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You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment Inquiry / Thursday Morning Open Thread: The Daily Grind

Thursday Morning Open Thread: The Daily Grind

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Jennifer Rubin, in the Washington Post, “Republicans Are Trapped, Thanks to Nancy Pelosi”:

If not for the foresight of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to shine a bright light on the purpose of a trial — an evaluation of evidence — and to delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, the White House, Republican senators and a hapless chorus of sycophantic pundits would not be in meltdown mode.

With an assist from former national security adviser John Bolton, Pelosi cornered Senate Republicans who had hoped to escape the spectacle of a full airing of President Trump’s unconscionable conduct. They can acquit, and in all likelihood will, but they cannot facilitate Trump’s cover-up without implicating themselves and entirely discrediting the process. They face humiliation when evidence eventually comes out. If they vote to acquit without hearing from Bolton, Trump will be denied the satisfaction of exoneration by a credible process.

Voters are far ahead of Republican senators. In the latest Quinnipiac poll, registered voters want witnesses by a margin of 75 to 20 percent. That includes “49 percent of Republicans, 95 percent of Democrats, and 75 percent of independents.” In a party known for its cultish obedience to the White House line, Trump cannot even peddle his “no witnesses” snake oil.

Trump has also lost a majority of voters on the merits. “More than half of voters, 53-40 percent, say President Trump is not telling the truth about his actions involving Ukraine. … More than half of voters, 54 percent, believe President Trump abused his power regarding his actions involving Ukraine, while 42 percent say he did not. A similar 52 percent think that President Trump obstructed Congress regarding its investigation of his actions involving Ukraine, while 42 percent think he did not.” They don’t buy that there was a legitimate reason to suspend aid (52 percent “think the Trump administration’s withholding of U.S. aid to Ukraine was not justified, while 34 percent say it was justified”)…

There are only two escape hatches, both distasteful for Trump. First, he could stipulate to every fact presented by Democrats, essentially admitting that he and his lawyers lied. He could then rely on his “not impeachable!” argument. Second, Republicans could start brokering a deal for censure. Trump is not one to admit error, however, so the chances are slim to none that he would agree to either…

Reader Interactions

184Comments

  3. 3.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Oh wait, no I’m not, because Pelosi made a two-year deal in 2019 so that’s not in his arsenal now. What luck.

    He left off the sarcasm tag.

  5. 5.

    Bruce K

    I suspect future generations will speculate about how much of the timing of these impeachment proceedings was luck and how much of it was Nancy Pelosi manipulating Mitch McConnell, leaving just enough time between voting out the articles and scheduling the State of the Union that he’d have just barely enough time to cover it all up assuming absolutely everything went his way … all the while knowing that something would go wrong and screw with Mitch’s timetable, leaving him caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place.

    McConnell may be a consummate rule-lawyering manipulator, achieving all he has by bending rules to the breaking point and pinning the blame on his opponents, but Pelosi’s shown herself to be the more impressive legislative tactician by far.

  7. 7.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Remember his little rhyme from the last SOTU? Too lazy to look it up, but it was something like “There will be no legislation if there’s investigation.” The thought of him screwing with the debt ceiling is too much.

  8. 8.

    Kay

    Bolton could just speak under oath. Record it and release it to the public. The Republicans won’t get to cross but that’s their fault.

    They can’t prevent people from speaking. Yet.

  9. 9.

    Barbara

    @Bruce K: Rule bending doesn’t yield the same benefits when it can’t be done in the recesses and corners of the Senate office building.

  10. 10.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Telescope captures most detailed pictures yet of the sun

    The sun’s turbulent surface has been revealed in unprecedented detail in the first observations by the Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii. The striking images reveal a surprising level of structure hidden within the churning plasma exterior, bringing a previously hazy impression of the sun’s patchwork surface sharply into focus for the first time.

    Yeah yeah, new telescope sees things never before seen, improving our understanding of the sun’s behaviour, yadda yadda yadda. Yyyaaaaaaawn…. Then there’s this:

    The US National Solar Observatory’s $344m (£265m) telescope features a four-metre mirror – the world’s largest for a solar telescope – and is located at the 3,000-metre (10,000ft) summit of the Haleakalā volcano on the island of Maui.

    Valentin Pillet, the director of the National Solar Observatory, described the telescope, which had been under construction since 2013, as a “formidable technological achievement”. A major challenge was maintaining the telescope’s primary mirror at ambient temperature while it looked directly at the sun – any temperature deviation causes air turbulence that could ruin the image quality. The heat is intense enough to rapidly melt metal at the mirror’s focal point.

    Each night, a swimming pool’s worth of ice is emptied into eight tanks. During the day, coolant is routed through the ice tanks and distributed through the observatory by 7.5 miles (12km) of piping. More than 100 air jets are also positioned behind the main mirror.

    Incoming light from the sun is deflected from the primary mirror into a chamber of mirrors that sits below the observatory’s dome. Here, the light is bounced from mirror to mirror as it is apportioned between spectrometers, polarimeters and other various other instruments. The observatory’s full suite of instruments, which will allow scientists to measure the magnetic field from the sun’s surface up to its outer atmosphere, will come online later this year.

    Pretty cool shit.

  11. 11.

    satby

    @rikyrah: @Baud:  Good morning 🙋 and to all the early shift 😊

    I’m struggling with weightier issues than impeachment; I need a good vegetarian (or vegan) dish for a potluck this Sunday.

