Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No one could have predicted…

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Within six months Twitter will be fully self-driving.

This blog will pay for itself.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

Republicans don’t trust women.

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

Let’s finish the job.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment Inquiry / Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: I Learn Something New Every Day

Trump Crime Cartel Open Thread: I Learn Something New Every Day

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Never even heard of the Teremok chain, and now I wanna visit one…

Elsewhere, per the Hill:

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani remarked Saturday that he has “insurance” if the president tries to turn on him while defending their relationship amid the ongoing House impeachment inquiry.

Giuliani in a wide-ranging interview on Fox News declined to say if he has spoken with Trump in recent days, saying, “You can assume that I talk to him early and often.”

He then touted what he called a “very, very good relationship” with Trump before knocking unspecified comments about him in the press, calling them “totally insulting.”

“I’ve seen things written like he’s going to throw me under the bus. When they say that, I say he isn’t, but I have insurance,” Giuliani told Fox News’s Ed Henry…

Trump on Friday defended his use of Giuliani despite scrutiny over his actions in Ukraine, calling the former New York City mayor “an iconic figure in this country” and “the greatest crime fighter probably in the last 50 years” based on his time as a federal prosecutor.

“He’s also a friend of mine. He’s a great person,” Trump added during an interview Friday on “Fox & Friends,” portraying the lawyer as focused on tackling corruption.

Pitch for the kind of “reality tv show” Trump so loves: Two former goodfellas share a cell! Wacky antics and non-stop backbiting! Which one will snap first?

Reader Interactions

208Comments

  2. 2.

    mrmoshpotato

    that will devastate the Democrat Party.

    Oh Rudy…

    Over/under on how long until Rudes sits on his own balls?

  5. 5.

    Baud

    I’m also going to bring out a massive pay-for-play scheme under the Obama Administration that will devastate the Democrat Party.

    I thought I had buried that. Oops.

  8. 8.

    Humdog

    Rudy Colludy riled up the NY FBI against the Democratic candidate in 2016 and is now trying to get the press and Ukraine to do a hit job on the candidate Shitstain feared the most rolling into 2020.

    He became a facsimile of both Roy Cohn and Roger Stone. A federal prosecutor and “America’s Mayor” sinks so low to save a crap party. Flush him like the turd he is.

  9. 9.

    Keith P

    @Humdog:

    What really gets me is how he is doing so much of this under this umbrella of “an attorney defending his client”, where he expects to get all kinds of these crazy benefits, like absolute client-attorney privilege *and* executive privilege, in addition to what is essentially flying to unstable democracies in attempts to get them to manufacture evidence against domestic political opponents (and you can damn sure bet Trump would extradite Biden to Ukraine in a hearbeat)

  11. 11.

    Barbara

    I made rye bread for the first time ever and it was outstanding, if I say so myself.  I learned that rye grain needs acid in the dough in order for the bread not to become too gummy.  The acid in my recipe came from using hard cider as the only liquid.  I am trying Indian style chicken and potatoes tonight, and just generally trying to stay away from wondering why it is that evil people seem to have such longevity.

  12. 12.

    germy

    @Barbara: generally trying to stay away from wondering why it is that evil people seem to have such longevity.

    On the sands of time
    You are only a pebble,
    Don’t forget that!
    But remember, trouble must be treated
    Just like a rebel;
    Then send him to the Devil!

    – George & Ira Gerswhin

  13. 13.

    Darrin Ziliak (formerly glocksman)

    Tommy calls it like it is again.

    Trump’s 53 minute @foxandfriends interview is truly batshit crazy. I did enjoy when he (again) calls John Durham Bull Durham, and when he tries to argue that there’s no way David Holmes could overhear his call with Gordon Sondland as he’s currently SCREAMING into the phone.
    — Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) November 23, 2019

  16. 16.

    hells littlest angel

    It is rather pathetic that the closest thing Trump has to a friend is Rudy Giuliani.

  17. 17.

    Jeffro

    IC leaking the CI stuff, love it.

     

    The public has basically already been told that the president*, his lawyer, the SoS, the acting chief of staff, the secretary of energy, and the ranking member of the House intelligence committee are in the tank for Russia…

     

    …PICK UP THAT BALL AND RUN EITH IT, DEM CANDIDATES!

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    @Barbara: I have been wanting to find a good recipe for rye bread ever since our bakery that made the best rye bread ever went out of business.

  19. 19.

    MattF

    The big question, IMO, is whether Trump will demand that Rudy be his lead defender in the Senate trial. Obviously, it would be a crazy thing to do…

  20. 20.

    debbie

    On the other hand, there’s crap like this.

    I watch a local PBS reporters’ roundtable (“On the Record”). They strive to be even-handed, so they include what they refer to as a “Democratic operative” and a “Republican operative.” All show long, the “Republican operative” strove to be neutral about Trump and impeachment, and then at the end, in a segment they call “Parting Shots,” he announced he had good news: Hunter Biden is a father. At about :23 into the clip, he congratulated Joe Biden on having another grandchild.

    I couldn’t find anything heavy enough to hurl at that asshole’s ugly puss.

  22. 22.

    Sebastian

    Shorter Rudes:

    “WE TOTES DIDN’T DO ALL THE CRIMES BUT IF HE RATS ON ME I HAVE ALL THE RECEIPTS!!”

  23. 23.

    gene108

    I am sad that all this Trump-Pompeo-Mulvaney-Nunes-Sondland-etc. corruption won’t spill over onto every Republican.

     

    I want Republican to be synonymous with corruption.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: As I think it through, I guess I was asking two things. 1) is accidentally sitting on your own balls is a thing that can actually happen (ouch), and 2) whether so-and-so sitting on his own balls is an expression that is used as a way to refer to someone as an idiot.  The answers seem to be YES and YES.

     

    I still don’t regret laughing out loud when you said that about Rudy.

