Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

75% of people clapping liked the show!

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

People are weird.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

The lights are all blinking red.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Republicans don’t lie to be believed, they lie to be repeated.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Trump’s cabinet: like a magic 8 ball that only gives wrong answers.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

Beware of advice from anyone for whom Democrats are “they” and not “we.”

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Liar-Appointed Liar Lies When Caught in a Lie

Liar-Appointed Liar Lies When Caught in a Lie

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Remember the asshole on the left, whom the asshole on the right appointed as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands?

He’s Pete Hoekstra, former teaturd congressman from Michigan. He jumped on the Trump train early, attracted by Trump’s disdain for immigrants and Muslims. He just made an absolute fool of himself in an exchange with a Dutch journalist:

First, Hoekstra lied and claimed he never said there are “no-go zones” in the Netherlands, calling it “fake news.” Then, when called out on that lie, he lied again, denying he’d characterized an accurate account of what he said as “fake news” mere seconds before! These low-quality, integrity-free Trump hires are almost as embarrassing as their boss.

In other news, the man Dictionary.com chose to illustrate the word “sycophant,” Mike Pence, promised endless war in Afghanistan yesterday:

Pence arrived on a military plane at Bagram Airfield under the cover of darkness on Thursday night after leaving Washington on Wednesday night. He then flew by helicopter to Kabul, where he met President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace.

Pence told the leaders he hoped his presence there was tangible evidence that the United States was “here to see this through.”

In a reversal of his campaign call for a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Trump in August pledged a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents and signaled the United States would send more troops to fight in what is the longest war in its history…

“Under President Donald Trump, the armed forces of the United States will remain engaged in Afghanistan until we eliminate the terrorist threat to our homeland, our people once and for all,” Pence said.

Good thing we didn’t elect that warmonger lady with extensive experience in international diplomacy! Le sigh.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

200Comments

  1. 1.

    Yarrow

    I really love that Dutch journalist. Wish we had those kinds of journalists.

    Repost from thread downstairs. In other administration news:

    Trump deputy chief of staff leaving White House: report https://t.co/jLMcBhZnP3 pic.twitter.com/XubbBcF3zo— The Hill (@thehill) December 22, 2017

    Rick Dearborn. Worked on Trump’s campaign and was on transition team. Also, Sessions’ chief of staff for over a decade.

    Rats trying to flee the Titanic. Aren’t enough lifeboats. Tick tock, motherfuckers.

  2. 2.

    Mom Says I*m Handsome

    Ok, Trumpkinses, I give up. I’m so, so tired of winning. I would like to see what the regime of the warmonger lady is like.

  3. 3.

    Corner Stone

    Big Mac, Filet O Fish, large fries supersized, and what looks like an order of chicken nuggets and dipping sauce on his plate.

  4. 4.

    efgoldman

    I’d be surprised Hoekstra even knows where Holland is

    Any chance that a Dem can take the seat?

  6. 6.

    GregB

    Pete will now be very sad that someone was mean to him.

    Tough alpha wingnuts always turn in to snowflakes of sadness when called out to their faces.

  10. 10.

    Yutsano

    @efgoldman: I think it was a done deal awhile ago. I’m not sure. Hoestrka was from Michigan I believe, and his seat was solid Rep.

    Then again so was Alabama…

  11. 11.

    MisterForkbeard

    This is another one of those times that I wish our own media had the basic journalist skills to do EXACTLY this. It’s not like it’s hard, especially since literally every one of Trump’s appointments has lied in easily verifiable ways.

  12. 12.

    Roger Moore

    I think some of what’s going on here is that they lie so constantly and reflexively that they honestly can’t remember all the crazy shit they’ve said in the past. Hoekstra can deny calling something “fake news” just a few seconds before for the same reason you or I can’t remember all the times we’ve said “um” or “you know”; it’s pure reflex rather than a considered statement.

  13. 13.

    Amir Khalid

    For some reason I can’t play the video embedded in that tweet. Can anyone help me out?(If it helps to know, I’m running Firefox on a Windows 7 laptop.)

  14. 14.

    Corner Stone

    @efgoldman:

    I’d be surprised f Hoekstra even knows where Holland is

    Any chance that a Dem can take the seat?

    The Throne of Denmark? Well, it may be a *little* controversial but I say a wave election is a wave election. We won’t know unless we up armor and give it a shot!

