… of his mealy-mouthed NYTimes editors.
(*Reminder: Nice originally meant precise, or well-targeted.)
CJR asked 12 columnists if they’d recently been edited w a heavier hand. 3 said they hadn’t—3 of the worst (Dowd, Collins, & Friedman). Silence of the other 9 suggests they’ve had experiences similar to Krugman
This appears to date to Junior installing Healy as commissar for bothsidesism— Dana Houle (@danahoule.bsky.social) January 24, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Krug says that the NYT brass told him that writing a column and a newsletter was *too much content* www.cjr.org/analysis/pau…
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper.com) January 24, 2025 at 9:10 AM
2 columns a week is frankly not that much of a workload unless you're putting a LOT of reporting and research into them. I used to write 5 a week, easily. why pay someone (I'd guess) well into 6 figures and not get your money's worth?
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper.com) January 24, 2025 at 9:12 AM
the answer of course is the NYT brass does not like Krug's politics and pushed him out with passive-aggressive tactics
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper.com) January 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
in any case @pkrugman.bsky.social's solo newsletter has a post every weekday and without the stuffy, self-important NYT house style it's *better* substack.com/home/post/p-…
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper.com) January 24, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I’ve signed up for a paid subscription — which, for now, means extra weekend posts — and will report back on how that experiment goes. Meanwhile, “Donald Trump Wants You to Die”:
… So what will MAGA do, now that it’s in power? Many observers, myself included, have focused on plans to convert a number of civil service jobs into political appointments. But just a few days into the new regime it’s clear that the assault on professional government will be much broader than that — that it will involve an effort to intimidate and politicize civil servants, too.
And early indications are that one prime target will be agencies devoted to protecting public health…
Public health agencies, even more than the rest of the government, are in the firing line. You can’t talk seriously about health policy without taking race and gender into account; yet according to the New York Times, one contractor collecting demographic data for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has already been told to stop work, and the results of an already completed survey won’t be released.
But wait, there’s more: federal health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes for Health, have been ordered to pause all external communications, including health advisories and scientific reports.
NIH, in particular, appears to have been effectively put in lockdown, with even routine meetings canceled and employees forbidden to travel.
Is this just a temporary phase, with normal health policy returning soon? Don’t count on it.
After all, Trump is trying to install Robert F. Kennedy, an anti-vaccine crank, as head of Health and Human Services. In general, public health policy, which used to be nonpartisan — in the past Anthony Fauci, whom President Biden preemptively pardoned to protect him from possible persecution, served both Democratic and Republican administrations — has become a political flash point. Right-wing hostility to medical science caused a strong partisan divide in willingness to get vaccinated against Covid…
And let’s not forget that when the Covid pandemic was raging, Trump seemed far more interested in preventing people from hearing bad news than he was in holding down the death toll.
So my prediction — which I hope proves false — is that when NIH and other health agencies emerge from the current freeze they will have been emasculated and politicized, prohibited from releasing information and research whose implications the Trump administration doesn’t like, banned from making policy recommendations that are inconvenient for Trump or at odds with the prejudices of the MAGA base.
And many Americans will die as a result…
And when — not if — the next pandemic strikes, do you expect our battered, politicized public health agencies to keep Americans properly informed? If Trump is still in charge, do you expect him to respond effectively, as opposed to minimizing the threat and muzzling anyone who might contradict him? It’s hard to feel optimistic about any of these concerns…
A Ghost to Most
You can’t reason with fascists. You can only crush them, or be crushed.
Baud
Gotta save something for the book.
Leto
Something good open thread: Apropos of nothing here’s a guide made by the US Department of Agriculture alongside the War Department on producing high yield small space garden plots.
“The ABC of Victory Gardens; Backyard Farming Made Easy for All; Containing Full Information On What, When and How To Plant The Vegetables Your Nation Needs”
Old School
Krugman’s first post said something along the lines of that he was going to be more wonkish than political. I haven’t read every post, but that doesn’t seem to be sticking.
Nukular Biskits
Good afternoon, y’all.
Was just thinking: Is anyone keeping a list of all the awful shit Trump & his administration are doing? Although I know it’ll do no good, I’m writing an open letter to my Congressional delegation (R-Bootlickers, of course) and would like to cite numerous instances of bad things and broken promises that they can’t seem to acknowledge or criticize.
sab
Eggs almost $ 5.00 per dozen. I hate eating eggs (got hives from them as a small child) but they are useful in cooking and baking especially.
