Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

I conferred with the team and they all agree – still not tired of winning!

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Dead end MAGA boomers crying about Talyor Swift being a Dem is my kind of music. Turn it up.

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Second rate reporter says what?

You cannot shame the shameless.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

Wake up. Grow up. Get in the fight.

with the Kraken taking a plea, the Cheese stands alone.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Bad people in a position to do bad things will do bad things because they are bad people. End of story.

An unpunished coup is a training exercise.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

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

You know it’s bad when the Project 2025 people have to create training videos on “How To Be Normal”.

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

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

You are here: Home / Politics / Information Warfare / Thursday Morning Open Thread: Thanksgiving, If We Can Keep It

Thursday Morning Open Thread: Thanksgiving, If We Can Keep It

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Thursday Morning Open Thread: Thanksgiving, If We Can Keep It

(Walt Handelsman via GoComics.com)

… Although meant to unify people, the 19th-century campaign to make Thanksgiving a permanent holiday was seen by prominent Southerners as a culture war. They considered it a Northern holiday intended to force New England values on the rest of the country. To them, pumpkin pie, a Yankee food, was a deviously sweet symbol of anti-slavery sentiment…

Thanksgiving may have remained a regional, ad-hoc holiday if not for the efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, a Northern writer who is often considered the “Godmother” of American Thanksgiving. In 1825, she initiated annual letter-writing campaigns to governors asking that they collectively declare the final Thursday of November a celebration of thanksgiving. As the editor of Godey’s Lady Book, the most widely read magazine of the 19th century, she devoted pages of editorial space to pitching the national holiday as a unifying force in a young and diverse nation. Her 1827 novel, Northwood: A Tale of New England, gives the first detailed account of the Puritan Thanksgiving feast. She dedicates an entire chapter to the meal, in which she describes the “celebrated pumpkin pie” as “an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving.”…

Southern leaders attacked Thanksgiving as the North’s attempt to impart Yankee values on the South. Virginians, especially, retaliated against Hale’s campaign. In 1856, the Richmond Whig published a scathing editorial on the District of Columbia’s “repugnant” declaration of thanksgiving, arguing that the holiday did nothing but rob men of a day’s wages and encourage drunkenness. As for the Northerners who started the celebration: “They have crazy society within New England’s limits, where they have been productive of little but mischief—of unadulterated and unmistakable injuries to sound religion, morals, and patriotism.”…

Despite Southern resistance, Hale and other Thanksgiving proponents continued to campaign. Eventually, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared the first national Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November of 1863. This was actually his second thanksgiving proclamation of that year; he also called for a thanksgiving feast after the Union victory at Gettysburg…

Reader Interactions

177Comments

  2. 2.

    Nelle

    We woke at 4:45, my husband has gone to swim at the Y, and I finished the lemon sour cream pie (had to cool the lemon pudding overnight before folding in the sour cream).  The cherry pie is finished, the first batch of peppernuts baked.

    We’ll drive three and a half hours to Lawrence, KS for dinner with friends.  If my friend in dementia care is able to have a visitor (severe Lewy-body disease), I will take him the peppernuts.  We’ve been friends for 67 years, his father cared for my father as my dad approached death, our kids are friends.  We grew up eating peppernuts.

  3. 3.

    Lapassionara

    @raven: Wow. Lucky you. There are 20 at our feast, 7 young people, the rest grown ups. We will not have stuffing, as the person who normally makes it, is celebrating elsewhere. We will have turkey (fried) and pulled pork, and a bunch of sides, including the obligatory green bean casserole. So different from last year, when the two of us picked up a turkey dinner from a restaurant. The turkey was one of those composite breasts. The texture of rubber bands.

    Happy thanksgiving, jackals.

  4. 4.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Lapassionara:

    So different from last year, when the two of us picked up a turkey dinner from a restaurant. The turkey was one of those composite breasts. The texture of rubber bands. 

    What the?  Turkeys getting boob jobs?!  Sorry not sorry.

  7. 7.

    mrmoshpotato

    Good cartoon.  Go Bears!

    Sister and brother-in-law are ordering catering like last year.  All of the usual stuff but no cooking for hours just for 6 of us and 2 kiddos (4 and 1).

    Hopefully next year we can rejoin his aunt’s megafeast with vaccinated kids.

  9. 9.

    frosty

    AL – good post. I had no idea pumpkin pie was so subversive!

    I am unsettled this morning, feeling a great void in the Force … no COVID post! Enjoy your break from it, I am thankful for all the information you’ve assembled for us for almost two years now.

  10. 10.

    satby

    Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may everyone enjoy the day however they celebrate it.