  12. 12.

    Barbara

    @Kay: The perfectly ironic situation is to have Trump maniacally and publicly trying to shut Bolton up while everyone learns what Bolton would say anyway.  We’re almost there.

  15. 15.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie: Remember his little rhyme from the last SOTU?

    He’s given SOTUs before? Huh, the things I learn here. I suppose I could thank you for listening so I didn’t have to but, you didn’t have to either. ;-)

  19. 19.

    satby

    @debbie: maybe. I was hoping for something I could make just that morning because Saturday is a long day for me and I tend to fall asleep when  get home from the farmers market. But that’s always a crowd pleaser.

    Edit: of course it would go fast enough of I just bought ricotta instead of making my own.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: I’ve got a recipe for black bean burgers that’s really good. I can look it up if you wants.

    ETA @satby: Easy to make too, They could be done like sliders.

  21. 21.

    Kristine

    @satby: two current faves of mine are a carrot-black eyed pea dish with saffron and honey and an eggplant-lentil-pomegranate molasses casserole-type thing. Both Lebanese or thereabouts.

    just saw your comment about when you want to make it. The eggplant dish benefits from sitting overnight, but the carrot dish can be served same day.

  24. 24.

    germy

    I’m from the supposed Heartland, and in a political context “the Heartland” does not mean not-Washington. It means the place where white people run things.
    — Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) January 30, 2020

  26. 26.

    Sab

    OT :got a brother in law dying. Had  huge fight with spouse about whether other brother should come up. I lost. So brother in law will be too late.

    If you have family, visiting an ill relative isn ‘t a death knell. It’s just a visit. On the other hand, if they are desperate, if you don’t visit  you might be too late.

  27. 27.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I’ve got a recipe for black bean burgers that’s really good. I can look it up if you wants.

    I don’t know if satby does, but I do. I’ll check the replies here, if you end up posting it here.

    Thanks!

  31. 31.

    Kay

    @Barbara:

    I don’t know- if Mitch McConnell gets to make up evidence rules and Alan Dershowitz gets to pull impeachment requirements out of his ass seems like Bolton can set up a sworn statement and release it. Set it up like a deposition and then motion to admit it, just as a courtesy. Release it to the public at the same time.

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    Josh Marshall makes an obvious point that went sailing over my head all week: the endangered Repubs like Gardner, Collins, McSally, etc., are the least likely to vote to allow witnesses:

    The “moderates” up for reelection are the ones who want the trial over as quickly as possible. The longer the trial, the more damaging attacks from Democrats. To the extent there’s any wobbliness it must come from senators who are either not up for reelection this year or in safe seats.

    Oh well. They can vote for a cover-up and watch the evidence they tried to conceal dribble out between now and election day.

  38. 38.

    satby

    @Kristine: we have this potluck the first Sunday of every month, so I always need recipes 😊. Plus lots of vegans, and I think they all get tired of pasta as the go-to for most contributions.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Sab: I’m not much on deathbed visits, either the giving or, when my time comes, the receiving. If I had anything to say, I probably already have. If I didn’t, it’s a little late now.

    These things are hard, and everybody approaches them differently.

  41. 41.

    SFAW

    Perusing CNN, there’s a story that the Party of Traitors is “seizing” on Dershowitz’s “the King can do ANYTHING and NOT be impeached” ridiculous contention. You know that expression “I almost threw up in my mouth”? For the first time EVER, when it comes to political stuff, I felt that way. I’m a pretty cynical bastard, and pessimism (but not Eeyore-ism, which involves giving up in the face of Rethug adversity) is a larger part of my makeup than it is for many — it’s partly a psychological defense mechanism — but this shit may break me.

    If there were ANY Rethug senators who could be counted on to put country over party — OK, if there were four or more — I could just laugh this off as Cillizza-esque imbecility. I can’t tell you how much I hope CNN is wrong.

  42. 42.

    satby

    @rikyrah: I do luv veggie curry too! But someone always shows up with that, which is nice.

    So glad I have an Instant pot, because it makes most of these dishes so easy.

  45. 45.

    Kay

    @rikyrah:

    She’s good. Gained 5 oz! She’s going to look like her mother. They have the same wide-set eyes. I sent her a church dress and now I’m looking for a sun dress. Girls are fun.

  47. 47.

    Jinchi

    @satby: it’s kind of breathtaking that there doesn’t seem to be even one that’s willing to put their country ahead of their party. Not one.

    The best they had was Flake and he was never willing to do more than write a scolding op-ed about “tone”.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @satby: Here you go:

    Herb Burgers

    400 grams Black Beans
    400 grams Great Northern Beans
    6 green onions
    1 TBSP rapeseed oil
    i handful fresh basil
    8 chives
    2 garlic cloves
    8 grams chopped parsley
    Bread crumbs
    1 egg

    Drain and rinse beans. Finely slice onions in oil over medium heat. Add Basil, chives, garlic, and parsley. When herbs have darkened, add beans and stir into seasoning.

    Remove and mash in bowl. Add egg and breadcrumbs. make balls and flatten. Refrigerate for 20 mins.

    Fry in thin layer of oil. Drain and stuff in bun with tomato and mayo.

    Mmm, mmmm, good.

    ETA: I always use olive oil and it works just fine. Also dried herbs work too tho obviously fresh is better.

  51. 51.