The potential Ag Sec sounds like she intends to do her job as Ag Sec rather than Trump flunky. Am I misreading?
trollhattan
Effectively, yes.
Baud
@sab:
Who knows? Farmers are a group Republicans can’t afford to piss off.
zhena gogolia
Thank god for a new thread.
Did anyone attend the zoom yesterday?
trollhattan
@Baud:
‘Too many notes, dear Mozart, too many notes’
—Emperor Joseph II
zhena gogolia
Gail Collins? She’s one of the worst? She didn’t use to be. Not that I’ve laid eyes on any NYT opeds in a very long time.
I did notice that in the print version, on the Sunday opinion page, which throughout the Biden administration always front-paged some sin or problem of the Biden administration, was about the state of Alzheimer’s research this week. Ho-hum, guess there was nothing more urgent that happened this past week.
sab
@Leto: Shades of Michelle Obama.
I was raised upper middle class white. Mom was a garden club lady.
My black urban grandchildren have experience raising food not flowers.
We only grew tomatoes, and some herbs, and of course flowers. They grew all sorts of vegetables. And they are good at it.
ETA Taught by their other grandmothers.
gene108
If Trump will muzzle inconvenient health data, I think it’s only going to be a matter of time before he muzzles inconvenient economic data.
The public not knowing what believe plays into the hands of conmen and destroys civic trust in most everything.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@zhena gogolia: yes I did
Baud
@sab:
I was born a poor black child.
swiftfox
Beats his chest a bit much but I’ve liked his columns. Went for the free offering right away but I draw the line at paid content until I believe I can afford it.
trollhattan
@Baud: Need to rewatch that. “They hate the cans!”
Mathguy
I still get the WaPo daily article list. Subscription expired in November.
Headlines today:
“What ending birthright citizenship could look like in the U.S” [yeah, let’s normalize this garbage.]
“Inside Zuckerberg’s Trump Pivot” [Who gives a shit?]
“Trump shocks the system. Will he solve the problems voters care about most?” [Is this a trick question?]
“Elon Musk urges far right German party to move beyond ‘past guilt’.” [Elmo can burn in hell for this crap.]
FTFWaPo is normalizing all the fascist behavior.
HinTN
@Nukular Biskits: Cheryl Rofer over at LGM has made a start.
thruppence
@trollhattan: The feeling is mutual. We’ll see who pisses on whose grave
Get in line, take a number.
J
Imagine being so stupid and pig-headed that one would want to lose Paul Krugman! There has been no better columnist at the Times or anywhere else since he joined the paper, and very few who might–might–be his equal. For many people, myself included, he is at the top of the (ever shrinking) list of reasons to subscribe.
zhena gogolia
@Mr. Bemused Senior: How was it?
Nukular Biskits
@trollhattan:
I think the scene that stuck with me was cat juggling:
Ohio Mom
@Leto: My mom helped with a war effort Victory garden as a biology major at Hunter College (a women’s college that is part of the City University of New York, though nowadays it is coed). She saved a newspaper clipping (that I inherited) about the garden, complete with a photo of her smiling, holding up a large head of cabbage.
Her college yearbook, which I wish I had saved, had many pages dedicated to Hunter’s various war efforts, I remember one about how many war bonds were sold during their drive, along with the stirring words, “This is Hunter at war.”
It was a different country then, most everyone banding together in common cause, in contrast to today, when we are at each other’s throats and half of us are actively undermining our democracy.
Nukular Biskits
@HinTN:
Thanks for the heads up!
Leto
@sab: my mother’s family were all farmers. Her parents were chicken farmers after the war (kinda funny in the current context), and they grew pretty much all their food. Later in life, my grandmother kept an acre and a half garden out back. They had a lot of land, and that’s what she could manage after grandad passed away. I need to ask what dad and his family did, but I know they were country as hell as well. When I was growing up my parents grew tomatoes, and 1-2 other things, but we grew up in the suburbs and they both worked. I think they did that for maybe 2-3 years? I have time to do this, plus Avalune is really interested in this so I’m willing to give it a go. Plus I like being out in the yard doing this. Beats being inside, online, and just sitting around most of the time.
J.
Thanks for this post. I didn’t realize Krugman had left. Just signed up for his Substack. As a native New Yorker who grew up reading the Times, I’ve found it a hard habit to break, even though I detest it’s rightward bent. But I’m getting closer to canceling. (I already canceled the WaPo.)
