What did you have for Sunday dinner? We just had Kenji Lopez-Alt’s kung pao chicken, and y’know what? It’s pretty damn good. I made it a little on the hot side, but it didn’t disappoint. Used bok choy instead of zucchini, may have had a heavy hand with the ginger, garlic and peppers, but who cares, it was delish.
This will be a weird week, with the holiday bearing down on us. So much prep work, then the feast, then the leftovers. I predict a lot of meals taken standing up, eaten out of refrigerator dishes. And pie.
While I would like nothing better than to move on, I spent some time wondering what the resistance, if any, will look like in Trump II, and what’s more, who will surprise us in the process. I wonder, for instance, about the military. I can maybe see certain troops participating in the mass imprisonment of immigrants, but when protests begin, will they shoot or brutalize their own countrymen and women? I just don’t see it. Of course, I didn’t think Trump would win, either, so.
What do you think? What’s the worst that can happen?
Hate you leave you with just this, but I have some food prep to do.
Jason T. said on November 24, 2024 at 9:36 pm
I worked with a faculty member who had previously been a career Air Force man and an instructor at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He had some stories about the Christian indoctrination there that would curl your hair. Or mine, if I had any.
Trump’s plan to purge generals, admirals, etc., who are “disloyal” to him is the first step.
People in the lower ranks who don’t like Trump’s policies will decline to re-enlist. If they stay and speak out, they’ll be discharged or shuffled into meaningless busy-work positions until their hitches are up.
And the people who are left will be those who are good and compliant, either because they like Trump’s policies or they aren’t thinking too deeply about what they’re being asked to do. (“I don’t care about politics, I just do my job.”)
It’s an old pattern we’ve seen in every democracy that’s become authoritarian.
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Jason T. said on November 24, 2024 at 9:39 pm
Not to mention the fact, I’d love to see the percentage of lower-level enlisted folks who voted for Trump (if they voted) and like the idea of a tough-talking strongman in charge.
I’ll bet the percentage of police officers who voted for Trump is near 80 or 90 percent.
I hate to be so fatalistic, but nothing about the next four years is going to be good. The institutions have fallen and are not going to protect us now.
“No matter how cynical you become, it’s impossible to keep up.” —Lily Tomlin
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Suzanne said on November 24, 2024 at 9:56 pm
I used to work with a Q-anon believing Christian Nationalist. I have no doubt whatsoever that if he believed God wanted him to kill his fellow Americans, he would do it. If you don’t know any Christian Nationalists, you have no clue how fervently they believe that if the national population becomes (what they consider) Christian, all our problems will be solved. They don’t see complexity at all and they believe only Christians should be in charge if the country is to thrive. A war against those they don’t consider Christian doesn’t really concern them because they are sure God will see to it that they win. They truly believe that they are on a mission from God.
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alex said on November 24, 2024 at 10:00 pm
Food prepped today myself. Brother’s ex and the kids were supposed to be coming for an early Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday, then going to see her folks in Chicago on Thursday. And then they pushed it back to Monday and I’m scrambling — for fucking Jill Stein voters who make me wanna kick their goddamn asses. They’ll be lucky if I hold my fucking tongue at dinner.
I figured they didn’t all want to do turkey and mashed potatoes more than one day this week, so I’m doing a greek chicken braise with oregano and sage and shallots, as well as some imported Italian pasta with imported Italian dried ‘shrooms in imported Marzano tomatoes and white asparagus as a side because Meijer was filthy with it. And fuck them if they change their plans again because I’m holding fast to ours and serving what I’m serving. And our turkey won’t be defrosted until Thursday any fucking how.
I don’t know what the resistance will look like but I’m prepared to stand up to any asshole who asks me if I’m on the Trump Train, and to tell them off if my retirement assets tank and my affordable health care goes kaput. I won’t be listening to their sob stories because I’m gonna be saying I told you fucking so you stupid morons.
It looks, though, like Trump’s backing down somewhat on his appointees. Dr. Nishytwat who owns a bunch of east coast ERs and models like a bimbo on Fox doesn’t seem quite as nutso as any of his other picks.
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Ann said on November 24, 2024 at 10:08 pm
Some new people moved into our condo development and immediately started a social committee. We had a friendsgiving last Wednesday. I roasted a local turkey and made some stuffing and gravy. Everyone else brought lovely things, including a sweet potato, apricot, and pecan dish that was out of this world. It was perfect. I feel like Thanksgiving is done and I don’t have to worry about it. What luxury.
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Mark H said on November 24, 2024 at 11:44 pm
As per nn.c history, Happy Birthday, Nancy!
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jerry said on November 25, 2024 at 2:57 am
Happy Birthday, Nancy
Had a good weekend. Dinner at our sorta-daughter to celebrate my 80th, and the 20th birthday of their elder son. I refer to him as my “young twin”.
Yesterday our two sons living in London came round. I cooked a slow roasted shoulder of lamb cooked with shallots, celery and beans. And crushed garlic new potatoes plus broccoli. Followed by apple frangipane tart with ice cream. It was delicious and a pleasure to cook for more than two people. But, oh, the clearing up afterwards!
So today we’re off to do some. Christmas shopping.
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Deborah said on November 25, 2024 at 5:52 am
Happy Birthday Nancy!
I remember Kent State back in the 60s or 70s when the National Guard shot at protesting students on campus. While that was a long time ago, hate is more rampant now than ever.
Heather Cox Richardson has another good Letter From an American about how Trump claims a mandate which he didn’t earn. I don’t think the American people are going to stand for violence and cruelty. have no idea what the resistance will look like but inevitably there will be resistance heroes and it will make a difference.
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David C said on November 25, 2024 at 6:11 am
Trump is a fuck-up. He always has been and always will be. He thinks he won by Putin-esque margins when he barely scraped by. His cabinet is full of nutcases. His new wife Elonia is an even bigger head case. The House Rs are already at each other’s throats and Speaker Johnson is a cypher. The old folks home on the other side of the Capitol will do nothing but collect stock tips, as usual. He may try to fuck around with the military but he’ll find out if he does. It’s certainly going to be a shitty four years but we’ll get through it. I hope.
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Dorothy said on November 25, 2024 at 6:43 am
Happy birthday Nancy!
I’m not doing much meal prep because my son is hosting dinner. On Wednesday morning I’ll make my mom’s cranberries from scratch, and on Thursday it’ll be the mashed potatoes. But my daughter will be here and she swears by the Ore-Ida Steam & Mash. I’ve eaten them – they’re really good! And no potatoes to peel! So no judgement, folks. Last night we all texted each other about other things to do this week, and seeing Wicked and Moana II are now scheduled, seeing Christmas lights at the Franklin Park Conservatory is too, which happens after our leftovers dinner on Friday. Hopefully Pitt will beat Ohio State in the men’s basketball game that happens at 2:30 that day.
