When you are reading your email, and in the background you hear Wolf Blitzer say “Is Victoria’s Secret involved in sweatshop labor” and your head snaps to the television.
Consider this an open thread.
by John Cole| 26 Comments
This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance
When you are reading your email, and in the background you hear Wolf Blitzer say “Is Victoria’s Secret involved in sweatshop labor” and your head snaps to the television.
Consider this an open thread.
by John Cole| 12 Comments
This post is in: Excellent Links
If you have a few extra bucks, go give Gary Farber a hand.
This post is in: Previous Site Maintenance, Sports
So the Steelers managed to somewhat salvage (congrats, Hines!) what was otherwise an awful weekend here, and by awful, I mean the entire town is just shocked, disgusted, and depressed. Going from the possibility of a National Championship to nothing just really kinda dampens the mood of the town.
Oh well.
At any rate, I see via catcalls in the comments that I am for some reason or another supposed to be eating crow over TNR no longer standing by Beauchamp, which makes me wonder about the ability of some people to read. What a moran. For the reading impaired, I never argued that Beauchamp was telling the truth, and consistently argued he could have been making it all up. My disgust centered around the stupidity of pretending that the ramblings of a diarist in a little read publication A.) mattered B.) Was a grievous insult on the dignity of our troops C.) Was proof of the liberal media D.) would have even been discussed had he stuck to the positive military stories in his first few disptaches rather than the less positive stories in Shock Troops. The vicious pile-on, calls for violence, and trashing of Beauchamp simply increased my disgust for a group of people I have already started to revile. At any rate, the entire memeorandum linkfest can be found here (I love their archive feature!), as I missed it the first time around and you might have as well. I guess my final thoughts on the matter are that while TNR should have, in retrospect, been more careful with these little anecdotes they are publishing (although I am not totally sure why they should have been more careful- it was just a diarist for Christ sakes), this whole situation is comical. I simply can not believe this was blown so out of proportion. If anything, my respect for TNR is much greater than it was at the beginning, because I appreciate the way they stood by Beauchamp until it became clear they could not. Also, the behavior of the military, with their selective leaking to friendly right-wing sources and bullying attitude, was quite illuminating.
Meanwhile, the Corner is having their own little brouhaha over their serial bullshitter, and Sullivan and company are giving them a very small dose of their own medicine. I don’t think there is anything particularly new about NRO exaggerating threats (and I agree with Yglesisas), it is essentially all they have done over the past eight years. What is noteworthy is that the truth detectors on the right have not kicked into high gear, and have not found the need to parse every past post, post personal information, or check myspace. Interesting, no?
At any rate, expect me to be in a crappy mood for a couple days. Well, crappier than normal. I guess #9 and a BCS Bowl game is not complete failure, but right now it sure feels like it. I just hope the players aren’t too hard on themselves. I am sure they did everything they could to win, and they have nothing to be ashamed about.
I guess we can consider this an open thread. I am still kinda letdown and not all that motivated to blog much, and right now wish I was John Cole, plus three.
This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Science & Technology
The Fish & Wildlife Service has had to reverse a ruling, after figuring out that the administration interfered. Not surprising to those of us who actually follow stuff like this, unfortunately.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Tuesday reversed seven rulings that denied endangered species increased protection, after an investigation found the actions were tainted by political pressure from a former senior Interior Department official.
In a letter to Rep. Nick Rahall, D-West Virginia., the agency acknowledged that the actions had been “inappropriately influenced” and that “revising the seven identified decisions is supported by scientific evidence and the proper legal standards.” The reversal affects the protection for species including the white-tailed prairie dog, the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse and the Canada lynx.
The rulings came under scrutiny last spring after an Interior Department inspector general concluded that agency scientists were being pressured to alter their findings on endangered species by Julie MacDonald, then a deputy assistant secretary overseeing the Fish and Wildlife Service.
MacDonald resigned her position last May.
Rahall in a statement said that MacDonald, who was a civil engineer, “should never have been allowed near the endangered species program.” He called MacDonald’s involvement in species protection cases over her three-year tenure as an example of “this administration’s penchant for torpedoing science.”
Read the whole thing. Looks like this is just the tip of the iceberg. (Which gets me to thinking: when all the icebergs have melted, what will we use for a metaphor?)
More Interference From the “Scienticians” in the Bush Admin.Post + Comments (31)
This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Politics
Hugo Chavez has lost his bid to become President For Life™
Humbled by his first electoral defeat ever, President Hugo Chavez said Monday he may have been too ambitious in asking voters to let him stand indefinitely for re-election and endorse a huge leap to a socialist state.
“I understand and accept that the proposal I made was quite profound and intense,” he said after voters narrowly rejected the sweeping constitutional reforms by 51 percent to 49 percent.
Opposition activists were ecstatic as the results were announced shortly after midnight with 88 percent of the vote counted, the trend was declared irreversible by elections council chief Tibisay Lucena.