  26. 26.

    mrmoshpotato

    @gene108:

    I want Republican to be synonymous with corruption.

    To some of us, they are.

    “Oh, you’re a member of that ratfucking, Russian party!”

  29. 29.

    Kraux Pas

    I think the thing that really surprises me the most about this whole Ukraine scandal and impeachment is realizing just how many elected Republicans appear to truly believe this wild conspiracy bullshit.

  33. 33.

    Bnad

    There was a teremok a block away from my work in nyc for about a year from 2017 to 2018. Local workers but the manager looked Russian. Gut bomb ham & cheese blinis. Went out of business but was a regular lunch stop when I felt like that kind of thing.

  34. 34.

    Barbara

    @WaterGirl: I bought a cookbook written by the man who maintains a shop called nybakers.com, and he also has a blog where he posts various recipes.  I get kind of intimidated by the varieties of rye flour, but I used medium organic Arrowmill for one of his recipes and whether or not it might have been better with darker flour, it is awfully good as is.  Actually, it is pain au cidre and I found the book and the recipe in a newspaper through a random search.  The book is called The Rye Baker.

  35. 35.

    Martin

    @mrmoshpotato: To elaborate. Its one of those things you learn to not do because it fucking hurts, and at least in my case would always happen in the most public places causing me to wince and cry a little and then sit funny for a while longer yet. And it’s embarrassing to say that you’re moving funny because your leg fell asleep or something, but you can’t really in polite company declare that you just sat on your junk and then have to explain to half the room how that could possibly happen, and how you could be so stupid as to sit on one of your own body parts.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @dmsilev: It looks interesting, but I am not  fan of sourdough. :-( Do you have a rye recipe that isn’t the rye equivalent of sourdough?

     

    I am not surprised to see that you would make a complicated bread – you are the person who makes an amazing chocolate cake twice a year, correct t? Once for practice and the other for the real thing?

  39. 39.

    Barbara

    @WaterGirl: The recipe I made has no sourdough starter.  There are several others in his book as well.  If you don’t use sour starter, you need something else with acid, like buttermilk or hard cider.

  45. 45.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: I bake bread as well (I have two loaves of sourdough in the fridge now, set for baking tomorrow morning).

    The annual cakeapalooza is actually a bit more involved. I usually pick out three recipes, make test cakes (spread out over several weeks time), and use feedback from coworkers to pick the year’s winner, which then gets to be one of the desserts at Thanksgiving.

    This year, the winner is Lisbon Chocolate Cake.

  47. 47.

    WaterGirl

    @dmsilev: That’s right!  I knew you did test cakes, but I did not recall that you try 3 different ones.  I couldn’t really see much about the recipe you sent without signing up, but it looks handsome!

  48. 48.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    I sometimes think that our bodies are ridiculous creations by someone with a sense of humor.

    Question for the general writ-large Jackaltariat: If you had the chance to redesign the human body, what one thing would you add/change/eliminate?

     

    I’ll start. I would provide a curved hook in each shoulder so handled bags wouldn’t slide down. I’d make them retractable (like cats’ claws) so they wouldn’t be a nuisance when not in use but would be available at a second’s notice when needed. And I’d make them of keratin and have an entire side business in painting, decorating, and blinging them up for special occasions.

    Your modifications to the standard Earth Suit?

  49. 49.

    dmsilev

    @WaterGirl: It was quite tasty, and not too time consuming to make (which is sort of necessary given how much other stuff needs to get done to prep for the meal).

  51. 51.

    randy khan

    It seems to me that if Rudy had information that would devastate the Democratic Party, he’d have released it by now.

  52. 52.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    Take a gander here for a New York style (non-sour) rye. (Using honey instead of something one may not have on hand such as malt works just dandy.)

    For a subtle hint of acidity/sourness, if desired, strangely enough root beer works in place of some or even all of the water.

    My absolute favorite loaf to make in the super duper bread machine is a corn rye. Mixture of white bread flour, dark rye flour and cornmeal.

  54. 54.

    FelonyGovt

    @SiubhanDuinne: I would make some changes to the whole pregnancy- childbirth  setup to make it less ridiculous and less painful. Maybe a rectractable or removable tote bag type thing.

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    @MaayanSchechter 4m4 minutes ago

    More

    Audience erupts in cheers after @KamalaHarris officially files her paperwork with the @scdp to be on South Carolina’s Feb. 29 Democratic presidential primary ballot. #SC2020

     

    https://twitter.com/MaayanSchechter/status/1198384435818663936

    BTW, if you didn’t know, Higher Heights for America PAC is

    Higher Heights for America PAC is the only political action committee exclusively dedicated to electing more progressive Black women at the federal and statewide levels and as mayors in the 100 most populated U.S. cities

    With I believe 90,000 members if I recall correctly

  60. 60.

    Butter Emails

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    No appendix, improved spine, marsupial package – possibly for male of species like a seahorse, brain redesign to make it easier for cerebrum to override emotion, enhanced honesty and bullshit detection.

  61. 61.

    Suzanne

    So I occasionally read Rod Dreher’s blog at TAC, because I really want to understand how his kind of people think and feel. Dude. I am a mom of a trans kid, and I can tell you that I don’t spend even one tenth as much time thinking about transgender people as SoCons. It’s an obsession.

     

    It’s so weird.

    I’m sure that absolutely none of it has anything to do with projection.

  63. 63.

    Kraux Pas

    @randy khan:

     

    It seems to me that if Rudy had information that would devastate the Democratic Party, he’d have released it by now.

    Obviously Rudy is scrupulously making sure he has all his facts correct, stated clearly and concisely.

  64. 64.

    Butter Emails

    @randy khan:

    It seems to me that if Rudy had information that would devastate the Democratic Party, he’d have released it by now.

    The information is likely BS from disreputable sources, therefore only effective if released without enough time for it to be debunked.