    I’ll spend the day peacefully alone except for the household critters. It’s not everyone’s choice to be alone on a holiday that’s all about togetherness, but as long as I work with the public it is mine, now that my sons are grown up with lives of their own. Especially since a large part of the public has lost their minds and are dicks to deal with. I can look forward to no arguments about masks with the critters all day.

  11. 11.

    Geminid

    Abraham Lincoln grew up in a society of small farmers, and he never forgot their point of view. While President, Lincoln faced a cabinet crisis that became grave when Seward, his Secretary of State, submitted his resignation. Then Seward’s rival,  Treasury Secretary Chase, met with Lincoln, and held up his own resignation letter. Chase was trying to bluff, but Lincoln insisted he hand the letter over. Lincoln wanted each Secretary to stay on, and pocketing both their letters made this possible. He compared himself to a farmer going to market on a horse:

    “Now I can ride, for I have a pumpkin in each end of my bag.”

  12. 12.

    OzarkHillbilly

    My wife popped my bubble yesterday and told me we were going to her daughters for T-day, so now I have to behave (not too difficult, our politics don’t mesh at all so that subject is verboten). She swears she told me (she didn’t) and not hearing otherwise I had assumed D and SiL were heading up to Bloomington to spend it with his family. MiL has alzheimers and travel is becoming difficult, but they’ve managed to make the trip down one more time. They are nice enough folks, we just have very little in common and I am shit at small talk.

    On the upside, if I’m a good boy they might let me watch some football.

  17. 17.

    Winston

    @satby: And I will join you. I have some mac and cheese with chicken I will enjoy all by myself and a bottle of bourbon. Happy thanksgiving to all as I celebrate 600 days of covid isolation.

  18. 18.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    We’re going to our son’s house. As I recall from two years ago (the last time we could celebrate with them), DIL makes apple pie rather than pumpkin. So we will not be subversive. Luckily we share the same politics. Also they have a dog.

  19. 19.

    HinTN

    Mrs H made the (who knew it was subversive, but yay) pumpkin pie last night, the turkey comes out of the brine in about an hour, I’m going to make a new-to-me ancient cranberry relish stovetop dish, and we’re headed to an all vaxxed gathering with friends this afternoon. Happy Thanksgiving all y’all virtual jackals.

  20. 20.

    debbie

    I learn something here almost every day. I never knew about the Thanksgiving Brouhaha of 1939. This says something about how politics used to be. My grandparents and parents (who would have been about 9 or 10 years old) didn’t bitch and moan about every little thing that had been done to them decades before.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  22. 22.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Gonna get down to 15 degrees tonight. My Mediterranean lizard of a wife is gonna have to work overtime stoking the woodstove. What with the rain we got last night, it should make for quite a blooming of frost flowers tomorrow morning.

  23. 23.

    debbie

    @Winston:

    Me three, but for some reason, I thought I’d make myself Thanksgiving-type stuff. At least, I’ll have leftovers for a few days.

  24. 24.

    HinTN

    @Winston: Although I’m a sour mash whiskey kind of guy, I’ve discovered Buffalo Trace bourbon and I’m suitably impressed. Enjoy your day.

  26. 26.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    So the QA inspector at work decided I am her work husband and is angry I don’t return her feelings.   Never mind I do my best to keep my distance between me and my coworkers because most of them are a pack of high school kids mentally and spend most of their time fighting, or that she is married, with kids, no, her mind I am just being a jerk.

    She actually went to the boss and complained that I was being favored, because of Chines nepotism. Never mind I am white.  This is what happens when people constantly only have 2-3 hours of sleep a night.

  29. 29.

    Geoduck

    I like Thanksgiving well enough, but we should have set the date like the Canadians did, at the actual harvest time and before Halloween. Then you can put out an intact pumpkin for the first holiday and carve it for the second.

  30. 30.

    Geminid

    @OzarkHillbilly: I saw an interesting artlcle on the Missouri U.S. Senate race, published in Politico Magazine.* It focuses on Lucas Kunce, one of the Democratic candidates. The article is long and wide ranging, reviewing Missouri’s political history since the 1950s, and discusses the crowded Republican nomination contest (some state senate bigwig just threw his hat in the ring). You and other Missouri jackels might find it interesting.

    * “The Populist, Millennial Veteran Who Wants to Turn Missouri  Blue,” by Kathy Gilsinan, Politico Magazine.