    Kay

    @SFAW:

    Dershowitz’s “the King can do ANYTHING and NOT be impeached” ridiculous contention.

    I love that he said it because there were immediately 50,000 good hypotheticals showing it to be nonsense on Twitter. Like shooting fish in a barrel. If your legal theory can’t survive 10 minutes on Twitter it’s probably time to look for work you’re better at.

    It doesn’t make any sense. It’s sloppy, shoddy half ass “work” that he pulled out of his ass, and for as much as he gets paid he should be ashamed. 

  56. 56.

    HalfAssedHomesteader

    Dershowitz’s arguments are well into crazypants territory. Is it possible he’s working for us?

  58. 58.

    Betty Cracker

    @frosty: I’d totally eat that hot dish! :) One thing about growing up in Florida is you get to sample regional fare from all over the place thanks to all the transplants. I have managed to avoid lutefisk. Aged fish in a gelatinous substance? Hard nope!

  60. 60.

    CarolDuhart2

    @OzarkHillbilly:  It isn’t so much the words. It’s a chance to say goodbye, which doesn’t require a lot of words. Its why people come even when the soon-to-be deceased is on a respirator and can’t speak, or in a coma and can’t hear. It’s cruel to deny someone a chance to do this, and really should only be denied in grave situations.

    Also, if the patient didn’t want to see the person, they would have said so by now, and even sometimes they still want some closure and a chance to make up.

  61. 61.

    satby

    I appreciate all the suggestions! Since these things are once a month I’m going to be the vegan potluck MVP! Thanks everyone.

  62. 62.

    bemused

    I recently listened to a Jonathan Capehart podcast interviewing Jonathan Metzl author of “Dying of Whiteness” and read an interview with Paul Krugman on his latest book “Arguing with Zombies”. Both books sound interesting enough to read but wondering if anyone has recommendations.

  63. 63.

    Kay

    @rikyrah: 

    I’m sick of Yang too but he’ll be out after Iowa. Bloomberg will not be and I get the same “I’m an asshole and I do what I want” sense from him I got with Trump.

    We could have three arrogant jerks – Trump, Bloomberg and Bernie. R to L. They’re all narcissists.

  64. 64.

    bemused

    @Betty Cracker:

     

    I’m lifelong Minnesotan and I’ve never attended a lutefisk dinner fundraiser let alone touched the stuff. The smell alone would knock out a moose.

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    @OzarkHillbilly: Two years ago, my father-in-law was not obviously ill (I mean he was 94 and frail, but not dying.) My son, who adored him, his only grandfather, was preparing to leave the country for the summer, but said “I should go visit” – so he squeezed that in. A week later, literally while my son was in transit, we FaceTimed him in the Istanbul departure lounge to tell him grandpa had passed away. He often recalls the time he made for that visit.

  66. 66.

    Jinchi

    @rikyrah: The GOP is now the pro-totalitarian party. It is a clear and present danger— Jennifer Rubin

    The failure of the Republican party is even more obvious when you remember that they aren’t just passive observers, forced to watch (and then agree with) whatever BS argument the president spouts on any given day. Mitch McConnell has admitted to “total coordination” with the White House on impeachment. He could have easily worked with them to draft a defense that passed the Fox News test, allowed Susan Collins to put on somber face while voting for acquittal, and yet didn’t set a precedent that every future executive will be able to point to.

    Trump will do whatever he thinks he can get away with. Republicans are literally telling him that the president can get away with anything.

  67. 67.

    Sab

    a

    @rikyrah: Thank you. I always think about what you might think. If you weigh in I don’t think about what you might think, because you told me what you do think.

  68. 68.

    Amir Khalid

    @Kay:

    It’s my understanding that the House of Representatives collectively has sole discretion over what to impeach POTUS for. And that it isn’t limited to impeaching POTUS only for a crime, but is free to impeach for whatever it considers grounds to remove him from office. The House tells the Senate that POTUS is unfit for the office, the Senate then conducts a trial, and finally the Senators decide whether they agree.

    So I don’t get the arguments that Trump did such-and-such, but it’s not a crime and therefore not impeachable.

  69. 69.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    Good thread from a Warren stan about long-term strategy. The topic is Medicare for All, which I’m not crazy about, but the subtext is great about how Dems tend to get frustrated and give up if their heroes don’t accomplish everything right away.

    Warren says she won't pass M4A in her first two years—which is why I support her for the nomination, since I like candidates who tell the truth that things worth fighting for take multi-year strategies. /1

    — Nathan Newman 🧭 (@nathansnewman) January 27, 2020

  72. 72.

    Gin & Tonic

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Finely slice onions in oil over medium heat

    It’s hard to do that without burning your fingers pretty badly. I’d suggest slicing them first, then putting them in hot oil.

  74. 74.

    Kristine

    @Jinchi:

    Republicans are literally telling him that the president can get away with anything.

    A fact that will no doubt be reversed as soon as the next Democratic president is elected.

  76. 76.

    Kay

    @Amir Khalid:

    Honestly, I think the defense did a bad job and I think it’s because they all have huge egos and they can’t work as a team. They had 5 separate and sometimes contradictory …themes for why Donald Trump is untouchable and has absolute power. It’s a mess. Maybe they know it’s a mess and the actual plan was just to throw shit on the wall but it seems like they would have wanted something for the Trump loyalists to rally around, instead of this grab bag. It’s all crap. What does it matter? Just pick the snappiest and shortest and yell it over and over. They want witnesses they don’t want witnesses, he can’t be impeached, he can be impeached but shouldn’t, it’s not even about him it’s about Hunter Biden, it “overturns” an election, and on and on and on. They all have their fucking ego-driven HOBBYHORSE they’re riding and they’re going in 15 directions.

