;)
Thanksgiving Day 2020
Real Political News
Split Screen. The President & the Pretender. Jenna Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden urged Americans on the eve of Thanksgiving to recommit to fighting the coronavirus, not one another, and to take it upon themselves to make decisions that can save lives. In a somber and at times pleading speech, Biden reflected on other times in history that Americans have suffered, on the pain felt by the families of the more than 260,000 people who have been killed by the virus, on the sacrifices many Americans are making by scaling back or canceling their holiday plans and on the additional deaths that will undoubtedly come in the months ahead. He urged Americans to take 'simple steps' like wearing a mask, limiting the size of gatherings and socially distancing from others.... As Biden called on Americans to come together, President Trump spent the day tweeting a steady stream of grievances and baseless accusations, twice scream-tweeting: 'RIGGED ELECTION!' The president made no mention of the pandemic, which has killed more than 260,000 under his watch, offered no suggestions to Americans conflicted about how to celebrate Thanksgiving safely and publicly expressed no gratitude. Just before Biden began speaking in Wilmington, Del., Trump called the cell phone of his attorney Jenna Ellis, who was at a news conference about voter fraud in Pennsylvania. As she put him on speakerphone, he continued to unleash his grievances over the sometimes scratchy line.... At the event, [Rudy] Giuliani appeared without a mask, even though he had been in close contact with campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, who tested positive after appearing last week at the RNC with Giuliani. Much of the White House was empty on Wednesday morning, and several advisers said they were no longer paying attention to Trump's antics." More on Trump's spectacular performance linked below. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Dan Diamond of Politico: "Trump administration health officials on Wednesday kicked off a series of planned meetings with the Biden transition team on 'Operation Warp Speed,' the administration's effort to rush Covid-19 vaccines and treatments, according to two people familiar with the hastily scheduled session. The focus of the initial meeting was on Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics and distribution, said one person familiar with the agenda, with a goal of bringing President-elect Joe Biden's agency review team up to speed on Operation Warp Speed's workings. A second person familiar with the meeting said it was scheduled about 24 hours after the General Services Administration's announcement on Monday that the transition could proceed and that Wednesday's meeting was intended to be the first of multiple briefings in coming weeks." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Last Days of the Kaiser
Meredith McGraw of Politico: "...Donald Trump's campaign has gone quiet. Some aides are leaving their posts for the holidays. It has been days since Trump's aides held a briefing for the press on its dwindling legal efforts to overturn the election, replaced by Rudy Giuliani's Twitter feed and YouTube videos. The campaign's communications director, Tim Murtaugh, hasn't tweeted himself for almost a week. A senior campaign official described the campaign manager, Bill Stepien, as 'MIA.'... But back in Washington, Trump is clinging to the White House, attending to the bare minimum of presidential duties and improbably boasting on Twitter that he 'will soon prevail!' in the already-settled presidential election. In other words, he's soldiering on -- publicly, at least. Almost everyone else is going home." (Also linked yesterday.)
Pennsylvania. Fake "President' Fake-"Testifies" at Fake State Senate "Hearing." Jill Colvin & Mark Scolforo of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday baselessly claimed anew that he had won the election and uttered repeated falsehoods when he called into an event held by Pennsylvania Republicans to investigate unproven allegations of voter fraud. 'This was an election that we won easily. We won it by a lot,' Trump declared to the group gathered at a hotel in Gettysburg.... Wednesday's event, hastily organized by Republican state lawmakers, including Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, an outspoken Trump supporter, came with trappings of an official hearing -- flags, a gavel, and unsworn 'witnesses' who 'testified' in person and by phone. Among them was a special guest -- the president -- who at one point had been expected to attend in person, but did not after another member of his legal team announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday morning. Trump spoke for about 11 minutes via a phone held up to a microphone by his lawyer Jenna Ellis and insisted again that the election had been 'rigged' for Biden." ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "... Donald Trump has invited Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania to the White House on Wednesday night, following a 'hearing' the lawmakers hosted in Gettysburg over baseless allegations of voter fraud in this month's election that Trump called in to. Trump is expected to meet with them in the West Wing, two sources said.... Trump is also considering attending a similar event in Michigan next week. The Michigan State Board of Canvassers certified Biden's victory in that state on Monday, after Trump's legal efforts and a pressure campaign on state and local officials collapsed." ~~~
~~~ Kevin Breuninger & Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A lawyer for ... Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday revealed that the campaign could be relying on pulling off a complicated -- and possibly unprecedented -- legal and legislative trick shot to undo President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania and possibly in other states. That far-fetched strategy would require a federal court to invalidate Pennsylvania's certification of its election results, and then get the state's General Assembly to agree to send Trump electors to the Electoral College. The idea is buried in a footnote in a three-page letter that campaign attorney Marc Scaringi wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The Trump campaign is asking that appeals court to hear its bid to block the effect of Tuesday's certification of a win for Biden in Pennsylvania."