  33. 33.

    mali muso

    Today is the third day in the row that we are celebrating in our household as the kiddo’s birthday was Tuesday, mr. mali muso’s was on Wednesday and today is Turkey Day.  The way their birthdays fall in late november means every other year they land on Thanksgiving week and it’s a whole series of festivities.  Instead of making pumpkin pie today, we are repurposing the pumpkin cheesecake (thanks Costco) from the hubby’s birthday.  If the weather isn’t too cold, I’m gonna send the newly minted 5 year old out on her bike (b-day present) with her granddad and dad tasked with monitoring her safety while we deal with the turkey prep.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @HinTN: I hope to, but I’m unsure how I will manage it. Crawling around on the ground with this broken wing could be… interesting. Yeah, that’s the word.

  38. 38.

    Winston

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Gonna get down to 15 degrees tonight.

    Wow. I lived at the top of the Ozark Plateau for 10 years (Sheldon) and I don’t ever remember it getting that cold this time of year.

  39. 39.

    Van Buren

    Just immediate family, wife and 2 grown sons, but for some reason we have baked 6 pies- 2 apple, 2 pumpkin, 1 pecan, 1 key lime- and have a 22 pound bird.

    I wrenched my back Sunday and will be unable to manage the bird, so one of the boys will be dragooned into helping in the kitchen.

  42. 42.

    Spanky

    @Spanky: Just for the record, it’s not new news, nor any worry.

    Only three species of bee in the world — all vulture bees — have evolved to get their protein exclusively from dead meat, and they live only in tropical rainforests.

  43. 43.

    Peale

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: were I an HR director, I have no idea what I’d do to handle a complaint like that. Like one needs to take all charges of discrimination seriously. But even were this true and somehow you had been promoted because the boss is confused   An thinks you’re both Chinese and is doing a favor for his aunt by keeping  you on the payroll, what remediation would be possible?

  44. 44.

    skerry

    I’m going to #3 daughter’s place for brunch. Daughter #1 will be joining us. So 2/3 kids this year, but no grandson. Great improvement over last year but I miss the little guy.

  45. 45.

    MazeDancer

    My gratitude abounds for you all!

    Most especially Anne Laurie who keeps coming up with excellent posts such as this one. And all that valuable COVID knowledge. There is no BJ without her. (Or WaterGirl!)

    @NotMax: Thanks for tip.

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Geminid: I’ll check it out, thanx.

    As for turning Misery blue… Dreams I’ll never see. There has always been a thick vein of racism running through this state but the past couple decades have given birth to a revanchism that threatens to drown any vestige of decency people might have had.

  49. 49.

    raven

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: I had never heard that phrase until I retired and my dear colleague told me I was the best “work husband” she had ever had. It’s funny because we both worked from home and, very rarely, saw each other in person but we were in very close touch.

     

    A work spouse has been defined as “a special, platonic friendship with a work colleague characterized by a close emotional bond, high levels of disclosure and support, and mutual trust, honesty, loyalty, and respect”.

  50. 50.

    lowtechcyclist

    Good morning! The pumpkin pies have been in the oven for 40 minutes, and the house smells wonderful. I’m sitting here with my second cup of coffee.

    We’re not hosting this year (been eons since we have, actually), so we’re bringing side dishes and dessert. I’ve cleaned the kitchen so that when my wife wakes up, she can get started on the squash casserole without anything in her way.

  51. 51.

    satby

    @OzarkHillbilly: ? sorry OH!

    @NotMax: ?

    Stepped outside to feed and hang out with the stubbornly outside cat who I’m still working on getting to come inside. He so far doesn’t use the cat house with the heated floor either. But he likes company when he eats, so I sit on the porch with him. The little black cat, who is about 11 years old, it turns out, is doing ok inside but is still a bit put out by the other cats all trying to sleep on “her” bed (aka a microfleece fuzzy jacket). My neighbors think I’m nuts, so all situations normal around here.

  52. 52.

    Ken

    @debbie: “After investigating your report, we have found no wrongdoing on the part of the company or any employee.  Also, here’s a brochure outlining the psychiatric and psychological services included in our company health insurance.”

  54. 54.

    Leto

    And sounds like a transformer just blew outside, we’ve lost power, and I just started the green beans. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (Uuggghhh)

  55. 55.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Too bad, we’ll be home by then as 7:30 is approaching my bedtime (8-9 pm).

    @NotMax: Please, that was a nightmare I’m trying to forget.

    @Winston: It is a bit of a freak. The cold front passes thru today, dropping the temps thru the night. Friday afternoon highs return to the upper 40s.

  56. 56.

    Argiope

    @Nelle: so sorry to hear about your friend; Lewy Body is a cruel disease.  I’m sure the peppernuts will be a memory jogger.  So now I have to ask: what’s a peppernut? Pies sound amazing.