VFX Lurker
You made me check. Egg prices are all over the map here in Glendale, depending on the store. Cheapest options per store of the three stores I checked:
At Ralphs, both Happy Egg and Vital Farms had much lower prices than the Kroger store brand eggs. Normally, the Kroger brand costs much less.
HarryBee
When the body-bags start piling up, I would like to see state attorneys general filing indictments against the Trump toadies and lickspittles that carry out these orders. They don’t have immunity and would be arguably guilty of negligent homicide at best or deliberate murder in a just world.
Alce _e_ardillo
@sab: If so, she won’t last….
Leto
@Ohio Mom: that’s really cool! That would’ve been an amazing piece of history to have, but it’s still cool to have the memories. I know we’re at each other’s throats, but I try to remember how a lot of the country back then thought that Hitler was a fine fellow, and how the US could maybe use one. As I said to sab, I’m interested, I like being out in the yard, and it’s something positive. I can see doing a little 10’x15’ plot. It’s manageable and it’ll provide a good amount of veg.
Edit: I also posted it because I know some of us here might want to do a bit more gardening, so a good, free resource is always helpful :)
Chief Oshkosh
@Old School: Yep, agreed, and he’s already commented on that himself.
Ohio Mom
@Baud: I’m foggy on the details but I remember Trump almost made farmers go bankrupt the last time around, he had to send them big checks to make up for the money they lost — maybe it was some kind of trade spat with China? Anybody with a better memory or an inclination to google, feel free to correct me.
The money must have been enough to mollify them because they helped re-elect him. Or they have worse memories than mine.
Baud
@Ohio Mom:
I heard the same story but never researched it myself.
ETA wikipedia
Chief Oshkosh
@zhena gogolia:
The state of Alzheimer’s research this week? It’s completely shut down by EO.
Leto
@VFX Lurker: so we have an egg guy. One of Avalune’s co-workers, a few years ago, decided to start raising chickens. We’re his most consistent customer, and as such have #1 prio when he’s delivering. We pay $4 and I’m so grateful. You really can see the difference between those eggs and anything you buy in the store. I’ll still occasionally buy eggs from the store if I need more, but I’m usually good with just his each week.
dm
@Mathguy:
Remember the rule about headlines: If a headline ends with a question-mark, the answer is “no”.
Ohio Mom
@Leto: My mom lived in apartments her whole life so after college she had to stick to houseplants on tne window sill.
I’ll look forward to seeing your photos next summer on Sunday mornings in Anne Laurie’s gardening posts.
Chief Oshkosh
@Baud: But do you have a special purpose?
Marcopolo
Not even a week into Trump’s second term & we are already at war…trade war w/ Colombia or Great War on Breakfast (eggs, coffee, oranges) take your pic. Anyway, really liking the Colombian prez for insisting his folks be treated decently as they are being deported.
mali muso
Hope it’s ok to drop this here…. a concrete opportunity to support the effort in Ukraine for anyone who wants to participate. This comes via a local Ukrainian friend who has friends and family there and with whom I’ve worked with before. Below is the email from the folks in Ukraine:
I’ve already donated and asked my friend if she’d be ok with me spreading the word further. If anyone wants the link to her Venmo, Paypall, or Zelle, please email me at sulawesigirl4 at yahoo dot com. If nothing else, doing something that will make a concrete difference beats doomscrolling. :)
Marcopolo
Not even a week into Trump’s second term & we are already at war…trade war w/ Colombia or Great War on Breakfast (eggs, coffee, oranges) take your pick. Anyway, really liking the Colombian prez for insisting his folks be treated decently as they are being deported.
Chief Oshkosh
@Leto: There is nothing like a fresh tomato right off the vine.
Starfish (she/her)
@Nukular Biskits: He has brought all sorts of funding to a screeching halt.
politico.eu/article/donald-trump-foreign-aid-freeze-war-in-ukraine-weapons/
He halted funding of diplomacy including cyber diplomacy.
therecord.media/cyber-diplomacy-funding-halted-freeze-on-foreign-aid
I think they halted funding of cyber security stuff including the stuff going into figuring out how deeply Salt Typhoon got into everything.
I mean, they might not care about that stuff, but were the universities getting medical research funding? Is this going to harm funding of stuff going on at Stennis?
Ohio Mom
@Chief Oshkosh: Your comment needs to be shaped into a Letter to the Editor and sent to the Times.