  15. 15.

    Roger Moore

    @Yarrow:

    Rats trying to flee the Titanic.

    I think there’s going to be a great exodus at the 1 year mark, both because of the rats fleeing a sinking ship issue and because they’ll have gotten in the minimum time to take advantage of the tax situation with stuff they sold “to avoid ethics issues” when joining the government.

  18. 18.

    Amir Khalid

    @MisterForkbeard:
    Any ordinary person has the skills to do a journalist’s job. What your mainstream journos in America lack is an environment where this is given priority over circulation/ratings/clicks.

  19. 19.

    ChrisS

    Glad to see President Pence doubling down on our commitment to wage war in the graveyard of empires …

    These people didn’t live through the 80s, did they?

  20. 20.

    scav

    @efgoldman: Layers upon layers of matter here. Per the guard, Hoekstra was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, and moreover delightfully denied he’d ever used the term fake news earlier in the interview.

  21. 21.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Corner Stone: I admit that I have a nostalgic fondness for the Filet-O-Fish sandwich; My mom used to buy them for me when I was little.

    But then, you know, I get halfway through them and regret buying it. :)

  22. 22.

    Corner Stone

    @schrodingers_cat: I have no way to independently confirm it. But from all the assorted sources and anecdotes I think one has to conclude he most likely really eats like shit on a daily basis.

    ETA, and whether it’s stress, stress-related eating or some other condition, there is no doubt the POS has put on a good 50 pounds over the last 6 to 10 months.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    Do they treat their doctors this way?
    “You have a cavity that needs filling.”
    “Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
    Helloooo, root canal.
    “Your prescription has changed, you need new lenses.”
    “Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
    Hellooo, headaches and fender benders.
    “You have areas on these xrays that concern me, I want to run blood tests and order an MRI.”
    “Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
    Hellooo, cemetery plot shopping.

  28. 28.

    Corner Stone

    @MisterForkbeard: I have to admit I used to really like McD’s fries. They were hot, greasy and salty. Perfect for a growing boy! But as all things, my taste buds (and probably their methods) have changed. The last time I gave in to a craving and had a QPwC, fries and an order of nuggets I ended up sacrificing it to the Porcelain Gods the next morning. So, haven’t done that again over the last year or more.

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    @ChrisS:
    They’ve never lived, period. One reason they’re hard to combat is the impossibility of really getting into those thick pates to understand how they think and reason.

  32. 32.

    Amir Khalid

    @Corner Stone:
    It amazes me that Trump prefers McDonalds to the point of demanding the same thing from the White House kitchen staff. Mickey D’s is below average even for fast food.

  33. 33.

    Thoughtful David

    So, despite how this plays among the Trumpanzees, every person of significance, and many of no significance, in the Netherlands has now seen this clip and knows that the ambassador is a fucking liar and totally full of shit, and they will treat him accordingly. Way to win one USA!

  36. 36.

    Feathers

    @trollhattan: I remember reading something a while back about ultra rich and ultra cranky people dying when they didn’t need to because they hired doctors who wouldn’t stand up to them and give bad news. This was long enough ago that I recall the Shah of Iran was one of these examples, but I imagine it still holds. Apparently Steve Jobs spent too long trying holistic cures to tragic results.

  38. 38.

    Betty Cracker

    @ChrisS: Someone here — Kay, I think — theorized that Trump is trying to re-create the 80s. Subconsciously or not, he longs to return to an era when he wasn’t quite as physically repulsive and universally despised. Sounds plausible to me. Waiting for those surfboard-sized shoulder pads in dresses to reappear any day now…

  41. 41.

    Steeplejack

    @Amir Khalid:

    Haven’t seen any evidence that he demands that at home. It’s whata he eats on the road. Fine dining at home is overcooked steak and ketchup.

  42. 42.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    Jesus Christ how embarrassing. All he had to do was admit that he didn’t recall saying that (it was 2 years ago).

  43. 43.

    Mike in NC

    Picture reveals that Fat Bastard drapes his four foot long necktie over his left shoulder to avoid spilling any of that yummy Secret Sauce from his greasy Big Mac all over it. Wishing him a cholesterol-heavy New Year.

  44. 44.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Steeplejack: True, but “one year” is typically the amount you put into any job to show that you weren’t wanking around and could have lasted if you wanted to. You’re reliable enough to get and keep the job, so it doesn’t look bad on your resume.