  57. 57.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @NotMax:

    Another solo diner here. If I manage to clear the counter space properly, and can figure out all the buttons, I’ll try out my new Instant Pot and have a lovely pot roast for my Thanksgiving dinner. If not, I still have some good deli sliced turkey in the fridge so can go semi-traditional in a pinch. Either way, I won’t starve and I expect to learn a lot of new stuff.

  58. 58.

    satby

    And I’m now back inside after the cat majestically walked to my front gate and waited for me to open it for him and safely escort him across the street to the abandoned house he spends his days guarding. He’s quite the character.

    And now it’s time for foster dog CK Dexter Haven to join us for the second walkies of the day. Alone, but way too busy to ever feel lonely.

  59. 59.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Leto: May you get service as good as I got several T-days back. Had a squirrel fry itself and blow a fusible link with a large BANG!. A half hour later we had 2 linesmen here replacing it. Only took them about 5 mins to do it too.

  62. 62.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Van Buren:

    Just immediate family, wife and 2 grown sons, but for some reason we have baked 6 pies- 2 apple, 2 pumpkin, 1 pecan, 1 key lime- and have a 22 pound bird. 

    Pies and turkey everything for weeks! ?

  64. 64.

    Kristine

    @debbie: Me four. Planning pretty much a regular day–walk Gaby, cook something (maybe split pea soup), write a little. Tonight I’ll probably watch the episodes of Hawkeye that hit the stream yesterday. I’m boosted but still not totally comfortable going out, so no movie theaters for me.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate!

  65. 65.

    Quinerly

    Good morning! Today, JoJo las Orejas are going over to Albuquerque for a short hike in the Bosque by the Rio Grande. Then l am cruising over for what looks on line to be a fabulous buffet feast at 1:00 at The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. I keep smiling over the location of this particular buffet. Had had reservations in Georgia O’Keefe country in tiny Abiquiu, NM at a great restaurant in an inn once owned by the Dar al Islam Mosque (might still be owned by them. Haven’t checked in awhile). For the most part, New Mexico is such a fun and interesting state with some cool quirks. Have a great day BJers!

  66. 66.

    zhena gogolia

    @NotMax: You’re kidding, aren’t you?

    Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Time for me to grade some papers. Yes, it is that bad. But I should be able to relax later today.

  67. 67.

    Josie

    So, our family pod (my son and wife, 2 daughters, and other grandmother) decided to try something different this year.  We are have Thanksgiving brunch at 2:00 this afternoon, complete with turkey sausage and assorted side dishes.  Since I usually make the cornbread stuffing, I have been assigned a cornbread pudding casserole, plus a fruit compote.  I’ve never made such a thing, so it should be interesting.  Thanks to the all powerful internet, I did find a recipe that was helpful.  Wish me luck.

  69. 69.

    JMG

    Checklist as of 8:30 am. Turkey brined. Pies (apple, chocolate) made. Turnip mashed. Tofurkey cooking instructions (daughter in law is a vegetarian) read. Stock for gravy made.

    Next up: Chopping celery for stuffing. A weird note. In a week of trips to three different supermarkets, I have been unable to find a package of frozen chopped onions. Luckily, we had one deep in the bowels of our freezer. Saved my tear ducts some work.

  70. 70.

    germy

    This is so devastating. If a movie producer hadn’t recognized the discrepancies in Alice Sebold’s story, Anthony Broadwater would’ve spent the remainder of his life with the stigma of being a sex offender. She owes him far more than a “no comment.” https://t.co/HafXhGP2bV

    — Evette Dionne (@freeblackgirl) November 24, 2021

  71. 71.

    Peale

    @Ken: oh, you think it’s that simple. But the boss, Mr. Li., keeps referring to EVT as his “work cousin”. Manly because his aunt, who owns 25% of the company, has decided that EVT is her “work son” and keeps pestering Mr. Li to do more for him.

  72. 72.

    Quinerly

    @SiubhanDuinne: solo is great. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center mentioned above called me yesterday to confirm “reservation for 1 at 1:00.” She sounded a little sad and confused. I was a bit giddy (for other reasons) and told her how thrilled l was to be going and could hardly wait. All so exciting and fun!!! She lightened up and said, “we will have a special table for 1 at 1.” We both laughed.

  73. 73.

    germy

    An internationally bestselling white woman author falsely accused a Black man of rape in a memoir that launched her career.

    Took decades of his life from him.

    And yet she has no comment. How about an apology?

    Question: Can he sue? https://t.co/49eFVzguX6

    — Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) November 24, 2021

  75. 75.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques:

    So the QA inspector at work decided I am her work husband

    There’s the root of the problem right there.  It isn’t something one party gets to decide.  Either it happens organically or it’s not a thing.