Not only was the timing of that column unfortunate, the material has been done to death. I read the article because I good friend is in the first stages of Alzheimer’s and there was nothing there I hadn’t read many times before.
The best part of the NYT’s Opinion pages are the comment threads, readers regularly tear columns to shreds. I especially enjoy the posts by Socrates. But not every column allows comments, the editors clearly know when they are about to print a real stinker.
Leto
@Chief Oshkosh: when we lived in Italy, we had a small patio out front of our unit where we grew tomatoes in pots. Our neighbor in the until above/beside us was a great gardener. The flowers in her containers were amazing. While initially a bit standoffish, she eventually started engaging with us when she was like… “You’re doing this all wrong.” Now, she said it in Italian but she got her point across. She helped us with our tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. And yes, fresh tomatoes are absolutely amazing.
Heidi Mom
@Ohio Mom: Not entirely. In one of my father’s letters home from the war he said something like “Well, I see [So-and-So] has taken up farming.” The context made clear that he thought the man was a draft dodger — farmers were exempt.
MagdaInBlack
@Leto: When I raised chickens they lived on oats, corn, bugs and kitchen scraps. The yolks were orange and made store bought eggs look sickly. I imagine your reaction to store eggs is the same, now you have “real” eggs.
And: gardening is therapy to me, I hope you will discover the same. Plus the fu satisfaction of growing your own food is grand =-)
Jay
@Leto: Check out “Square Foot Gardening”,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening
simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening
It is very adaptable to both companion planting and rotational planting.
Ohio Mom
@HinTN: I looked at Cheryl Rolfer’s list and it was missing two federal programs I knew had been shut down from Josh Marshall’s BlueSky. I thought briefly about adding them in the comments but was not confident they’d be seen and I loathe the idea of registering at LGM.
What is really needed is something like a Wikipedia page, where people can add things (with links) that the editor missed. There probably is such a thing already, or about to be, we just don’t know where it is yet.
Of course, to circle back to the subject of this post, you’d think that would be something a major newspaper might undertake, Hahaha.
lowtechcyclist
@Baud:
“I was an orphan until the age of 20, when I was adopted by a rich and beautiful woman.” – Bogie in Beat the Devil
Mr. Bemused Senior
@zhena gogolia: very good. I think the key point, not a quick prescription for action but a long-term approach, is to organize unions. Our guest speaker was
Brendan Walsh, Executive Director of Worker Power
sab
The only critter more nutz than my siblings is my dog.
My siblings think that is a reflection on me. I suspect they have point.
Leto
@Jay: that looks really interesting; thanks!
Leto
@MagdaInBlack: agreed; the color of the yolks is wild, and now store bought ones look lacking.
sab
@Baud: Really?
Barry
@mali muso:
links are good.
links are great.
lack of links makes Trump smile.
do not make Trump smile.
sab
@Baud: I am being honest.
Are you just being a snarky asshole?
mali muso
@Barry: Sorry to not post them publicly but as they contain my friend’s full name, I didn’t think it appropriate to put out there on the internets.
Ohio Mom
@lowtechcyclist: At a public lecture at the Reform Jewish seminary here in Cincinnati, one of the faculty explained that in biblical times, couples did sometimes adopt adults. If you were getting on in years and for one reason or another did not have adult children to help you work your farm or flock or whatever, you could adopt an adult to take their place. In exchange, the adoptee would be the heir.
There was a time the college did a lot of public lectures and they were always intersting. And now the Reform movement shutting this branch down (the schools on NY and LA will remain in operation) because not enough people want to become Reform rabbis anymore,
Baud
@sab:
I would never.
Leto
Something to add to the list: Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is now America’s largest in recorded history
I remember when I had to get all my vaccines updated for deployment to Iraq, and then later Afghanistan. I thought, Jesus, I’m so glad to live in a country that believes in public health.
Whelp… *cue Curb Your Enthusiasm music
Queen of Lurkers
@VFX Lurker: Where I shop in the suburbs of a big city in TX, there were no Happy Eggs, or pretty much any kind of free range or pasture raised eggs available.
Baud
@Leto:
I want to start calling it consumption again.
Jay
@mali muso:
Adam’s Ukraine thread is up.
That would be a good place to repost.
