Tuesday
Sep082020
The Commentariat -- September 9, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Today's Comments thread is mighty fine. I particularly appreciate the commentary from those who described how the coronavirus pandemic changed -- and didn't change -- their grocery shopping, cooking & dining habits.
Mrs. McCrabbie: I remember the good ole days of the Trump administration when there was just one breathtaking scandal a day.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Top officials with the Department of Homeland Security directed agency analysts to downplay the threat of violent white supremacy and of Russian election interference, according to a whistle-blower complaint filed by a top intelligence official with the department. Brian Murphy, the former head of the intelligence branch of the Homeland Security Department, said in a whistle-blower complaint filed on Tuesday that he was directed by Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of the department, to stop producing assessments on Russian interference. The department's second highest ranked official, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, also ordered him to modify intelligence assessments to make the threat of white supremacy 'appear less severe' and include information on violent 'left-wing' groups, according to the complaint, which was released Wednesday by the House Intelligence Committee. In so doing, the two top officials at the department -- both appointees of President Trump -- appeared to shape the agency's views around Mr. Trump's rhetoric and interests. Mr. Murphy, who was removed from his post in August after his office compiled intelligence reports on protesters and journalists in Portland, Ore., asserted ... that he was retaliated against for raising concerns to superiors and cooperating with the department's inspector general. He asked the inspector general to investigate." ~~~
~~~ Murphy's whistleblower complaint is here, via a House committee pdf. ~~~
~~~ CNN's report, by Zachary Cohen, is here. "A whistleblower is alleging that top political appointees in the Department of Homeland Security repeatedly instructed career officials to modify intelligence assessments to suit ... Donald Trump's agenda by downplaying Russia's efforts to interfere in the US and the threat posed by White supremacists, according to documents reviewed by CNN and a source familiar with the situation. The whistleblower claims that acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf instructed DHS offiials earlier this year to 'cease providing intelligence assessments on the threat of Russian interference' and, instead, focus their efforts on gathering information related to activities being carried out by China and Iran."
~~~ Kelly Weill of the Daily Beast: "In October 2018, for example, then-DHS Deputy Chief of Staff Miles Taylor and DHS Counselor Kristen Marquadt allegedly pressured [Brian] Murphy into distorting information on immigrants.... Murphy says he declined to manipulate the data, and that he and a supervisor agreed that doing so would constitute a felony. Nevertheless, he claims, immigration data was distorted on multiple occasions, including oral testimony then-DHS head Kirstjen Nielsen gave to Congress, in which she claimed 3,755 known or suspected terrorists had crossed the southern border. In a meeting with Nielsen and then-DHS Chief of Staff Chad Wolf, Murphy offered documentation showing that no more than three people of that description had crossed the border. Even those descriptions might have been inappropriate, Murphy added, since they simply shared the 'name or phone number of a person who was known to be in contact with a terrorist. At that point, Mr. Murphy was removed from the meeting by Mr. Wolf.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I guess we know now why a DHS draft report that mentions both the threats of white supremacy & Russian cyberattacks recently made it into the hands of several journalists. The reason for the leak/release is spelled C-Y-A.