'In Wisconsin, somebody has to be indefinitely confined in order to vote absentee. In the past there were 20,000 people. This past election there were 120,000...and Republicans were locked out of the vote counting process.' @VicToensing @newsmax -- Donald Trump, in a tweet, November 24
In case anyone needed a reminder that Trump simply cannot be believed on the election, this is it. He is casting doubt on Wisconsin's results, but every part of his claim is demonstrably false. -- Salvator Rizzo of the Washington Post (Also linked yesterday.)
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a USA Today op-ed: "By all accounts, Georgia had a wildly successful and smooth election. We finally defeated voting lines and put behind us Fulton County's now notorious reputation for disastrous elections. This should be something for Georgians to celebrate, whether their favored presidential candidate won or lost. For those wondering, mine lost -- my family voted for [Trump], donated to him and are now being thrown under the bus by him." Raffensperger knocks both Democratic (Stacey Abrams) & Republican losing candidates.
Criminal Pardons Criminal. Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "President Trump pardoned on Wednesday his former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with a Russian diplomat and whose prosecution Attorney General William P. Barr tried to shut down. 'It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Ken Vogel & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "It's not just Michael T. Flynn. The White House is weighing a wave of pardons and commutations by President Trump in his final weeks in office, prompting jockeying by a range of clemency seekers and their representatives, including more allies of Mr Trump.... The end of any presidential administration is a time for intense lobbying related to pardons. But in Mr. Trump's case, it extends to his own personal and political considerations, his lingering bitterness over the Russia inquiry and his transactional approach to governing.... There are at least 13,700 people who have formally applied to the Justice Department for pardons that are listed as 'pending.'... There is open speculation about whether he might go even further in using his clemency power in his self-interest, possibly issuing pre-emptive pardons to members of his family and even himself for federal crimes." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: "President Trump is leaving the White House just as he entered it: a total disgrace.... Mr. Flynn freely pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators, a felony, about whether he discussed anti-Kremlin sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. 'I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right,' Mr. Flynn said then. 'I accept full responsibility for my actions.' But then ... Mr. Flynn switched lawyers, hiring Sidney Powell -- yes, the same Sidney Powell who last week alleged a vast international communist plot to flip the 2020 presidential election to President-elect Joe Biden.... As he so often does, Mr. Trump grounded his decision in a half-baked conspiracy theory, insisting Wednesday through his press secretary that Mr. Flynn was 'the victim of partisan government officials engaged in a coordinated attempt to subvert the election of 2016.'"
Georgia Senate Race. Brian of the AP: "As the ravages of the novel coronavirus forced millions of people out of work, shuttered businesses and shrank the value of retirement accounts, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to a three-year low. But for Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican, the crisis last March signaled something else: a stock buying opportunity. And for the second time in less than two months, Perdue's timing was impeccable. He avoided a sharp loss and reaped a stunning gain by selling and then buying the same stock: Cardlytics, an Atlanta-based financial technology company on whose board of directors he once served. On Jan. 23, as word spread through Congress that the coronavirus posed a major economic and public health threat, Perdue sold off $1 million to $5 million in Cardlytics stock at $86 a share before it plunged, according to congressional disclosures. Weeks later, in March, after the company's stock plunged further following an unexpected leadership shakeup and lower-than-forecast earnings, Perdue bought the stock back for $30 a share, investing between $200,000 and $500,000. Those shares have now quadrupled in value, closing at $121 a share on Tuesday." ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: Federal "investigators found that Cardlytics' chief executive at the time, Scott Grimes, sent Mr. Perdue a personal email two days before the senator's stock sale that made a vague mention of 'upcoming changes.'... Ultimately, [investigators closed] the case...." ~~~
~~~ Sam Brodey of the Daily Beast: "Earlier this year, Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) personally directed his wealth adviser to sell off $1 million worth of stock in a financial company before its share price cratered, The New York Times reported on Wednesday -- a finding that flies in the face of Perdue's repeated insistence that he has no input whatsoever over his considerable investment portfolio."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
Oh, God. Amy Rules! Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court late Wednesday night barred restrictions on religious services in New York that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had imposed to combat the coronavirus. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court's three liberal members in dissent. The order was the first in which the court's newest member, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, played a decisive role. The court's ruling was at odds with earlier ones concerning churches in California and Nevada. In those cases, decided in May and July, the court allowed the states' governors to restrict attendance at religious services. The Supreme Court's membership has changed since then, with Justice Barrett succeeding Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died in September. The vote in the earlier cases was also 5 to 4, but in the opposite direction, with Chief Justice Roberts joining Justice Ginsburg and the other three members of what was then the court's four-member liberal wing."