If they haven’t already done it, see if they can get a NAFO member to post the “bleg”. NAFO is Global. Unfortunately, they are mostly on the Dead Bird Site.
eclare
@Ohio Mom:
That arrangement of adopting an adult to help you in exchange for an inheritance would be a huge benefit to me. I am an only child with no kids and my closest relative is a 94 yo aunt. But I own my house and car, so in exchange they would get those plus my financial assets.
I’m only 55, so hopefully I won’t need help for a while, but I hope others in my circumstances start to look into this.
Citizen Alan
It is past time that we recognize and accept the fact that farmers as a class of americans are hostile to both democrats and democracy. Democrats should not allow a farm bill to pass again unless they get something in exchange, that benefits actual democratic constituencies.
Baud
@Citizen Alan:
They usually get food stamps in exchange. That’s the historical deal.
mali muso
@Jay: Thanks, will do.
Citizen Alan
@VFX Lurker: $6.99 at Von’s in Fresno.
Trivia Man
@Leto: A perfect place for an HOA to step up. Use that community space and broad labor force productively. Chickens, potatoes, beans, zucchini… lots of low effort food.
zhena gogolia
@sab: He’s quoting the movie The Jerk with Steve Martin.
Citizen Alan
@Baud: which the republicans want to do away with so that we can just shovel tax dollars to welfare farmers and get nothing in return.
Rusty
@Ohio Mom: The number of people entering the ministry is way down across all denominations in the Christian side too. There is already a shortage of clergy, it’s only going to get worse.
Leto
@Baud: I do like those old-timey names; approved!
@Trivia Man: luckily we don’t live in an HOA, but we don’t qualify for chickens either per the township. I’m ok with that. I’ve got a guy. Just gimmie the eggs! :)
Trivia Man
@Chief Oshkosh: I am convinced that nearly every person who says “I don’t like tomatoes” has never eaten a real tomato.
Trivia Man
@Ohio Mom: It is common in japan. If there are no children, no interested children, or no competent children it is common to adopt an adult specifically to ensure the business continues.
Nearly all of the oldest businesses in the world are in japan. Many at 500 years old+, done 800+.
Nukular Biskits
@Starfish (she/her):
Part of me says, “I hope to hell so.”
A lot of Mississippians (and Louisianians) who work there voted for Trump and are now finding out the leopards think their faces are delicious.
Jay
@Trivia Man:
T hated tomatoes, until she met me. I’ve grown heritage tomatoes since I was in my 20’s. Here, on the 22nd floor, I still grow them on my balcony.
Trivia Man
@Leto: I have actively and aggressively avoided HOA with every home. But – now is a chance for redemption. Great opportunity for REAL community cooperation .
Nukular Biskits
@Trivia Man:
PREACH!
Ain’t nothin’ in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin’ out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don’t get a hard one
Plant ’em in the spring eat ’em in the summer
All winter without ’em’s a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin’ & diggin’
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one
Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What’d life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can’t buy
That’s true love & homegrown tomatoes
You can go out to eat & that’s for sure
But it’s nothin’ a homegrown tomato won’t cure
Put ’em in a salad, put ’em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat ’em with egss, eat ’em with gravy
Eat ’em with beans, pinto or navy
Put ’em on the site put ’em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle
If I’s to change this life I lead
I’d be Johnny Tomato Seed
‘Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don’t bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin’ up homegrown tomatoes.
“Homegrown Tomatoes” Music and lyrics by Guy Clark
MagdaInBlack
@Trivia Man: And I am convinced you are correct
@Nukular Biskits: …I was very tempted to post a youtube link to that =-)
Trivia Man
@Jay: nice
some people may actually dislike real tomatoes… but ive never met one
Geminid
@Citizen Alan: About 75% of Farm Bill funding goes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.
Hope you’re enjoying San Diego. Have you been able to check out San Francisco?
Have you experienced any earthquakes yet? I lived in the LA area when I was a kid, 1959 to 1963. We got a tremor every now and then, but no biggies. I understand it’s an experience like no other.
Jay
@Trivia Man:
During WWI and WWII people tore up their front and back lawns to grow vegetables for their homes. It was a supplement to food rationing.
eclare
@Trivia Man:
It’s a texture thing with me, I can’t stand the goo, it’s like okra. I grew up in the south, my relatives grew tomatoes, nope.
I love tomato derivatives as long as they are not too chunky, like soups and sauces.
sab
I even had to explain that George Clooney thing to my husband. He says he is watching no news tv to become as stupid as a MAGA. He seems to be succeeding. Also husband did not know who Tim Snyder is.
There is ignorant, and then there is woefully ignorant.