** Robert Costa & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: On January 28, national security advisor Robert O'Brien told Donald Trump that the coronavirus outbreak in China would "'be the roughest thing you face.' Ten days later, [according to Bob Woodward in a new book titled Rage,] Trump called Woodward and ... [said,] 'You just breathe the air and that's how it's passed.... It's also more deadly than even your strenuous flu.' 'This is deadly stuff,' the president repeated for emphasis. At that time, Trump was telling the nation that the virus was no worse than a seasonal flu, predicting it would soon disappear, and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control.... Trump admitted to Woodward on March 19 that he deliberately minimized the danger. 'I wanted to always play it down,' the president said.... Woodward's new book ... covers race relations, diplomacy with North Korea and a range of other issues that have arisen during the past two years. The book also includes brutal assessments of Trump's conduct from former defense secretary Jim Mattis, former director of national intelligence Daniel Coats and others." Read on. ~~~
~~~ Update: The WashPo story now includes audio clips. ~~~
~~~ Jamie Gangel & others at CNN also have read Woodward's book. Their report covers much of what the WashPo report does, and it includes recorded clips of Woodward's phone conversations with Trump. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's worth noting that according to a May 3 CNN report by Jeremy Diamond, "... Donald Trump claimed Sunday [May 3] that the US intelligence community 'did NOT bring up the CoronaVirus subject matter until late into January' and that 'they only spoke of the Virus in a very non-threatening, or matter of fact, manner.'... 'On January 23, I was told that there could be a virus coming in but it was of no real import. In other words it wasn't, "Oh we gotta do something, we gotta do something." It was a brief conversation and it was only on January 23,' Trump said during a Fox News town hall." These would be not just lies, but monstrous, murderous lies. ~~~
~~~ Adam Edelman of NBC News: "Joe Biden and other top Democrats on Wednesday slammed ... Donald Trump over comments he made about the coronavirus to journalist Bob Woodward for an upcoming book, including the president's acknowledgment that he 'wanted to always play it down,' even though he knew it was 'deadly.' 'It was a life and death betrayal of the American people,' Biden said about the revelations during a campaign event in Warren, Michigan. 'It's beyond despicable. It's a dereliction of duty, a disgrace.... He knew how deadly it was. He knew and purposely played it down,' Biden added. 'Worse, he lied.'" ~~~
A Star-Studden QAnon Bash. Brian Slodysko & Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "Vice President Mike Pence and top officials from ... Donald Trump';s campaign are slated to attend a Montana fundraiser next week hosted by a couple who have expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to an event invitation obtained by The Associated Press and a review of social media postings. The hosts of the fundraiser, Caryn and Michael Borland, have shared QAnon memes and retweeted posts from QAnon accounts, their social media activity shows. The baseless conspiracy theory posits that Trump is fighting entrenched enemies in the government and also involves satanism and child sex trafficking. the Sept. 14 fundraiser in Bozeman, Montana, is expected to draw influential figures in the president's orbit including Kimberly Guilfoyle, a top Trump fundraising official who is dating Donald Trump Jr., GOP chairwoman Ronna [Romney] McDaniel, Republican National Committee finance chairman Todd Ricketts and RNC co-chairman Tommy Hicks Jr., the event invitation shows." Mrs. McC: Hey, QAnon money is just as green as yours & mine. What's the problem?
Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "Hours before President Trump arrived in Winston-Salem, N.C., for a campaign rally on Tuesday, the county's top Republican official issued a warning: The president better be wearing a mask. 'It's been ordered by the governor,' David Plyler, a Trump supporter and GOP chair of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, told the Winston-Salem Journal.... But when the president emerged Tuesday evening to address a cheering group of supporters, his face was fully exposed, a likely violation of the state's coronavirus rules. The same was true of many of the supporters behind his podium.... And in fact, the whole event appears to have defied restrictions from North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who has limited outdoor mass gatherings to 50 people under the state's current phase of reopening. Trump jeered that crowd cap too...."
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Patients who rely on the U.S. Postal Service for their prescription drugs may have experienced 'significant' delays in their deliveries, according to a Senate report released Wednesday, which accused Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of jeopardizing the 'health of millions of Americans.' Several major U.S. pharmacies told the two Democratic senators leading the investigation -- Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.) -- that average delivery times have ticked up since the spring.... Warren and Casey did not identify the pharmacies, but their report comes nearly three weeks after they asked Walgreens, CVS, and other pharmacies and benefit managers to detail the effects of DeJoy's changes to the Postal Service. This summer, DeJoy implemented policies to reduce overtime and mail trips.... Four prescription drug providers told Warren and Casey that delivery times this summer have increased by half a day or more, on average, compared with earlier this year or similar time frames in 2019, according to the Senate report.... The medicine delays, in some cases, appear to have started around May, when DeJoy had been tapped for the job but before he officially took the reins. The timeline raises the possibility that the coronavirus pandemic may have contributed to slowdowns for mailed prescription drugs, particularly as patients put new strain on the system by shifting away from in-person pickup to delivery."
