Jags up 20-0 at the Stiller’s…
Someone check on Cole.
by David Anderson| 52 Comments
This post is in: Open Threads, Not Normal
This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads
Here’s one of my fur-nieces on a cold morning in Tampa:
Open thread!
PS: Edited to rotate picture. WP has been more fucked up than usual lately!
This post is in: Garden Chats, Photo Blogging
Sometimes all you can do is accept the austere beauty of a frozen landscape. From faithful commentor and ace photographer Ozark Hillbilly:
Seeing as I had sent you a “Winter is Coming” post I kinda felt obligated to send you a “Winter is Here” post. Sadly I find I do not have enough snowy pictures that are worth sending. Instead you are getting some from a couple of ice storms.
.
What’s going on in your (frosted, flourishing, or metaphorical) gardens, this week?
Sunday Morning Frost Garden Chat: “Winter Is Here”Post + Comments (242)
by TaMara| 96 Comments
This post is in: Cooking, Dog Blogging, Open Threads, Recipes
Been a busy week with Scout and work. She’s settling in nicely. The obligatory photo is at the end of this post. ;-)
I had someone request my recipe for Creamy Roasted Poblano Soup and you can find that here.
Meanwhile, I had a friend request meatloaf, so it gave me a chance to test a new recipe. JeffreyW linked to this recipe originally and I had been looking for an opportunity to give it a try. When I went to make it, I adapted it to what I had on hand and keep it gluten free for my friend. I have to say, I’ll probably continue to make it this way going forward.
Glazed Meatloaf
Glaze:
In a skillet, melt butter and saute celery, carrots, onion and garlic until soft. Remove from heat and cool slightly. In a blender, add crushed tomatoes, soy sauce and chopped vegetables. Blend until smooth.
In a bowl, combine oats, beef, sausage, vegetable mixture, spices and eggs, and mix until well combined. You’re probably going to have to use your hands to get it done properly. I don’t have an issue with that, but if you do, kitchen latex-free disposable gloves are a lifesaver (I use them for chopping chiles and such).
You want this to be somewhat firm, but it’s not going to stand up on its own (that would lead to dry meatloaf)
Cover a baking sheet with foil and then top with a sheet of parchment paper. In a loaf pan, form the loaf, tap it on the counter to remove any air pockets. Refrigerate until oven preheats to 350 degrees F. Next put the parchment paper over the top, then place the baking sheet over the top and invert everything. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and gently remove the loaf pan. It helps to use a thin spatula. Put the meatloaf back in the oven and bake uncovered until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees F. About 40 minutes.
While it’s baking, whisk together the glaze ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a low boil, stirring constantly until it has thickened.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven, turn heat up to 450 degrees F, baste the meatloaf with the glaze, return to the oven and bake for 3 minutes, glaze again, bake for an additional 3 minutes. Then a third time and remove from the oven when the glaze is bubbly and brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes so that you can cut it evenly.
The vegetable mixture really gives this meatloaf a silky texture and it is full of flavor.
I think serving it with mashed potatoes should be mandatory. YMMV.
What’s on your plate this weekend? Have anything fun cooking in your kitchen? Share your recipes, I can always use some new ones. General open thread – try to keep it light if you can.
Okay, here are the puppies. There are many more photos and update on everyone (including ducks) here.
This post is in: Dolt 45, Foreign Affairs, Immigration, Open Threads, Post-racial America, Not Normal
.@jaketapper responds to Fox News host's defense of President Trump’s vulgar remarks: "There is a word for people who go to bars and denigrate black people but the word is not 'forgotten'" https://t.co/SuzL2MlG6M
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) January 12, 2018
New: Trump privately defends “shithole” comment, believes he said what many people think https://t.co/IniLB5TVC7
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) January 13, 2018
American diplomats scrambled Friday to salvage their nation’s bonds with Africa, Haiti and even the celebrated “special relationship” with Britain after President Donald Trump, in the span of a few hours, deeply offended much of the world with the most undiplomatic of remarks.
Trump’s description of African nations as a “shithole” and other inflammatory comments became the latest and perhaps most direct test of whether America’s global partnership can withstand its president’s loose lips. In Washington and far-flung foreign capitals, U.S. officials launched into urgent cleanup mode…
The White House, too, was reeling from the fallout. Staffers fanned out to do television appearances in support of Trump and reached out to Republicans on Capitol Hill to coordinate damage control.
Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein, in charge of U.S. public diplomacy, said Trump has the right to “make whatever remark he chooses,” calling it the benefit of being president. He said Trump’s comments notwithstanding, it was diplomats’ obligation to send the message to other countries that the United States cares “greatly about the people that are there.”…
Trump ignored shouted questions about his Africa comment and about whether he’s a racist during an event Friday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. But he wasn’t silent the night before.
As his comments, disclosed by participants in the meeting, ricocheted around the world, Trump made calls to friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to the tempest, said a person who spoke to Trump but wasn’t authorized to discuss a private conversation.
He wasn’t apologetic, the person said. Instead, Trump blamed the media for distorting his meaning, arguing his description of “shithole” was not racist but rather a straightforward assessment of some nations’ depressed conditions. Trump also said he believed he was expressing what many people think, according to the person…
It’s not how a president should speak. It’s not how a president should behave. Most of all, it’s not what a president should believe. We’re better than this.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 12, 2018
The anniversary of the devastating earthquake 8 years ago is a day to remember the tragedy, honor the resilient people of Haiti, & affirm America’s commitment to helping our neighbors. Instead, we‘re subjected to Trump’s ignorant, racist views of anyone who doesn’t look like him.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 12, 2018
When discussing @realDonaldTrump, why say falsehood when you mean lie, inelegant when you mean racist, or erratic when you mean unhinged?