    I’ve never had a work spouse, and probably won’t because retirement’s only two years away. I’m not feeling like I’ve missed out on something. My wife has a longtime work spouse, they’ve worked together for many years.  It works for them.

  81. 81.

    lowtechcyclist

    @zhena gogolia: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Time for me to grade some papers. Yes, it is that bad. But I should be able to relax later today.

    It’s been nearly a quarter-century since I left academia, and I still don’t miss all those evenings and weekends spent with grading and lesson prep.  Good luck with your day!

  83. 83.

    germy

    my thoughts this morning are with the poor fools who are soon to awake and find their turkey did not defrost enough last night. best of luck to them in their time of trials

    — lauren (@ActNormalOrElse) November 24, 2021

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @Nelle:

    I finished the lemon sour cream pie (had to cool the lemon pudding overnight before folding in the sour cream).

    When I got past the part in blue, I was very disappointed to find that you had not eaten the last of the lemon sour cream pie for breakfast!  So disappointed.

    But your guests will be happy.  My favorite pie is cherry, so thanks for making that, too.

  87. 87.

    Woodrow/asim

    So I guess y’all know what I’m doing, so far, for today :)

    In a bit I’m going to go clean, and then bring some of the food centrally stored to my place to cook for a later-then-usual Day. 3-person gathering, esp. as my Partner has to work 3rd tonight (sigh)

  89. 89.

    Nelle

    @Argiope: It is a small, hard, spicy cookie, made with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, black pepper, and anise extract.  Very traditional among my brand of Mennonites (those with a Russian sojourn of about 150 plus years). They have been the cause of many silent, judgmental, non-confrontive disagreements among pacifist,  Mennonite women for decades over which recipe to follow.  Hard looks and shrugged shoulders employed. I follow my grossmama’s, the one true path to gustatory salvation and do not have patience for heretics.

  90. 90.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @germy: Having never been raped, and never playing a part in sending somebody to prison thru mistaken identity*, I think we can afford to give her some time to come to grips with the whole thing.

    * this book tells a tale that is the mirror image of this one: Picking Cotton A Memoir of Injustice & Redemption, it’s a good read.

  92. 92.

    raven

    @OzarkHillbilly: The Egg Bowl is must-see college football television every year no matter the state of the programs. This time? It might be the best game of the season. The Rebels have the No. 1 offense in the conference. The Bulldogs have the No. 4 defense in the conference. Neither coach has a filter on what they might say or do after a win or a loss. The sport doesn’t have much better to offer than this game on Thanksgiving night. Ole Miss 38-30

  94. 94.

    lowtechcyclist

    @rikyrah:

    Another fan of The Philadelphia Story?

    How can one not be a fan of The Philadelphia Story?  Such marvelous performances by Hepburn, Stewart, and Cary Grant.  Definitely one of the best movies of all time.

  95. 95.

    frosty

    @Spanky: Ms F read that to me as we drove yesterday and I wondered why it was so unusual. At a crab feast in Maryland years ago we watched yellowjackets carry away bits of discarded crab. My sister’s ex called them meat bees.

    Seems like the thing that makes them vulture bees is that carrion is all they eat. Unlike the omnivorous yellowjackets who hide in the apples on the lawn and sting me when I pick them up.

  96. 96.

    Geminid

    @OzarkHillbilly: A Democrat winning a Missouri Senate seat is a heavy lift. In 2016, Jason Kander came within 3 points of pulling it off against incumbent Roy Blunt, but that’s the high point for Democrats in recent year.

    A Greitens nomination might open a window of opportunity for Democrats. Across the Mississippi, Kentucky Governor Beshear won in a red state a couple years ago because the Republican incumbent was personally unpopular.

  97. 97.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @satby:

    I can look forward to no arguments about masks with the critters all day.
     

    Man, how do you get the cats to keep them on? I don’t have trouble with the dogs, but my asshole cats will just not leave their masks up. And they sneeze right in my face!

    PS: Have a great Thanksgiving everyone. I am thankful for MOST of the people here (the rest of youse guys are suspect!)

  98. 98.

    NotMax

    Am fixing to cue up the 1950s TV production of Harvey with Art Carney as Elwood P. Dowd. Streaming on Tubi.

    @lowtechcyclist

    “Uncle Willy is in the pantry, doing weird and wondrous things.”

  99. 99.

    Woodrow/asim

    @germy: Yeah, my Partner is White, as has been a number of prior Lovers, and more than a few close Friends. It’s a…difficult thing, to talk about, on many levels, this fear of interacting with someone the wrong way, and ending up under the jail, as a result.

