Rating a recent dining experience at 
Si Senor on Hall in Beaverton:

Using the Arizona Girls Rating System 
for Mexican Restaurants

(one point available 
for each item on the list, 
bonus at our discretion)

1) Free hot crisp chips (0.50, they were prompt and crisp but not hot or homemade)
2) Two or more salsa choices, one of which should be spicy HOT (1.0 salsa delivered with chips was quite good, didn't ask for more, had plenty of sauce with my relleno)
3) Margarita with tequila and lime in it, no high fructose corn syrup (0.50 for containing tequila)
4) Food and plate temperature sizzling hot (.75 warm)
5) Menu: simple, fresh, authentic, not "creative" (1.0, this is Mexican food)
6) Good sauces/beans&rice/tortillas (.50, the sauces were good but the beans, rice and torts were meh same as the last place)
7) Good entrees (1.0 good options, lots of sauce)
8) Reasonable price (.25 overpriced along with most Mexican food places in this town)
9) Pleasant space, warmth, colors, lighting, smells, service, etc (1.0 busy but clean)
10) "Sopapilla o' tortilla?” (.25 they actually have sopapillas on the menu but they cost $8 and are served covered in cinnamon sugar with a scoop of vanilla, yuck, did not order)
BONUS: House was packed and service good (+.25).
Total score: 7.0, not bad for a Texas-sized business, someone's making good money.

And here I thought BLM was for the Bureau of Livestock and Mining.  There is so much noise today, every day, about racism and rump. I've heard there are apps out there that will filter out all mentions of the name of our president.   Not a bad idea.

People with African noses and brown skin have legitimate grievances from slavery, Jim Crow, policing and harsh inequalities in economic and incarceration statistics. So do many others. Japanese were in carcerated en mass and suffer under rediculous stereotypes.  Hispanics in Arizona were terrorized by Arapaio and he got pardoned today. Jews that live all around me here in Portland are terrified at the resurgence of Nazi-ism. The natives of this continent were actively exterminated by our government and settlers, and they have a right to be mad about it. And in the midst of all this the white skinned middle-aged dudes are committing suicide both actively and passively at astounding rates.

There's plenty wrong, no doubt about that.

When I walk around the park that is in front of my house, I feel racial tension. There are blacks and hispanics walking there, but they are either in the company of a white person, or they are walking as families. Today the Latinas were in conversation and tending to the children, but the men are watching for trouble. When they see me coming, a big white woman moving fast, and they look hard.  They don't nod in return.  I saw a Middle Eastern family too.  The women were similarly dedicated to their kids, and one man swung his keys on the end of a lanyard as if to say fuck with me and I'll take your face off with my keys.

I wish we could all just chill out.  I don't think the tension will reduce until the next changing of the guard, and I hope it comes soon.

Rating a recent dining experience at
Maria Bonita on Hall in Beaverton:
Using the Arizona Girls Rating System
for Mexican Restaurants

(one point available
for each item on the list,
bonus at our discretion)

1) Free hot crisp chips (.50, they were prompt and crisp but not hot or homemade)
2) Two or more salsa choices, one of which should be spicy HOT (1.0 basic salsa delivered with chips was mild and OK, but three-salsa sampler delivered on request was excellent)
3) Margarita with tequila and lime in it, no high fructose corn syrup (.50, margs were OK but mixer was standard, orange was substituted for lime slice, and HFCS was definitely an ingredient)
4) Food and plate temperature sizzling hot (.75, warm, not hot)
5) Menu: simple, fresh, authentic, not "creative" (1.0, this is Mexican food)
6) Good sauces/beans&rice/tortillas (.50, the green chile and white sauce were good but the beans, rice and torts were meh)
7) Good entrees (1.0 good options, haven't tried their chile rellenos, yet)
8) Reasonable price (.50 overpriced along with most Mexican food places in this town)
9) Pleasant space, warmth, colors, lighting, smells, service, etc (1.0 decent enough)
10) "Sopapilla o' tortilla?” (0, nobody in Portland seems to offer sopapillas)
BONUS: There were Mexicans eating there which is a good sign, (+.25).
Total score: 8.0, pretty darn good, we will return.

Arizona Girls Rating System for Mexican Restaurants
(one point available for each item on the list, bonus at our discretion)

1) Free hot crisp chips
2) Two or more salsa choices, one of which should be spicy HOT
3) Margarita with tequila and lime in it, no high fructose corn syrup
4) Food and plate temperature sizzling hot
5) Menu: simple, fresh, authentic, not "creative"
6) Good sauces/beans/tortillas
7) Good entrees
8) Reasonable price
9) Pleasant space, warmth, colors, lighting, smells, service, etc
10) "Sopapilla o' tortilla?”
BONUS:

*Bringing this system back to the fore because I'm going out for Mexican tonight*. Back when Suzanne was here we struggled to find real Mexican food, but it is here, it just takes finding. It had to be here. There are lots of Mexicans here. My current and running favorite for its cheap and delicious tacos, roasted jalapenos, pickled carrots and sauteed onions is La Sirenita on Alberta.

I keep reading in the media that the record Latino turnout at the polls is a new "firewall" or somesuch for Democrats.  Well that may apply in this election, but don't count on it in the future.  Latinos are independent and have been provoked to vote for their own interests.  Trump voters have provided a new impetus for the Republican party to stop shafting its lower income voters.  If the R party can respond in any effective way to this challenge it could result in a shift in the demographics of both parties.

*First use of new tag: hispanic.  This population now activated is likely to become a powerful force in US politics.  Too bad they're so Catholic.

According to the Oregonian yesterday, there are 15 million illegal Mexicans in the US today. The announcement today is that Obama will issue work permits to some 800,000 young illegals instead of deporting them. The older folks are still getting deported, but the young will be... assimilated? Perhaps. Once they have a work permit, and they can be in this country under the light of day, they may decide they want to stay and seek citizenship.

( ruminationsCollapse )

Arizona's burning HOT already this year.

(this pic from another fire.....flames are over 100 ft in AZ)

Did you hear about the fire in Santa Barbara, California--that was started by Mexican pot growers? This is actually another good reason to legalize pot. It we weren't so stuffy about weed, nobody would be able to get rich growing a plant in our own soil and selling it to us. And then accidentally burning down the forest, in a stoner moment in the camp kitchen.

As of this week, you cannot cross the Mexico-US or Canada-US border without a passport. There are many people who routinely cross the border who do not have passports. As of this week, those people have to choose a country, and stay there. Too bad if their family is on the other side from their job.
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Suzanne and I recently tried the Iron Horse (on Milwaukee) and The Taco House (on Powell). The scores, using our Arizona Girls Rating System, are behind the ( cut.Collapse )

China now has more citizens with internet access than America, 253 million to 223.1 million.
The Hispanic population in America will outnumber whites in less than 100 years, if census trends continue.