Remember the asshole on the left, whom the asshole on the right appointed as U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands?
He’s Pete Hoekstra, former teaturd congressman from Michigan. He jumped on the Trump train early, attracted by Trump’s disdain for immigrants and Muslims. He just made an absolute fool of himself in an exchange with a Dutch journalist:
Just perfect.
Dutch journalist to new US Ambassador: you said there were 'no go zones' in Netherlands, where are they?
Ambassador: That's fake news, I didn't say that
Journalist: We can show you that clip now.
Ambassador: Err ?? pic.twitter.com/8ohIOzmYAc— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) December 22, 2017
First, Hoekstra lied and claimed he never said there are “no-go zones” in the Netherlands, calling it “fake news.” Then, when called out on that lie, he lied again, denying he’d characterized an accurate account of what he said as “fake news” mere seconds before! These low-quality, integrity-free Trump hires are almost as embarrassing as their boss.
In other news, the man Dictionary.com chose to illustrate the word “sycophant,” Mike Pence, promised endless war in Afghanistan yesterday:
Pence arrived on a military plane at Bagram Airfield under the cover of darkness on Thursday night after leaving Washington on Wednesday night. He then flew by helicopter to Kabul, where he met President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah at the presidential palace.
Pence told the leaders he hoped his presence there was tangible evidence that the United States was “here to see this through.”
In a reversal of his campaign call for a swift withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan, Trump in August pledged a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents and signaled the United States would send more troops to fight in what is the longest war in its history…
“Under President Donald Trump, the armed forces of the United States will remain engaged in Afghanistan until we eliminate the terrorist threat to our homeland, our people once and for all,” Pence said.
Good thing we didn’t elect that warmonger lady with extensive experience in international diplomacy! Le sigh.
Open thread.
Yarrow
I really love that Dutch journalist. Wish we had those kinds of journalists.
Repost from thread downstairs. In other administration news:
Rick Dearborn. Worked on Trump’s campaign and was on transition team. Also, Sessions’ chief of staff for over a decade.
Rats trying to flee the Titanic. Aren’t enough lifeboats. Tick tock, motherfuckers.
Mom Says I*m Handsome
Ok, Trumpkinses, I give up. I’m so, so tired of winning. I would like to see what the regime of the warmonger lady is like.
Corner Stone
Big Mac, Filet O Fish, large fries supersized, and what looks like an order of chicken nuggets and dipping sauce on his plate.
efgoldman
I’d be surprised Hoekstra even knows where Holland is
Any chance that a Dem can take the seat?
Major Major Major Major
@Corner Stone: Eat up, fatty. I hope he strokes out.
GregB
Pete will now be very sad that someone was mean to him.
Tough alpha wingnuts always turn in to snowflakes of sadness when called out to their faces.
Steeplejack
@efgoldman:
He was born there.
ETA: And he left Congress in 2011.
Mike J
Wouldn’t you like to see American media do this?
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
That’s good eats!
Yutsano
@efgoldman: I think it was a done deal awhile ago. I’m not sure. Hoestrka was from Michigan I believe, and his seat was solid Rep.
Then again so was Alabama…
MisterForkbeard
This is another one of those times that I wish our own media had the basic journalist skills to do EXACTLY this. It’s not like it’s hard, especially since literally every one of Trump’s appointments has lied in easily verifiable ways.
Roger Moore
I think some of what’s going on here is that they lie so constantly and reflexively that they honestly can’t remember all the crazy shit they’ve said in the past. Hoekstra can deny calling something “fake news” just a few seconds before for the same reason you or I can’t remember all the times we’ve said “um” or “you know”; it’s pure reflex rather than a considered statement.
Amir Khalid
For some reason I can’t play the video embedded in that tweet. Can anyone help me out?(If it helps to know, I’m running Firefox on a Windows 7 laptop.)
Corner Stone
@efgoldman:
The Throne of Denmark? Well, it may be a *little* controversial but I say a wave election is a wave election. We won’t know unless we up armor and give it a shot!
Roger Moore
@Yarrow:
I think there’s going to be a great exodus at the 1 year mark, both because of the rats fleeing a sinking ship issue and because they’ll have gotten in the minimum time to take advantage of the tax situation with stuff they sold “to avoid ethics issues” when joining the government.