    I open up to people I’m close to about it, because it’s critical they understand why I react to some things the way I do, and that’s it’s not a sign I don’t love and care for them, but rather a reaction to risk and potential trauma.

    For this audience: suffice to say that there’s a long, long history of Black Men suffering due to these kinds of actions. And that doesn’t mitigate the real risks Women — of all races — deal with just living in this world, ones that cannot be downplayed because some Women abuse cultural sensitivities, along the way.

    But all that, and more, does make a toxic sludge that I will say it among the toughest to discuss openly, much less to unwind. I am glad that, once again, some level of accountability is being applied, and the man is going free. But the concern is still among us, and is yet another layer of healing this country desperately needs.

  100. 100.

    Ken

    @germy: Is the Butterball Turkey Hotline still a thing?  In the old days people could call them with questions about quick-thawing their turkey.  The answer was always “no” but at least they were available. I think the operators were also trained to recognize certain keywords such as “bathtub” or “hose” and really, really bear down on the “no”.

  101. 101.

    germy

    @NotMax:

    Nowadays people think of him mostly as “Ed Norton” but he did so many different roles.  He was in the Odd Couple in theater and I remember a TV movie he did about a stubborn old guy refusing to leave his house while Mt. St. Helens is firing up.

  105. 105.

    germy

    @Woodrow/asim:

    Yesterday my wife told me a story I hadn’t heard before:  Back when our son was away at college, he called her and told her he was feeling frustrated about a class he was taking.  She told him maybe get some exercise, go for a run?

    After the call, she immediately began worrying she’d given him the wrong advice.  She was worried about him running in a white college town.  This was about 12 years ago.

    (Fortunately, I think he disregarded her advice.  Played some video games instead, and then studied.)

  109. 109.

    matt the somewhat reasonable

    Imagine how proud Sam Stein is that he managed to slightly worsen Joe Biden’s holday.

  111. 111.

    Quinerly

     

    @NotMax: The fried Spam last year on the breakfast menu at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center was quite tasty with poached eggs and a side of Tóshchíín. 

    That whole greasy/salty with sweet flavor profile. Yum.

  112. 112.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Geminid: A Greitens nomination might open a window of opportunity for Democrats.

    It’s possible, but I don’t think it will. The misogyny is even stronger here than the racism. Still, nobody was more surprised than I when the state GOP drummed him out of office. It gave me a brief flash of hope that they hadn’t yet sold their souls. Sadly, they held a clearance sale soon thereafter.

  115. 115.

    prostratedragon

    Another soloist here — seems to be a thing with this crowd. Having an abbreviated feast; cornish hens to be roasted, cranberry sauce jelling in the fridge, cornbread made for dressing. A big energy boost later in the day could result in Waldorf salad. The Wild Turkey is mainly for eggnog soon, but it being Turkey Day, a sip might get poured out. (Oops. WT hasn’t arrived yet, only the rum.)

  118. 118.

    Leto

    @OzarkHillbilly: coming back for the update: was indeed one of our little furry friends who gave himself up to the transformer gods. Service came back on about 30 mins ago and apple tort is proceeding.

  119. 119.

    frosty

    @raven: I’m not a follower of college football but this alone makes it sound like fun:

    Neither coach has a filter on what they might say or do after a win or a loss.

  120. 120.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I was offered an out for my T-Giving commitment but stout-heartedly said I’d be there. A small gathering of the fully-vaxxed, but it’s a two hour drive and I didn’t sleep well. Kinda wishing I had taken the out. I do have a hotel reservation, so at least it’s just a one-way drive today.

  121. 121.

    frosty

    @raven: I eventually got an engineering degree and a PE but my work was in watershed planning. My bosses were men but almost all my County client PMs were women. And yes, they were all great!

  126. 126.

    lowtechcyclist

    @germy: True story: a couple of decades ago, shortly after we’d moved up to Maryland, my wife and I had my mom, my stepfather, and my sister over for Thanksgiving dinner.

    We’d bought a turkey breast the week before, which we’d put in the chest freezer in the basement.  We also had an extra fridge down there that the previous owners of the house had left behind.

    Since my wife was handling the turkey, I didn’t give the turkey another thought once we’d brought it home.  I assumed she’d move it over to the basement fridge a couple days beforehand, and for some reason, she thought I was going to do that.

    You can see where this is going: it gets to be time for her to prep the turkey breast for going in the oven, and she asks me to bring it up to the kitchen.  And that was the point at which we both discovered that we still had a solidly frozen turkey breast.