William Booth & Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "The family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist killed by a car driven on the wrong side of an English roadway by the wife of a U.S. official, filed a U.S. federal lawsuit against the driver, Anne Sacoolas, on Wednesday. The lawsuit, which claims wrongful death and seeks financial damages, represents a significant escalation in the year-long campaign by Dunn's parents to hold Sacoolas accountable. The case has been a source of friction between British and American officials. Sacoolas left Britain shortly after the Aug. 27, 2019, accident, with the U.S. government asserting that she had diplomatic immunity. She returned to her home in Northern Virginia. But in December, British police charged her with causing death by dangerous driving."
Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that Kanye West will not appear on the state’s Nov. 3 presidential ballot as an independent candidate, despite the rapper's efforts to run in the state. The decision came just hours before eight of Arizona's 15 counties faced a deadline for printing election ballots. The court said in its ruling that West's electors did not file a necessary election document that stated their names and political parties, The Associated Press reported. The justices added that any nominating signatures collected before presidential electors filed their 'statements of interest' are invalid."
Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The United States is cutting troop levels in Iraq roughly in half, to 3,000 forces, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East said Wednesday in a long-expected move that will help fulfill President Trump's goal of reducing the Pentagon's overseas deployments. The decision to reduce the 5,200 troops now in Iraq comes three weeks after Mr. Trump met with Mustafa al-Kadhimi, the Iraqi prime minister, in Washington, in part to finalize details of the drawdown, which will happen this month."
Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A Manhattan gynecologist accused by the wife of former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang of sexually assaulting her now faces federal charges related to the sexual abuse of women, according to a new indictment released on Wednesday. The former doctor, Robert A. Hadden, who has lost his medical license, was charged with six counts of enticing women, including one minor, to engage in illegal sex acts. The indictment says that over more than a decade, Mr. Hadden 'sexually abused dozens of female patients, including multiple minors, under the guise of conducting purported gynecological and obstetric examinations' at his medical office and at hospitals in Manhattan. The indictment identifies six victims of Mr. Hadden only by numbers, and it was not immediately clear whether any of those cases included that of Evelyn Yang, the former candidate's wife, who told CNN in January that Mr. Hadden sexually assaulted her in his exam room in 2012 when she was seven months pregnant with her first child."
Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "Fox News got very excited Wednesday morning when announcing its exclusive that ... Donald Trump had been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. What it didn't mention was that hundreds of people are nominated every year, and that Trump's nomination -- for his role in the new Israel-United Arab Emirates agreement -- came from one of Norway's most well-known anti-immigration cranks. The nomination was submitted by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian parliament, who also nominated Trump in 2018.... Any members of a national assembly or national government can put someone forward for the Peace Prize, so a mere nomination is not very significant."
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Presidential Race, Etc.
Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "When the announcer at President Trump's recent rally [in New Hampshire] urged a packed airplane hangar of supporters to don their masks, a cacophonous round of boos erupted, followed by defiance. No matter that the attendees' chairs were inches apart, their temperatures had not been taken and masks were required by the state. Joe Biden, meanwhile, has barely left his home without a mask for months, and he makes a point of keeping voters -- when he encounters any -- at a distance from himself and one another. Events at drive-in theaters have been kept under 50 -- people, not cars -- to respect state guidelines. This contrast continued Tuesday, when Trump flew to Florida and North Carolina, addressing crowds in both places, while Biden's camp announced by 9:30 a.m. he would make no public appearances all day. It's a likely snapshot of the race's final eight weeks: one campaign fueled by in-person events, raucous gatherings and defiant crowds flouting health rules; the other driven by quiet, small-bore events with everyone masked and spaced apart."
Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "At first glance, little seemed noteworthy as Sen. Kamala D. Harris deplaned in Milwaukee on Monday. She was wearing a mask. She didn't trip. Instead, what sent video pinging around the Internet was what was on her feet: her black, low-rise Chuck Taylor All-Stars, the classic Converse shoe that has long been associated more closely with cultural cool than carefully managed high-profile candidacies. By Tuesday morning, videos by two reporters witnessing her arrival had been viewed nearly 8 million times on Twitter...." Mrs. McC: Looks like smart, relatively inexpensive footware.
So here are Kamala & Barack chatting happily about Joe: ~~~
~~~ AND here is Donald sending out tweets endorsing violence, complete with graphic videos: ~~~
~~~ Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "President Trump has reverted to using graphic depictions of violence as a centerpiece of his reelection campaign strategy, using his Twitter account, stump speech and even the White House podium as platforms for amplifying domestic conflict.... Over the holiday weekend..., he tweeted video of a melee in Texas between protesters and security officers during an event for a Trump-affiliated group and two celebratory videos of a protester in Portland, Ore., with his feet on fire. One of the videos was scored to the Kenny Loggins song 'Footloose' and the second featured mocking play-by-play commentary by a mixed-martial-arts announcer. 'These are the Democrats "peaceful protests,&"' Trump wrote. 'Sick!' On Monday, he retweeted a prediction that political unrest 'could lead to "rise of citizen militias around the country."'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump's refusal to pointedly denounce right-wing vigilantes has alarmed many national security veterans who are warning that political violence in America could quickly spiral out of control. In an interview with Vanity Fair, former Homeland Security Department Under Secretary for Intelligence John Cohen warned that Trump was setting the stage for sectarian conflict on American streets when he justified his own supporters taking the law into their own hands.... Trump recently told Fox News that he would prefer professional law enforcement control violent protests, but added that 'my supporters are wonderful, hardworking, tremendous people, and they turn on their television set and they look at a Portland or they look at a Kenosha.... They are looking at all of this and they can't believe it.' The president has also defended supporter Kyle Rittenhouse, who has been charged with first-degree murder after he fatally shot two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin last month." (Also linked yesterday.)
From an Economist cover."Trump Goes Full White Supremacy."* Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump went on a brief tangent during his North Carolina rally Tuesday night on Kamala Harris.... 'People don't like her,' he said. 'Nobody likes her. She could never be the first woman president, she could never be. That would be an insult to our country.'" (*Headline borrowed from Dean Obeidallah, cited by Ed Mazza in post linked below.) ~~~
~~~ Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: “Trump also dismissed Harris as 'further left than crazy Bernie,' referring to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and mispronounced her first name three times in a row, with great exaggeration, as his audience jeered[.]" Mrs. McC: Since Harris's views are definitely not "further left than Bernie," we must ask ourselves, "What could he possibly mean?" How about "People, they're both bad, but Black is worse than Jewish"?
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is the most racist U.S. president* since Woodrow Wilson. If you read Michael Cohen's book, or if you listened to Rachel Maddow's interview of Cohen last night, you'll know that Cohen has made clear that Trump's greatest beef with Obama had little to do with Obama's policies and everything to do with the color of Obama's skin. A Black president is an insult to a country that is rightfully & wholly "owned & operated" by white people.