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
Try watching at The Guardian.
schrodingers_cat
@Corner Stone: Does he really eat that stuff or is it for show? To show his cult that he eats like they do.
Amir Khalid
@MisterForkbeard:
Any ordinary person has the skills to do a journalist’s job. What your mainstream journos in America lack is an environment where this is given priority over circulation/ratings/clicks.
ChrisS
Glad to see President Pence doubling down on our commitment to wage war in the graveyard of empires …
These people didn’t live through the 80s, did they?
scav
@efgoldman: Layers upon layers of matter here. Per the guard, Hoekstra was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, and moreover delightfully denied he’d ever used the term fake news earlier in the interview.
MisterForkbeard
@Corner Stone: I admit that I have a nostalgic fondness for the Filet-O-Fish sandwich; My mom used to buy them for me when I was little.
But then, you know, I get halfway through them and regret buying it. :)
Corner Stone
@schrodingers_cat: I have no way to independently confirm it. But from all the assorted sources and anecdotes I think one has to conclude he most likely really eats like shit on a daily basis.
ETA, and whether it’s stress, stress-related eating or some other condition, there is no doubt the POS has put on a good 50 pounds over the last 6 to 10 months.
Amir Khalid
@Steeplejack:
Thanks.
Steeplejack
@Roger Moore:
I believe the “one-year tax timer” thing was debunked.
trollhattan
Do they treat their doctors this way?
“You have a cavity that needs filling.”
“Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
Helloooo, root canal.
“Your prescription has changed, you need new lenses.”
“Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
Hellooo, headaches and fender benders.
“You have areas on these xrays that concern me, I want to run blood tests and order an MRI.”
“Fake news, you’re trying to sell me unneeded services!”
Hellooo, cemetery plot shopping.
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
I presume you’re staying up late for Arsenal-Liverpool?
schrodingers_cat
@Corner Stone: I would say close to a 100 pounds. Fat man is fat.
Corner Stone
@MisterForkbeard: I have to admit I used to really like McD’s fries. They were hot, greasy and salty. Perfect for a growing boy! But as all things, my taste buds (and probably their methods) have changed. The last time I gave in to a craving and had a QPwC, fries and an order of nuggets I ended up sacrificing it to the Porcelain Gods the next morning. So, haven’t done that again over the last year or more.
schrodingers_cat
@ChrisS: He is doing it for love. For Vlad.
trollhattan
@ChrisS:
They’ve never lived, period. One reason they’re hard to combat is the impossibility of really getting into those thick pates to understand how they think and reason.
Corner Stone
@schrodingers_cat: I’d say he was 250 or so in Jan and is tipping 3 Hundo now. If he is not every bit of 280+, at the very, very least, I will eat M^4’s hipster hat.
Amir Khalid
@Corner Stone:
It amazes me that Trump prefers McDonalds to the point of demanding the same thing from the White House kitchen staff. Mickey D’s is below average even for fast food.
Thoughtful David
So, despite how this plays among the Trumpanzees, every person of significance, and many of no significance, in the Netherlands has now seen this clip and knows that the ambassador is a fucking liar and totally full of shit, and they will treat him accordingly. Way to win one USA!
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
“Hellooo, cemetery plot shopping.”
“I’m not dead yet! I feel fine!”
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: At first read I thought this was a comment about foie gras.
Feathers
@trollhattan: I remember reading something a while back about ultra rich and ultra cranky people dying when they didn’t need to because they hired doctors who wouldn’t stand up to them and give bad news. This was long enough ago that I recall the Shah of Iran was one of these examples, but I imagine it still holds. Apparently Steve Jobs spent too long trying holistic cures to tragic results.
Amir Khalid
@Steeplejack:
Yeah. Damn the English and their weekday football.
Betty Cracker
@ChrisS: Someone here — Kay, I think — theorized that Trump is trying to re-create the 80s. Subconsciously or not, he longs to return to an era when he wasn’t quite as physically repulsive and universally despised. Sounds plausible to me. Waiting for those surfboard-sized shoulder pads in dresses to reappear any day now…
Steeplejack
@Corner Stone:
Safe bet! He lost it in an Uber.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: He was just as ugly, only thinner in the 80s.