    By now it’s early afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, probably pushing 2pm, and we’re expecting company in a couple of hours.  I got in the car and tried to find an open grocery where I could buy a non-frozen turkey breast.  I finally lucked out at Safeway, which didn’t have any non-frozen turkey breasts, but did have fresh whole turkeys, and miraculously had a butcher still on duty who offered to dismember the turkey so that we could cook the breast and refrigerate or freeze the rest.

    My wife, of course, was panicking – this was 1998, and I didn’t have a cell phone yet, so she had no idea where I was or how it was going – but my mom called to say they were running late and was that OK?  Yes, of course it was okay, take your time! And my sister is 45 minutes late to everything, so that gave us a buffer.  So I got back with the turkey, she got the breast into the oven, and Thanksgiving dinner turned out just fine.

    But we’ll have to either be dead or deep into Alzheimer’s before we forget that Thanksgiving.

  128. 128.

    Feathers

    Got my booster shot Tuesday. No real after effects. Forgot to periodically swing my arm and it got a bit creaky. Was getting some work done at the library and felt tired. Was probably sleep related, but I went home and watched the end of Only Murders in the Building.

    Soloing today. Missing Yenching in Harvard Square. It closed suddenly in 2015, replaced pretty quickly by a very good local vegan chain quick eats place. But Yenching was open on holidays, warm and friendly, always bustling. I called around to see if any other places are open, but no. Mass really closes down tight on Thanksgiving. So it’s a normal day for me. I do have the energy to make a pie though, and that is the best part of the day.

    It’s strange how places that hold a community together can just disappear. I think I’m going down to the local diner for breakfast tomorrow, though. Haven’t been since the before times. I wonder who’s still there.

  132. 132.

    montanareddog

    @zhena gogolia: And fascinating to think that these two gifted, young actors in a light comedy would go on, a decade to two decades later, to alternate being the leading man in a series of Hitchcock classics.

  133. 133.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Leto: ​
     

    @OzarkHillbilly: coming back for the update: was indeed one of our little furry friends who gave himself up to the transformer gods. Service came back on about 30 mins ago and apple tort is proceeding.

    Yay!!!

  135. 135.

    LiminalOwl

    @satby: The small gray fuzzball has decided that “her” chair is the stool next to my work chair; if anything is atop the stool, she sits at the base and glares until I clear it for her.

    That stool is one of a pair. The other one is more often clear and lives about a yard away from hers. Does she ever sit on that one instead of glaring? Of course not.

    Happy Thanksgiving, jackals. I am grateful for your presence in my reading life.

  139. 139.

    opiejeanne

    @zhena gogolia: I’m still amused by the bad review given for Hepburn’s performance, something about her emotions running the gamut from A to B.

    It’s much easier to write a bad review than a good one, and more fun.

    I love that movie, including her performance.

  141. 141.

    sdhays

    @OzarkHillbilly: Just reading about it from afar, but I had the sense that the Republicans in the legislature already didn’t like him and there was a not insignificant amount of opportunism in their defenestration of Greitens. They were happy to get rid of someone who had proven difficult to work with, even if he was “one of their own”.

  143. 143.

    LiminalOwl

    @germy: Thank you. I might have missed that story otherwise. And… oh dear. “The Lovely Bones” has been on my to-read list for a while. Now it will be even more difficult.

  144. 144.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: Thanks. I’ll look that up. The Republican side is mostly horribles, featuring our disgraced former governor and a guy who got famous for pointing a gun at people walking past his house, among others.

    We had Thamksgiving on Sunday already because my niece and her hubby who work for ServiceMaster were in town – you never know where they’ll be tomorrow, so we took the opportunity when it presented itself. It was nice, everyone was there for the first time in a couple of years, and I got to see my new two month old grand niece for the first time. I have no idea what we’re doing today except I’m going back to bed now.

  147. 147.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    God love Cary Grant. As much as I love The Philadelphia Story (and I do), one of my most favorites is Arsenic and Old Lace. So much clowning and double takes!

  148. 148.

    WaterGirl

    Happy to be able to share that I heard back from MattF!

    Matt is out of the hospital in a rehab center for “acute rehab” for an unknown period of time, and I have to say that 3 hours of PT, 5 days a week, does not sound like fun.

    His shirt, jacket, and underwear all disappeared, but since he didn’t mention pants, I can only assume that Baud was not the culprit.

    Guessing that there’s a long slog for him ahead, but not much is known right now.  In the meantime, I am thankful that he is out of the hospital and things are moving forward

    edit: Now that I have had a moment to think this through further, I believe that everything but the pants being taken absolutely incriminates Baud!

  149. 149.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @opiejeanne: I’m still amused by the bad review given for Hepburn’s performance, something about her emotions running the gamut from A to B.