I ran over to my son’s yesterday after dinner to drop off his copy of Congressman Hakeem Jeffries’ book, which I picked up at the event to hear him and his brother Dr. Hasan Jeffries (history professor at OSU) do a joint presentation and Q&A in the Ohio Union on Sunday. My son bought three tickets. It was a wonderful event and I was sorry son had to miss it, as did my husband. So my next door neighbor, a fellow Democrat in this heavily Republican area, came with me. The conversation they had was really great, their mom was there and it helped me to deal with some of the angst I’ve felt since the election.
Anyway, my nearly three year old grandson ran to greet me and grabbed my hand, taking me back outside to show me the candy cane lights that I had just walked past on the way in the house. Then I had to go see all the trees set up in the house. “It’s Christmastime, Mimi!” he yelled. Jack was an absolute delight – this will be the first Christmas he’ll be so engaged with all the excitement: lights, ornaments, gifts, etc. He pointed out “Hanta” on the tree skirt, and I guarantee he’ll keep his distance from the big guy in the red suit because he’s afraid of characters in costumes being near him. But this year instead of thinking about the crap that lies ahead of us in the next four years, I’m going to try to see the world through Jack’s and Olivia’s eyes, because there’s nothing compared to the excitement of kids when they’re doing things that bring them joy. It’s going to keep me sane.
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basset said on November 25, 2024 at 8:47 am
Ann, could you share that sweet potato recipe?
Woke up before dawn today convinced that it was Wednesday, the turkey was still frozen and none of the ingredients for the sides had been purchased.
In the real world, it’ll be just me, Mrs and Jr, no guests, no family, I’m doing all the cooking as usual and after seeing some of the dishes mentioned above I’m ready to just say the hell with it and go to Cracker Barrel.
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Jeff Gill said on November 25, 2024 at 9:33 am
Happy birthday, Nancy, and I hope you don’t have to eat too much over the sink this week.
And a happy Thanksgiving to one and all! Your cooking inspires me, even if I’m just making lots of Bob Evans side dishes. Along with roasting a turkey breast for the three of us, I may try making dinner rolls from a recipe I scavenged from the church camp recently closed where I directed 3rd-4th-5th grade camps for many years. Their rolls were a reason to look forward to the week, long though it always seemed….
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Dorothy said on November 25, 2024 at 11:00 am
Googling the ingredients turned up several recipes. Was it like this, Ann?
https://sheshared.com/apricot-pecan-yams-sweet-potato-recipe/
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Dexter Friend said on November 25, 2024 at 11:25 am
My sons-in-law are veterans, one a USA Marine and one an USA Air Force demolitions expert. The Marine won’t speak a word about his military thoughts; he trained at Camp Pendleton and just stayed there 4 years. The Air Force veteran was stationed in Turkey and was/is a strict believer in the chain of command. He supported any President, even after many years separated from service, as the Commander in Chief.
I was a reluctant soldier and I was horrified that so many soldiers followed the late Wm. Calley at My Lai. I was on a Greyhound from Monterey to San Francisco when I heard about it and I could not process it…it certainly was fake. No. Only for the courage of a soldier who reported Calley did we find out about it. Over the years, more horrific incidents of mass murder of Vietnamese surfaced. Deborah remembers Kent State and James Rhodes’s order.
Those Ohio National Guards were a mix…some serving out of duty, some had joined in earlier years to avoid the military draft. I was not there as I was in the US Army on leave at home in Indiana. I suspect there may have been a generated snowball effect of hate building against students as there was a real “us versus them” attitude nationwide during the Viet Nam war years.
And so, young and seasoned US military personnel may simply follow the attack sent down from 1600 Penna Avenue and we could very well witness shameful acts just like when Japanese-Americans were forced into concentration camps right here in this “greatest nation on earth”.
It’s already started: land has been granted near the southern border to build massive “housing” sheds or barracks.
There was a much larger anti-war movement within the US Armed Services during the invasion years into Viet Nam than hardly anybody today remembers.
Will today’s all-volunteer and career soldiers US military revolt against commands from Trump’s lackey officers to round up brown skin folks and really destroy their lives?
Do not bet on it. This fucking plan sucks.
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Julie Robinson said on November 25, 2024 at 11:37 am
Happy Birthday, Nancy! Hope it’s a good one!
We are doing the full Norman Rockwell this year, current count of 10, always subject to change. We’ll be missing our son and DIL, who are visiting her folks in Arizona this year, so they came over yesterday with yeast rolls and green bean casserole, we popped a ham in the oven and had ice cream bars for dessert. I so appreciate them not needing something big and fancy, as well as bringing half the meal.
I’m especially appreciative because last Friday the new orthopedist put me back in an aircast for another month. My ankle has healed but I have developed peroneal tendonitis and baby it hurts. Note that is peroneal, not perineal, which refers to a very different part of the body. Ahem.
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basset said on November 25, 2024 at 11:44 am
Just walked out of the post office in Goodlettsville, Tennessee as some model citizen wearing an “ULTRA MAGA” T shirt was walking in… first inclination was to say something but I thought better of it, can’t start making that a habit. Think I coulda taken him if it came to that, though, even in my weakened state.
I’ll try that sweet potato recipe and report back.
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Jeff Borden said on November 25, 2024 at 11:52 am
The resistance to the tRumpanzees will take many forms. We’re committing to helping targeted immigrants in some way including perhaps sponsoring a family. The whole administration will be a nest of vipers and clowns and they’ll inevitably overreach, but so many will suffer.
I guess the aviator will be in the clover. The for-profit prisons and aviation services are ramping up for all those stinking immigrants being deported. Lotsa money to be made enabling human misery. It’s the American way.
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Dave said on November 25, 2024 at 12:07 pm
Basset, we stopped in a favorite breakfast spot, one that thankfully doesn’t have any TV going, and ended up sitting across some senior citizen with an Indiana for T**** hat on. Oh, how I wanted to ask him why but my better half always restrains me and rightfully so.
I guess I should say that, as a senior citizen, he was probably at least my age but sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised to learn that someone who looks like that isn’t even my age. That’s a whole other topic.
Happy birthday to our web hostess.