Jay
@eclare:
Try Anna’s, they are a rose coloured meaty tomato, great flavour, but water hogs, very little “slime”. T would eat them like apples with a little salt and pepper.
eclare
@Jay:
Thanks, but I have no idea where I would find those, and I do not garden. I am fine with tomatoes not being in my life, I have plenty of other veggies and fruits to enjoy. Defrosting some big ass blueberries right now for a snack.
Kayla Rudbek
@sab: I know of a fair amount of vegan substitutions for eggs in baking, and the Just Egg liquid or patties work reasonably well for breakfast. Of course that depends on other parts of agriculture still working…
Ohio Mom
@eclare: I don’t think you can compare biblical times arrangements with modern adoption law. But I suppose you and another person could hire lawyers and draw up a contract. Where to find the right person though?
Nukular Biskits
@eclare:
I’m not sure what kind of tomatoes you had that had the texture of okra. LOL.
Ohio Mom
@Trivia Man: Interesting. Too bad eclare isn’t Japanese.!
Elizabelle
@Ohio Mom: Believe you mentioned liking Vichy Times reader commenter Socrates.
Did you know that he is Chelsea Handler’s brother IRL?
Putz Sulzberger’s editor Joseph Kahn has cut reader comments back so much. A lot of their Vichified crap never gets offered up to reader commenters for correction. That is a decision.
eclare
@Ohio Mom:
Yeah too many of those situations become abusive, and I wouldn’t have any relatives to check on me. Hopefully someone much smarter than I will figure this out in the coming decades.
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
They all have that goo, or slime, to some extent. Just like okra does. Trust me, I remember trying tomatoes as young as four or five yo. I am now 55. No sale.
Ohio Mom
@sab: As long as he keeps voting Blue! Really, does knowing what, say, Susan Collins is up to change anything for me? Not really, not anymore than being able to recognize art styles does. I just vote for Democrats up and down the ballot.
Kayla Rudbek
@Ohio Mom: adult adoption of people over 18 years old is perfectly legal (although probably not overly common).
Nukular Biskits
@eclare:
I know that the texture of certain foods is definitely a put off for some folks. Being a Southerner and having grown and eaten both “tomaters” and “okree”, I can’t relate to what you describe but I definitely understand.
The only experience I have that would be similar is accidentally shoveling in the huge piece of pork fat used to season a traditional Hawai’ian dish (I don’t remember the dish but it had pork, fish and purple yams/potatoes and was steamed wrapped in taro leaves) without realizing what it was.
Jay
@eclare:
The “goo” is there to preserve the seeds, help fertilize them when they sprout, and have certain antibacterial/anti-fungal properties.
The plant’s natural reproduction strategy is that the fruit falls in the fall, rots away over the winter, the “goo” enables that.
Yes, all tomatoes have the “goo”, some more than others, some less.
Because of her cancer, T had to avoid all seeds and skins, so I just blanched the tomato’s, peeled the skins and cut the “meat” away for her.
But I understand food aversions Cilantro tastes like soap to me, and I am allergic to green peppers .
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
I’m sure that was a surprise! I hope the rest of the dish was good.
eclare
@Jay:
Interesting about the goo! T is lucky to have you, I hope she’s doing OK, and the pain management is working.
Jay
@eclare:
She is cancer free for now, (and some other stuff) and is just recovering from the operations. She will be going back to work on a limited schedule and with “accomodations” in mid February. She is doing well and the pain is being managed.
eclare
@Jay:
Great!
Nukular Biskits
@Jay:
Serious question here exposing my ignorance: What was the issue with seeds and skins?
Same here. And I’m currently in San Diego on business travel where there is some of the best food … and even some of the Asian restaurants (Thai, pho, etc) use cilantro.
When cilantro became hugely popular a few years ago, I just could not wrap my head around why people raved about it. It wasn’t until a few years later I read about how some folks (you and me, for example) have a mutation that causes cilantro to taste like soap.
Ruckus
@Leto:
Yep we got all the shots in school and when I enlisted we got them all over again. Not sure if we got a second smallpox shot if we still had that scar on our arm. But I suspect we did. It’s only been 55 yrs ago now. I do remember standing in line as we used to say, _ _ _ _ to _ _ _ _ _, waiting our turn.
eclare
@Nukular Biskits:
And I don’t have that mutation, so I like cilantro. That’s one of the weirder food qualities to me, why would cilantro taste so different to different people? And of all things, soap?