    Dorothy Parker, who was played by Jennifer Jason Leigh in Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle, and JJL played Katharine Hepburn, with a gloss of Jean Arthur, in The Hudsucker Proxy

  153. 153.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @sdhays: My read was he got too big for his britches. He came out of nowhere with out any political experience to win the governorship and instead of being grateful to the establishment GOP for putting him in the governors mansion, he acted like the 2nd coming of Jesus. He had no understanding of politics or how to schmooze the people he needed in order to get things done. So he pissed on everyone and they hated him for it and couldn’t wait to get their evens.

    Too bad the national GOP didn’t emulate the Misery GOP and dump trump at their first opportunity.

    Regardless, as the esteemed Dr. Taylor at OTB goes to great pains to remind people, the party is no longer in control of who ends up on the ballot. These days the Misery GOP primary voters would happily put Mussolini on the ballot, and Grietens would fill the bill for many.

    We’ll see how it goes.

  155. 155.

    zhena gogolia

    @LiminalOwl: It’s okay, isn’t it? I really hate a completely empty day. We’re not going to our Thanksgiving party until 6:00, so it gives me something to do! Plus I just read two brilliant papers in a row!

  158. 158.

    Feathers

    @germy: I know everyone wants to dump on Sebold, but there was so much police and prosecutor problems here that we need to keep the focus there. Memory is terrible and ever changing. She made a wrong identification. The police doubled down on it, telling her lies at the lineup, instead of trying to make sure her identification was correct.

    One of the truly terrible things about these “implanted” memories is that they seem to be very resistant to change. As a professor told us, the Fells Acre daycare kids all still believe they were abused.

    I hope Sebold is able to find support for facing the truth of what happened and her part in wronging an innocent man.

    I would also support him getting the money she made from her writing about the case.

  159. 159.

    stinger

    @satby: I had a dog named CK Dexter Haven! A Norfolk Terrier. Still miss my Dexie boy, the D-Man, Big D. Except for how much I loved him, he was very unlike his namesake.

  161. 161.

    Emma

    @germy: sweet Jesus. If I were her, I would feel so devastated, I could never recover. And she most definitely owes massive apologies.
    But the prosecutor! Even if he were dead, I’d like him disbarred and have the state review each and every one of his cases.​
    (added) I am always suspicious of cases based on memories. I have caught myself “re-writing” memories in the most innocuous situations. Can you imagine how easy it would be to do it to a traumatized victim?

  163. 163.

    Kathleen

    @satby: I can totally relate to that! I salute you for enjoying the holiday on your terms! I am in Tampa with family so it will be a big crowd (which expanded from daughter, son in law, grandsons and grand dog to girl friends’ families, dogs, etc. While I’m solitary by nature I plan to enjoy the crowd.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the BJ Bunch!

  164. 164.

    matt the somewhat reasonable

    The same pretend-respectable pirate/slavers who freaked out about pumpkin pie are freaking out today about Big Bird.

  169. 169.

    Yutsano

    @MattF: I’ve done inpatient rehab several times now. The best thing to do is build rapport with your therapists and get you a good schedule going. Of course things can get unpredictable with that! I will say at the end you will be EXHAUSTED but the end result will be worth it. I wish you well good sir!

    @WaterGirl:  If he’s doing inpatient rehab then 1.5 hours of that should be occupational therapy, which is usually much less taxing. I actually got to shower as my first OT session of the day, so maybe MattF can steal that idea from me. To be fair, I don’t know how his rehab is structured, but three hours of physiotherapy a day would be counterproductive. At any rate, I do wish him well! And this will definitely help his functionality once he gets out.

  172. 172.

    Denali

    I do have a pumpkin pie recipe that is really good. The secret is grated orange peel in the topping- crumpled crust and sweetened evaporated CONDENSED milk in the filling. I may make it again some day.

  174. 174.

    Soprano2

    @Geminid: After reading that piece I can see why he might have some crossover appeal. People in rural areas aren’t happy about China owning so much Missouri farmland. The article didn’t mention how Republicans were able to take over the state legislature, though – they got the voters to pass term limits on the legislature. A lot of long-serving more conservative Democrats were term-limited out of their seats, and most of those seats were filled by Republicans. It might have happened anyway, but it would have been a lot slower. Kunce is the same kind of Democrat McCaskill is, and is the only kind who has a chance here. People who scorn McCaskill know nothing about MO politics or the state.

  176. 176.

    The Lodger

    Pfeffernusse. I had no idea what the hell “peppernuts” were supposed to be. I missed the powdered sugar, it you mentioned it.

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