Tina Nguyen of Politico: "... Donald Trump is adding to his list of items that the 'radical left' will 'destroy' if Joe Biden wins the election. Trump has claimed, at various points, that Biden's ascension to the White House would ruin everything from 'jobs' to 'the Second Amendment' to 'God' to the 'middle class,' offering scant evidence. More recently, he vowed Biden would 'ABOLISH Suburban Communities.' And on Tuesday, he added a new item to his ever-expanding inventory of horrors in Biden's America: the environment. 'The left's agenda isn't about protecting the environment, it's about punishing America, and that's true,' he said in Florida, where he stopped before a North Carolina campaign rally to sign a decade-long ban on oil drilling off the coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. In North Carolina hours later, Trump reiterated his check list of items Democrats won't allow, misleadingly describing coronavirus restrictions on large crowds as he bragged about the thousands of people who had shown up to see him speak in recent weeks.... Trump claimed 15,000 people were cheering him on ... -- a number that seemed to far exceed the few thousand people that had gathered." ~~~
~~~ David Knowles of Yahoo! News: "President Trump traveled to Florida on Tuesday and pitched himself as a strong defender of the environment, despite his unprecedented moves to overturn regulations put in place to safeguard the country's air, water and natural resources. 'Trump is the great environmentalist,' the president said of himself at a ceremony in Jupiter, where he signed an executive order to extend a ban on offshore oil drilling in three states. 'And I am, I am. I believe strongly in it.' Left unsaid at the ceremony for the executive order, which covers South Carolina, Florida and Georgia, is that it was Trump's own proposal to allow drilling along the coasts of those states that sparked the backlash that led him to reconsider his initial plan."
Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump has reportedly been weighing whether to invest up to $100 million of his own money in his 2020 reelection campaign. Trump 'has talked about the idea with multiple people, though he hasn't yet committed to any self-funding,' according to a Tuesday report from Bloomberg. 'Trump has sought advice about whether he should self-fund as he scrutinizes heavy spending by his team earlier this year that failed to push him ahead of the former vice president in the polls,' Bloomberg reported, noting that Democrats and ... Joe Biden 'have recently raised more than Trump and his allies.'" Related NYT story linked below. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Quint Forgey of Politico: "... Donald Trump defended his campaign's financial decision-making on Tuesday, after a report provoked new scrutiny of his reelection team's spending habits and squandered cash advantage over ... Joe Biden. 'My Campaign spent a lot of money up front in order to compensate for the false reporting and Fake News concerning our handling of the China Virus,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Now they see the GREAT job we have done, and we have 3 times more than we had 4 years ago - & are up in polls. Lots of $'s & ENERGY!'... The president's ... post came after The New York Times published a review on Monday detailing how the Trump campaign has already spent more than $800 million of the $1.1 billion it raised in coordination with the Republican National Committee from the beginning of 2019 through July. The Times report raised questions about former campaign manager Brad Parscale's financial stewardship of Trump's war chest.... Among the campaign's expenses were a car and driver for Parscale, who was replaced atop the campaign in July by Bill Stepien." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Maybe Trump thinks $100MM is the price of a "Stay out of Jail" card; that is, if he is re-elected, his chances of ending up in a New York jail diminish considerably. However, can he afford it? (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Dan Alexander of Forbes: Donald Trump's "net worth has dropped an estimated $600 million since last September, to $2.5 billion. That puts him at No. 339 on The Forbes 400, down 64 spots from a year ago." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ashley Parker & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump's reelection campaign is paying to replace sod on the White House South Lawn and in the Rose Garden after damage to the greenery late last month from large crowds and heavy equipment used for Republican National Convention festivities, White House and campaign officials said Tuesday. Trump's unprecedented decision to stage overtly political events on public property -- which drew complaints that the Trumps were using 'the people&'s house' for personal gain -- continues to reverberate nearly two weeks later, as work crews re-sod the lawn and make other repairs." More on the Rose Garden linked below.
Trump v. Obama, Then & Now. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The imminent release of a memoir written by President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen drew new attention to a weird footnote from the 2012 campaign: a video produced by Trump in which he 'fires' then-president Barack Obama.... Watching the video now is revelatory. It's Trump, making the case to an Obama impersonator for why Obama doesn't deserve a second term. And the metrics he uses to make that case are ones against which Trump himself now fares particularly poorly." (Also linked yesterday.)
Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "A week after President Trump suggested that voters in North Carolina should cast two ballots -- one by mail and another at the polls -- the authorities in Georgia are threatening criminal action against 1,000 Georgia voters who did just that. Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, announced at a news conference on Tuesday that investigations were underway in 100 of the state's 159 counties after the discovery of 1,000 instances of double voting in the state's June primary and August runoff elections. 'We will prosecute,' said Mr. Raffensperger, a Republican, noting that double voting in Georgia, considered a serious felony, carries a penalty of one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. While calling attention to the double votes could add fuel to Mr. Trump's unfounded claim that mail voting opens the door to fraud, Mr. Raffensperger noted that double voting hadn't changed the outcome of any races. The scenario Mr. Raffensperger described appeared to be identical to the one suggested by Mr. Trump last Wednesday, when he told reporters in Wilmington, N.C., that voters should test the integrity of the state's election system by voting by mail and then subsequently appearing at the polls in person." ~~~
~~~ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's story is here. A Politico story is here.
Chutzpah, Lies & Corruption, Ctd.
You Are Paying Donald Trump's Defense Attorneys in Alleged Rape-Related Case. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "In a highly unusual legal maneuver, the Department of Justice moved on Tuesday to replace President Trump's private lawyers and defend him against a defamation lawsuit brought in a New York state court by the author E. Jean Carroll, who has accused him of raping her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Lawyers for the Justice Department said in court papers that Mr. Trump was acting in his official capacity as president when he denied ever knowing Ms. Carroll and thus could be defended in court by government lawyers -- in effect underwritten by taxpayer money.... Ms. Carroll's lawyer said in a statement issued Tuesday evening that the Justice Department's move to intervene in the case was a 'shocking' attempt to bring the resources of the United States government to bear on a private legal matter." Mrs. McC: That's putting it mildly. ~~~
~~~ Oh, Wait. It's Worse Than That. Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The maneuver removes the case -- at least for now -- from state court in New York, where a judge last month had rejected Trump's bid for a delay. It also means that Justice Department lawyers will be essentially aiding Trump's defense, and taxpayers could be on the hook for any potential damages, if the U.S. government is allowed to stand in for Trump.... Citing the Federal Torts Claim Act, the department said that Attorney General William P. Barr has the authority under federal law to move such a case to federal court if he certifies a federal employee was acting within the scope of their job during an incident, though he had delegated that authority to [another DOJ official]." Emphasis added. Here's a CNN story. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Looks as if Trump has a solid argument here. Based on prior practice, it seems Trump has turned the presidency into a job in which misogyny is indeed a core function. And racism. And xenophobia. And lying. And insulting Americans. And two-hour "work" days. And golfing. And And And.
~~~ Another Legal Scholar Agrees with Litman. Dan Berman of CNN: "Should the Justice Department be allowed to take over, it could mean the end of Carroll's lawsuit as the federal government can't be sued for defamation, noted CNN legal analyst and University of Texas law school professor Steve Vladeck."
Fredo's got a convicted lier for a lawyer, who may be going back to jail for an even longer time - additional lies to Congress. Many more tapes of him with Fredo and other media scum reporters. Reveals how deranged & sick they all are! -- Donald Trump, in a fairly incomprehensible tweet Tuesday, where Fredo (I think) is CNN's Chris Cuomo & the "lier" is Michael Cohen
If you're going to call me something, at least have the decency to spell it right. -- Michael Cohen on MSNBC
When Is a Denial Not a Denial? Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The White House is in full denial mode about the damning report first published last week in the Atlantic that President Trump had repeatedly denigrated members of the military and the nation's war dead. But as allies -- and one prominent erstwhile ally -- stepped forward to offer versions of events similar to the line touted by the White House, it's worth emphasizing that not all denials are created equal. Some address only specific aspects of the report, while leaving open the possibility that others are true or that such things were said at other points. Others vouch for Trump while very notably declining to address anything specific.... Let's look at what [those who supposedly vouched for Trump] ... have said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Kate Bennett of CNN: "The newly renovated White House Rose Garden is under repair less than three weeks after its official unveiling. The garden is experiencing 'issues with water drainage' and 'some minor complications with updated construction,' a source with knowledge of the garden troubles told CNN. New sod is also being laid down.... First lady Melania Trump on August 22 hosted a private party to celebrate the redone Rose Garden, which the public was told had been completed after approximately three weeks of renovation.... [Donald] Trump on Monday held a news conference on the North Portico, an unusual outdoor location, but the source notes hosting press in seats at the Rose Garden 'would not be doable' in the iconic garden's current status. Trump has also had to motorcade to Andrews Air Force Base of late, again preventing media from seeing the construction in the Rose Garden in recent days." Mrs. McC: So I take it the Trumpists tried to keep secret how badly the renovation had messed up the garden.