    I think there’s going to be a lot of staffers who leave after the 1-year mark for that reason. They’ll all just say they wanted to do their part but now they’re off to make their careers, but they’ll be fleeing said sinking ship.

  45. 45.

    SRW1

    Le sigh. Sometimes one misses the times when being embarrassed like Hoekstra in this video would have been grounds for a resignation. Maybe those days never existed.

  46. 46.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Corner Stone: Yeah. I do the same thing with fried fast food sometimes. I don’t throw it up, but I’ll be damned if I don’t feel totally disgusting an hour or two afterwards. Even the grease just *sits* on your tongue.

    My current hidden fast food craving is the Jack in the Box “2 for $1.29” tacos. They’re… well, they’re horrible for you. But seem oddly better than anything at Taco Bell and I don’t usually feel like I made more than a minor mistake after eating them. My wife feels the same way, oddly enough.

  50. 50.

    TenguPhule

    On a lighter note:

    Please, Disney, remove 2017 from canon

    Dear Walt Disney Co. (I assume the Walt Disney Co. owns this creative property, as it owns every other),

    I am a lifelong lover of America. I grew up in this fandom. I read the more than 260 associated books, listened to the John Philip Sousa score and eagerly awaited each year’s new installment of this thrilling saga.

    To me, and millions of other fans, America has long been a story about two things: a grand experiment in self-government and the conviction that, over time, we were becoming less racist.

    In 2016, after almost 250 years where we followed that great and heroic adventure, you decided to strike big chunks from that narrative. You took everyone we actually liked — Carrie Fisher, Prince — and introduced the character of President Trump. This was a bold and dramatic move, and we were worried but assumed you had a plan.

    2017 was a travesty. It completely destroyed the legacy of so many characters we’ve come to know and love. Please, Disney, strike it from the canon so we can start over.

    Hillary Clinton had been set up for years as the next obvious villain in the saga, with lots of nuances and a complex backstory, but the end of 2016 left her powerless and largely sidelined from the plot. Instead, she was replaced with a cartoon character, the basic details of whose story — tax returns? — we still don’t know. He announced his arrival in the capital by putting his name in big letters on a fancy old building and sending out Sean Spicer to insist that there had been a much larger crowd to greet him than there was.

    We’ve also backed ourselves into a corner with the Resistance plot line. People literally and with straight faces knitted and wore a pink garment called a “Pussy Hat.” What?

    So many other choices were just tone-deaf and wrong. I don’t want to think about George H. W. Bush grabbing women’s posteriors while he jokes about “David Cop-a-Feel.” And yet this was something that 2017 forced me to do. Was it really necessary that Harvey Weinstein not only prey on every woman in Hollywood for generations but also hire an entire army of spies? Matt Lauer being a creep we could have dealt with, but having a door-locking button on his desk just felt over the top. Was it necessary for literally every man I’ve ever looked up to to turn out to be problematic?

    Equally hard to believe was the president’s decision to fire FBI Director James B. Comey, and what seems to be building to an even more problematic decision to ignore the results of the Mueller probe. Neil M. Gorsuch should never have been appointed to the Supreme Court, and the unexpected choice to have Mitt Romney emerge as a voice of conscience is something I’m still not sure about.

    After a big introduction, Anthony Scaramucci was wasted on a story line that went nowhere. And don’t get me started on the other plots that have been introduced, then forgotten. Puerto Rico? In canon, it has been without power for months, and it’s unrealistic that we would just go about our business as if nothing were wrong.

    Also, white supremacist rallies felt very out of place in 2017, a year that is supposed to be after 1963.

    By the time Alabama nominated ex-judge Roy Moore as its candidate for the U.S. Senate, the man in the seat next to me groaned aloud and said, “What the hell is this?” He spoke for all of us. Did you really expect us to believe that the same Grand Old Party that gave us Lincoln and Eisenhower was willing to embrace Stephen K. Bannon’s preferred candidate (a character whose backstory made no sense!), a man with no regard for law, who praised the times of slavery and who had been credibly accused of preying on teenagers? I don’t know what was more unrealistic: that the outcome of this election was so close or that a Democrat won it.

    This doesn’t feel like the America I’m used to. I don’t like not knowing who is good, who is bad and who is beyond redemption, like an old coupon. I would prefer an America that, at its core, was still telling the same story.