  67. 67.

    trnc

    “I’ve seen things written like he’s going to throw me under the bus. When they say that, I say he isn’t, but I have insurance,” Giuliani told Fox News’s Ed Henry…

    Ummmm … isn’t it going to be kind of hard to convince a judge that whatever information Half Ass Nosferatu is referring to here would be protected by attorney-client privilege?

  70. 70.

    SWMBO

    @SiubhanDuinne: No different skin tones.  Fingernails/toenails that don’t bend backwards.  Bones that don’t get osteoporosis.  Immune systems that fight bacteria and viruses without vaccines and without permanent side effects.  Kinder hearts.

  71. 71.

    lamh36

    BTW is u didn’t know… Higher Heights is a P.A.C.

     

    Higher Heights for America PAC is the only political action committee exclusively dedicated to electing more progressive Black women at the federal and statewide levels and as mayors in the 100 most populated U.S. cities.

    With I want to say a 90,000 membership? They endorsed Kamala Harris and are prepared to GOTV for her in some of the biggest populated states where the number of Black voters, esp women can make a big diffrence

    It was announced round the same time as Warren’s, 100 African American “women of social media” influencers endorsement so some may have missed it. But I’d take 90,000 on the growth proven GOTV group vs 100 online “influencers” any day

  72. 72.

    Mary G

    @Suzanne: I used to hate-read Dreher once in a while – I like Daniel Larison there on foreign policy – but since Rod read Dante and became a full-on Trumpkin, I had to stop. He’s always been a cultural Chicken Little, but he’s out of control now.

  73. 73.

    BobS

    SNL could do the prison scene from Goodfellas, with Pompeo doing the garlic, and Rudy cooking the sauce. They could also have DeNiro reprise his role (even though Jimmy was in a different prison).

  75. 75.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Suzanne:

    I can tell you that I don’t spend even one tenth as much time thinking about transgender people as SoCons. It’s an obsession.

    There’s a reason trans (women) stuff is one of the largest genres in pr0n.

    FWIW, speaking from personal experience,  many of the trans chasers* are conservatives.

     

    *As opposed to the trans-amorous men who are just as eager to be with in the streets, as opposed to just the sheets/

  77. 77.

    Aleta

    (Giuliani) touted what he called a “very, very good relationship” with Trump before knocking unspecified comments about him in the press, calling them “totally insulting.”

    “I’ve seen things written like he’s going to throw me under the bus. When they say that, I say he isn’t, but I have insurance,” Giuliani told Fox News’s Ed Henry…

    …

    Trump on Friday defended his use of Giuliani ….

    “He’s also a friend of mine. He’s a great person,” Trump added during an interview Friday on “Fox & Friends,” portraying the lawyer as focused on tackling corruption.

    It’s a strange  thing about humans in general, as well as so mystifying to observe now about the ones who associate with duplicitous puddles like  T or G.   No matter how many people T or G have cheated, harmed, stolen from and betrayed in the past, there are always others  who think it  won’t happen to them.

     

    Now here are the two of them, each somewhat believing, or else making a show of believing,  that the other one will not throw them under the bus.  Each seems to believe he is too smart or well-protected for that to happen.  Sign of a pigeon.   (I wonder how much G. has stolen and extorted from  T. and associates so far.)

     

    It also brings to mind the stupidity of voters  in 2016 who said Trump would not do much damage because he could be contained.

     

    “He won’t deceive us the way HRC would;  we’re too smart and protected for that to happen.”  Sure chump.

  78. 78.

    Zinsky

    I was delighted to see that Michael Horowitz’s bizarre investigation of the origins of the Mueller/Russia inquiry is another giant Nothingburger!  Apparently they found one document that appeared to have been altered.  One. Document.  Pathetic.  Maybe there was a typo and they needed to white it out.  That’s it!  Trump was saying the other day in one of his helicopter shouting sessions that this could be “the greatest scandal in American history.   What a loser….

  79. 79.

    jl

    Re tweet at the bottom of the post: ‘Soviet’ associates? Does that refer to Giulilani’s thug associates’ pedigree all the way back to Soviet days, or another ‘news’ outlet that doesn’t know the difference between the Soviet Union (which hasn’t existed for a while) and contemporary Russia? Asking for a friend.

  80. 80.

    Suzanne

    @Mary G: He had a long lament this week about Chick-Fil-A and their supposed capitulation to the fallen urban leftist culture or whatever, and he was incredibly explicit that he believes that Christians have to get used to having no social capital. Even though I obviously think he’s completely full of shit—white Protestant dudes seem to be doing well, in the main—it was interesting to see that none of their anxiety is really about laws or policies. It’s all about realizing that they used to have privilege (and they still do, of course)…. but they aren’t elevated anymore. And that just freaks them out so unbelievably hard. I always want to point out that Jesus himself was comfortable not having social capital. It’s amazing how much those people are wrapped up in the idea of having others look at them aspirationally.

     

    i would have some degree of sympathy for them if they hadn’t torn down the policies that would protect them now. Right-wing Christians worried about being fired from their jobs? Well, if Right-wing Christians hadn’t thrown their weight behind dismantling labor protections, I might feel badly. But they did, so I don’t.

     

    It’s just that—SHOCKER—what looks “fair” is different when you’re not an empowered majority.

  81. 81.

    RSA

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Question for the general writ-large Jackaltariat: If you had the chance to redesign the human body, what one thing would you add/change/eliminate?

    Given all the difficulties associated with falling, once one reaches middle age (breaking a hip can be a death sentence for the elderly), I’d adjust height (bone strength, too, but you said one thing). Notice how toddlers fall down all the time, with not much damage?  Adult human height—about 3 feet.

  86. 86.

    chris

    Huh. Rudy has written a letter to Lindsey Graham. The man needs his head candled I think. Read it here. Warning, link goes to Rudy’s twitter but I doubt he’s contagious.

  87. 87.