  77. 77.

    Amir Khalid

    @bemused:

    Isn’t lutefisk like food for hard times? That’s always been my impression, because I’ve never come across anyone saying they like its taste.

  78. 78.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Bruce K: McConnell may be a consummate rule-lawyering manipulator, achieving all he has by bending rules to the breaking point and pinning the blame on his opponents, but Pelosi’s shown herself to be the more impressive legislative tactician by far.

    Or maybe Turtle is just another mediocre white boi who took advantage of the Senate’s good old boy club culture were everyone else wasn’t willing to fight back lest they be viewed as impolite.

    Mitch McConnell ; A parasite who dreams of being a predator.

  79. 79.

    Kristine

    @satby: I will add that the “keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator” note in the eggplant recipe is imo a bit of food poisoning CYA. I’ve kept leftovers for a week or more, and the flavor continues to improve.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Gin & Tonic: The last time I saw my sister was when I stopped by to drop off some stuff for her. I remember her leaning over the deck rail as her boyfriend was digging post holes for the privacy fence she had been wanting around her back yard for ever. She was actually glowing, the happiest I had seen her in years. She had finally found a man worthy of her, one who could truly appreciate her, and together they were building a life that alone would never happen for either. But I was in a hurry, had places to go, people to see, things to do. So I put the stuff on her front porch, said my hellos and luvyas and left. Didn’t even take the time to give her a hug.

    2 weeks later she dropped dead on her front porch, leaving to go to the doctor for some tests on a sudden onset of shortness of breath.

  82. 82.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Recipe looks pretty good, but I have a (possibly stupid) question (or two):

    I can get dried Great Northern beans, but I suspect that’s not what you use. Can you get them cooked/canned? Or do you cook dried one to the correct consistency? I was also going to ask about a rapeseed oil substitute, but it sounds like you’re happy with olive oil.

  83. 83.

    Original Lee

    @satby: The Cookie & Kate website has some amazingly tasty recipes for potlucks. We’ve been cooking with her recipes for a year and we have yet to find one that isn’t tasty.

  84. 84.

    Jinchi

    @Kristine: A fact that will no doubt be reversed as soon as the next Democratic president is elected.

    Sure that’s the plan. That’s not how these things usually work out though. I’m simply amazed at how easily McConnell will cede his own power.

    They’ve already set a standard that a president can simply refuse to answer any questions from Congress. That he can bypass Senatorial approval by naming “Acting” officials to run major government agencies. That he can shut down the government in a tantrum, then simply redirect billions of dollars from the military budget to spend on a vanity project that has been explicitly rejected. And now they’re setting a standard that he can collaborate with foreign governments to target political enemies. He could have gotten most of what he wanted through normal arrangements with the Republican majority.

    Why would McConnell want that? Does he really trust that President Ocasio-Cortez isn’t going to take advantage of those powers if she gets the chance to crush the Republican party in 20 years?

  86. 86.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Amir Khalid:So I don’t get the arguments that Trump did such-and-such, but it’s not a crime and therefore not impeachable.

    That’s because it’s nonsense.

  87. 87.

    Kristine

    @satby: I’m not vegan, but I love vegetables and have developed a real affection for lentils and other types of beans. I am finding so many good South Asian/North African/Middle Eastern recipes for same, and learning about some dandy spice blends and ingredients (pomegranate molasses, date nectar) in the bargain.

  90. 90.

    SFAW

    @HalfAssedHomesteader:

    Dershowitz’s arguments are well into crazypants territory. Is it possible he’s working for us?

    In 2016, I asked the same question of my brother, who lives on LI, and is familiar with Shitgibbon. [Nor personally familiar, just with the various news items over the years.] I wondered if the Liar-in-Chief was gaslighting the Rethug voters, and might say at the convention that they were all morons, etc., and the positions he took were not serious.

    My brother’s response, which also fits Dershowitz: “No, he’s just an asshole.”

  92. 92.

    Betty Cracker

    @Kay: I got that impression too — there seemed to be no coordination, and the defenses were incoherent and contradictory. Glad to have confirmation from an attorney.

    Did you see Bondi? God, what an embarrassment. I’ve lived in the Tampa media market all my life and still do, so I’ve followed her career since she was an assistant state attorney and spokeswoman. She didn’t let her wingnut freak flag fully unfurl until Rick Scott came on the scene, so it was a surprise to a lot of people!

    I’m hoping her shady, bribe-tainted association with Trump and flustered appearance as an impeachment lawyer will blight her career forever. Otherwise, we’ll never get rid of her.

  93. 93.

    Kristine

    @satby: Apologies if you’re already using these, but Advieh. Ras el Hanout. You can buy the blends or make them yourself. I add a tablespoon of advieh to the eggplant dish. I’ve never made it without so don’t know how much it boosts the flavor, but I’m not willing to leave it out and see.

    Also za’atar. It’s getting more popular. Great on warm buttered bread.

  94. 94.

    SFAW

    @Jinchi:

    I’m simply amazed at how easily McConnell will cede his own power.