Jay
@Nukular Biskits:
Because of the nature of a bunch of the cancer tests, and the location of the cancer, (bowel), seeds and skins digest slowly and create a false positive on many of the tests and biopsies. They can also “embed” in the areas where the tissue is healing, causing damage, cysts or infections.
Couldn’t even have brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.
NutmegAgain
@Queen of Lurkers: My experience this afternoon as well. I had figured it was Sunday, but of course bird flu. There were lots of eggs from the factory farmers, like Eggland.
Jay
@eclare:
There are chemicals in cilantro that mimic soap chemicals. People with the genetic “quirk” are super sensitive to both the smell and taste of these chemicals, around 20% of the population, (varies by region).
Julia Child is probably the most famous cilantro hater.
glc
As a point of detail, “nice” originally meant ignorant or foolish (tending toward the latter) deriving from the Latin for not knowing. A “nice distinction” carried that older sense initially. But that was all quite some time ago.
eclare
@Jay:
Huh. Maybe Julia should have tried more butter…
Kidding, love Julia and her love of real butter.
Citizen Alan
@Geminid: i love san diego. I am ambivalent about san francisco because wherever you want to go, you have to climb a steep hill. Also it was cold both times I went to san francisco and one of those times was in june
I am informed that we’ve had two earthquakes. But I did not notice either of them.
ArchTeryx
@Jay: My fiancee is another cilantro hater. I don’t have the mutation so it tastes fine to me. It’s a very mild, gentle spice… unless you have that mutation, in which case it takes like eating hand soap according to her.
azlib
I paid for a subscription to Krugman’s substack. I always enjoyed his work and was one reason for my NYT subscription. I dropped my subscription last summer and am glad I can still read Krugman’s insiteful posts.
Jay
@ArchTeryx:
the worst part, is it makes everything taste like bar soap, (flash backs to early childhood swearing), and it’s popular and everywhere.
Where it is used as a garnish, it’s manageable, where it’s cooked in, kills the whole dish.
Jay
@Citizen Alan:
I worked as a bicycle messenger in San Francisco for 2 years, on a single speed Schwinn. There are tricks for getting up the hills with out killing yourself, (bumper surfing) and the rides down are thrilling.
There are large amounts of flat parts, and I never found it cold, damp, yes, wet at times, yes, and of course, at the time in the Mission District, there were good $1 beef, cheese, rice and bean burritos and $1 Dos Equis on a Friday night with the gang at an outside table after work.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Or the NYT brass are bunch of aholes who love fucking with their staff. Them desperately trying to get Krug to stay after he gave notice fits that.
RevRick
@Citizen Alan: Your average farmer is a medium sized business. There’s a young couple, I believe in Nebraska, I watch (Laura Farms). They own a huge tract on which they grow corn for ethanol and corn syrup production. They have equipment like you wouldn’t believe. Millions of dollars worth. And they are in debt up to their eyeballs…probably higher. They depend on the federal government for crop loans and insurance.
They are light years away from the Joads, and yet the precarity of their situation is obvious.
RevRick
@ArchTeryx: No, it’s you who has the mutation.
RevRick
@eclare: No, you do have the mutation that allows you to enjoy cilantro. Molecular biologists have determined that about 150,000 years ago, nobody liked cilantro.
eclare
@RevRick:
Gotcha. Interesting.
Citizen Alan
And the average medium sized business owner is an asshole who wants government subsidies, but no regulation. And who absolutely hates the democratic party.
Jay
@Citizen Alan:
Your “average” Farmer is a Multinational Corporation or Family Owned Corporation.
The Family Farm is a myth in the US.
Citizen Alan
@Jay: Agreed
Ramalama
@RevRick: Ruth reichl, famous food writer, made or helped to make a movie about the food supply in America, done during the pandemic. I just listened to her being interviewed by Samantha Bee about food in America. It sounded like she talked to a ton of farmers for the movie. Has anyone seen it? Food and Country is the title, I think.
@RevRick:
Ramalama
@Jay: she will be going back to work? Wow, that’s amazing, given how long and hard her slog (and yours) has been. Just wow.
Jay
@Ramalama:
T got “lucky”, they caught it early. Surgery went well. They also added some preventive surgery, uterus and fallopian tubes, given her age. Took some time, but our only costs were parking and me stress eating.
WTFGhost
Nail Donald Trump to a wall, and still, a whole swath of American society wants you to die, and they excuse it because everyone is equally horrible.