Some shed tears. Others began chanting: “And now he’s going away!”
Well, he’s still there till 2012. Yep, he’s going away. But will he shut up?
“This reform was about democracy or totalitarian socialism, and democracy won,” said opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said.
Yes.
by Tim F| 56 Comments
This post is in: General Stupidity
My sincere condolences go out to those DC area readers who rise early. Driving to the conference this morning around 7:30 I had the choice of Jesus, Jesus, HITLERY WILL ABORT YOUR GUNS, Jesus, Jesus, elevator-worthy classical, Jesus and craft talk for people who can’t count to three. Maybe NPR comes on at eight?
Anyhow, here is my transliteration of the five minutes of winger talk that I could stand before jumping to some catchy gospel.
Segment 1: Giuliani has become the latest magnet for crazy lefty hate. Tsk.
Segment 2: Will Hillary ever shake her perception as a castrating frigid man killer? All present agreed that it was unlikely.
Let’s open the floor to discussion. Do rightwing radio hosts honestly have the self-knowledge of a fruit fly, or are they businessmen fleecing an audience of gullible chumps? If you think that the answer is some (a) and some (b), give examples to illustrate your point.
Now back to conferencing…
This post is in: Open Threads
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 – tablespoons olive oil
1 – Medium White onion minced
1 – jalapeno minced or*
1 – serrano pepper minced or *
1 – habanero pepper minced*
2 – cloves garlic minced
For Chili Paste
5 – medium Ancho Chile pods (about ½ ounce), toasted and ground**
5 – medium New Mexico Chile pods (about ¾ ounce), toasted and ground
5 – Chile De Arbol pods, toasted and ground
3 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted in dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant (about 4 minutes) and ground
(preground cumin may be substituted if you aren’t into fresh herbs, though I don’t recommend it)
3 – teaspoons dried oregano
1 – teaspoon black pepper
½ – teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ – teaspoon white pepper
2 – teaspoon paprika
1 – tablespoon Worcestershire
1 – Btl. Beer (Chile Beers preferred) ***
3/4 quart homemade or low-salt beef broth
2 14-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
RECIPE:
1) Mix chili powders, cumin, and oregano in small bowl and stir in ½ cup water to form thick paste; set aside
2) Sautee onions in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat for 8-10 minsor until onion is translucent. Add pepper of choice and sautee an additional 8-10 minutes, or until the peppers soften. Add garlic and sautee another 5 mins. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in an 8 quart or larger Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the beef cubes until browned and crusty on two sides, working in batches to avoid crowding the pan. With tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the browned beef to a bowl. During searing, it’s fine if the pan bottom gets quite dark, but if it smells like it’s burning, reduce the heat a bit. If the pan ever gets dry, add a little more oil.
3) Once all the beef is seared and set aside, add the onions and peppers to the pan, along with cumin and all ingredients except chili paste. Cook, stirring, until the spices coat the vegetables and are fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds. Add paste and sautee for 2-3 mins. Slowly add the beer while scraping the pan bottom with a wooden spoon to dissolve the coating of spices. Simmer until the beer is reduced by about half and the mixture has thickened slightly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the beef, along with any accumulated juices, and the beef broth. Bring to a simmer and then reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer, partially covered, for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Test a cube of meat—you should be able to cut it with a spoon.
4)If not serving immediately, chill overnight. The next day, skim any fat from the top, if necessary, before reheating.
To serve, heat the chili gently. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about 2 cups of the beef cubes to a plate. Shred the meat with a fork and return it to pot. Taste and add more salt if needed. Heat the beans in a medium bowl covered with plastic in the microwave (or heat them gently in a saucepan). Spoon chili over beans in an individual bowl. When serving, top with fresh minced onions, cilantro or sour cream if desired, and a sharp cheddar or jack cheese. Serve with any of several choices, including rice, saltine crackers (yawn), or (my favorite) fresh cornbread.
FOOTNOTES:
* — These peppers may be substituted for each other (or omitted) freely, depending on the type of heat and amount you are looking for. The jalapeno is the lightest of the three, producing more of a smoky than burning sensation on the palate. Serrano peppers have a more intense heat that tends to dissipate quickly, though more should be used since they are smaller than jalapenos. The habanero is the hottest of the three, and it’s not really close. Typically I’ll use just a half or so of the habanero pepper along with an entire jalapeno pepper to open up the meat flavors if the chili is intended for public consumption.
** — To toast and grind dried chiles: Place chiles on baking sheet in 350-degree oven until fragrant and puffed, about 6 minutes. Put smaller chiles (De Arbol) in for no more than 2 minutes. Cool, stem, and seed, tearing pods into pieces. Place pieces of the pods in a spice grinder and process until powdery, 30 to 45 seconds.
*** — a chile beer is a lighter beer in which brewers typically use an oil or the pepper itself to induce heat in the drink. I am not a fan of drinking these beers myself, and actually prefer a darker beer to drink alongside the chile. I find they make wonderful cooking agents, however.