    Interesting. Care to provide any examples of that? It’s not “ceding” if they’re doing what you want in the first place, and you’re the one doing the driving.

    Why would McConnell want that? Does he really trust that President Ocasio-Cortez isn’t going to take advantage of those powers if she gets the chance to crush the Republican party in 20 years?

    If he cared about what happens to the non-one-percent after he’s dead — other than the whole ram-judges-through thing — he’d do things differently. But he’s more than happy to destroy American democracy, because (A) he’s safe, and (B) he hates a pluralistic America. There’s a reason he’s called Traitor Turtle, you know

     

    ETA: I forgot (C): He’ll be dead.

  95. 95.

    Chyron HR

    @Jinchi:

    Does he really trust that President Ocasio-Cortez isn’t going to take advantage of those powers if she gets the chance to crush the Republican party in 20 years?

    Well, for starters, you seem to be confused about which of the two major American political parties AOC wants to crush.

  96. 96.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @SFAW: Yes I can get canned northern beans and that’s what I’ve used but I don’t see why the northern beans prepped with the quick soak method and stewed in veggie broth for a bit wouldn’t work just as well.

    As far as olive oyl, my wife is from Spain, we use olive oyl for everything. Seeing as I have the palate of a dingo, I can’t really say how it effects the flavor one way or the other,

  99. 99.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Amir Khalid: There are members of my family who go to lutefish dinners at churches and profess to like it.  I only believe one of them; the rest, i believe, have an ulterior motive of some kind.*  Lefse, on the other hand is fine; it’s a flat bread made from potatoes, usually eaten warm with butter and sugar or a fruit jam like lingonberry.  You can also roll lutefisk in it, but that is a waste of perfectly good lefse in my view.

    *It’s the only explanation that fits.

  101. 101.

    SFAW

    @Kay:

    Unfortunately, it’s immaterial that his “legal” “theories” are crap — the Party of Traitors will latch on to ANYTHING if it gets them what they want. And as far as the whole “ashamed” thing: as you well know, the Party of Traitors, and their psychophants, has/have no shame.

  102. 102.

    satby

    @satby: and it’s time for me to head out, but now I’m looking forward to all the fun I’ll have cooking something new tomorrow and in the next few weeks. Y’all are the greatest.

  105. 105.

    SFAW

    @satby:

    and the tweet replies are fucking insane.

    You tried to warn us. But, no, I had to go there to see. Not sure how many of my brain cells died from reading some of the RWMF replies.

  107. 107.

    Chris Johnson

    @satby: It’s meant to look that way. Ask yourself who has access to large scale propaganda warfare who would benefit from making both sides think the Republicans are unanimously totalitarian royalists who appear to side with Russia and Trump.

    You’ll find there’s somebody out there who benefits directly from people forming that impression, whether it’s true or not (hint: not)

  108. 108.

    bemused

    @Amir Khalid:

    Sure, it goes back to when people used every part of fish, fowl, cow, pig, etc. to survive. Eating Lutefisk was common when I was growing up, our family descendants of Finnish immigrants. Our mother would occasionally cook it for our father who was the only one who did like it and we kids would complain a lot when it was being cooked. Christmas was when lutefisk preserved in lye was sold in grocery stores which had to be weighed using gloves on separate scale. It didn’t sound a bit appetizing to us but the older folks loved it. There were other “delicacies” like blood sausage that I refused to eat as well as fried liver and onions.

    The Icelandic fermented shark is another example of age old food that most people wouldn’t want to eat today.

  110. 110.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: The Trump defense attorneys are doing something like that.  They are reading two Mick Mulvaney statements, not under oath, into the record every chance they get as if it were actual testimony.  It was making me crazy.

    Meanwhile, I don’t think Bolton can do what you suggest — file a sworn affidavit — without going to prison for revealing classified information (outside of the privilege). The pre-clearance of the book that leaked was required. But it’s not precleared. And Bill Barr is just the guy to do it, adding “illegal testimony” to their screaming points. Bolton could do as you suggest, but if I were his lawyer, I’d tell him not to. He needs the subpoena.

  112. 112.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    They had 5 separate and sometimes contradictory . . . themes for why Donald Trump is untouchable and has absolute power.

    Someone on Twitter—can’t remember who now, but it was someone “legitimate,” like a columnist or pundit, not a crank—said yesterday that the Trump people weren’t really trying to offer a coherent defense (since there is none) but were just putting out a smorgasbord of unconnected talking points and sound bites for his followers in social media and for the Republicans up for election to use in their campaigns. Almost makes sense, in a crazy way.

  114. 114.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    Trump has made another thing come clear for me- the classified rules. We watched this become bullshit in real time in the Clinton email controversy.

    The Trump people only use the classified rules to obstruct. For some reason Jared Kushner can transmit anything to anyone using any method at all and that’s okay, but when they need to hide something the rules come out. When we remove the Trump regime from power I want the whole system reviewed. It’s being abused for both political purposes (Clinton) and for cover-ups. They’ve ruined it. It no longer functions as intended.

  116. 116.

    What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?

    @Omnes Omnibus: This. Lutefisk is made of dried cod or other white fish – it’s literally dried to a consistency of plywood, for preservation and later consumption. Its origins pre-date refrigeration. They used to stack the dried cod outside under cover in the old country. My grandfather recounted stories of dogs lifting their legs and peeing on the piles, which apparently did not harm it a bit.