Lauren Leatherby of the New York Times: "For the first time since the coronavirus outbreak hit the United States, the country has added more than one million cases in each of the past two consecutive weeks. Covid deaths, which lag reported cases by weeks, are also at a level not seen since the spring." (Also linked yesterday.)
Glenn Rifkin of the New York Times: "Honestie Hodges, who was handcuffed by the police outside her home in Grand Rapids, Mich., when she was 11, a frightening incident that drew outrage and national headlines in 2017, died on Sunday. She was 14. Her death, at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, was caused by Covid-19, her grandmother Alisa Niemeyer wrote in a post on the website GoFundMe."
Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The pace of first-time filings for jobless claims picked up last week, with the jobs market showing increasing vulnerability to the coronavirus spread. Claims totaled 778,000 for the week ended Nov. 21, ahead of the 733,000 expectation from economists surveyed by Dow Jones and up from 742,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday."
Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "A veteran C.I.A. officer was killed in combat in Somalia in recent days, according to current and former U.S. officials, a death that is likely to reignite debate over American counterterrorism operations in Africa. The officer was a member of the C.I.A.'s paramilitary division, the Special Activities Center, and a former member of the Navy's elite SEAL Team 6.... It was unclear whether the officer was killed in a counterterrorism raid or was the victim of an enemy attack, former American officials said."
Aaron Katersky of ABC News: "The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal Wednesday as it seeks to intervene in the defamation lawsuit against ... Donald Trump by E. Jean Carroll. Last month, a federal judge in New York rejected the Justice Department's attempt to substitute for President Trump as the defendant in a suit that claimed he defamed Carroll when he accused her of lying about an alleged rape in a department store dressing room."
Way Beyond the Beltway
Korea. Putting Life Skills to Work. Jaclyn Diaz of NPR: "A North Korean man seeking to escape his homeland took a nearly 10-foot leap of faith earlier this month. The jump, which occurred under -- or more accurately over -- the noses of soldiers, brought him to safety in South Korea, where he told troops he wanted to defect. It's no surprise that the man claims he is a former gymnast. The unnamed man, who is described as being in his late 20s, crossed into South Korea through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at around 7 p.m. Nov. 3, evading capture for 14 hours. He was found by South Korean soldiers at around 10 a.m. the next day less than a mile away from the border, according to The Korean Herald and Yonhap News Agency.... If the man's story is accurate, it's all the more remarkable because he managed to avoid detection by North Korean troops, evade landmines that litter the DMZ and not trigger sensors on the surrounding fences." The article includes a photo of the double fence, which looks impossible to leap.
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Reader Comments (16)
Something to be thankful for...
Recent comments about schadenfreude laden possibilities for righteous punishment, courtesy of Dante, of the traitors who have made the last four years an American Inferno, neglected to offer a sense of hope as we emerge from the pit. And so, as a public service, I hereby present as truncated a version of the Florentine’s Commedia as you’re likely to scrounge up anywhere else.
It begins...
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
Yes, the straight path was buried by Fatty and company, and after passing through the gates of hell (aka Trump World), we encounter reptiles, liars, traitors, monsters, and a panoply of confederate scoundrels as greedy and mendacious as they come. But after an electoral ass kicking of historic proportions, the chief traitor is defenestrated.
Then...
The Guide [Virgil/Joe Biden] and I into that hidden road
Now entered, to return to the bright world;
And without care of having any rest
We mounted up, he first and I the second,
Till I beheld through a round aperture
Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear;
Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.
And here we are. Safe, for the nonce in the bright world. And finally we can see the stars once more.
And for that, I for one, am immensely thankful. Somewhere, headless turkeys are flapping their last.
Enjoy the day, my brothers and sisters. We earned it.
Don't mind if all these churchy guys and gals attend church during an airborne transmissible pandemic that is killing thousands of their fellow citizens each day.
Go there, I say. Exercise your rights.
The SCOTUS--as currently constituted, let us note--says the Constitution grants you that right
But once you're there, in the name of humanity, please stay.
@AK: Thank you for the wish to enjoy the day and I join you in that wish for everyone here, especially for those like Marie that will be spending it alone (hey, if what you're making doesn't turn out properly no one will know except you––big bonus!).
What puts a damper on this day is that "religious get-togethers" are absolutely necessary in the time of a pandemic because people simply are unable to pray properly or sing and sway together unless in a house of worship. It helps understanding to read the whole of the article above. In effect, the S.C. ruling sends hundreds back into crowded houses of worship putting them in harm's way which will result in more Covid cases and more over-extended health care workers. The fury I feel re: this decision might very well screw up my stuffing.