    The music was good, though. I liked the music.

    I understand that there’s a certain artistic merit to this approach, and I don’t want to discount it at all. Maybe our heroes are the real villains. Maybe our mistake was having heroes at all.

    But still, I want those heroes back. Wipe 2017 from canon. Let’s start over and tell this story right.

    Sincerely,

    A Disappointed Fan

    P.S. Also, I did not like when Luke Skywalker drank that milk from the sea cow one bit.

  53. 53.

    Steeplejack

    @MisterForkbeard:

    I take your general point. I was specifically addressing the bit about “they’ll have gotten in the minimum time to take advantage of the tax situation.”

  54. 54.

    Yarrow

    @Corner Stone: McDonald’s used to fry their fries in some kind of animal fat like lard. Vegetarians got upset so they changed it to a vegetable oil. They’ve never been as good since.

  56. 56.

    TenguPhule

    @ChrisS:

    These people didn’t live through the 80s, did they?

    They’re convinced they know better and have a foolproof plan.

  61. 61.

    TenguPhule

    @MisterForkbeard:

    My current hidden fast food craving is the Jack in the Box “2 for $1.29” tacos. They’re… well, they’re horrible for you. But seem oddly better than anything at Taco Bell and I don’t usually feel like I made more than a minor mistake after eating them.

    Please seek help for your condition.

    That kind of self mutilation isn’t good for you.

  62. 62.

    kindness

    I’m waiting for the Netherlands to say they don’t accept lying assholes as Ambassadors and boot his lying ass from their country. What could Trump do really?

  64. 64.

    James E. Powell

    @ChrisS:

    If memory serves, right-wing assholes and war mongers did pretty well in the ’80s. After all, it’s never them that’s dying.

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Corner Stone: I weigh 275, give or take. And I’m shorter than the President. But I’m also in the gym four days a week on average. I need to lose about 20 to 30 lbs of fat, which I’m doing by removing all the refined carbohydrates, including refined sugars, and things like potatoes from my diet. The President does not exercise beyond swinging a golf club and he’s carrying at least 100 lbs of fat on his frame.

  67. 67.

    Corner Stone

    @Leto: My understanding is that they don’t allow you to join Hipster HQ unless you have both a porkpie and also a trilby.
    However, I am currently unaware of the middle intermission in the ongoing lost hat saga. I fully expect we will be enthralled by a further complication in retrieving the hat, which will set up the heartwarming Happy Holidays reveal and resolution.

  68. 68.

    Thoughtful David

    @Yarrow:
    Tillerson is an interesting case. I’m betting he stays on a while–maybe 6 months more. It’s about his ego. He doesn’t want to quit and be seen as someone who was in totally over his head. His logic is this: “I was head of Exxon. So if that c**t Hillary Clinton could do this job, and that p***y Kerry, then I can do it easily. And get my Russian oil money too!” Then he took the job and discovered he was totally out of his depth–not even fit to clean the toilets at Foggy Bottom–but he can’t admit it. So he’s going to try to hold on for a few months hoping it will turn around by some magic and he doesn’t have to leave humiliated.
    I’m guessing that won’t turn out w well though. For him or the country.

  72. 72.

    cmorenc

    I strongly doubt the Trump Administration has run out of rats willing to jump ON the ship to replace the ones jumping off before the ship’s bow begins visibly listing and going under from the leakage. But they will be scrawnier and sicker rats than the ones canny enough to jump before they drown with the sinking ship.

  73. 73.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack: @Amir Khalid: The White House chef did try to recreate the President’s favorite McDonald’s meals, but was unsuccessful. Apparently they don’t taste the same when you use quality ingredients.
    https://www.eater.com/2017/11/7/16618948/trump-mcdonalds-quarter-pounder-keith-schiller

    Trump Asked White House Kitchen Staff to Make McDonald’s Menu Items:
    The POTUS really likes his Quarter Pounder and fried apple pie
    by Tim Forster@timothyjforster Nov 7, 2017, 2:32pm EST

    Donald Trump’s penchant for well-done steak served with ketchup has been well- documented, but a profile of a former Trump bodyguard reveals that the president is also a yuge McDonald’s fan — to the point where he asked White House chefs to recreate a Quarter Pounder.

