make the night about you. i didn't want to believe that you were going to continue your divisive games. i wanted you to go out with honor. i wanted to remember the bill and hillary that i respected so much in my college years. i watched your speech from the obama office in portland, surrounded by a room full of very smart data analysts. we listened to your every word. what would you do? what would you do? we were all tense, the room was quiet. you were on the goal line, you kicked the ball for the goal posts and it started out looking like it was going to go in...and then...and then...it veered away from the posts...and you did not just say what i think you said...no, no...you really did, you really did. you dropped the [expletive deleted] ball. you turned what could have been a beautiful ending into the "sourest grapes ever" speech. you played the enabler with your die hard supporters, letting them chant "denver! denver!", and you plugged your website so you could pull in more donations to pay off debt, and bask in the "praise" from online comments. i didn't think i could get more disappointed in you than i already had been, but as gasps were heard around the room in the portland obama office, you proved the cynics right. hilary rosen, one of her strongest supporters, and a frequent author on huffingtonpost.com, demonstrated grace and honor with her post today:

She had an opportunity to soar and unite. She had a chance to surprise her party and the nation after the day-long denials about expecting any concession and send Obama off on the campaign trail of the general election with the best possible platform. I wrote before how she had a chance for her "Al Gore moment." And if she had done so, the whole country ALL would be talking today about how great she is and give her her due. Instead she left her supporters empty, Obama's angry, and party leaders trashing her. She said she was stepping back to think about her options. She is waiting to figure out how she would "use" her 18 million voters. But not my vote. I will enthusiastically support Barack Obama's campaign. Because I am not a bargaining chip. I am a Democrat.

disappointed. saddened. what a pathetic end to the clintons' political career, with a missed goal in their final moment.

obama: what can i say? a beautiful end to an epic primary campaign. as his voice rang out, and the crowd cheered (including in the office), i was once again so thankful that obama was now the nominee. what a clear distinction between him, hillary and mccain--it had never been sharper for me. his praise of hillary was sincere and honorable, the contrasts that he drew with mccain where sharp and forceful. and the closing of his speech was heard around the world:

The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth.

and now the next journey begins, to take back the white house...and our country--to make ourselves and the rest of the world proud.

political assassination: not to be taken lightly

senator clinton's very unfortunate remark today about bobby kennedy's assassination has resonated around the world:

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said, dismissing calls to drop out.

and it wasn't the first time either. back in march, she said nearly the same thing in a time magazine interview:

"I think people have short memories. Primary contests used to last a lot longer. We all remember the great tragedy of Bobby Kennedy being assassinated in June in L.A. My husband didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June, also in California."

exactly a week ago (may 16), mike huckabee effectively ended his chances of being a mccain vp choice with his reckless and very inappropriate joke at the national rifle association:

"That was Barack Obama. He just tripped off a chair. He's getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him and he — he dove for the floor."

and just yesterday, senator tom carper was pushing for clinton to be obama's vp, but made this remark:

"I'll encourage [Obama] to ask, and if he does, for her to say yes. She would be a good president if something ever were to happen to him."

...if something ever were to happen to him...if something ever were to happen to him...what the hell is up with the clinton campaign team and their surrogates right now? why on earth would senator clinton ever even use the term "assassination"? why on earth is tom carper using the possibility of something happening to obama to help "make his case" for why clinton should be vp? well, after the events of today, senator feinstein, senator carper and bill clinton can focus on other asks, because like with huckabee last week, this puts to rest any further talk of an obama-clinton ticket. i am not suggesting that the clinton campaign is secretly hoping for obama to be assassinated, but i am suggesting that they are very sloppy with their words, and senator clinton will be perceived as considerably less "presidential"--and possibly not even "senatorial"--after today's "misspeak".

the assassination of bobby kennedy was a national tragedy, like the assassination of jfk, like the assassination of martin luther king, jr. my father was in his early thirties when bobby kennedy was killed, and had been a supporter of his campaign. he was a teacher and was excited about the prospect of a bobby kennedy presidency. my father and i have talked about the similarities with obama's campaign now, the excitement that so many of us feel for change, the willingness of average citizens to get involved to move this country forward. but bobby kennedy's death changed my father's life forever, and he boarded a plane for europe the day after bobby was killed, and has lived most of his years since in europe. he will never forget that day, just as many older volunteers have stated to me during my time volunteering for the obama campaign--that they remember the day king died and they remember jfk, and their hope for obama is tempered by the nagging fear that it could happen again.

on may 18, the 75,000 person obama rally in portland was the biggest of the campaign so far, and one of the biggest political campaign rallies in history. after the event, the volunteers were cleaning up the litter and re-stacking all the barricades that we had setup the night before. i was next to the podium where obama had stood and watched as the secret service were dismantling it. the waist high railing had been reinforced with metal plates of some kind, and as they removed them a chill went down my spine--these were there to protect obama from an assassin. the words of my father echoed in my mind, and there was a sense of deja vu.

so, in this context, i am deeply disappointed to hear huckabee, senator clinton and her surrogates so carelessly feed the conscious or unconscious political assassination fears of millions of americans. we don't need another national tragedy. now--more than ever--we need "change we can believe in".

union divisions - part 3 - afscme president's response

in response to the anonymous email that was sent out this week to afscme staff and members (see previous blog post), afscme president gerald mcentee sent out his own broadcast email today. i can't help but notice the irony in the fact that the anonymous email service was supposedly "outsourced" to a service provider in japan. the clintons have long been big proponents of corporate globalization, and thus it is interesting that their friend--mcentee--is now taking heat via anonymous emails sent from an offshore corporation that makes money by benefiting from the jurisdictional and legal limitations of the internet age.

one thing about mcentee's email that i agree with is when he states: "When there are disagreements, we should be able to debate face-to-face." it is no fun and unfair to be attacked anonymously and not be able to counter the arguments. that is why i make no attempt to hide my identity on this blog. i certainly have my disagreements with mcentee--especially as he continues to spend our members' money on the clinton campaign and continues to attempt to drive a wedge between working families with his "electibility" arguments against obama--and so i can't wait to get to the afscme convention in san francisco and "debate face-to-face" about these and other issues.

this is mcentee's email response:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

You may have received an anonymous email (attached) that is circulating around the country making false and outrageous claims about AFSCME's political program and finances.