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Mark P said on November 25, 2024 at 1:33 pm
I doubt that many elderly people who voted for Trump could give you a cogent reason for their vote. Before the election I told my 86-year-old aunt that I couldn’t see how she could vote for him as a good, church-going Christian, since he is a three-time adulterer, a pedophile and a criminal. She screwed up her face and said she just couldn’t vote for that woman. And then I thought about the last five elections. A black man beat an old, white man twice. An old white man beat another old white man. And two women who were obviously, objectively better and more competent lost to a man who was obviously, objectively a terrible person and completely incompetent. My conclusion is that Kamala Harris lost because she is a woman. I think all the navel-gazing about how the Democrats were not paying attention to the working class, or how bad the economy was are bullshit. We’re ignoring what’s right in front of our faces.
I think that if there is any resistance to Trump within the military, it will come from the top ranks, not the lower ranks, enlisted or officers. The lower ranks are going to follow orders, unless the orders are blatantly illegal and murderous, and I’m not sure even then. That’s one reason Trump plans to replace the current top ranks with loyalists, just like Stalin did before he realized that loyalists are not necessarily good generals. We can hope that if we get into a peer-to-peer war it will last long enough to find good generals. Or we can hope that our opponents are merciful.
This is probably close to the worst possible time for Trump to start Trumpizing the military. Who will advise him if Putin throws a nuke or two in Europe? Will he abandon our allies? Of course he will.
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tajalli said on November 25, 2024 at 3:00 pm
Happy Birthday, Nancy, and many more to come.
My Thanksgiving prep has been stocking up on my favorite home-made dishes: pickled beets with cloves and black pepper, a caribbean-style fish soup (salmon, white beans, onion, celery, tomatoes, kale with habenero pepper, garlic, ginger root, turmeric), curried cauliflower with sweet bell peppers, peas, and cilantro. Contemplating devil’s food cake with sweet cherries for the day itself.
Environmental groups I follow are promoting conservation efforts and national park efforts as meant to be beneficial for everyone and staying out of political statements.
The food bank I’m involved with lost a huge portion of their hispanic clientele after Jan 2016 and I suspect this will happen again – it’s too easy to target the distributions for arrests.
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JodiP said on November 25, 2024 at 3:55 pm
I really appreciated the stories shared by Dorothy and Julie. I am consuming the least amount of news in adult life.
My wife and I decided to divorce and we’re getting the house decluttered to prepare for the sale. Even though the split is agreed on, it’s still a huge stressor and a long to-do list. From the semi-major to little stuff like who gets the hairdryer and flat iron. Thankfully we’re not arguing about money or stuff. I spent a stupid amount of time picking out a new TV console.
Going to a Friendsgiving on Thursday, and really lookingforward to it!
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Sherri said on November 25, 2024 at 6:00 pm
I’m sorry you’re going through that, Jodi, and hope everything works out.
The ticket headed by two people with Ivy League degrees funded by billionaires obviously speaks to the working class better than the ticket without any Ivy League degrees, can’t you see that, Mark? Ivy Leaguers are the new counter-elites.
My biggest emergency preparedness tip for dealing with extended power outages, if you have a freezer: keep some frozen gallon jugs of water in your freezer. When the power goes out, transfer them to your refrigerator. My refrigerator stayed at 38 degrees during the 40 hours I lost power thanks to a couple of frozen jugs, and the jugs had only half melted.
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Colleen Condron said on November 25, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Happy birthday Nance!
Doing Thanksgiving with my parents, who, while elderly, have their marbles and are about as anti Trump as can be. So there will be no political arguments at our table.
I will be providing sides and pies…doctored up Bob Evans mashed potatoes and pies ordered from Village Inn. I just don’t have it in me to fuss this year. Nor do my parents, who are providing a stuffed turkey breast roll that sounds perfect for our small gathering.
Safe travels to all who will be hitting the road or the sky…
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Jeff Borden said on November 25, 2024 at 7:18 pm
Genius advice, Sherri. I’ve also used “blue ice” and an old, indestructible Igloo cooler during outages with excellent results. We have a gas range and water heater, so we can have hot food and showers. That makes a big difference.
The holidays will be tough this year after all the medical drama we’ve been part of in 2024. They always remind me of missing loved ones.
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Sherri said on November 25, 2024 at 7:19 pm
This hasn’t gotten a lot of national attention, but there’s been an ongoing issue regarding San Jose State women’s volleyball. They have a transgender player, who has been on the team for two years, but it’s suddenly become a big deal. Other teams are forfeiting games because they refuse to play against her, and one of her teammates and former roommates has filed suit.
Here’s a good summary of the whole situation and who has been driving the action against the player from the San Francisco Chronicle (the injunction mentioned in the article was denied today):
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/inside-effort-ban-trans-women-sports-who-s-19932341.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9hcnRpY2xlL2luc2lkZS1lZmZvcnQtYmFuLXRyYW5zLXdvbWVuLXNwb3J0cy13aG8tcy0xOTkzMjM0MS5waHA%3D&time=MTczMjU4MDA0OTkzNg%3D%3D&rid=Y2MzMjY5MzQtZDFhNC00YWY3LTllMzItZjdkMDc5YmQwODhj&sharecount=MA%3D%3D
Full disclosure: the sports editor of the San Francisco Chronicle is a friend of mine and also a trans woman.
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Julie Robinson said on November 25, 2024 at 8:19 pm
Oh Jodi, I’m so sad for you, and I know you will be hurting for a long while. I’d be the first to say, even after 45 years of marriage, that relationships are a hard, hard thing.
Sherri, we in hurricane country are familiar with that strategy, and I’m glad you found it effective.
We just watched Wicked, and I have many thoughts, but mostly I liked it. It’s not for people who don’t love musicals, and you know who else it isn’t for? It’s not for babies who are unhappy being held and will make noise and scream most of the way through. It took all my will power not to unload on the mom who thought that was going to work. Maybe her babysitter fell through at the last minute? I’m trying to be charitable.
Oh, Sherri, I can’t get in to read your link, but Wicked would have something to say about exclusion. It’s not just two sparkly girls in pink and green.
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Icarus said on November 25, 2024 at 9:51 pm
Happy belated Nancy. You and my mother share a birthday, she just turned 78 and we are in Chicago visiting for both for Bday and T-day.
It’s usually tense when this happens because we clash so much. However, she is so frail now, I fear this may be the last.
Still, she refuses to sell her crapshack and move to Mississippi-Stan with us, or get a will and trust to avoid probate when she does inevitably passes.
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Mark P said on November 25, 2024 at 11:45 pm
I met an older man (58) in the Lowe’s parking lot who wanted to talk about trucks, and then a little politics. He blamed Biden for high gas prices, and then told me that he never watched the TV news. He got all his news from the internet. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that sometimes people lie on the internet.