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
Haven’t seen any evidence that he demands that at home. It’s whata he eats on the road. Fine dining at home is overcooked steak and ketchup.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
Jesus Christ how embarrassing. All he had to do was admit that he didn’t recall saying that (it was 2 years ago).
Mike in NC
Picture reveals that Fat Bastard drapes his four foot long necktie over his left shoulder to avoid spilling any of that yummy Secret Sauce from his greasy Big Mac all over it. Wishing him a cholesterol-heavy New Year.
MisterForkbeard
@Steeplejack: True, but “one year” is typically the amount you put into any job to show that you weren’t wanking around and could have lasted if you wanted to. You’re reliable enough to get and keep the job, so it doesn’t look bad on your resume.
I think there’s going to be a lot of staffers who leave after the 1-year mark for that reason. They’ll all just say they wanted to do their part but now they’re off to make their careers, but they’ll be fleeing said sinking ship.
SRW1
Le sigh. Sometimes one misses the times when being embarrassed like Hoekstra in this video would have been grounds for a resignation. Maybe those days never existed.
MisterForkbeard
@Corner Stone: Yeah. I do the same thing with fried fast food sometimes. I don’t throw it up, but I’ll be damned if I don’t feel totally disgusting an hour or two afterwards. Even the grease just *sits* on your tongue.
My current hidden fast food craving is the Jack in the Box “2 for $1.29” tacos. They’re… well, they’re horrible for you. But seem oddly better than anything at Taco Bell and I don’t usually feel like I made more than a minor mistake after eating them. My wife feels the same way, oddly enough.
Steeplejack
@Amir Khalid:
We’re getting into a whole run of those, what with Boxing Day, etc. Liverpool-Swansea City at 1:25 a.m. next Wednesday in K.L.
Amir Khalid
@Steeplejack:
I dunno, I saw it on the Interwebs somewhere. But it sounds like just the sort of insulting demand Trump would make.
Yarrow
@Roger Moore: Whatever the reason we are starting to see and will continue to see more of them leaving. Any bets on when Tillerson leaves?
TenguPhule
On a lighter note:
Please, Disney, remove 2017 from canon
TenguPhule
Stuck in moderation.
ETA: Thank you.
TenguPhule
@Yarrow:
Right after the North Korean War kicks off.
Steeplejack
@MisterForkbeard:
I take your general point. I was specifically addressing the bit about “they’ll have gotten in the minimum time to take advantage of the tax situation.”
Yarrow
@Corner Stone: McDonald’s used to fry their fries in some kind of animal fat like lard. Vegetarians got upset so they changed it to a vegetable oil. They’ve never been as good since.
Humboldtblue
As I await the kickoff between Liverpool and Arsenal at the Emirates, if anyone sees Raven pass along this link. Great story on the last time Georgia played in the Rose Bowl. Charley Trippi was on that team.
Let’s go Reds! Do the double on the Gunners!
TenguPhule
@ChrisS:
They’re convinced they know better and have a foolproof plan.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: He’s got all four food groups: fat, starch, sugar, and salt!
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
What, no meat?
Leto
@Corner Stone: Did he get it back from that Uber driver?
Humboldtblue
@MisterForkbeard:
You’ll enjoy this clip of two Bronx fellas discussing the merits of the Filet O Fish.
TenguPhule
@MisterForkbeard:
Please seek help for your condition.
That kind of self mutilation isn’t good for you.
kindness
I’m waiting for the Netherlands to say they don’t accept lying assholes as Ambassadors and boot his lying ass from their country. What could Trump do really?
Cacti
Wish we had real journalists like The Netherlands.
James E. Powell
@ChrisS:
If memory serves, right-wing assholes and war mongers did pretty well in the ’80s. After all, it’s never them that’s dying.
Adam L Silverman
@Corner Stone: I weigh 275, give or take. And I’m shorter than the President. But I’m also in the gym four days a week on average. I need to lose about 20 to 30 lbs of fat, which I’m doing by removing all the refined carbohydrates, including refined sugars, and things like potatoes from my diet. The President does not exercise beyond swinging a golf club and he’s carrying at least 100 lbs of fat on his frame.
catclub
@TenguPhule: beer is another food group. it is missing
Corner Stone
@Leto: My understanding is that they don’t allow you to join Hipster HQ unless you have both a porkpie and also a trilby.