    To re-soften the fish it is soaked/pickled in lye. Then prior to cooking it receives several soaks in water baths to remove the lye, then cooked in a cream sauce. It’s super bland really gelatinous. There’s a reason no-one eats it anymore but it used to be a staple of Swedish Christmas Eve smorgasboards. Even my dad never makes it anymore and he is a huge Swedish-phile.

  118. 118.

    Kay

    @Steeplejack:

    I wonder about that, though. I sometimes think we give them too much credit. “Keep it simple” is so popular in hearings because it works. 

    It works better than anything else. That’s why people use it.

    They have nothing, and there’s a kind of freedom in that. One of their bullshit defenses is as good as another. Just pick the snappiest and easiest to understand and stick to it. If a lot of people are wondering what your defense is after you’ve spent two days explaining it that’s not an ideal result. I heard a new one this week, from a Trumpster. It’s invalid because Democrats are in the majority. I said “they’re not in the majority in the senate, though” and then I thought “do not engage” – arguing a ridiculous defense just validates it.

  121. 121.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I agree on the classification crap.  I don’t know the solution.  Strict time limits for low classifications?  Review of too secret and above by a IG and reports to Congress?  Congressional review of all too classified materials with legislative power to unclassify?  I have no clue.

    We all knew this was going to end in an acquittal.  Why am I so angry that it is heading for that result?  I try to not be outraged by things that are inevitable.  I guess I still trusted a hope.

  123. 123.

    Immanentize

    @bemused: My Grandmother loved head cheese.  My Grandfather was a butcher (one of many jobs) and he used to say that the only part of a pig you can’t use is its squeal.

  124. 124.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @debbie: There is nothing in the concept of “the good of the nation” he is capable of understanding. For him and all the people he hires, graft and corruption aren’t a side benefit, they are the entire job description.

  126. 126.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    Did you see Bondi?

    Ha! My husband asked me the same thing. I did not. He must have because it was “did you SEE..” :)

    I have to take it in small doses and as much as a I loathe Dershowitz at least he’s not a corrupt prosecutor. They are, to me, the lowest of the low.

    She will upset me. Corrupt prosecutors make me despondent. It feels hopeless when you have one, and of course, we have Bondi and Barr. Two. Guiliani. Three. That’s my corruption nightmare. Corrupt people with the power to imprison. Asshole Harvard law professors and socialites are one thing. Prosecutors can put political enemies in prison.

  129. 129.

    Gin & Tonic

    @bemused: Oh, man, I like that stuff. It’s getting harder to find.

    I like blood sausage, too – morcilla and its variants, especially the Eastern European kishka, in which the blood is mixed with buckwheat.

    I enjoy all varieties of dried and salted fish, too, but when the preparation calls for soaking in a caustic substance, I get off the bus.

  130. 130.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Steeplejack: I sense a best-selling diet book.

    ETA:  The Baltic Diet:  Eat Your Way to a Healthy Weight With Only A Slight Tendency Towards Suicide And Excessive Vodka Consumption.

  131. 131.

    Immanentize

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: I disagree.  I think Trump really believes he is fixing the country.  Because only he can.  And if he gets paid for doing that, it is only right.  In other words, the only thing in the public interest is Donald J. Trump.  That is what makes the Dersh argument so stupid.

  132. 132.

    Betty Cracker

    @Immanentize: Same. I tell myself we knew all along the only obtainable goal was to extract maximum political damage to Republicans for participating in the cover-up. By that metric, we’ve succeeded; a slight majority wants the orange fart cloud convicted and removed.

    Still, that 40% or so of the country and the majority in the senate could watch this unfold and be okay with these incompetent buffoons wrecking the constitutional framework is…sobering. We knew it, but seeing it play out underscores the challenge ahead.

  133. 133.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @Omnes Omnibus: Pickled fish, mmm. At one memorable dinner in Copenhagen one of the entrees consisted of five (!) different kinds of pickled herring.

    I ordered that of course. There wasn’t any question from the moment we saw it on the menu.

    There aren’t any Scandinavians in my family tree, but there are Russians so maybe there’s some explanation there for my taste in fish?

  136. 136.

    Steeplejack

    @Kay:

    Maybe you’re right. As with so much about Trump, it’s probably a waste of time to analyze things too much. It’s all just “throw something against the wall right now and see what sticks.”

    He’s a sleazy real-estate grifter with a knack for self-promotion and tapping into deep wells of racism and resentment. Oh, and he’s mentally ill. Full stop. But, you know, let’s spend a week punditizing about the strategery of offering to buy Greenland.

  137. 137.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    I’m mad all the time (obviously!) but I’m not mad about an acquittal. I successfully let the outcome go, which I have found really helpful in my own practice and have gotten better at over the years.

    Pelosi did good work and handed it off and that’s all I was guaranteed. I know impeachment is a big mushy mess and sucks as a process so I knew they’d skate.

    I don’t know if it’s annoying to other lawyers, but does it drive you fucking crazy when these people rely on court procedure rules and evidentiary rules only when they want to say something dumb on cable tv?

    They should have to choose. If it’s not a court proceeding and we’re all free to get creative don’t be saying “hearsay” or pretending it’s an APPEAL and you’re limited to the record (which horrible Susan Collins is babbling about). If you’re going to use “hearsay” you have to use the whole thing- all the exceptions. It’s not like folklore. It’s not a magic word.

  138. 138.