Euphemisms aren’t helping. Please just keep it real, America.
— Jason Kander (@JasonKander) January 12, 2018
All 55 African countries demand apology from Trump: His "shithole" remarks "dishonor the celebrated American creed" https://t.co/opl2pfiHIQ pic.twitter.com/TkqXTZYFeW
— The Hill (@thehill) January 13, 2018
Average Trump voter: Wait, Africa isn't a country?
— Jeff Haddon (@JeffnRoundRock) January 13, 2018
Dem Reps. Nadler and Richmond announce plans to introduce resolution next week to censure Trump over his “shithole” comments
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 12, 2018
And what of the Republican response?
So for those keeping track of those who were in Trump mtg:
Durbin: Trump said "shithole" countries
Graham: publicly silent, but confirmed comments to Tim Scott
McCarthy: Silent
Goodlatte: Silent
Diaz-Balart: Skirts comments in stmt
Cotton: Does not recall
Perdue: Does not recall— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 12, 2018
JUST IN: Speaker Ryan on Pres. Trump comments: "First thing that came to my mind was very unfortunate, unhelpful … Thought about my own family," adds "my family came from Ireland and worked the railroads, the Irish were really looked down upon back in those days." pic.twitter.com/7Xw1j3T0P7
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 12, 2018
(For those of strong stomach, the video of Ryan has to be seen to be believed)
As Trump is simply a vessel, a means to an end for Paul Ryan, damn the moral consequences, calling deeply racist comments “unhelpful” is cynically accurate.
— Anthony De Rosa ? (@Anthony) January 12, 2018
So pussy is "locker room talk" and shithole is "kitchen table talk." Which room do I have to be in to say that Trump and his apologists can go fuck themselves?
— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) January 12, 2018
The voting booth. https://t.co/AyWYfEFwIR
— Steph Bello (@steph_bello) January 12, 2018
This post is in: Open Threads, Rofer on Nuclear Issues, Clap Louder!, Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue
…wait for it…
…wait for it…
…wait for it…
…wait for it…
…
…
…
Timing:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has decided to postpone its session on nuclear attack preparedness next week. Much attention had been drawn to the timing of the agency’s session, which was publicized just days after President Trump touted the size of his nuclear button compared with North Korea’s.
That’s via Sheila Kaplan in yesterday’s New York Times.
Scheduled for January 16, the session was to be on “Public Health Response to a Nuclear Detonation”
It was intended, as the Times reported the week before:
for doctors, government officials, emergency responders and others whom, if they survived, would be responsible for overseeing the emergency response to a nuclear attack.
And, certainly, such a meeting was well within the CDC’s purview:
“While a nuclear detonation is unlikely,” the C.D.C. wrote on its website,which included a picture of a mushroom cloud, “it would have devastating results and there would be limited time to take critical protection steps. Despite the fear surrounding such an event, planning and preparation can lessen deaths and illness.”
The agenda for the disaster session included “Preparing for the Unthinkable,” “Road Map to Radiation Preparedness” and “Using Data and Decision Aids to Drive Response Efforts.”
In the event, the agency swapped out this session for one on the flu. CDC staffers made a decent argument for the swap:
“To date, this influenza season is notable for the sheer volume of flu that most of the United States is seeing at the same time, which can stress health systems,” the agency said. “The vast majority of this activity has been caused by influenza A H3N2, associated with severe illness in young children and people 65 years and older.”
But it’s hard to shake the sense, as Kaplan hints in her story on the switch, that der Hair Führer’s fee-fees may have been involved:
The C.D.C.’s announcement that it was holding a nuclear preparation workshop drew widespread media coverage and embarrassed the public health agency. It also gave ammunition to administration critics who believe that the president is bringing the country closer to a nuclear Armageddon.
And now, Hawaii!
Timing.
And with, over to y’all. Open thread, I guess, though here’s a question to get things going: How’s it all going to end. Fire? Or ice? (Preferably w. several fingers of good bourbon poured over it.)
Image: Jan Fyt, Mushrooms, before 1650.
This post is in: Open Threads, All we want is life beyond the thunderdome
People in Hawaii got an alert over their mobile phones that turned out to be wrong.
Omg pic.twitter.com/ZbDTL1rcaF
— Michelle Broder Van Dyke (@michellebvd) January 13, 2018
It was also on tv, and there are reports of sirens going off.
But it turns out that it seems to have been, uh, a drill.
PACOM in my Inbox: "USPACOM has detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii. Earlier message was sent in error. State of Hawaii will send out a correction message as soon as possible."
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) January 13, 2018
HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. pic.twitter.com/DxfTXIDOQs
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 13, 2018
NO missile threat to Hawaii.
— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) January 13, 2018
And then comes the commentary.
Who is being fired for mistakenly sending out an emergency alert of an incoming ICBM headed towards Hawaii? What if the President had been scrolling through Twitter and saw that?
We could all be dead by now because someone messed up and POTUS decided to Twitter-Order a response
— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) January 13, 2018
This is for my friends in Hawaii.https://t.co/yTFZD1PdCF
— Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) January 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/harries_matthew/status/952251376876351488
This happened in the pre-digital age, but social media changes things quite a bit: This Message from NORAD Announced Global Nuclear War—In 1971 https://t.co/jbN8dTmvsy
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) January 13, 2018
I’ll update when I’ve got reliable information on what went wrong. I’m seeing several possibilities on my Twitter stream.
Meanwhile, open thread!