    This McNugget of information was tucked in a Politico piece on Keith Schiller, Trump’s former bodyguard who was “Director of Oval Office Operations” until September.

    For a piece that’s ostensibly meant to offer insight into Schiller’s confidante-esque relationship with Trump, Politico really ran with the McDonald’s theme. Not only do we learn that Trump’s preferred burger is a Quarter Pounder with cheese, we also find he enjoys it with the rather youthful preferences of extra ketchup and no pickles.

    It turns out that the White House kitchen was asked to replicate both the burger and an apple pie. Politico’s Annie Karni writes that staff attempts “couldn’t match the satisfaction” of the McDonald’s originals — perhaps because White House chefs work with higher-grade ingredients.

    Those failures mean that Schiller (who was a relatively senior White House figure) dispatched himself to a McDonald’s on New York Avenue and 13th Street NW to pick up a meal for Trump.

    The profile also shows that Schiller’s commitment as a fast-food courier dates back to at least the 2016 presidential campaign: He would also head to a McDonald’s near LaGuardia Airport to pick up Egg McMuffins in the breakfast hours, or “two Quarter Pounders and a large fries later in the day”.

    The Politico piece is hardly revelatory in terms of insight into Trump’s all-American diet, yet it does give interesting insight into White House operations. It’s a world where trained chefs attempt to replicate food often prepared by teens and readily available less than a five-minute walk away; where high-ranking officials (and not some lowly intern) are responsible for not only acquiring that meal, but also ensuring it’s pickle-free.

  77. 77.

    Corner Stone

    @cmorenc:

    I strongly doubt the Trump Administration has run out of rats willing to jump ON the ship to replace the ones jumping off

    There are many jokes to be made about how stupid and/or evil you have to be to work for this WH. But at this point in time who would seriously contemplate taking a job with the WH if you’re not already attached in some capacity?

  83. 83.

    NotMax

    As it’s an open thread (plus kind of food related) –

    That was then.

    This is now.

    Nestlé is breaking things off with chocolate: The Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and Crunch bar-maker says today that it’s done trying to sell candy bars to health-conscious American consumers. So, up for sale: the entire U.S. division of literally the first thing you associate with the world’s largest food company. Source

  85. 85.

    Betty Cracker

    @schrodingers_cat: Trump has always been repulsive inside and out, but his appearance has definitely not improved with age. Where some men pull off a distinguished look in maturity, Trump foolishly clings to his long-faded youth. IIRC, his hair looked stupid in the 80s too, but he didn’t have to engineer quite as complex a multidimensional comb-over to disguise his baldness.

  86. 86.

    Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)

    No, Trump’s plan to stay in Afghanistan is entirely consistent with his campaign promises. After all, he insisted you should never let your enemy know what your strategy is. So there you go! He said we should withdraw, but he actually meant we’ll stay forever. That’ll keep ’em on their toes.

    Those of you worried about North Korea can relax. Obviously, nuclear war is definitely NOT an option because he already stated it was!

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    @Adam L Silverman:

    The horror! Everything about that story is awful.

    I suspect failure came in attempting to crack the code for the secret sauce.

    . . . Oops!

    In 2012, McDonald’s admitted that “the special sauce ingredients were not really a secret” because the recipe had been available online “for years.” It consists of store-bought mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish and yellow mustard whisked together with vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.

  92. 92.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: If you say so. In my case it’s my standard training diet. My body/system does much, much better on protein, vegetables, and fruit without the refined stuff. I have a cheat meal once a week.

  93. 93.

    debbie

    @Betty Cracker:

    Oh, Trump’s always been a pig. Back in the 80s, though, he was the Bad Boy of Page 6. That’s all that mattered to him — and is no different than his neediness today for attention, devotion, and love. Have you heard the audio of the Cabinet meeting yesterday, where one by one, everyone told Trump just how special and wonderful he is? I just heard part of it and I’d swear they’d been transported to a bunker in Berlin way back when…

  94. 94.

    schrodingers_cat

    @Betty Cracker: Unlike say Bob Mueller who looks distinguished, and is not bald or fat.

    BTW did you see President Obama’s recent video where he brought toys for kids and was wearing a Santa hat?
    He looked years younger than his last few years in office. He does look good in his leather jacket. Unlike the ambulatory barrel.