    Suzanne

    @Sister Golden Bear: It’s so weird to me. The commenters on that blog keep referencing “Drag Queen Story Hour”, which was apparently an event at a public library children’s section somewhere. I had literally never heard of this…. except from these people. Even if one thought this was a bad thing for some reason, the amount of freakout strikes me as…. disproportionate.

  88. 88.

    jl

    @Suzanne:  Isn’t this the doofus who wanted ‘traditional’ protestant Christians to withdraw from society in order to… I don’t know exactly what. To preserve the precious spiritual essence or something.  They were going to live in homogeneous communes and live the crunchy con life where everyone has the same idiosyncratic mix of cultural conservatism and environmental awareness as he does.

     

    Has he changed his mind on that? If not, what does he care about cultural hegemony. He apparently decided against that long ago. But, if he’s gone Trumper, then his environmental awareness as disposed of, or he was always a fraud on that. And if he’s gone Trumpster, no worth spending a second on his scribbling.

  89. 89.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @SiubhanDuinne: four hands so I can knit and type (or knit and give back rubs) at the same time.  Marsupial-type birth and better immune system as said by someone else above.  Infrared and UV vision (because it would be cool to have vision like a bee or a snake).  Immune system that doesn’t attack friendly/non dangerous substances (so no more allergies). Self-repair for nerve tissue, rods/cones, hair cells in cochleae.  Ability to grow back teeth and amputated body parts.

  90. 90.

    Aleta

    @WaterGirl:  I don’t subscribe but happen to have the recipe:

    It’s a dense-but-not-heavy, brownielike cake topped with a whipped chocolate ganache (think: mousse) and a substantial dusting of cocoa.

    Lisbon Chocolate Cake, Dorie Greenspan

     

    • YIELD
      One 9-inch cake (about 10 servings)
    • TIME
      About 1 hour, plus cooling

    INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE:

    • ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
    • ⅓ cup/30 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
    • 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
    • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 5 ounces/140 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
    • ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
    • 3 large eggs, chilled

    INGREDIENTS FOR THE GANACHE:

    • 1 ¾ cups/420 milliliters heavy cream
    • 6 ounces/170 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

    INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOPPING:

    • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    • Nutritional Information
      • Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
        452 calories; 36 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 28 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 138 milligrams cholesterol; 110 milligrams sodium
      • Note: The information shown is an estimate based on available ingredients and preparation, not  a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    PREPARATION

    1. Make the cake: Center a rack in the oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan, line with parchment paper and butter the paper.
    2. Sift together the cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend.
    3. Put the 1/2 cup butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Scatter the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate on top, and heat, stirring often, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. Remove the bowl from the pan, and stir in the sugar. One by one, energetically stir in the eggs, beating for 1 minute after the last egg is added. The mixture will look like pudding. Stir in the dry ingredients. Scrape the mixture into the cake pan, and give the pan a couple of good raps against the counter to settle the batter.
    4. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (or with only a tiny streak of chocolate). Transfer to a rack, cool for 5 minutes, then unmold the cake. Peel off the paper, invert the cake and cool to room temperature. Wash and dry the cake pan.
    5. Make the ganache: Pour 1 1/4 cups cream into a small saucepan; refrigerate the rest. Scald the cream over medium heat, turn off the heat and stir in the semisweet or bittersweet chocolate until fully incorporated. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Refrigerate the ganache for 10 minutes, whisk it, then refrigerate again for 10 minutes. Repeat chilling and whisking steps until the ganache is thick enough to make tracks when you stir, 50 to 60 minutes.
    6. Cut two 3-by-16-inch pieces of parchment or foil, and crisscross them in the cake pan. Carefully return the cake to the pan. (The mousse layer is too soft to stand on its own until it’s chilled. It needs the support of the pan sides.)
    7. Whip the remaining 1/2 cup cream until it holds medium peaks.
    8. Using a whisk, gently beat the ganache until it’s soft and spreadable. With a spatula, fold in the whipped cream. Spread over the cake, and refrigerate for 2 hours (or cover and keep for up to 2 days). The cake is best served cool or at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving.
    9. To finish, put the cocoa powder in a fine-mesh strainer, and shake it over the top of the cake. Run a table knife along the sides of the pan. Using the parchment or foil handles, carefully lift the cake out of the pan and onto a serving plate. Discard the strips. Cut the cake using a long knife that has been run under hot water and wiped dry between each cut.
  91. 91.

    jl

    @Suzanne: it seems to me that the only Christians who have more social capital recently are the reactionary Endtimes Evangelical fundamentalists.

     

    Traditional mainline Christians, more liberal Baptists, black Baptists, Pentecostals of all descriptions and racists, moderate and liberal Catholics, have all the social capital they the deem necessary. The only social capital that is being lost is the ability to force everyone to live  according to the beliefs of a very particular reactionary segment of the Christian community, and thereby lay harsh judgment on them and in general make their lives miserable. So, that is the social capital Dreher feels his bunch is losing?

  94. 94.

    jeffreyw

    @WaterGirl: ah, sorry – I’ve been happy with a light machine rye that’s been foolproof.  I quite like a pumpernickel with dill dip but I can’t make that anymore because I always eat an entire pint of dip before I can stop myself.

  96. 96.

    Seanly

    RBG in the hospital again. I hope she can hold out for another 15 months. If she passes or resigns even a day before a new president is sworn in, McConnell will happily install another Opus Dei rape aficionado.

  99. 99.

    dmsilev

    @Aleta: Thanks for pasting it in (a real PITA on an iPad, so I didn’t want to try). Two comments for anyone thinking of making it:

    1. Step 6, where you make a sling out of parchment paper and lower the cake back into the pan, is really silly. Just use a springform pan and tighten the rim back around the cake to serve as a mold for the ganache.
    2. My test panel thought that there was too much cocoa powder on the top, to the point of making it a bit dusty. I’d suggest half or thereabouts of the listed amount.
  102. 102.

    tobie

    I just came across this tweet which is worrisome. The notorious RBG missed a hearing this month. Glad she’ll be released Sunday but still…every reasonable person in this country is depending on her right now.