However, I am currently unaware of the middle intermission in the ongoing lost hat saga. I fully expect we will be enthralled by a further complication in retrieving the hat, which will set up the heartwarming Happy Holidays reveal and resolution.
Thoughtful David
@Yarrow:
Tillerson is an interesting case. I’m betting he stays on a while–maybe 6 months more. It’s about his ego. He doesn’t want to quit and be seen as someone who was in totally over his head. His logic is this: “I was head of Exxon. So if that c**t Hillary Clinton could do this job, and that p***y Kerry, then I can do it easily. And get my Russian oil money too!” Then he took the job and discovered he was totally out of his depth–not even fit to clean the toilets at Foggy Bottom–but he can’t admit it. So he’s going to try to hold on for a few months hoping it will turn around by some magic and he doesn’t have to leave humiliated.
I’m guessing that won’t turn out w well though. For him or the country.
Steeplejack
@TenguPhule:
Another grand slam from Alexandra Petri!
Cacti
@catclub:
Beer is a subset of the Booze food group. ;-)
randy khan
@TenguPhule:
It does seem like 2017 needs some retconning, now that I think of it.
cmorenc
I strongly doubt the Trump Administration has run out of rats willing to jump ON the ship to replace the ones jumping off before the ship’s bow begins visibly listing and going under from the leakage. But they will be scrawnier and sicker rats than the ones canny enough to jump before they drown with the sinking ship.
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack: @Amir Khalid: The White House chef did try to recreate the President’s favorite McDonald’s meals, but was unsuccessful. Apparently they don’t taste the same when you use quality ingredients.
https://www.eater.com/2017/11/7/16618948/trump-mcdonalds-quarter-pounder-keith-schiller
chopper
@TenguPhule:
you think there’s meat in those fucking things?
tybee
@Corner Stone: too late, his hat was eaten by Uber
Adam L Silverman
@TenguPhule: It’s McDonalds.
Corner Stone
@cmorenc:
There are many jokes to be made about how stupid and/or evil you have to be to work for this WH. But at this point in time who would seriously contemplate taking a job with the WH if you’re not already attached in some capacity?
raven
@Adam L Silverman: South Bech Phase 1!
TenguPhule
@catclub:
Trump doesn’t drink booze. Which is a sure sign of a demented mind.
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
Hey Mickey D’s is alright as a guilty pleasure. Their sausage egg n’ muffin sandwich is delicious.
TenguPhule
@Adam L Silverman:
It still technically originated from an animal. Probably. I’m fairly certain.
raven
@TenguPhule: Right
NotMax
As it’s an open thread (plus kind of food related) –
That was then.
This is now.
debbie
@Corner Stone:
What is with that look on Trump’s face? It’s the same expression he had when he dined with Mitt Romney.
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: Trump has always been repulsive inside and out, but his appearance has definitely not improved with age. Where some men pull off a distinguished look in maturity, Trump foolishly clings to his long-faded youth. IIRC, his hair looked stupid in the 80s too, but he didn’t have to engineer quite as complex a multidimensional comb-over to disguise his baldness.
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)
No, Trump’s plan to stay in Afghanistan is entirely consistent with his campaign promises. After all, he insisted you should never let your enemy know what your strategy is. So there you go! He said we should withdraw, but he actually meant we’ll stay forever. That’ll keep ’em on their toes.
Those of you worried about North Korea can relax. Obviously, nuclear war is definitely NOT an option because he already stated it was!
TenguPhule
@Steeplejack: Indeed. She’s become one of my favorites at Wapo.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
What else would go with the 12 diet Cokes he has every day?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@NotMax:
No! Where will I get my monthly Crunch bar now?
TenguPhule
@NotMax: Say it ain’t so!
I want a reboot of 2017. Fire the writer and director and start over.
Steeplejack
@Adam L Silverman:
The horror! Everything about that story is awful.
I suspect failure came in attempting to crack the code for the secret sauce.
. . . Oops!