  96. 96.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Steeplejack:
    My understanding is they’re replacing E Pluribus Unum and In G-d We Trust on everything with this:

    Everything about the story is awful.

  98. 98.

    Citizen Alan

    @cmorenc:

    Well that dumbass who didn’t know what a motion in limine was withdrew his name from consideration as a federal judge and is probably looking for work. I suppose they can make him the next secretary of state. It couldn’t be any worse.

  101. 101.

    Brachiator

    Good thing we didn’t elect that warmonger lady with extensive experience in international diplomacy! Le sigh.

    Yeah. I’m still waiting for some purity pony fool to explain to me exactly why they were so certain that Hillary Clinton would be a war hawk.

    Then again, these clowns live in a fake reality of their own making. They still want to insist that we would have some version of the current shit show under Clinton. Dopes.

  102. 102.

    Mike in NC

    Two quarter pounders with cheese and a large order of fries? That’s easily 1000 calories at a minimum. Disgusting.

  103. 103.

    germy

    @Brachiator:

    Yeah. I’m still waiting for some purity pony fool to explain to me exactly why they were so certain that Hillary Clinton would be a war hawk.

    Jill Stein was on Tucker Carlson’s show last night.

  104. 104.

    NotMax

    Repeated from mention in a thread earlier this week about the Pence trip, this part:

    The trip followed an abrupt announcement from White House that Pence would postpone until mid-January a planned visit to the Middle East, including stops in Egypt and Israel. The vice president had been scheduled to depart for the Middle East on Tuesday night. Source

  106. 106.

    Miss Bianca

    @Corner Stone: McDonald’s used to fry their fries in pork fat, Then with all the screeching about “AAAGGH animal fats BAD” that became current some years back, they switched to vegetable oil. Pork fat gives you a light, crunchy melt-in-your-mouth taste. Vegetable oil makes stuff soggy and greasy.

  109. 109.

    debbie

    @Humboldtblue:

    I lasted about 10 seconds on that video, but I noticed the cheese was on the bottom half of the bun and beneath the fish fillet. Wasn’t this the subject of outrage over the cheeseburger emoji just a month or so ago?

  111. 111.

    Brachiator

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:

    Hey Mickey D’s is alright as a guilty pleasure. Their sausage egg n’ muffin sandwich is delicious.

    Fast food places, and some casual restaurants, are focusing on breakfast as a way to fight for diners. Maybe as a result, a lot of offerings are pretty good.

    I agree with you that a muffin sandwich now and then will not bring on the end of the world.

    And the other day, I had a Jack in the Box breakfast platter with Jimmy Dean sausage that was pretty good.

  113. 113.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Brachiator:
    They don’t understand the nature of the office. Of any powerful executive office. When you’re the President you make tough decisions based on the information on hand. I don’t always agree on certain presidential actions but I always believed Obama (hell even Bush) was trying to do what he felt was best and right.

    I’ve never thought the same about Trump. The man has never in his life shown concern for anyone but himself and clearly doesn’t give one shit about national security. I don’t give him the same benefit of the doubt. If any President is truly guilty for the people he’s had murdered, it’s him, because of extreme willful ignorance callous disregard for others.

  114. 114.

    KithKanan

    @TenguPhule: Yes. It was beef tallow back in the day. I haven’t been able to stand their fries since the early 90s, though I haven’t tried them in nearly that long so it’s possible they’ve come up with better imitation tallow flavor by now. The stuff they switched to then had a very “chemical” flavor to me.

  119. 119.

    Cacti

    @germy:

    Jill Stein was on Tucker Carlson’s show last night.

    I noticed our resident friend of Stein didn’t have anything to say about that.

  123. 123.

    NotMax

    @TenguPhule

    Beef tallow (rendered fat plus possibly other things).

    In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain technical criteria, including its melting point. It is common for commercial tallow to contain fat derived from other animals, such as lard from pigs, or even from plant sources.

  127. 127.

    raven

    TALLOW: THE TRADITIONAL COOKING OIL FOR FRENCH FRIES

    Tallow is also the fat traditionally used for French fries. And many say it is the beef tallow that makes the fries much more flavorful. Did you know McDonald’s made their French fries with beef tallow until 1983?

    The taste of a french fry is largely determined by the cooking oil. For decades McDonald’s cooked its french fries in a mixture of about seven percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow. The mixture gave the fries their unique flavor — and more saturated beef fat per ounce than a McDonald’s hamburger. Source: Eric Schlosser in The Atlantic.