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Deborah said on November 26, 2024 at 7:11 am
Jodi, sorry to hear about your stress. I went through that almost 40 years ago, not fun.
Dorothy, I can’t believe your grandson is almost 3, seems like he was a newborn yesterday. Time flies.
We’re on our own again this Thanksgiving, plans with extended family changed and a 6 hour car trip was added. We said no thanks. It’s fine, as it was a 2 hour road trip was involved and even that was something I was dreading. My husband is making risotto with scallops and we got a good bottle of wine from Eataly to have with it. LB is having a Friendsgiving in Santa Fe and they all decided to just make it be potluck appetizers. Sounds good to me.
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basset said on November 26, 2024 at 7:52 am
Meanwhile… nature, red of tooth and claw:
https://www.themeateater.com/conservation/general/video-black-bear-takes-hunters-deer?
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Dorothy said on November 26, 2024 at 8:30 am
Julie after I see Wicked tomorrow afternoon maybe we should exchange notes. About ten years ago I saw the stage show and did not love it. But my daughter wants to see the movie, and she’s visiting this week. So we’re going to an artsy kind of movie theater and I hope I get swept up in the story more than I did the stage production.
Yes Deborah, Jack turns 3 on St. Patrick’s Day next year. Where does the time go?! It’ll be three years on January 31 since we bought this house and I retired a few days before the closing. Amazing.
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alex said on November 26, 2024 at 9:16 am
Jodi, I’m sorry to hear that your marriage didn’t work out, but it sounds like things are amicable and it’s something that you want. I’m wishing you the best in your next chapter.
Hope you had a happy Happy, Nancy.
I haven’t had much luck tuning out the news, and today’s headlines about Trump’s tariff plans on Day 1 are even more startling than the bad news on election night. Twenty-five percent tariffs on everything imported from our two biggest trading partners, Mexico and Canada. Ten percent on China, our third biggest trading partner. And he’s going to do it by executive order.
I have to wonder if Elon and company aren’t benefitting from this somehow because you’d think they’d have his ear and would tell him just how fucking perverse and stupid it would be to deliberately crater the economy. Or is it the oligarchs’ intent to drive the middle class into the poor house now that they’ve got theirs?
I’d like to see what Paul Krugman has to say about this.
ON EDIT: Well, whaddaya know? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/opinion/trump-tariffs-deportations.html?unlocked_article_code=1.c04.LH2w.MDsU4ODcePx2&smid=url-share
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Jeff Borden said on November 26, 2024 at 9:23 am
There are many saps like the poor guy Mark P. chatted with in the parking lot who are about to find out they placed their bets on the wrong horse and are going to experience pain without gain. Lumpy already is promising a 25% tariff on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, which are just the three largest trading partners with the U.S. And his economic council of billionaires has zero interest in continuing to invest in American industries and infrastructure as they see the path forward lower taxes on the wealthy and slashing regulations to the bone. I hope the older gent is independently wealthy because several extraordinarily wealthy men and women in this “administration” are openly hostile to Social Security and Medicare. That’s the thing about conservatives. . .and it’s always, always true. . .they punch down, never up.
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Mark P said on November 26, 2024 at 9:54 am
I think we are forced to the only logical conclusion: Trump is not stupid, he is malicious. He has to know, or someone has to have told him, that Mexico and Canada export significant amounts of petroleum products to the US. That means big increases in gas prices. Sorry, dude in the parking lot.
I have concluded that the terrible effects on the economy that Trump’s actions will cause are not a side effect but the goal of his policies. I think he sees that his own personal end is near, from death or dementia, and he wants to bring the world down with him. I also think he holds his supporters in contempt and wants to hurt them.
So, it’s not Trump that is stupid, it’s his supporters.
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Suzanne said on November 26, 2024 at 10:12 am
The MAGA crowd will cheer as the world burns down around them. They don’t have the introspection skills needed to look deep inside and understand that they’ve been had. I live among them, trust me on this.
Of course Trump wants to destroy everything! The right has been up front about this from the start. They want to tear down and rebuild into their vision of a Christo-fascist state. They have made no bones about this but those that tried to alert the country were told they were hysterical.
As to Jack Smith dropping the charges against Trump, no surprise. I have mentioned Sarah Kendzior here several times and some consider her to be spewing too much doomsday hysteria, but she predicted practically from the start that the DOJ under Garland, even with Smith, would never hold Trump accountable. She was right.
This from a former conservative never Trumper:
https://charliesykes.substack.com/p/the-long-surrender
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alex said on November 26, 2024 at 10:13 am
I think Krugman’s explanation is revelatory.
In a nutshell, businesses can file for exemptions from the tariffs, and those that grease the Republican party’s palms are the ones that’ll get them. Likewise with deportations of immigrant workers. It will be selective. No wonder Bezos is cowering before the King.
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Mark P said on November 26, 2024 at 11:57 am
If the Christian nationalists think they are going to benefit from Trump’s policies, they ought to take a look at what happened to the politicians and industrialists who thought they could control Hitler.
My former analysis (Trump is malicious) may need some revision. I wondered, cui bono? I can see how the wealthy benefit from tax cuts, but that is easily explained by the fact that Trump himself benefits. He’s not doing anything for them in particular. But who benefits from social and economic chaos? How do billionaires benefit from that? How do Christian nationalists benefit? They will be just flies buzzing around the rotting carcass of the US, and Trump does not care about them at all, now that he’s in office. The only person I can think of that would actually benefit from the chaos is Vladimir Putin.
So why would Trump be dancing to Putin’s tune? Does Putin have kompromat so damaging that even Trump doesn’t want it made public? Or does he owe so much to his Russian bankers that he can’t afford not to do what Putin says? Has Putin threatened him personally in one of their telephone conversations? It all sounds like a typical wackadoodle conspiracy theory. But it does seem to fit the facts.
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Suzanne said on November 26, 2024 at 12:04 pm
Christian nationalists don’t think that far ahead because they believe that if they take over the government and run it according to what they believe is God’s will, everything will be great. And if it isn’t, well, then Jesus will return and throw all the opposition into hell, restoring Earth to what it was before Adam & Eve took that fatal bite.
It’s a win either way for them. If they suffer, it’s all fine because heaven will be theirs.
Trump is it totally for himself. As long as he can do what he wants, and has the money to do so, the rest of the country can burn and die.
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Jim said on November 26, 2024 at 3:50 pm
Sherri at #25 wrote:
“This hasn’t gotten a lot of national attention, but there’s been an ongoing issue regarding San Jose State women’s volleyball. They have a transgender player, who has been on the team for two years, but it’s suddenly become a big deal. Other teams are forfeiting games because they refuse to play against her, and one of her teammates and former roommates has filed suit”.