    Immanentize

    @Betty Cracker: the 40% thing bugs me.  Impeachment just mirrors Trump favorability but it means so much more.  40% think nothing is wrong with what he did.  53% think that not only was it wrong, but he should be removed from office because of it.  That is a type of polarization I couldn’t really predict.   Luckily we are on the right side of that %.

  139. 139.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    @What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?: There are a lot of Italians around here, and they all talk about something called Salt Cod which appears at the Italian Christmas tradition of “seven fishes”, but which nobody admits to eating.

    I’m struck by the fact that both these evil traditional dishes involve cod. i wonder if there’s lye involved too.

    Some local stores also sell a lot of raw olives. I once got curious and looked up what it takes to cure your own olives. Lye was definitely part of it, and that’s when I decided this was not for me.

  142. 142.

    Kay

    @Immanentize:

    I am sad about that- that it’s going to be close and really hard to win, because that’s a grinding slog rather than a joyful romp, but I am also confident we will win.

    The election. Not this fake trial with no witnesses and no real rules.

  143. 143.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize:  Krakowska is great. It’s really just kielbasa in a larger form factor. Go here (it’s practically Heaven.) You can probably get there in about four hours.

  144. 144.

    Shalimar

    @Jinchi: They also have Sasse, who is willing to write a scolding op-ed about  “tone”.  Or was willing.  He has been completely quiet since Trump endorsed him for re-election last year.

  145. 145.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: Yes,. The hearsay on especially.  The first rule they need to understand is that the President is the defendant, therefore anything he said Is NOT hearsay!. So when Sekulow was complaining that what Bolton said the President said was hearsay, he is wrong. I’m not sure they understand that either, though. And just dirtying up the place is their job.

  149. 149.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: We, of course, like various forms of pickled fish, but I have to admit that I was surprised the first time my son brought his Mexican girlfriend to a festive meal and found that she *loved* pickled herring. I mean *loved it*. I thought it was just something for the northern peoples.

  150. 150.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I actually worry that the message Trump will take is not that he missed a bullet but rather that he can now do anything.  It may be worse than a slog.

  153. 153.

    PenAndKey

    I’m worried that Trump may try to leverage debt ceiling negotiations to stop impeachment and any further investigations. Oh wait, no I’m not, because Pelosi made a two-year deal in 2019 so that’s not in his arsenal now. What luck.

    That and enough money to buy a latte will get you a latte. Seriously, who honestly thinks that anything short of an ironclad multi-year budget already being in place would stop Trump and McConnell from rescinding any “deal” that exists the second it’s convenient for them to do so?

  154. 154.

    Steeplejack

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    My brother’s Brazilian in-laws have a few salt cod recipes that are dragged out for special occasions—“old country” recipes from Portugal. One is a stew that is okay; the other one isn’t—an appetizer my brother describes as “cod balls.”

  156. 156.

    Kay

    @Steeplejack:

    My husband watches C-SPAN and he’s a former prosecutor and he called Comey coming out and going so far out of bounds on Clinton. He was so upset by it. To me it didn’t seem huge but he thought it was WAY out of line and that worried me. He was “what is he DOING?” So now I listen to him. He saw the Comey missile coming. The fucking loose nuke of Comey’s GIANT ego headed our way.

    People forgive him because he had good intentions but that just makes it worse for me. All he had to do was his job, JUST his job, which is incredibly rule-bound and involves no creativity, but he invented a bigger one and then fucked that one all up. That’s ego. Another giant, preening asshole who thinks their plan is better than 50 years of rules that ordinary mortals follow.

  159. 159.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @PenAndKey: How exactly would someone rescind the debt ceiling deal?  Until someone comes up with a plausible way to resurrect that issue, I won’t lose sleep over it.

  162. 162.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize: I’m coming up blank on that last one. So is the mighty Google. Knödel, though, is something you’ll find throughout the old Austro-Hungarian Empire.

  163. 163.

    oldgold

    The Republican lawyers are whorehouse piano players. What the play or how they play, other than being sufficiently loud,  makes no damn difference to the business at hand.

  165. 165.

    glory b

    @Bruce K: I was listening to what’s his name from Axios talking about “The One Big Thing” this morning on msnbc. His topic was what a master politician McConnell is, and how he will pull this off because he always has a clever card up his sleeve.

    I thought of Pelosi during his whole segment. I don’t think she’s ever gotten that kind of regard from those guys.

  168. 168.

    Immanentize

    @Gin & Tonic: Knedlicky are small yeast loaves that are steamed.  The Omacka is like an Italian sauce but really smooth that goes on top of the big dumplings?   I’m sure I am spelling everything wrong.

    With a beef roast.  I’m so hungry now.

  169. 169.

    J R in WV

    @Sab:

    If you have family, visiting an ill relative isn ‘t a death knell. It’s just a visit. On the other hand, if they are desperate, if you don’t visit you might be too late.

    This! Sorry for your situation, so odd to oppose a family visit.

    Some few years ago I learned that an older cousin was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I went up with another cousin, and we spent all afternoon with Lew, had a great visit, and he told us that he had no regrets for anything he had ever done, just for the things he hadn’t done.

    That inspired me to retire as soon as financially possible, so as to do things I would regret not doing.

    I strongly recommend family (or close friend) visits in the case of severe illness just for the sake of not regretting missing that last visit.

    And since then his brother and sister have passed without that last visit, which I now really wish I had made, even tho his brother turned into a religious whack job.