    Actually, in France, they used beef tallow and horse tallow — but it may not be so easy to find horse tallow these days so we’ll stick with beef tallow.

  128. 128.

    Miss Bianca

    @TenguPhule: Might have been beef fat, actually, I was thinking pork fat because I had some cheese curds fried in pork fat not too long ago.

    Suddenly craving deep-fried cheese curds…

  134. 134.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: It works for some people. For others not so much.

    In my case I’m almost allergic to refined sugar and refined carbohydrates. Even though that should technically be impossible. My body just functions much, much better on just beef, poultry, fish, shellfish and pork (if I’m being religiously bad), nuts, vegetables minus potatoes (sweet potatoes and yams are okay), and fruits. Real oatmeal is fine.

  135. 135.

    raven

    Pig fat[edit]
    This rumor is that McDonald’s uses pig fat in its milkshakes, ice cream, and fried potatoes. McDonald’s provides complete ingredient lists for all of its products on each of its regional websites: this includes unidentified fats within the ice cream used to make soft serve cones and sundaes.[8][9] McDonald’s Australia, however, specifically mentions that “there is definitely no lard or pig fat in the McDonald’s Soft Serve.”[10] This rumor should not be confused with the fact that McDonald’s has in the past used beef tallow as its frying oil.[11]

  137. 137.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Brachiator:
    That would explain why Taco Bell tried out breakfast.

    Dunkin Donuts has the best sausage egg sandwich on a cresaunt (SP?) roll.

  139. 139.

    Adam L Silverman

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: The one a little farther away has the Happy Meals with the toys that Jared likes. And the sliced apples that Ivanka makes him eat instead of the fries. The closer one doesn’t have the good toys…

  140. 140.

    TenguPhule

    @raven:

    Spuds in duck fat are awesome.

    This is true.

    A little garlic, a little parsley, maybe a dab of truffle oil at the end…..

  142. 142.

    Sab

    @efgoldman: No way Dems could take that seat. Pete Hoekstra is the embodiment of his district. I am normally pretty much pro immigration, but did we have to let Hoekstra in? I know he was a baby at the time, but still.

  145. 145.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: I let my diet slip over the past two years. That’s pretty much it. The last 10 lbs or so are the result of being out of the gym for three weeks right before Thanksgiving with a sinus infection. Since getting back in and cleaning my diet back up, it is starting to come off. I really don’t go by weight. I go by how my clothes fit. Of course the place I want it off the most is the place it will take the longest to come off.

  149. 149.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Sab: The bigger question is how many of his relatives came in as a result? We must end the chained migration of the Hoekstra family or we’ll be overrun by short, balding boorish pasty white guys!

  152. 152.

    burnspbesq

    @MisterForkbeard:

    Jack in the Box tacos have been foul since at least the 1970s. Decent quality Mexican-inspired fast food is not impossible, however. Try Del Taco some time.

  154. 154.

    Adam L Silverman

    @raven: Not that part, sorry. I meant there are some folks that don’t do well on a high protein controlled carbohydrate (fruits, veggies, oatmeal, limited amounts of rice) diet. So in general yes, cutting the refined crap out of your diet will be beneficial. But once you do that the question becomes how do you structure a diet that works best for you.

  160. 160.

    Kirk

    @TenguPhule: So, one of my regular meals now centers on a partial rack of lamb ribs in a slow cooker. Its placed fat side up over a bed of small peeled potatoes, and we add about a quarter inch of water to it before closing, setting on low, and walking away for several hours.

    There is a lot of fat, and it renders well.

  163. 163.

    joel hanes

    @Yarrow: @Yarrow:

    When the McDonald’s first opened in my small Iowa town, for the first few years they proudly advertised that their fries were cooked “in 100% beef tallow”.

    That really does make for outstanding-tasting fries.

    If you have a deep fryer, and ask the butcher for beef suet, and render it down, and fry some potatoes in it, you’ll recapture that taste.

  165. 165.

    burnspbesq

    @NotMax:

    There is a small chain of quick-serve Mex places here that makes an awesome blackened calamari taco.

    Taco Mesa. Costa Mesa, Orange, Irvine, Mission Viejo, and Ladera Ranch.

  167. 167.