Sherri: despite the bile I check the Fox website every day. They have featured this story constantly for months. I wonder why old folks and dopes think what they do. Not.
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Sherri said on November 26, 2024 at 7:01 pm
Jim, if you’ve read about the volleyball player on Fox News, then you’ve almost certainly read a number of things that aren’t true, like how she “towers over other players” (she’s 6’1”, pretty normal for a Division I volleyball player and not the tallest on her team), hits the ball 80 mph (not even the men hit the ball that hard), and that she injured another player when one of her strikes hit the player in the head (the player was hit on the shoulder, and wasn’t injured).
She’s not even the best player on a team that’s a middling team in a middling conference. I doubt she’d be good enough to make the team at one of the volleyball powerhouses like Stanford, Nebraska, or Penn State. Had her own teammate not decided to Riley Gaines this, nobody would notice or care, as nobody had noticed or cared the previous two years.
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Jason T. said on November 26, 2024 at 10:56 pm
Mark P., in my experience, there are plenty of people who are both stupid and malicious. In fact, some of the most malicious people I’ve ever known were stupid, and they were malicious because they were jealous of anyone who understood anything they couldn’t understand.
Whether Trump actually has a low I.Q., I don’t honestly know. I think in the 1980s, at least, he seemed a lot smarter than he does now; maybe it was a facade, and he was just cunning (like most sociopaths), and not actually smart.
As a longtime devoted reader of the New York tabloids and Spy Magazine, I do know that he’s always been what the Italians call capa tosta — an egotistical hardhead who doesn’t care to learn about anything he doesn’t already know.
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Jeff Gill said on November 27, 2024 at 8:23 am
I don’t know about smarter, but he was a little less manic; in general, sounds like the same guy but not as compulsive. Two minutes with Bob Vila just over forty years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3LKoIO-MM8
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alex said on November 27, 2024 at 8:25 am
Remember when Trump mused about using nuclear bombs on hurricanes? And injecting bleach to treat COVID?
I’m not sure if he’s stupid, or just thoughtless and ill-informed, or whether those things are all one and the same. Clearly he’s used to running his mouth unfiltered and he’s heavily invested in the delusion that he’s the smartest person in the room. His blowhard persona is really a defensive posture. He’s overcompensating — bigly — for deep-seated feelings of inadequacy. I suspect that those who fall under his spell have the same problem.
If I hadn’t shared it here before, here is an essay on Trump and his MAGAts from a psychoanalytic perspective. This makes the most sense of anything that I’ve read on the subject:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/03/20/you-want-it-darker-a-sick-society-trump-worshippers-and-the-drama-triangle/
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Jeff Gill said on November 27, 2024 at 9:36 am
And rest in peace, Earl Holliman; he lived to age 96, and was memorable in scenes like this one from “Forbidden Planet”:
https://youtu.be/WzTBlMA1DgY
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Jim said on November 27, 2024 at 12:35 pm
Sherri: well aware re Fox News. My assumption is almost every story is an outright lie or a distortion; I just want to keep up with the lies. I live in Colorado, and one of the lead stories in the Denver Post was about Colorado State not forfeiting, and the fact that it was just a normal sporting event. The setter from SJST is auditioning to be the new Riley Gaines.
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Deborah said on November 27, 2024 at 1:55 pm
Seeing that link Jeff G included in his comment makes me realize that Trump was just as much a braggart and a liar back then. First of all he may claim that the cost to build was a thousand dollars a square foot but that is a ridiculous exaggeration. They cheaped out on a lot. And the architectural community did not think Trump Tower was the least bit well designed, they thought it was an overblown joke. And after the building was completed the stories came out about how he didn’t pay the designers and the fabricators. He cheated and he lied through the whole process.
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Dexter Friend said on November 27, 2024 at 2:36 pm
Breakups are stressful no matter who what where or when, one day at a time, Jodi.
It was 50 years ago my wife packed her car and left for Virginia with a man. It was up to me to file papers and divorce her. I think I saw her twice since then when she wanted some stuff she had left behind. This all happened a week before Thanksgiving. You know what? That was the best Thanksgiving ever. Mom came and roasted my turkey the company gave out. My great Aunt came to my apartment, as well as my brother. Mom baked pies and made sides. She took a break from sitting for days with Dad, who was battling recurring bouts of pancreatitis in the local hospital. Mom was great those days for me. We gave thanks and prayers were asked for Dad to recover. We had laughter and great conversation because damn it, we were alive.
Dad endured two major surgeries and a great surgeon, Dr. Edwards , cured him. Dad lived another 27 years.
Life went on, I got a cheaper apartment and began dating and found Carla Lee. I really do have a lot of miles in my rearview mirror, but I keep on truckin’. As a matter of fact, I am taking the old blue Ford truck to Commercial Point in 19 hours. Just had it serviced, it will make it. The Odyssey van has a shaky, slipping transmission. Just one of those things. Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone, and a belated Happy Birthday ,nance.
Oh, that ex of mine? She remarried several times and I heard she found happiness in Fremont, California. If any young person in love asked me for advice as to if it is a good idea to marry a 19 year old beautiful person…well…I would simply say follow your heart, but use your goddam brain a little too. Some young folks aren’t really serious at 19.
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Julie Robinson said on November 27, 2024 at 3:17 pm
What a lovely story of coming together on Thanksgiving, Dexter. I’m gonna spoil it by whining…you know what people love at 3 pm the day before Thanksgiving? They love a phone call from one of the guests asking if she can bring someone else…who is vegan. We are accommodating four vegetarians who have all assured us dairy products are fine with them, and one couple is bring a veggie loaf for an alternative main dish. Yay! Great!
But we have already made the mashed potatoes, dressing, and gravy, and they’re full up on dairy products, also pretty sure the rolls have them and the two nut breads already in the freezer. Pumpkin pie–dairy. I’ve no idea about the veggie loaf. Oh wait, the cranberry relish has no dairy.
We really would have been happy to make things differently had we known in advance. But we have a tiny little kitchen with a tiny little oven and the only way to produce this meal is to cook most of it the day before.
It’s a lil’ tense around here today.
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David C said on November 27, 2024 at 4:52 pm
When my nephew was dating a vegan girl, she brought a roasted cauliflower for Thanksgiving that was really good and I’m not a fan of cauliflower. I don’t know how she made it though. Maybe something to look at. From the outside, it looked easy.