    NEW: Justice Ginsburg was hospitalized Friday night with fever, chills. Symptoms have abated and she may be released as early as Sunday, Supreme Court says. pic.twitter.com/O8se57jxF5
    — Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) November 23, 2019

  103. 103.

    Doug R

    @Humdog:

    Rudy Colludy riled up the NY FBI against the Democratic candidate in 2016 and is now trying to get the press and Ukraine to do a hit job on the candidate Shitstain feared the most rolling into 2020.

    The NYFBI office endlessly investigating a former Senator that served her constituents well and was a awesome Secretary of State vs the crooked mobbed up real estate promoter who had already pled guilty to countless scams.

  104. 104.

    Suzanne

    @jl: That’s him. He calls in “The Benedict Option”, wrote a book by that title, and repeatedly says that Christians are going to have to retreat into isolated communities because of persecution.

     

    I really think that all those people give a crap about is their loss of social status. I was just reading Richard Rorty a couple of weeks ago, and he quotes Margalit, and his definition of civilized and decent societies being ones in which institutions don’t seek to humiliate the citizenry, and citizens don’t seek to humiliate one another. Right-wing Christians just really, really want to humiliate others. Dreher wants to retreat before he ends up on the receiving end of that treatment. Tyler Cowen was absolutely right on this point. And it underscores why our politics is so intractable right now and why they are all totally slobbing Trump’s knob: to admit that Trump is guilty is to submit to personal humiliation and to loss of relative social status.

  105. 105.

    debbie

    @Aleta:

     

    And then there’s this (which I think is that insurance he was referring to in your quote):

    TRUTH ALERT:

    The statement I’ve made several times of having an insurance policy, if thrown under bus, is sarcastic & relates to the files in my safe about the Biden Family’s 4 decade monetizing of his office.

    If I disappear, it will appear immediately along with my RICO chart.
    — Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) November 23, 2019

    What is he even talking about? He thinks the Bidens are going to off him? Not the Russians?

    Furthermore.

  106. 106.

    WaterGirl

    @jeffreyw: Could I use that recipe and cheat a little by using a bit more rye flour and less unbleached or whatever else it calls for?  I would be willing to try that.

  108. 108.

    Amir Khalid

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I have never been happy with Wolverine-style short-sword blades on each hand. That is too many of them, and not terribly practical. I’d have a more utilitarian, Swiss army knife-style assortment: a three-inch blade, a church key, a can opener, a file, a miniature saw blade, that thing for prising open a lidded can; perhaps a corkscrew if one finds that useful.

  109. 109.

    Suzanne

    @jl: The only social capital that is being lost is the ability to force everyone to live according to the beliefs of a very particular reactionary segment of the Christian community, and thereby lay harsh judgment on them and in general make their lives miserable. So, that is the social capital Dreher feels his bunch is losing?

    Yes. Exactly.

  111. 111.

    jl

    @Suzanne: Reactionaries of various descriptions have been lamenting and worrying over their loss of cultural hegemony and social capital since the dawn of recorded history.

     

    Probably some cave paintings are on that topic too, but we just don’t know how to decipher the symbolism.

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    @Suzanne

    Christians are going to have to retreat into isolated communities

    If they’re short on drivers for the moving vans, willing to volunteer gratis.

    ;)

  114. 114.

    Anya

    If Giuliani has a “massive pay-for-play scheme under the Obama Administration that will devastate the Democrat Party,” why is he keeping it to himself? Do these people think people are morons and they’ll just believe any garbage they’re spewing? And by people, I don’t mean Trump’s base.

  115. 115.

    JanieM

    @JanieM: Oh hell, fnck it. Now I can’t edit the first comment, either. Guess it’s apparent enough.

     

    And yes, plenty of people had conniptions.

  116. 116.

    Jeffro

    I think we need to start referring to DJT as DJJT…Donald Jim Jones trumpov.

     

    maybe then some small portion of the GOP will wake up and see where this is heading…

  117. 117.

    debbie

    @Anya:

     

     

     

    Do these people think people are morons and they’ll just believe any garbage they’re spewing?

    Plenty are, sadly.

  118. 118.

    Suzanne

    @jl: Reactionaries of various descriptions have been lamenting and worrying over their loss of cultural hegemony and social capital since the dawn of recorded history.

    Hell is and always has been other people, indeed.

  121. 121.

    WaterGirl

    @jeffreyw: Looks easy!  Brown sugar?  Is THE BREAD sweet? I’m pretty sure the sugar is.

    No milk, no eggs.  Interesting. I will try it.

    edit: Do I really need bread flour as opposed to unbleached?

  122. 122.

    Josie

    @Suzanne: These drag queen story hour events were at public libraries in Houston earlier this year and probably in some other cities.  They were very well received and the children loved them.  A few protesters marched outside but were unable to get much traction.  I am always amazed at how people can get worked up about the silliest things.  They need to get a hobby.

  124. 124.

    WaterGirl

    From my cousin in Australia:

    Everyone can use a little “grammar” update now and then so here’s yours for today… enjoy!

     

    Is it “complete”, “finished” or “completely finished”?

    No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words – “Complete” or “Finished”.

    In a recent linguistic competition held in London and attended by, supposedly, the best in the world, Samdar Balgobin, a Guyanese man, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.

    The final question was: ‘How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand? Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.’

    Here is his astute answer:

    “When you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!”

    He won a trip around the world and a case of 25 year old Scotch!

  126. 126.

    Mary G

    @Suzanne: I skimmed part of his latest post, “Alarmist or Prophet?” (I won’t link to him), where he explores getting his fee-fees hurt because some punk tweeted to him that no youngs care about Chik-fil-A or pronouns. He says Rod is a punchline in “the young conservative crowd” not because they disagree with him, but because of the hysteria.