Covid-19 showed that better than anything. And I don’t mean the Republican Party, alone.
Sorry – in a mood and aware that there’s too much indifference in this country. “Indifference” is worse than hate; people can hate you all they want, but as long as they have common human decency, they won’t attack you, or let you be poisoned, or suffer from a dangerous disease if said suffering can be avoided.
Ah, but once you don’t *care*, that hate can turn into action, and a few drunken louts will think it’s funny to beat up an X_Hatred_Target.
Indifference is also what lets hate grow. You’ve had anger at a friend or relative that might have seemed red hot, but if love was still healthy, it didn’t turn to hate. In cases where the love was already unhealthy, and indifference to the other person’s well being sets in, that’s a set up for a homicide.
Ramalama
@Jay: stress eating, fer shure. You guys didn’t have to pay out of pocket for a tv in her hospital room? That’s what we paid for a friend who was visiting us from Alberta, and had heart failure and had to go to the ER near us. I was pissed for about a minute until I realized that was about it for costs.
Jay
@Ramalama:
No Tv here, hospitals have free wifi.
So does skytrain, transit centers and so far, most buses.
Ramalama
oh noice.
i just finished reading Cory doctorow’s latest post, It’s not a crime if you do it with an app, about food production, Big Potato, which is appropriate for this thread.
Now I really want to see Food and Country, the movie.
Jay
@Ramalama:
In the beginning, we drove.
Then we realized that 1 Skytrain stop, one transfer, 2 stops, 122 metres walk got us to Royal Columbian Hospital.
$2.35
Eagle Ridge Hospital, 2 skytrain stops, one bus with 3 stops, $3.35
Going home afterwards with T in rough shape, $25 for a taxi, (not an uber), 20% tip included, no bumps.
Geminid
From Middle East Eye:
There are photos out of people walking north on Rashid Avenue which runs along the coast. The avenue is packed, the crowd extending into the distance.
At this point it looks like the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire will come off without too many hitches like the one thst just got worked out, although that’s still not certain.
MagdaInBlack
@Jay: ❤️🍁
Baud
@Geminid:
Sounds like that might hurt Trump’s resort development plans.
I’m glad they have this break. Hope it sticks.
Baud
Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s team is pretty successful.
TBone
@Jay: I am so happy to hear this.
TBone
@Baud: we won? I haven’t checked anything but Noah and my teacup today, I’m so sleep deprived.
I just checked – wow, my homies gonna be so happy! I was in the market yesterday and a central PA guy was wearing his Eagles jacket so I loudly shouted out the Philly cheer and told him I don’t even watch football, I’m just from Philly! He pumped a fist in the air. There are more fans here than I’d have guessed.
Geminid
@Geminid: The Gaza Strip is often described as one of the most densely populated places in the world. That really depends on what it’s being compared to. The Gaza Strip has a land area of 144 square miles according to Wikipedia, and a population estimated at 2,141,000.
By comparison, the Borough of Brooklyn has a land area of 71 square miles with a population of 2,736,000.
TBone
Eagles v. Chiefs for the
Super Bowl LIX
My brother is a Chiefs fan hahaha I’m gonna razz him so hard. I only really pay attention for a few moments but the opportunity to engage with him this year will be epic. I wonder if he’ll defect for the Eagles this year and trounce my opportunity to razz him. If I know him, prollly not!
Baud
@Geminid:
Compared to me in the bathroom, both places are pretty sparsely populated.
sab
@Jay: Yay so much.
My sisters in law had similar cancers and similar treatments and good results.
Didn’t mention it earlier because I have heard that people don’t want to hear that. For all the people in the good 80% there are others in the 20% of bad outcomes.
So glad T is in the good outcome group.
Geminid
@Baud: At least they’re getting some good weather in Gaza. There were bad winter storms in December and the first part of this month that caused a lot of suffering and death. Today it’s sunny and 67°, with more of the same forecast for this week.
Baud
US investors are better at making money than building businesses. The former conceals the latter.
matt
Krugman leaving the destructive editorial control of NYT and going off and making superior product is exactly how capitalism is supposed to work. More power to him.
Geminid
Various news agencies report that the ceasefire in Lebanon has been extended until February 18. Israel was supposed to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon yesterday, but they say Lebanon’s army had not yet occupied some border areas as requied under the ceasefire agreement reached in late November.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Geminid: @Baud
Stand on Zanzibar