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Julie Robinson said on November 27, 2024 at 5:50 pm
Even yesterday I would have responded positively to that idea, but we’ve literally made everything except the green bean casserole, and I don’t have non-dairy options around for the white sauce. Our daughter very lovingly but firmly said if he wouldn’t eat our food he was welcome to bring his own. This neighbor always, always calls at the worst possible time, but we’ve fed her cat for three months while she was hospitalized and in rehab, taken her to the ER and doctor, cut her grass, trimmed her shrubs, grocery shopped for her, listened to her talk for hours. I’m already more than a little resentful of the son for his neglect.
Okay, rant over. Will work on my attitude.
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Suzanne said on November 27, 2024 at 6:55 pm
Happy Thanksgiving to all. I baked a sweet potato pie this morning and a cranberry apple harvest cake to take to my husband’s side of the family’s gathering tomorrow. Friday is my side but it will only be 5 people. We already smoked a turkey breast, someone else is bringing a veggie casserole, and I am making a yummy sweet potato & apple bake with pecans and bourbon in it. We will eat well.
Alex, I think I read that article you linked to above or a similar one before and it made sense. To resolve the issue, though, I think people have to be able to look deep inside in order change and they don’t. People seem to go on auto pilot and just do what they do but never stop to question why they do what they do. At least most of the people I know. I am not talking about traditions, either, but getting on the hamster wheel of life and making it spin without wondering if there is a different way.
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Deborah said on November 27, 2024 at 10:40 pm
Happy Thanksgiving to all. We had a great night out with friends tonight so I feel we’ve had our social fill and tomorrow on the actually day of thanks it will just be the two of us and we’re very thankful to be together.
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Dorothy said on November 28, 2024 at 7:37 am
Happy Thanksgiving, and I’m very thankful for all of you whom I have mostly never met, but you all bring so much to my life. And that’s not bullsh**, I promise! I learn so much from all of you.
And now I have aspirations to find a recipe to try cranberry apple harvest cake, and a sweet potato and apple bake with bourbon and pecans. MAN does that sound delicious!
We saw Wicked yesterday and I went into it with zero expectations. I was blown away and delighted in the performances and would not say no to seeing it again. But not right away. Two point five hours for a movie not in my house is just crazy. I did dash out at around the two hour point for the bathroom, but only missed about 90 seconds. Maybe I’ll catch it at home before the sequel comes out.
The bathroom was also a sort of excuse to get up and move. I might have a blood clot in my right leg – I’m having an ultrasound tomorrow so sitting for such a long time is not good for ANYONE but especially someone who might have a blood clot
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JodiP said on November 28, 2024 at 8:33 am
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I appreciate all the well wishes, especially since I haven’t been visiting much.
One thing I’m grateful for is with the breakup, we both believe we’re doing things fairly. There have been zero arguments about dividing our possessions.
Julie, I hear you! The late guest should have 0 expectations and should bring a delicious dish. Like roasted cauliflower!
I hope all goes well for everyone today, with good company and food!
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Suzanne said on November 28, 2024 at 8:52 am
Here is the cake recipe:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/harvest-apple-cranberry-cake-recipe
Still looking for a link to the sweet potato dish. I saved it from a news site but the link is no longer valid! It was called “ Maple Sweet Potato-Apple Casserole” so maybe it is still out there somewhere!
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alex said on November 28, 2024 at 9:08 am
If I have one thing to be thankful for, it’s this community. Amazing to think it’s been here 20-some-odd years and I’ve been around for most of it, and what a ride it has been.
Trying to pull myself away from the computer and start cooking. Much to accomplish today and I hope the result will have been worth all of the effort.
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David C said on November 28, 2024 at 9:52 am
Last Thanksgiving we were dealing with the aftermath of dad dying. Moving mom to memory care, packing up their apartment, trying to sort out their finances and all the stuff dad couldn’t do in his last months but wouldn’t let anyone do for him. So even though we were missing him, we were so busy the day passed without much thought. This is the first year we feel the loss in an empty chair at the table way. Maybe next year will be better.
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nancy said on November 28, 2024 at 11:19 am
I made this beauty. En route to Ohio now, and I’ll let you know how it turned out.
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Mark P said on November 28, 2024 at 11:41 am
I had my Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt, my cousin, and my cousin’s husband Wednesday at Cracker Barrel. We skipped our usual Wednesday Mexican lunch for it. There was no traditional Thanksgiving food, but it was nice. Unfortunately, my wife didn’t feel like going. She has chronic pain, plus the early stages of dementia, so she doesn’t even go to our regular Wednesday lunch, which we started by ourselves.
On the brighter side, our neighbor John called this morning and said he’s going to bring up a couple of dinners for us. His wife is fixing a Thanksgiving dinner for them, since they don’t have any family. John brings us food fairly often. He’s a little younger than me, in his 50’s, and I think he looks at us as a kind of surrogate for his own older generation relatives, who are all dead.
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Dorothy said on November 28, 2024 at 12:38 pm
How lovely of your neighbor to do that, Mark. It’s nice to be on the receiving end of that kind of gesture. It’s even nicer to be the one making the gesture! This is not the same thing, but it’s an idea I may have shared here before. Indulge me….
When our two kids were little and still believed in Santa, my husband had coworkers (husband and wife) who would call the homes of colleagues and act out the parts of Santa and Mrs. Claus. The Mrs. would ask “Is Laura there…?!” And we’d put Laura on the phone. THen she’d hand the phone to the hubby who was in full Santa voice. In the background Doris (Mrs. Claus) would be running back and forth with a string of jingle bells, and pretend to be calling out instructions to the elves. Santa was prepared and knew what the kids wanted, and he’d name drop them, remind them to be good and listen to their parents. The sibling would get on for a turn and Santa’d repeat himself. THeir eyes got the biggest and roundest I’d ever seen in my life. If you don’t already do this, try to see if anyone in your family (who have kids who would not recognize your voices) would like you to do this. Even doing it just a couple of times is enough to enfuse your heart with such joy! Mike and I did it for some of my colleagues a few years later and let me tell you, we smiled like we invented teeth after we got off the phone! SUCH a fun thing to do!
Oh and p.s. I’m amazed to hear Earl Holliman just passed recently. He was good in everything but especially great in The Rainmaker.
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Deborah said on November 28, 2024 at 2:58 pm
This is the first really cold day in Chicago so far this season. My husband and I thought we’d take a brisk walk before a scheduled Thanksgiving phone call with a friend. We had an hour and a half to take this walk up to Lincoln Park. But turns out we were not ready for the cold blast that hit us outside. Normally we would be acclimated by now and this temperature wouldn’t have phased us but since it’s been so mild for so long it was a shock. We didn’t make it very far.