Adam L Silverman
@raven: If you say so. In my case it’s my standard training diet. My body/system does much, much better on protein, vegetables, and fruit without the refined stuff. I have a cheat meal once a week.
debbie
@Betty Cracker:
Oh, Trump’s always been a pig. Back in the 80s, though, he was the Bad Boy of Page 6. That’s all that mattered to him — and is no different than his neediness today for attention, devotion, and love. Have you heard the audio of the Cabinet meeting yesterday, where one by one, everyone told Trump just how special and wonderful he is? I just heard part of it and I’d swear they’d been transported to a bunker in Berlin way back when…
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Unlike say Bob Mueller who looks distinguished, and is not bald or fat.
BTW did you see President Obama’s recent video where he brought toys for kids and was wearing a Santa hat?
He looked years younger than his last few years in office. He does look good in his leather jacket. Unlike the ambulatory barrel.
Corner Stone
@debbie: Don’t make me look at it again.
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack:
My understanding is they’re replacing E Pluribus Unum and In G-d We Trust on everything with this:
debbie
@Adam L Silverman:
As shown in that photo of him reaching for a tennis shot, he’s carrying 100 pounds, just in his butt.
Citizen Alan
@cmorenc:
Well that dumbass who didn’t know what a motion in limine was withdrew his name from consideration as a federal judge and is probably looking for work. I suppose they can make him the next secretary of state. It couldn’t be any worse.
Roger Moore
@Yarrow:
After Exxon gets their Russian deal.
Steeplejack
@Adam L Silverman:
“This is fine!” in little flame letters would work too.
Brachiator
Yeah. I’m still waiting for some purity pony fool to explain to me exactly why they were so certain that Hillary Clinton would be a war hawk.
Then again, these clowns live in a fake reality of their own making. They still want to insist that we would have some version of the current shit show under Clinton. Dopes.
Mike in NC
Two quarter pounders with cheese and a large order of fries? That’s easily 1000 calories at a minimum. Disgusting.
germy
@Brachiator:
Jill Stein was on Tucker Carlson’s show last night.
NotMax
Repeated from mention in a thread earlier this week about the Pence trip, this part:
Adam L Silverman
@Steeplejack: That’s going around the edges in parallel.
Miss Bianca
@Corner Stone: McDonald’s used to fry their fries in pork fat, Then with all the screeching about “AAAGGH animal fats BAD” that became current some years back, they switched to vegetable oil. Pork fat gives you a light, crunchy melt-in-your-mouth taste. Vegetable oil makes stuff soggy and greasy.
TenguPhule
@Citizen Alan:
We really have to learn to stop tempting fate like that.
TenguPhule
@Miss Bianca: Wasn’t it beef fat?
debbie
@Humboldtblue:
I lasted about 10 seconds on that video, but I noticed the cheese was on the bottom half of the bun and beneath the fish fillet. Wasn’t this the subject of outrage over the cheeseburger emoji just a month or so ago?
James E. Powell
@schrodingers_cat:
That jacket needs to be marketed as the NFLTG Jacket.
Brachiator
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Fast food places, and some casual restaurants, are focusing on breakfast as a way to fight for diners. Maybe as a result, a lot of offerings are pretty good.
I agree with you that a muffin sandwich now and then will not bring on the end of the world.
And the other day, I had a Jack in the Box breakfast platter with Jimmy Dean sausage that was pretty good.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Instantly reminded of this from September.
Just How Ugly Is This Steak Dish From the Restaurant in Trump’s Chicago Hotel?
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Brachiator:
They don’t understand the nature of the office. Of any powerful executive office. When you’re the President you make tough decisions based on the information on hand. I don’t always agree on certain presidential actions but I always believed Obama (hell even Bush) was trying to do what he felt was best and right.
I’ve never thought the same about Trump. The man has never in his life shown concern for anyone but himself and clearly doesn’t give one shit about national security. I don’t give him the same benefit of the doubt. If any President is truly guilty for the people he’s had murdered, it’s him, because of extreme willful ignorance callous disregard for others.
