Brick: Muse on News by Ben S. Pollock

  • Does a Rising Tide Level the Playing Field?
    State of This Union — President’s Message One advantage leaders can have is anything they do or say seems important. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement and held a press event July 14 announcing that the “First Liberty Institute’s Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy’s Religious Liberty in the States index” found that Arkansas… Read more: Does a Rising Tide Level the Playing Field?
  • Rat-a-tat Ratatouille
    By this time in our three-decade-plus marriage I know too well what my spouse refuses to eat. Well, there’s no disguising okra. But I can expect the classic eggplant-dominating casserole ratatouille will find favor once and sometimes twice a summer. The key is precooking the eggplant separately — food journalist Mark Bittman says, “There are… Read more: Rat-a-tat Ratatouille
  • Why Us. And When?
    An Editor’s Note “Why should (I) join Local 965/AEA/NEA?” That is one of the two top questions that other 965 leaders and I get when friends and strangers learn of our affiliation. The other question is more of a statement: “I didn’t know the UA had a labor union.” There has been an active workers… Read more: Why Us. And When?
  • Have a (Cheese) Ball
    My mom often bought house-label food items to keep on budget, as the quality was close enough. One item she wouldn’t skimp on was Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese, explaining other brands were “waxy.” I never understood that, different ones had about the same mouth feel to me, once I started buying my own groceries after… Read more: Have a (Cheese) Ball
  • Good News Is No News
    An Editor’s Note It’s obvious that I’m a news hound, and there’s certainly no shortage of news in FaySpRogVille (a portmanteau of Northwest Arkansas’s four main cities). Throughout the areas news media, coverage of the University of Arkansas naturally stays prominent, not only because it’s one of the largest employers of the Ozarks but simply… Read more: Good News Is No News
  • Rebel with a Load of Causes
    An Editor’s Note For all my love of words, I’m lousy at protest signs. Six maybe eight words is perfect. Pickets are a lot like billboards. You’re driving by, so highway ads need to be sparse for comprehension. That’s the same with demonstrations, where picketers stand on a sidewalk as cars whiz by. The No… Read more: Rebel with a Load of Causes

Food Columns

Candidly, the recipes are posted for my convenience, from which to refer via iPad in the kitchen. All are vegetarian, nearly all vegan, aka plant-based whole-food PBWF and, especially the recent ones, low to no oil. I’m sure you’d like them, too.

  • Rat-a-tat Ratatouille
    By this time in our three-decade-plus marriage I know too well what my spouse refuses to eat. Well, there’s no disguising okra. But I can expect the classic eggplant-dominating casserole ratatouille will find favor once and sometimes twice a summer.… Read more: Rat-a-tat Ratatouille
  • Have a (Cheese) Ball
    My mom often bought house-label food items to keep on budget, as the quality was close enough. One item she wouldn’t skimp on was Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese, explaining other brands were “waxy.” I never understood that, different ones had… Read more: Have a (Cheese) Ball
  • Friday Night Re-Pabst
    DIY Michelada Is Superior Several years ago I came across a curious cookbook. It comprised workable, simple and healthy vegan recipes but as a parody of a diet book, The Taco Cleanse: The Tortilla-Based Diet Proven to Change Your Life.… Read more: Friday Night Re-Pabst
  • Clean Beans
    The goal for Memorial Day extending to the Fourth of July this year was a recipe for baked beans tasting as I remember Mom opening a can or two and heating them, but also vegan and zero to low oil.… Read more: Clean Beans