I am personally offended by the falsehoods included in the e-mail, including the suggestion that the rights of our members "have been trampled on by some of our union leaders," including members of the International Executive Board.

As you know, our decision-making process is democratic and our finances are transparent.

It is especially disturbing to me that this email is being sent anonymously. We have a proud history of open and honest debate. False accusations and name-calling have no place in our union, and no one should be making unsubstantiated charges from behind a curtain.

The email writer went to extreme lengths to remain cloaked in secrecy. When we looked into the matter, we learned that they outsourced their lies and distortions to Japan. Specifically, they used a Japanese website designed to allow people to send anonymous emails. The purpose of the site is to hide the identity of the user and to skirt American liability and privacy laws. The company gets paid to send anonymous emails and they promise to delete all traces of the transaction.

The Japanese company even tells prospective customers that they "will absolutely not release any kind of user data without a court order from the Supreme Court of Tokyo, Japan."

I hope you will let us know if this email from Japan makes its way to you or your members. When there are disagreements, we should be able to debate face-to-face.

In solidarity,

GERALD W. McENTEE

union divisions - part 2 - afscme anonymous email...

the internal strife within afscme got cranked up another notch this week when someone sent out an anonymous email to afscme staff and some members about president mcentee, his friend hillary clinton and the millions of members' dollars that have been poured into the clinton campaign. news of the email spread like wildfire on wednesday morning, 5/21. at first i thought it was only sent to oregon afscme people, but then was highly amused to find that it had been sent out nationwide. some people who know i have been a vocal critic of afscme international's handling of the clinton campaign endorsement asked me if i was involved. some of the issues that are raised in the email are certainly ones that i have raised before, but those who know me well know that it was not me for two big reasons:

1. the language used and style of writing in the email is not mine. people can look back through my blog posts to see that i clearly have a different writing style.
2. if i sent out such an email, i would not hesitate for a second to put my name on it. i wouldn't need to use an anonymous email service. i would sign it proudly: michael o hanna, vice president of afscme local 88 in portland, oregon.

so, without further delay, here is the email that has been circulated this week (i will follow up in the next post with mcentee's email response):

If you're going to San Francisco for the AFSCME Convention be sure to bring a calculator. The Bill of Rights for Union Members in the Preamble of the AFSCME International Constitution (p.8, sub. 6) provides:

"Members shall have a right to a full and clear accounting of all union funds at all levels. Such accounting shall include, but not be limited to, periodic reports to the membership by the appropriate fiscal officers and periodic audits by officers elected for that purpose or by independent auditors not otherwise connected with the union."

The same Bill of Rights (p.8, Sub. 2, second sentence) provides:

"Active discussion of union affairs shall be encouraged and protected within this organization."

We know as trade unionists rights exist only on paper until we fight to make them a reality. Get ready for a fight in San Francisco. Our rights have been trampled on by some of our own union leaders.

We began this political season with millions and millions of dollars designated by the membership for political action. We also began the political season with the three top Democratic candidates who all have 100% AFSCME voting records. Sadly, as the first phase of the political season ends, we have have squandered our millions of earmarked political dollars in a irrational struggle to deprive Barack Obama, a US Senator with a 100% AFSCME voting record, the Democratic endorsement. Our leaders have squandered the money to the point where we have now borrowed millions from the banks to finance this massive waste of our resources. Resources that should have been saved for the general election in the fall or spent in primaries that really mattered to the membership.

President Gerald McEntee was elected to shepard our resources. Instead he has been feeding the wolves, the in-laws of the wolves, the cousins of the wolves, and the distant acquaintances of the wolves.

We are entitled to an answer to a simple question to the International President:

"What did AFSCME members gain by spending all our political money, and more borrowed money, in a futile attempt to defeat Barack Obama?"

We are entitled to the answer to another simple question:

"What was the TOTAL amount of our money spent (political money and other non-political money) on this futile effort?"

We are entitled to have a full, fair, and active discussion of this fiasco at the convention.

We are entitled to know if McEntee, as a DNC member, first voted to disenfranchise Florida and Michigan voters and now claims to be concerned about counting our votes in those states. The only reason he is on the DNC in the first place is because of our union. It surely is not due to his political genius. He is on the DNC because of our clout.

We are entitled to know how our International Vice-Presidents voted on spending all our money and then borrowing more money from banks to attack Obama.

We are entitled to all this because we are AFSCME. We are union members and we have a national constitution where we established rights to make sure future generations of AFSCME members would always have the best and most democratic union in the country. We put it down on paper. We wrote it into our constitution. We voted to ratify the constitution. Now it is time to stand up for our unions constitution by demanding answers.

We will undoubtly face a fight in San Francisco to enforce our own constitution. Be prepared to stand up for our union. McEntee is right about one thing. This IS an internal AFSCME problem and we need to fix it in San Francisco so it never happens again.