KithKanan
@TenguPhule: Yes. It was beef tallow back in the day. I haven’t been able to stand their fries since the early 90s, though I haven’t tried them in nearly that long so it’s possible they’ve come up with better imitation tallow flavor by now. The stuff they switched to then had a very “chemical” flavor to me.
sukabi
@Corner Stone: missed opportunity… Over-sized red tie not pulled high and tight.
debbie
@schrodingers_cat:
Did you know Mueller’s about 3 years older than Trump?
Fair Economist
@TenguPhule:
He eats cheap fast food, so, no, just a processed simulacrum.
KithKanan
@Mike in NC: 1570 according to the nutrition calculator on their website.
Cacti
@germy:
I noticed our resident friend of Stein didn’t have anything to say about that.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Yarrow: I was lard, my gf in grad school couldn’t eat their fries due to the piggie. They changed to vegetable oil in the mid 80’s(then she could have them).
raven
@Adam L Silverman: That’s what it is. It’s based on the “glycemic index” which seems to be shaky science but it sure works.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Yep. The Palestinians won’t meet with him because of the Jerusalem announcement and neither will al Sisi.
NotMax
@TenguPhule
Beef tallow (rendered fat plus possibly other things).
Miss Bianca
@schrodingers_cat: I posted that vid on my FB page to cheer myself up. And others were apparently cheered, as well.
debbie
@NotMax:
Those are some great comments. My favorite: “Even the bloody cauliflower has been spray-tanned..”
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Adam L Silverman:
What idiots. The Trump admin that is.
raven
Miss Bianca
@TenguPhule: Might have been beef fat, actually, I was thinking pork fat because I had some cheese curds fried in pork fat not too long ago.
Suddenly craving deep-fried cheese curds…
raven
Spuds in duck fat are awesome.
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Unfortunately.
raven
@Miss Bianca: No, they used beef fat.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Not sure why they’d have to go to 13th and New York, there’s a Mickey D’s across from the NEOB on 17th(between H and Penn).
ETA: Had to check if it was still there.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Strictly an aside.
Stumbled across this item and thought, “Gee, what a nifty item for Bill.”
Adam L Silverman
@raven: It works for some people. For others not so much.
In my case I’m almost allergic to refined sugar and refined carbohydrates. Even though that should technically be impossible. My body just functions much, much better on just beef, poultry, fish, shellfish and pork (if I’m being religiously bad), nuts, vegetables minus potatoes (sweet potatoes and yams are okay), and fruits. Real oatmeal is fine.
raven
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Schmaltz!!!!
? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?
@Brachiator:
That would explain why Taco Bell tried out breakfast.
Dunkin Donuts has the best sausage egg sandwich on a cresaunt (SP?) roll.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: So how did you put on that extra weight?
Adam L Silverman
@?BillinGlendaleCA: The one a little farther away has the Happy Meals with the toys that Jared likes. And the sliced apples that Ivanka makes him eat instead of the fries. The closer one doesn’t have the good toys…
TenguPhule
@raven:
This is true.
A little garlic, a little parsley, maybe a dab of truffle oil at the end…..
Adam L Silverman
@? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:
Sab
@efgoldman: No way Dems could take that seat. Pete Hoekstra is the embodiment of his district. I am normally pretty much pro immigration, but did we have to let Hoekstra in? I know he was a baby at the time, but still.
schrodingers_cat
In my opinion, the best cooking oil for frying is peanut oil.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: Except, I don’t drink coffee.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: I let my diet slip over the past two years. That’s pretty much it. The last 10 lbs or so are the result of being out of the gym for three weeks right before Thanksgiving with a sinus infection. Since getting back in and cleaning my diet back up, it is starting to come off. I really don’t go by weight. I go by how my clothes fit. Of course the place I want it off the most is the place it will take the longest to come off.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: I’m missing something here. Anyone who eats refined/processed food and sugar will lose weight if they stop.
raven
@Adam L Silverman: tracking
?BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: Back in 1983, the gf said she couldn’t eat the fries because they used lard*. They did change to vegetable oil in mid 1983, she could then have the fries.
*Due to religious reasons.
Adam L Silverman
@Sab: The bigger question is how many of his relatives came in as a result? We must end the chained migration of the Hoekstra family or we’ll be overrun by short, balding boorish pasty white guys!