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JodiP said on November 28, 2024 at 3:28 pm
Dorothy, what a wonderful thing to do!
MarkP, very glad your neighbor is so kind. Gifts of food are nourishing in a multitude of ways.
I spent my day in the kitchen, making a butternut squash dish for the gathering I’m headed to, and a lamb meatball dish for me for tomorrow…and a few days after.
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Sherri said on November 28, 2024 at 3:39 pm
We’ll be heading out to our Friendsgiving soon. I’m thankful for this community, power for cooking our meal, and that 37 years ago today, my husband and I got married and are still happily married!
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brian stouder said on November 28, 2024 at 4:50 pm
Sherrie – while I was already smiling since we just finished a very pleasant family Thanksgiving dinner, your anniversary post made me smile all the more! Congratulations, and safe travels to you and yours
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Julie Robinson said on November 28, 2024 at 9:33 pm
It sounds like everyone’s had a good day. The vegan didn’t show his face, but his mother stayed for over five hours. She’s not good at picking up social cues!
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basset said on November 28, 2024 at 10:05 pm
Dorothy@13, we tried that apricot, yam, and pecan recipe, not bad but with that much sugar we won’t be making it very often. Might hold out some of the apricot juice too, it was pretty runny.
Big dinner event for me was dropping a wad of roasted butternut squash on my foot while getting veggies out of the oven… nothing serious but there’s a pretty good blister, what I get for cooking in plastic knockoff Birkenstocks.
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Sherri said on November 28, 2024 at 11:28 pm
Thanks, Brian. Of the five families we’ve been doing Friendsgiving with for around twenty-five years, two have been married over 40 years, and one over 50!
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Suzanne said on November 29, 2024 at 9:10 am
Here is the sweet potato apple casserole recipe I mentioned above.
https://www.cooksrecipes.com/sidedish/maple-sweet-potato-apple-casserole-recipe.html
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alex said on November 29, 2024 at 10:21 am
Other than my buttery baked mashed potatoes bubbling over in the oven and briefly smoking up the joint, everything went off without a hitch. The spatchcocked turkey, a 17-pounder, was done in 2 hours and came out a lovely golden brown. We cut out the backbone with a new garden pruner and I think it will remain in the kitchen from now on for the jobs that my Kitchen-Aid scissors can’t handle.
Today meeting up for lunch with some friends visiting from out of town. We had originally planned to include a hike today before the big cold front came through.
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justsomeguy05 said on November 29, 2024 at 10:45 am
When folks like us are called “the enemy within”, “the worst that can happen” is pretty darn bad. We can hope that death camps, pogroms, & exterminations don’t happen, that economic collapse doesn’t happen, that deregulation & non-enforcement don’t cause disasters of health & environment, that a social credit system and physical & virtual surveillance don’t happen … but “it’ll be OK” seems highly unlikely. Not cheerful enough ?
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ROGirl said on November 29, 2024 at 1:56 pm
I’m still hacking and blowing my nose from the cold that won’t go away (it wasn’t covid). At least I could hunker down this week and rest.
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Deborah said on November 29, 2024 at 2:45 pm
It’s even colder today in our part of Chicago because of the wind, when we woke up the wind chill was 6°.
One of our neighbors in Abiquiu spotted some bighorn sheep and took a video of it https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zKBVediE8fvNjnaYD7EG6VsTXYkGL605/view that’s pretty rare in our area, they are mostly up around Taos. I hope they are still around when we get there a little more than a week from now.
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Dexter Friend said on November 29, 2024 at 3:08 pm
Great time with family south of Columbus. Two little off-putting things: WAZE routed me a new way, said to be only 141 miles. It was laden with 2-lane slow roads and I hit a huge pothole, no damage, and it was 193 miles, 12 miles longer than my route on US33. Then my heater conked out, but it was OK, just a little cold; I already made a repair appointment for the truck.
The meal was typical Thanksgiving, no harsh words, except my son-in-law kept saying “fuck” every sentence around kids aged 18 months , 8 years, and 12 years. I cuss like the proverbial sailor, but, well…around kids? Nah.
So it was good, lots of traffic until I hit Paulding, then none. But from Columbus, man, the roads were alive.
My family is very good to me.
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Suzanne said on November 29, 2024 at 4:30 pm
ROGirl, I have been fighting that same cold for almost 2 weeks. I think it’s gone and bam! It returns. I felt great yesterday and the day before and coughed very little. Today, I feel like someone poured cement in my sinuses while I slept and the cough is back. I am tired and my body aches but no fever. Negative COVID test. I am so tired of it!
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Julie Robinson said on November 29, 2024 at 5:04 pm
ROGirl and Suzanne, I just had that cold too. Not-a-doctor Robinson’s OTC recommendations for that everlasting cold and sludgy mucus include Mucinex DM 12 hour tablets, 2X sinus rinse with Neil-Med or Neti Pot, doubling fluids with lots of vitamin C, and when in dire straits, Sudafed 12 hour, the kind you have to sign for at the pharmacy window. Sitting with my face in the sun usually helps, too. Unfortunately, we don’t have that here today and I think most of the country is the same.
It’s really hard to get better when you feel so crummy. All of that helps me sleep so I can heal, Sudafed excluded. That’s for daytime only. Oh, and gargling with warm salt water too.
Turkey chowder is happening today!
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Mark P said on November 29, 2024 at 5:10 pm
I visited friends in Denver in late October. The husband made a trip to Omaha for a friend’s birthday, and came back with a cold. His wife and son got it, and then so did I. It has been persistent for them, with cough, lots of mucus, and fatigue. It seems to come and go. Mine was milder, but I still have an occasional tickle in my throat that causes some coughing.
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Jeff Gill said on November 29, 2024 at 5:17 pm
With mild guilt for one-upsmanship, I got in to my ENT doc the afternoon before Thanksgiving, and he confirmed I had not been successful in trying to tough out my sinus infection, which was now a full scale bacterial invasion complete with pneumonia. So while I was able to get up and cook the basics for the family, my meal was and is amoxicillin and ibuprofen . . . and I’m still foggy. Left the biscuits in the oven for 30+ minutes which makes highly ineffective hockey pucks and inedible breadstuffs, but the turkey breast and corn bake and green bean casserole all turned out fine, or so they tell me.
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Dave said on November 29, 2024 at 6:03 pm
Dexter, I sometimes question Waze’s route selection. Just today, we went to a Christmas tree farm about thirty miles away and on the return trip, it sent us a different way than the trip to the farm. I thought it way out of the way and followed it, anyway, because we were in a part of central Indiana I’m not familiar with but from what little I do know, I could have gone a better way.