     

    Rod responds with paragraphs and paragraphs of “get off my lawn” and I got bored and stopped when he started talking about the genius of Maggie Gallagher and Russell Kirk.

     

    He decides he is a prophet, I guess. The kid seems to have deleted the tweets, and issued one thanking Rod for his kind and thoughtful response, ha ha ha. They just can’t stand being disagreed with.

  127. 127.

    MisterForkbeard

    @Seanly: She went in for the chills, evidently. She’s already feeling better and has no symptoms, but she’s staying in the hospital overnight just in case.

     

    Ugh. She has me worried even if this case wasn’t bad.

  128. 128.

    Shalimar

    @chris: So Rudy’s huge Democratic criminal conspiracy is the same one he has been touting all year about Ukrainian interference for Hillary in the 2016 election.  I hope Graham gets his witnesses visas so they can come testify.  Let them appear before the House so Goldman can cross-examine them.   They are direct contributors to the bullshit that got Trump impeached.

  130. 130.

    Amir Khalid

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    My proposal doesn’t go that far. Nor does it require you to say, “Go go gadget [thing]!” to bring out an implement, unless you feel like it.

  131. 131.

    tobie

    @Anya: There’s no bottom to Republican perfidy. Nunes can sit through a hearing on a scandal he himself is implicated in and then accuse the Democrats of wrong-doing. Giuliani can be caught with his hand in the cookie jar and claim he never stole a cookie because Democrats got there first. It’s all projection or smoke and mirrors or just brazen lies with this crew.

  132. 132.

    Kelly

    @WaterGirl:

    I sometimes think that our bodies are ridiculous creations by someone with a sense of humor.

    Back when the fundegelicals were pushing “intelligent design” I used to think about how my back, knees and ahem junk where not very intelligently designed.

  133. 133.

    Bex

    Dreher grew up Protestant,  but converted to Roman Catholicism and then to Eastern Orthodox which is also known as the Orthodox Catholic Church.

    @Suzanne:

  134. 134.

    WaterGirl

    @jeffreyw: I don’t actually care what the color is :-) I just want it to taste “rye” enough.  I may cheat 1/2 cup in both directions (more rye, less other flour) for my first attempt.  I imagine it might change the texture or how much liquid is needed, so I probably shouldn’t change too much the first time until I know what it’s supposed to come out like!  thank you

  136. 136.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: Yes it is.

    edit: just to be clear, I wasn’t disputing the content of what you wrote. It’s just that “yes it is” is the required response to “no it isn’t”.

  137. 137.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @chris: Jesus H. Christ he’s fucking insane. He’s essentially just written a letter repeating all his dramatic TV appearance spittle, but trying to pretend somehow these aren’t the same clowns we know already by not identifying them by name.

     

    “at least three witnesses but the State Department won’t give them Visas”–at least one is frigging Shokin who State has denied because he’s a corrupt slime ball–

    “a well-respected former US Attorney” is scummy Joe diGenova, I’m gonna assume….and it just goes on from there.

     

    Why can’t SDNY just go ahead and indict him already?

  138. 138.

    Shalimar

    @Anya: He isn’t keeping the massive Democratic criminal conspiracy to himself.  He wrote a letter to Graham earlier asking for the prosecutor Biden had fired and several other Ukrainians to be subpoenaed so they can come to the US and testify.  It is the same “Ukrainians and Dems were the ones who really interfered in 2016” bullshit he and Manafort and Putin have been pushing for 2 1/2 years now.

  143. 143.

    WaterGirl

    @Gin & Tonic: The old site used a comment plugin that seems to have been the cause of all the missing and gratuitously spammed comments that we used to see on the old site. That plugin did have the option of requesting that a comment be deleted. Our new comment system doesn’t have that.  Even then you couldn’t delete your own comment.

     

    But you are no doubt asking WHY it doesn’t have the ability to delete.  You can blame that one on me, it wasn’t in the specs.

     

    P.S. Meant to say that I deleted your “delete” comment for you, assuming that was what you wanted.  Hopefully that was your desired outcome?

  146. 146.

    JPL

    When I had home delivery of the NYTimes and occasionally online, I’d read the Modern love column..   I have to say if you need to escape to a different world, watch the series on Amazon.

  155. 155.

    HeleninEire

    @tobie: Yes. I saw that. It made me cry. If Justice Ginsberg dies I am going back to Ireland. I came back because I missed Queens. I though it would be OK. But if she dies when Trump is still the President. I’m gone. I just signed a new lease. I don’t care. I am gone.

  159. 159.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Seanly: RBG in the hospital again.

    I’m thinking it’s likely out of an abundance of caution because of newer national patient safety goals “Core Measures” for ED’s/hospitals in screening for and reducing the occurrence of septic shock. Fever and chills in a person her age is taken very seriously because it’s an early sign of sepsis–but it could also just be a viral illness. She had just recently had some sort of GI infection, which could also mean she was dehydrated or developed a UTI or secondary infection.

     

    Most hospitals would admit her and monitor her overnight, do serial labs, blood and urine cultures, give her lots of fluids, treat empirically with antibiotics, and see how she is doing in the morning If she doesn’t show signs of true sepsis (multi organ dysfunction like low BP or kidney impairment) she might go home in a day or two.

     

    She’s tough. I don’t see her going anywhere before she’s ready. :-)

  160. 160.

    Gin & Tonic

    Unrelatedly, a friend of a friend is a retired USN Captain (commanded a large and lethal ship.) As with a lot of retired military, he’s a pretty conservative guy. But his opinion on Trump’s continued involvement in the Eddie Gallagher case – let’s say he recalls and uses much of the language that sailors are known for.

  163. 163.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Mary G: Bill “Our president is really a king, kneel and worship before him” Barr is the boss of them.

    And yet he seems to be staying away from this case…even with rumors they’re investigating Rudy.