Sab
@schrodingers_cat: Thanks for the tip. I’ll try that.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman: Ah, that makes sense then.
burnspbesq
@MisterForkbeard:
Jack in the Box tacos have been foul since at least the 1970s. Decent quality Mexican-inspired fast food is not impossible, however. Try Del Taco some time.
Teddys Person
@Mike in NC: McDonalds has an online calorie calculator. Two quarter pounders with cheese and a large fry is 1570 calories.
ETA someone upthread got there first.
Adam L Silverman
@raven: Not that part, sorry. I meant there are some folks that don’t do well on a high protein controlled carbohydrate (fruits, veggies, oatmeal, limited amounts of rice) diet. So in general yes, cutting the refined crap out of your diet will be beneficial. But once you do that the question becomes how do you structure a diet that works best for you.
burnspbesq
@Steeplejack:
We get the lunchtime fixture tomorrow. Everton – Chelsea at 4:30 a.m. Pacific.
joel hanes
@MisterForkbeard:
oddly better than anything at Taco Bell
cumin
NotMax
@burnspesq
Was a short-lived attempt to start a chain here named Tako Taco.
Yes, their signature item was an octopus taco.
?BillinGlendaleCA
It’s quiet* here, TOO DAMN QUIET!
*Girls are off at the doggie day spa.
Sab
@Adam L Silverman: You are right. Horrifying prospect.
Kirk
@TenguPhule: So, one of my regular meals now centers on a partial rack of lamb ribs in a slow cooker. Its placed fat side up over a bed of small peeled potatoes, and we add about a quarter inch of water to it before closing, setting on low, and walking away for several hours.
There is a lot of fat, and it renders well.
Steeplejack (phone)
Aw, hell, no!
Fox News: “NBC News, MSNBC hosts could reap cash windfalls when Trump signs tax reform they love to hate.”
How can these A-holes pretend even to themselves any more that they’re a legitimate news organization?! And you know they’ll make out like bandits under the new tax regime themselves.
Steeplejack (phone)
@Adam L Silverman:
Too late, I think.
joel hanes
@Yarrow: @Yarrow:
When the McDonald’s first opened in my small Iowa town, for the first few years they proudly advertised that their fries were cooked “in 100% beef tallow”.
That really does make for outstanding-tasting fries.
If you have a deep fryer, and ask the butcher for beef suet, and render it down, and fry some potatoes in it, you’ll recapture that taste.
NotMax
@Kirk
Kismet.
Planning on trying for the first time a recipe for slow cooker leg of lamb for Xmas din-din.
burnspbesq
@NotMax:
There is a small chain of quick-serve Mex places here that makes an awesome blackened calamari taco.
Taco Mesa. Costa Mesa, Orange, Irvine, Mission Viejo, and Ladera Ranch.
Steeplejack (phone)
@burnspbesq:
And four more matches after that! At least on my cable system (Cox).
Corner Stone
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Ah, don’t be so tough on yourself. If the gf didn’t want to eat their fries I am sure it had nothing to do with you or your BMI.
burnspbesq
@Steeplejack (phone):
And replays on the NBC Sports Extra app.
schrodingers_cat
@burnspbesq: Ooh sounds good.
schrodingers_cat
@debbie: Yeah, I know.
burnspbesq
Football and corruption, go together like chorizo and scrambled eggs.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/dec/22/fifa-trial-two-ex-officials-found-guilty-on-multiple-charges-of-corruption
raven
@Adam L Silverman: I knew I was missing something.
TenguPhule
@Kirk: Ribs or shanks? Because the rack isn’t really meant for a slow cooker.
Now shanks, those you need to cook long and slow, but its utterly worth it.
burnspbesq
Per Rob Smyth, live-blogging for the Guardian:
Raoul
I can’t say whether what Hoekstra is doing there is fully intentional, or if he is mainly a moron in way over his head. But the net effect is along these lines: The Trump (and Bannon-initiated) effort to unmoor US from western Europe is continuing at full speed. Witness Britain, France, Germany and so many other ally nations in the UN vote this week on Jerusalem.
Earlier, the outrageous video tweets that enraged our ‘special relationship’ friends in the UK. Much more has and will be done, out of a mix of hubris, disregard for alliances, and quite possibly for deeper, more dangerous reasons.