Also, 141 miles, I wonder if that’s in a straight line measurement? Why, yes it is and you can trust this abbreviated link:
https://tinyurl.com/bryantocp
We had a pleasant Thanksgiving with our children, in-law children, all the grandchildren (5) and our DIL’s mother and her boyfriend, who drove up from Virginia.
Is your son-in-law always like that, Dexter, I wouldn’t like that at all. Some of the shows I’ve streamed lately use it more and more like everyone uses it in casual conversation, I just watched the first season of “The Bear” and it’s nonstop, regardless of where the characters are or who they’re around. I wonder if I’m just old and not with it, I worked in a blue collard environment all of those years and there was plenty of cussing but lots of these shows today have the railroad beat all to heck for language.
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Dorothy said on November 29, 2024 at 9:08 pm
Great news for me today – no blood clot. Whew! The tech said if she had found one they would have called my doctor, and then sent me over to the Emergency Department. I was so relieved.
Got to see the beautiful light displays at the Franklin Park Conservatory this evening and it was money well spent (we treated the fam – Jack was free since he’s not 3 yet). And Jack was the one who brought all of us the most joy. He rounded one bend and stopped in his tracks when he saw the next one and yelled OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY! I nearly cried – it was like a Hallmark commercial!
Dexter if I was in the presence of someone who kept saying that word in front of an 8 year old I would have tapped him or her on the shoulder, asked them to step outside and read them the riot act. If they didn’t stop I’d tell them to leave. NOW. My house, my rules. Of course that didn’t apply in your case since it was his house (I assume). Still, there’s a time and a place to speak your mind freely and use whatever language you want. But it’s off limits in front of little kids. I’m not shy about saying it to someone.
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basset said on November 30, 2024 at 1:27 am
Dave, when I worked on a railroad track repair crew for the C&O close to fifty years ago one of our guys quit because he couldn’t handle the language. Seminary student, don’t know what denomination.
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Jeff Gill said on November 30, 2024 at 11:25 am
I keep hearing about “The Big Game” today, and for the record, it’s on FS1 at 7:00 pm from Bloomington. #OldOakenBucket #BoilerUp!
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Jeff Borden said on November 30, 2024 at 11:28 am
Johanna and I had a quiet Thanksgiving all to ourselves. Aside from the comical Bears-Vikings game, we watched “Thanksgiving with the Corleones” on AMC.
It’s too soon after the death of my sister to feel very merry. I’ve never been a big fan of the Christmas holidays, but now have even less reason to embrace them. We just want to get out of 2024 without losing anyone else. It’s been a horrible year for death and disease among our family and loved ones.
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Joe Kobiela said on November 30, 2024 at 4:32 pm
Dexter,
Oh you of little faith, I took people to ann arbor last week and watched the game, Michigan looked really good, told the wife they could up set them and they did. Shame it got spoiled by the fighting afterwards but I blame that on the coaching discipline on both sides, but anyway congratulations.
Pilot Joe
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David C said on November 30, 2024 at 5:43 pm
I heard there was a dust-up after the game. I didn’t realize how big it was until I watched the video. Oh my gosh. Yeah, poor coaching has a lot to do with it. Probably poor security too. I can understand not wanting to get in the middle of a bunch of angry, big guys to try to separate them. It seemed like a lot of people standing around hoping it would just be over soon. What a black eye for both professional sports organizations disguised as educational institutions.
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Sherri said on November 30, 2024 at 10:08 pm
In a couple of months, I will have cut back on my volunteer obligations significantly. I will still be serving on a board, but not in leadership. It will be the first time in 6 years that I haven’t been part of leadership in some organization, often more than one at a time.
A major reason I’m doing this is because I need to recharge. But another reason, and part of recharging, is that I need time to read and think.
Where do we go from here? How do we build the Beloved Community, of MLK’s dream?
I think we have to be honest about where we are. Our institutions aren’t just failing, they’ve failed. They aren’t up to the challenge of the current world, with a massive propaganda machine telling people that up is down and black is white. A president has been elected and will be inaugurated who, according to the 14th Amendment, should not even be eligible for the office. He campaigned against the enemy within, meaning most of us, yet the blame is being laid on a black woman for not being nice enough to working people, or some such nonsense.
Everybody is angry, and keeps looking for someone to blame or to solve it. Nobody is going to fix it. Trump’s tariffs aren’t going to bring down prices, and if Elon manages to fire a bunch of federal employees, that’s not going to put money in the pockets of any one but the oligarchs who take over the newly privatized services, which will provide less service for more cost.
People have reason to be angry, I’m not denying that, but how can we redirect that anger in a more productive way, towards the lords of capital who are making our lives more miserable, not the immigrants or the trans people or anybody else who’s just trying to get by like everyone else, with a little peace and dignity?
Is it possible? Has it ever been done? What will happen if we don’t? Consider that by 2030, it is projected that 70% of the US population will be represented by 30 senators. Is that sustainable?
I need time to contemplate where I’m not dealing with day to day problems in an organization. I don’t expect that I will come up with a magic solution, but I need to think.
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ROGirl said on December 1, 2024 at 11:00 am
I’m feeling incrementally better each day, but my head still feels congested, and I opened a new box of tissues this morning. Back to work tomorrow, we have our quality audit all next week and it’s a good thing I didn’t leave anything until the last minute.
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alex said on December 1, 2024 at 12:30 pm
Sherri, I’m hearing locally that nonprofits are having one helluva time finding good board members and qualified executive directors. It almost makes me want to come out of retirement to help keep them afloat and from being rudderless.
Today making “turkey tetrachloride” with my leftovers and using some nifty new imported Italian pasta that I’m sure will enhance the dish considerably. I’m also going to dabble in some Pati Jinich recipes with my newly received Penzeys dried guajillo and ancho peppers in which you toast them lightly, rehydrate them, puree them with tomatoes and onions and garlic, and then fry the puree as a base for soup.
Today instead of doomscrolling, I spent my time uploading weird pictures to Bluesky from my extensive photo archive. I think sharing one weird photo every day is a better use of my time, and I’ve got 60-some-thousand photos going back 25 years, and all kinds of wild stories to go with them.
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Deborah said on December 1, 2024 at 2:25 pm
I was walking up Michigan Ave today after running an errand, there was lots of honking and people hanging out of their cars holding red flags with a black two headed eagle on it. When I got home I looked it up and it’s the flag of Albania, they had their Independence day recently. There’s apparently a large number of Albanians in Chicago, and I found out via Google that the Belushi brothers, John and Jim are (were as in John’s case) Albanian.
Alex how can I follow you on Bluesky?
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