I see four years of warrantless investigations, starting January 21st, of anyone Biden even smiles at. It ain't gonna be fun, but then neither has the last four years.
Does cranberry sauce go well with steak and lobster?
Asking for a friend.
Forrest,
Cranberry sauce goes with lobster, steak, shrimp, cheeseburgers, and Rice Krispies; anything. Just my opinion, which could be at least partially influenced by the fact that I tend to associate it with holidays. Tell your friend to cranberry away!
And you’re right. Confederates will begin fake hearings on the Bidens before the last inauguration ball is over, but it’s better than four more years of grasping, clutching help-yourself-to-our-tax-money and out and out treason. Hey, maybe they make cranberry colored jumpsuits for prisoners. The ex little king would look like a fat berry.
@Forest: Cranberry sauce says no, it does not cotton to the likes of steak or lobster and suggests something more like a pear salad with walnuts or apple. But since it doesn't like to discriminate it will, at times, let their berries be spread around––yet its preference would be for the love of fowl–-fair weather OR foul.
P.S. Leftover turkey sandwiches slathered with cranberry sauce produces those "yummy sounds" heard the day afterwards in kitchens all over the world.
Sorry, Ak: I'm with PD on the cranberry sauce with lobster, steak and OMG Rice Krispies! Other than that, I love cranberry sauce especially made with oranges and Grand Marnier!
Happy T-Day to al RC-ers! Especially thanks to Ms. Burns for keeping us all so well informed.
It would appear that some of the Catholics on the SCOTUS aren't as observant as they claim, or maybe just haven't had the chance to read their leader's Op-Ed in the NY Times. They're 180° from Pope Francis.
Lingonberries are good, too!
To all a safe and COVID-free holiday, even if it is somewhat more boring.
Kitchen notes from a boring purist.
Cranberries only. No adulteration.
And mashed potatoes and turkey gravy? Salt, a little pepper and of course butter and milk or cream to taste. No garlic, not even a hint. Just the real thing.
This dull guy wishes you all a very pleasant, if a bit odd and we hope rare, Thanksgiving.
BTW, our small turkey was not pardoned.
How did anyone ever discover that cranberries were edible? A of sugar and cup water turn these sour things to a delight.
For your musical accompaniment apropos for today, the classic Alice's Restaurant (used to be just up the road apiece) by Arlo Guthrie. It's still fun to listen to even after all these years.
Many thanks on this day to all in the RC community. You’ve helped me maintain my sanity through this all-too-trying year. Marie, you are a treasure.
Thank you all for being here and helping me (maybe) retain my sanity during these last four years. Hopefully They are coming to an end and we are moving on and are coming to an end of a very strange time.
Now to important issues...cranberries and lobsters. Lobsters need to be served with huge bibs, at a picnic table, and with a small bowl of drawn butter on the side. Cranberries??? not with lobsters but they are wonderful if they have been ground up in combination with oranges and nuts in an old meat grinder attached to the kitchen table We never added Grande Marnier but that really sounds good. Needless to say cranberries belong with fowl.
A safe and happy thanksgiving to all the RC crew. I saw this in WaPo and old southern boy that I am will be attempting to crank a few of these out starting tomorrow. We always have leftovers. https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2020/11/10/turkey-poboy-recipe-thanksgiving-leftovers/
@carlyle: I've wondered the same thing myself. According to Wikipedia -- my source for all true things -- the Narragansett tribe introduced white people to cranberries as edibles (and as a source for red dye) in what seems like the first American fruitcake. (Not sure if it's the one that is still circulating in your family.) But it seems to have been white people who figured out cranberries tasted better sweetened up: " In a 1672 book titled New England Rarities Discovered, John Josselyn described cranberries like so:
"Sauce for the Pilgrims, cranberry or bearberry, is a small trayling plant that grows in salt marshes that are overgrown with moss. The berries are of a pale yellow color, afterwards red, as big as a cherry, some perfectly round, others oval, all of them hollow with sower [sic] astringent taste; they are ripe in August and September. They are excellent against the Scurvy. They are also good to allay the fervor of hoof diseases. The Indians and English use them mush, boyling them with sugar for sauce to eat with their meat; and it is a delicate sauce, especially with roasted mutton. Some make tarts with them as with gooseberries."
As for me, I like them with half the sugar recommended in most recipes, a bit of orange rind & Grand Marnier if I have them, as MAG suggests, and cooked down to where some are still lumpy. Cranberries take very little time to cook (about 10 min.) &, even with the reduced sugar, gel up every time. It's a can't-miss recipe, and people who have never boiled their own cranberries think you're a great scratch cook, even if you're not.
And one more thing about cranberries: If you have a tenancy to get urinary track infections drink cranberry juice and lots of water–-keeps that bacteria at bay–––so they say.