This is Putin’s DREAM. To slice off Europe from America. NATO is one of his deepest thorns, and Vlad wants it gone. This admin is doing its damndest to at least weaken our cross-ocean bonds. Maybe sunder them fully. It is insane, stupid, reckless, and the fact that people like Miss Lindsey in the Senate are on board shows how destroyed the Nat Sec wing of the GOP is.
raven
1995 Clip: Julia Child on McDonald’s French Fries
TenguPhule
@NotMax:
Have you tried making the leg into Kebabs? Its Really good, especially if you marinate it in a garlic, rosemary, olive oil mix first.
TenguPhule
@Raoul:
Why not both?
burnspbesq
@Raoul:
As if that weren’t bad enough, the EU is probably going to challenge the centerpieces of the international provisions of the new tax law as violating WTO rules, and they are likely to win. Trump will lose his shit, and we’ll find ourselves in a trade war.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Corner Stone: Noticed the typo too late to change it(shakes fist @ FYWP). I was actually rather thin back in the day(still a midget, but thin).
TenguPhule
@burnspbesq:
And it won’t stop at trade.
debbie
@TenguPhule:
I can’t find lamb shanks around here anymore. They’re one of my most favorite meat dishes!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@burnspbesq: Since Trump doesn’t believe in multilateral deals, I’m sure he’d think this is a good thing. Just start negotiating bi-lateral deals* with each country.
*And Trump makes the BEST DEALS, believe me.
burnspbesq
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Meanwhile the retaliatory tariffs will drive up the cost of virtually everything imported by >20%.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@burnspbesq: Just blame it on foreigners, problem solved.
ETA: See Trump doesn’t even need to go to Congress to get his 20% tariff. Need to think outside the box Burnsie.
Kirk
@TenguPhule: rack. Partial rack. I section them into about thirds.
And I know they’re not supposed to work in the slow cooker but they do. Caveat, they have to fit. I section, and we use an oval crock. Plenty for two.
NotMax
@TenguPhule
Kebabs are way more effort than am willing to invest when cooking for one.
;)
Especially curious about the recipe which will be trying out as it is supposed to end up fork-shreddable, much like kalua pork.
TenguPhule
@NotMax:
They’re worth the effort. Intense flavor, bite size pieces.
I like my leg of lamb like beef, rare and red in the middle.
From the description the shank sounds like a better cut of meat to use if you want to cook it all the way through like that.
TenguPhule
@debbie: We got a Chefzone, which is like a local Costco that only specializes in food and cooking wares. They’re the go-to place for the more interesting cuts these days.
SgrAstar
@burnspbesq: better yet, just find a taco truck. We have quite a few in my red, red state…and the tacos are terrific.
Mnemosyne
@TenguPhule:
Okay, that made me laugh.
Annie
@TenguPhule:
No, no no. There are five food groups: alcohol, coffee, chocolate, sugar and whipped cream.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: You find pie humorous?
Sab
@?BillinGlendaleCA: You miss a lot by pieing TenguPhule.
tychay
@Yarrow: where do you get this bs?
First, the French fries were switched from lard to vegetable oil in the 89s because a low fat craze, not vegetarianism.
Second, The fries aren’t vegetarian because the “natural flavorings” necessary to preserve the taste are distilled from animal product in the US. (in India, they use “artificial flavorings”
That are chemically the same.
Third. mcDonalds still uses lard in countries like Canada that never went through the health food craze.
Fourth, I challenge you to find one piece of evidence pointing to their fries as tasting worse after the switch. In fact if it was worse, McDonalds would have switched back a long time ago. It tastes the same, or perhaps better as they have tweaked the flavoring and cooking composition.
Not saying there aren’t problems with McDonalds, it’s just try to keep your complaints factually correct ?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Sab: True, TP does comment quite a bit. Content wise, nope.
debbie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
When you pie, do you see the commenter’s name?
Sab
@debbie: Yes. They chatter about pie.
Aleta
ha ha ha sure Pence. Your presence is a violation clothed in lies.
Gvg
@tychay: uhh no. The fries don’t taste the same. We have taste buds, we were there, the fries changed.