     

    That and the news about the big “meh” from the IG report makes me I wonder if he’s only going to go so far with this whole criminal enterprise and save his own ass.

  165. 165.

    Gin & Tonic

    @WaterGirl:

    In a recent linguistic competition held in London

    I think I may have recommended this before, but for those of us who find the very idea of a “linguistic competition” awesomely entertaining, you could do worse than to read Laurent Binet’s The Seventh Function of Language. It is no spoiler to say that a linguistic competition is a critical plot point.

  166. 166.

    NotMax

    Bread machine corn rye, as mentioned above (for a 2 lb. loaf, adjust accordingly if your machine is smaller).

    CORN RYE BREAD

    Water – 1½ cup (room temperature, using measuring cup that comes with the machine)
    Oil – 2 Tbl.
    Honey – 3 Tbl.
    Salt – ½ tsp.
    Cornmeal – ½ cup (yellow or white, per preference)
    Rye flour – 1 cup (dark or light, as per preference; dark still produces a light looking end product)
    Bread flour – 2½ cups
    Active dry yeast – 2½ tsp
    Vital gluten – 1 – 4 Tbl.*
    Caraway seeds – 2 tsp.**

    Machine settings: White bread, medium crust.

    Check dough consistency periodically before and during the additional ingredient signal and scrape down container if needed. Dough should be somewhat springy and sticky when poked. Add just a little water (½ tsp. or less) if too stiff or it seems the machine is straining, just a little flour if too goopy. The dough is sensitive to prevailing humidity, so either adjustment could possibly be needed.

    *Semi-optional. Omitting this makes for a coarser textured but still perfectly good bread. I generally find only 1 or 1½ Tbl. okay if using bread flour, YMMV. If using regular white flour, then 3 or maybe even 4 Tbl. If finished product seems too much on the gummy side when chewing, reduce amount of vital gluten next time.

    **Sprinkle in when the additional ingredient signal sounds.

  168. 168.

    Ella in New Mexico

    @Shalimar: What would be even more awesome than SDNY is Detroit indicting Giuliani

    Oooooh, a STATE investigation would absolutely be the best. Remind me again what the Detroit connection is?

  169. 169.

    WaterGirl

    @NotMax: I can see that the cornmeal would  change the texture, but I cannot imagine how cornmeal rye bread would taste.

    Looks interesting, though.

    P.S.  I don’t have an additional ingredient bell.

  171. 171.

    Suzanne

    @Sister Golden Bear: My local liberal bookstore had a Drag Queen Story Hour. I didn’t go, but not because of any opposition, just a scheduling conflict. I am just amazed how the right wing takes this very small thing and blows it up, getting far more attention on the event than there ever would have been if they just shut up. One might even think that they purposely create controversy in order to get attention for their misplaced martyrdom and to exploit every opportunity to be More Christian Than You.

  172. 172.

    tobie

    @HeleninEire: I’m assuming the doctors are being so careful because RBG had two cancerous nodules removed from her lungs in December. Doctors probably are extra careful with colds / respiratory infections in people her age and with her medical history. Let’s just hope for the best. RBG’s tough. And she’s got millions of potential organ donors around the country! Who wouldn’t give her a kidney???

  173. 173.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    @Butter Emails: Wow, ambitious!

    I’d redesign feet so as to eliminate the possibility of bunions. It’s amazing (and disheartening) how even a unilateral, rather minor bunion can mess one up, and the currently available treatments are apparently quite iffy.

  174. 174.

    Amir Khalid

    @zhena gogolia:

    Considering where I am and that I didn’t watch the hearings beyond the odd snippet, there didn’t seem much I could add to the conversation. That’s an interesting thought, Adam Schiff as embodying Javert-level relentlessness. But for the life of me, I can never see Donald effing Trump as Jean Valjean.

  175. 175.

    debbie

    Devin Nunes thought he could fuck with citizens and we would back down. What he doesn’t realize is we are here, we aren’t going anywhere, we don’t major in the minors like him and we will always have the backs of @DevinCow @NunesAlt & @LizMair. So bring it motherfucker.
    — Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) November 24, 2019

  176. 176.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    So want to bet that if you cross out the word Democratic and replace it with Republican, that’s who Rudy is really threatening? If they had that kind of dirt on the Dems it would be out by now.

  178. 178.

    NotMax

    @WaterGirl

    I don’t have an additional ingredient bell.

    Check dough after maybe the first half hour, then (depends on the type of machine*, of course). Once the dough has formed into and maintains a ball-like shape, add the seeds at that point.

    *Instruction manual for your machine probably includes more specific info for when to add things such as fruits or nuts – use that as a guide.

  179. 179.

    JanieM

    @WaterGirl: It did let me back in to edit after a couple of refreshes.

    I haven’t had time to follow all the threads about doing things on the new site, and I had always embedded links manually at the old site. The way I used to do it didn’t work, so I went back in and just used the icon in the comment dialog once it let me edit.

     

    This gives me a chance to say, again, thanks for the amazing work you’ve done, and the patience you’ve exercised in the process!!

  180. 180.

    zhena gogolia

    @Amir Khalid:

     

    I was going to say that, but Paul Rudnick said Mnuchin and his wife were going to play the Thenardiers in a road company production of Les Mis, and the picture of them was so perfect that I couldn’t give the role to DJT.

  182. 182.

    Suzanne

    @Mary G: They just can’t stand being disagreed with.

    Rorty had had a great turn of phrase about people who can’t entertain or bear the fantasies of others. (Or something like that; I’m trying to quote from memory.) It astonishes me. It seems to be a pre-political thing, by which I mean it feels like people’s political orientation seems to be informed by this ability or inability. This is why I think diversity of any sort freaks them out….more people means more different kinds of dreams, and more different kinds of dreams means that many people won’t look up to you aspirationally.