    Corner Stone

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:

    I was lard, my gf in grad school couldn’t eat their fries due to the piggie.

    Ah, don’t be so tough on yourself. If the gf didn’t want to eat their fries I am sure it had nothing to do with you or your BMI.

  173. 173.

    TenguPhule

    @Kirk: Ribs or shanks? Because the rack isn’t really meant for a slow cooker.

    Now shanks, those you need to cook long and slow, but its utterly worth it.

  174. 174.

    burnspbesq

    Per Rob Smyth, live-blogging for the Guardian:

    This has, so far, been Arsenal’s meekest home performance in a long time. It’s hard to fathom.

  175. 175.

    Raoul

    I can’t say whether what Hoekstra is doing there is fully intentional, or if he is mainly a moron in way over his head. But the net effect is along these lines: The Trump (and Bannon-initiated) effort to unmoor US from western Europe is continuing at full speed. Witness Britain, France, Germany and so many other ally nations in the UN vote this week on Jerusalem.

    Earlier, the outrageous video tweets that enraged our ‘special relationship’ friends in the UK. Much more has and will be done, out of a mix of hubris, disregard for alliances, and quite possibly for deeper, more dangerous reasons.

    This is Putin’s DREAM. To slice off Europe from America. NATO is one of his deepest thorns, and Vlad wants it gone. This admin is doing its damndest to at least weaken our cross-ocean bonds. Maybe sunder them fully. It is insane, stupid, reckless, and the fact that people like Miss Lindsey in the Senate are on board shows how destroyed the Nat Sec wing of the GOP is.

  177. 177.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    Planning on trying for the first time a recipe for slow cooker leg of lamb for Xmas din-din.

    Have you tried making the leg into Kebabs? Its Really good, especially if you marinate it in a garlic, rosemary, olive oil mix first.

  178. 178.

    TenguPhule

    @Raoul:

    I can’t say whether what Hoekstra is doing there is fully intentional, or if he is mainly a moron in way over his head.

    Why not both?

  179. 179.

    burnspbesq

    @Raoul:

    As if that weren’t bad enough, the EU is probably going to challenge the centerpieces of the international provisions of the new tax law as violating WTO rules, and they are likely to win. Trump will lose his shit, and we’ll find ourselves in a trade war.

  186. 186.

    Kirk

    @TenguPhule: rack. Partial rack. I section them into about thirds.

    And I know they’re not supposed to work in the slow cooker but they do. Caveat, they have to fit. I section, and we use an oval crock. Plenty for two.

  187. 187.

    NotMax

    @TenguPhule

    Kebabs are way more effort than am willing to invest when cooking for one.

    ;)

    Especially curious about the recipe which will be trying out as it is supposed to end up fork-shreddable, much like kalua pork.

  188. 188.

    TenguPhule

    @NotMax:

    Kebabs are way more effort than am willing to invest when cooking for one.

    They’re worth the effort. Intense flavor, bite size pieces.

    Especially curious about the recipe which will be trying out as it is supposed to end up fork-shreddable, much like kalua pork.

    I like my leg of lamb like beef, rare and red in the middle.

    From the description the shank sounds like a better cut of meat to use if you want to cook it all the way through like that.

  189. 189.

    TenguPhule

    @debbie: We got a Chefzone, which is like a local Costco that only specializes in food and cooking wares. They’re the go-to place for the more interesting cuts these days.

  195. 195.

    tychay

    @Yarrow: where do you get this bs?

    First, the French fries were switched from lard to vegetable oil in the 89s because a low fat craze, not vegetarianism.

    Second, The fries aren’t vegetarian because the “natural flavorings” necessary to preserve the taste are distilled from animal product in the US. (in India, they use “artificial flavorings”
    That are chemically the same.

    Third. mcDonalds still uses lard in countries like Canada that never went through the health food craze.

    Fourth, I challenge you to find one piece of evidence pointing to their fries as tasting worse after the switch. In fact if it was worse, McDonalds would have switched back a long time ago. It tastes the same, or perhaps better as they have tweaked the flavoring and cooking composition.

    Not saying there aren’t problems with McDonalds, it’s just try to keep your complaints factually correct ?

  199. 199.

    Aleta

    Pence told the leaders he hoped his presence there was tangible evidence that the United States was “here to see this through.”

    ha ha ha sure Pence. Your presence is a violation clothed in lies.

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