    I really miss their sister, tho. Ovarian cancer. They both smoked… Fuck tobacco, killed too many loved ones! How can it be legal to sell toxic addictive substances? Money talks!!

  170. 170.

    J R in WV

    @SFAW:

    I was also going to ask about a rapeseed oil substitute, but it sounds like you’re happy with olive oil.

    rapeseed oil is also more commonly known as canola oil.

  173. 173.

    bemused senior

    @satby: dead thread, but I have a universal crowd pleaser, spanakopeta casserole. Easy and quick. Vegetarian but not vegan. Basically, make spanakopeta filling and put it in casserole dish lined with 6 layers of buttered Phyllo dough sheets, then top with 6 buttered layers of Phyllo. Bake at 400 till golden. Will send if you want. But probably any good filling recipe would work.

  174. 174.

    J R in WV

    @Gin & Tonic:

    I like blood sausage, too – morcilla and its variants, especially the Eastern European kishka, in which the blood is mixed with buckwheat.

    I enjoy all varieties of dried and salted fish, too, but when the preparation calls for soaking in a caustic substance, I get off the bus.

    I never had the occasion to try blood sausage — until we traveled to Europe for the first time. We were in a group, and for some meals the “menu” was preset, lots of things but you had that limited set of items to choose from.

    And of course, to us, part of travel is trying new foods, sometimes that’s the main part of a trip. So when blood sausage came along, I tried it, don’t now recall if it was in NE Spain or SW France, but it was good. Black, but good.

    And there’s nothing wrong with squid ink in a recipe!

  175. 175.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Immanentize: OK, we’re getting somewhere. Omáčka just means sauce or gravy – could the first word be “silska” or “selská”? That just means “rural” or “country-style.”

    Knedlicky, as I suggested, are the Czech or Slovak version of the German/Austrian knödel, which is a potato dumpling (no yeast.) If you’re using yeast you’re making something else – not suggesting it’s bad, but it’s just a different food.

    But those dumplings with gravy are very definitely a common Mitteleuropäische accompaniment to roasted – or, more commonly – boiled beef. Mmm, now I’m thinking of my mother’s boiled beef tongue with a horseradish/cream sauce.

  176. 176.

    PenAndKey

    @Omnes Omnibus: We have he following fiscal reauthorization deadlines this year, none of which are protected by any sort of guarantee or deal. Take your pick of which one’s they’ll use as a hostage:

    • Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Reauthorization – March 15th
    • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and CHild Care (TANF) Reauthorization – May 22nd
    • Medicare/Medicaid Health Extensions – May 22nd
    • Federal Fiscal Appropriations (ie) funding the government – September 30th
    • National Flood Insurance Reauthorization – September 30th

    Just because the debt ceiling suspension doesn’t expire until July of 2021 that doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of places for the GOP to jam up the works when (not if) they decide to. Hell, the fact that the government is scheduled to be up for budget reauthorization right before the election works in their favor even without the excuse of the debt ceiling. At this point they aren’t even pretending to have an excuse beyond the Fox Viewer Approved™ “pissing off the liberals” one.

  177. 177.

    Gin & Tonic

    @J R in WV: I recall driving through rural Manitoba in the summer when the rape (Brassica napus) was flowering, mile after mile of golden-yellow brilliance.

  181. 181.

    NotMax

    @satby

    May be dead thread but in case you check in, Spinach Souffle. Easy to throw together and tastes like you slaved for hours.

    ½ cup minced onion
    2 tbl. butter
    2 boxes frozen spinach, thawed and well drained
    1 cup milk
    5 eggs
    2 more tbl. butter
    ½ cup grates Swiss cheese or gruyere
    ½ cup bread crumbs
    Salt (to taste)
    Pepper (to taste)
    Nutmeg (to taste)

    Butter or spray the sides of a loaf pan or mold. Line bottom of this pan with waxed paper or greased parchment baking paper. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare additional pan with water to set the cooking pan in.
    Saute onions in butter until soft and translucent.
    After removing water from spinach, chop fine. Stir into onions.
    Add salt, pepper, nutmeg. Let heat up, add spinach and stir, add additional butter and milk and stir together.
    While that heats, beat eggs well.
    Add spinach mix to eggs. Stir. Add bread crumbs. Stir well.
    Pour all into the greased pan.
    Set pan into the other pan with water and bake for 30 – 40 minutes.
    Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes to finish setting up. Unmold onto plate and remove any paper adhering to the top.
    Slices can be eaten hot or cold.

  182. 182.

    satby

    @satby: Umm, got distracted by a customer and came back to see Kindle had helpfully turned me into a druggie. I don’t like tranquilizers, I like spanakopita

    and thanks NotMax, GregM, and SWMBO for further inspiration!

  183. 183.

    Origuy

    While we’re talking about peasant food, I went to a Burns Night celebration Monday night and was asked to present the haggis. I like haggis; it’s basically a loose sausage.

    Ye Pow’rs, wha mak mankind your care,
    And dish them out their bill o fare,
    Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
    That jaups in luggies:
    But, if ye wish her gratefu prayer,
    Gie her a Haggis

  184. 184.

    laura

    @Immanentize: my dad was a butcher and he would occasionally wrap an empty meat tray and label it as pig oinks and place it in the case along side chops and such like.

    When we were wee, he’d let us come into the backroom and watch him grind beef. So very exciting. I miss him so much.

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