  183. 183.

    zhena gogolia

    @Amir Khalid:

    Trump is considering replacing Mulvaney as Chief of Staff with either Kellyanne or Mnuchin, who are currently touring as the Thenardiers in Les Mis. Other options include an expired can of soup, Melania's tennis pro Vlad, whoever's Secretary of State, a Waterpik and a Twizzler pic.twitter.com/8QjpVY2MNn— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) October 22, 2019

    Sorry, it was Mnuchin and Kellyanne.

  184. 184.

    Shalimar

    @Ella in New Mexico: No, not state.  Firtash is under indictment by the US Attorney’s office in Detroit.  That is the office that is trying to extradite him

     

    ETA: A state investigation would be awesome, but I also want him linked explicitly to Firtash since I think he is the ringleader of all of this.  There is no other explanation for why all these secret meetings with Ukrainians are taking place in Vienna.

  185. 185.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Suzanne:

    One might even think that they purposely create controversy in order to get attention for their misplaced martyrdom and to exploit every opportunity to be More Christian Than You.

    This is my shocked face….

  186. 186.

    Spanky

    @tobie: Let’s just hope for the best. RBG’s tough. And she’s got millions of potential organ donors around the country! Who wouldn’t give her a kidney???

    Donnie Trump wakes up in a bathtub full of ice. There’s a note in front of him ….

  187. 187.

    JanieM

    @Suzanne: As I’ve gotten older I’ve decided that one of the major criteria for being considered an adult is to recognize and accept the fact that other people are both truly other, and truly real, i.e. not characters in the movie running in your head (the generic “you”).

    By that criterion, adults aren’t as numerous as one might suppose.

  188. 188.

    Another Scott

    @Mary Ellen Sandahl: My dear departed MIL had horrible, horrible, scary bunions.  Poor thing.  :-(  Whoever designed professional women’s shoes in the 1940s-1970s should have a special circle of Hell.

     

    Lots of other imperfect body parts have been mentioned.  Maybe feet should be redesigned to be about a foot wide to prevent too-pointy toe boxes.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  195. 195.

    Another Scott

    @Gin & Tonic: They’re so transparently bad at doing all the crimes and covering them up.  It’s some sort of prion disease…

     

    Thanks.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  197. 197.

    Another Scott

    For those who missed the earlier mention, you need to check out Robyn Pennacchia at Wonkette:

    I love the plaintive essays in which some jerk sobs about how a store clerk at Macy’s said Happy Holidays to them and now they’re dead and they have to write all of their op-eds from beyond the grave.

    rofl!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  199. 199.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @jl:

    So, that is the social capital Dreher feels his bunch is losing?

    There is another, and it was specifically mentioned.  They used to be respected.  It’s not just that they were allowed to hurt the Other freely, although all conservatives are furious that they’re slowly losing that power.  The evangelicals used to be able to say that God told them to do something in public, and get applauded for it.  Now they’re more likely to get funny looks.  They’re not praised by anyone but themselves for their piety anymore.  The older evangelicals are pretty pissed about it.

  200. 200.

    piratedan

    If the SoCons are so concerned about drag Queens reading to kids… the proper GOP response is to defund the libraries…

     

    What I want, when what I  believe is the truth of this matter comes to light, is when we find out that the GOP stole not only 2016 nationally but also local elections as well, is to unfuck what they did to the judiciary. All those appointments… sorry fruit of the poisoned tree… null and void.  You folks disenfranchised…. sorry but you were the choice of traitors and criminals… think about that before you sue….

  202. 202.

    Anne Laurie

    @Sister Golden Bear: I’ve got several friends who were readers, it’s all rather sweet.

     

    Well, that’s what Rod Dreher and his ilk are afraid of!

    After same-sex marriage was legalized by judicial fiat here in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts, the ‘okay / not okay’ polling flipped with amazing speed.  Once people got to witness that OMG Gay Lust!!! was really those nice young men from down the block who always help the older neighbors shovel their driveways, or the ‘single mothers sharing a house’ who show up for PTA and field trips without being begged, suddenly it was no longer very very important to keep them legally in the shadows.  Once drag queens become ‘my grandkids’ favorite library reader’, how are the low-info voters gonna be conned into voting for ‘conservative’ Repubs against their own economic interests?!?

  203. 203.

    Suzanne

    @Frankensteinbeck: The evangelicals used to be able to say that God told them to do something in public, and get applauded for it. Now they’re more likely to get funny looks. They’re not praised by anyone but themselves for their piety anymore. The older evangelicals are pretty pissed about it.

    This. And the fact that this is gone is why they are All In For Trump Until The End Of Days. It really has nothing to do with Trump and everything to do with MAGA, because everyone used to think they were awesome and now everyone thinks they’re weird.

  204. 204.

    mrmoshpotato

    @WaterGirl:

    I still don’t regret laughing out loud when you said that about Rudy.

    No need to regret it. Rudy sitting on his balls is inherently funny.

  205. 205.

    Mike Furlan

    Their web site says “this isn’t fast food.”  So I guess teremok is the one Russian thing Trump will not invite into the White House.

     

    «Теремок»
    это не фастфуд!

  208. 208.

    Suzy

    I suspect that Rudy isn’t only working to help Trump. His vendetta against Joe Biden is also personal. He has made it his mission to destroy the former vice-president, and I’m pretty sure it’s a payback for 2008.

     

    During the 2008 primaries, Joe Biden destroyed the political career of Rudy Giuliani. In one single minute.

     

    For years, the media (and a portion of the American population) had been infatuated with “America’s Mayor”. And seemed oblivious to the fact that the “Mayor” was making every effort possible to exploit 9/11 politically, and was planning to exploit it all the way to the presidency. So Joe Biden put a stop to this. Destroyed the scheme. With one memorable “zinger”…

     

    Remember: “a noun, a verb and 9/11” ?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DteDRD6cbbM

     

    Devastating.

     

    Is it any wonder why Rudy Giuliani is obsessed with destroying the candidacy of Joe Biden ?

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