All the Best People, Ctd. David Folkenflik of NPR: "The CEO appointed by President Trump to lead the federal agency that oversees the Voice of America and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters has made strict protocols for scrutinizing job candidates a hallmark of his brief tenure there. CEO Michael Pack suspended a slew of senior executives at the U.S. Agency for Global Media and stopped routinely renewing visas for foreign employees over hiring protocols, claiming the executives' lapses threatened national security. In June, Pack hired a lawyer with no background in news to investigate his agency's coverage for potential anti-Trump bias, in a way that appears to violate Voice of America's legal protections of journalistic independence. That investigative attorney has a potentially problematic record himself: he remains under a court order to stay away from his father and to surrender all firearms due to a complaint that he made detailed death threats against his father."
Josef Federman of the AP: "The U.S. Embassy said Tuesday the State Department has sold the ambassador's official residence near Tel Aviv -- a decision that cements the embassy's controversial move to Jerusalem. In an announcement, the embassy did not identify the buyer or disclose the sale price. But Israeli media had said the sprawling seaside compound in the upscale town of Herzliya had an asking price of over $80 million.... A report in the Israeli financial news outlet Globes identified the buyer as U.S. casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, a major supporter and financial backer of ... Donald Trump.... Joe Biden has called the Trump administration's decision to move the embassy 'short-sighted and frivolous,' but he has said he would not move it back to Tel Aviv if elected president in November."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of coronavirus developments Tuesday are here: "As senators returned to Washington on Tuesday, their leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, announced that the Senate would vote to advance a scaled-back stimulus plan, which is expected to reinstate lapsed federal unemployment benefits at $300 per week -- half their previous level -- and allocate $105 billion for schools and funds for testing and the Postal Service, according to Republican aides familiar with the discussions. The plan represents an effort to intensify pressure on Democratic leaders, who want to fully restore the $600 unemployment benefits and have refused to consider any measure below $2.2 trillion." (Also linked yesterday.)
Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Top Senators urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to halt its plans to implement a mandatory payroll tax deferral for millions of federal employees, arguing that these workers should not be treated as political 'pawns.' The issue stems from an order issued by President Trump in August, which allows participating employers to cease withholding their workers' payroll taxes until the end of the year. Private-sector employees may be able to opt out of the plan, but federal workers do not appear to have a choice -- meaning they will see a slight boost to their pay now, then owe more in 2021. The forced nature of the president's order drew frustration from about two dozen lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who called it a 'payroll tax scheme' and demanded answers in a sharply critical letter sent to the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget, which are overseeing the deferral's implementation."
Christopher Rowland of the Washington Post: "The chief executives of nine drug companies pledged Tuesday not to seek regulatory approval before the safety and efficacy of their experimental coronavirus vaccines have been established in Phase 3 clinical trials, an extraordinary effort to bolster public faith in a vaccine amid President Trump's rush to introduce one before Election Day.... Trump has increasingly tied his reelection hopes to introduction of a vaccine before Nov. 3.... The [drugmakers'] statement left open the door for the use of partial data from the massive Phase 3 vaccine trials -- which require the participation of at least 30,000 test subjects -- to seek emergency-use authorization. Such trials typically take years to complete and require lengthy follow-up to see how long protection from a vaccine may last." A Hill report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Rebecca Robbins, et al., of STAT: "A large, Phase 3 study testing a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford at dozens of sites across the U.S. has been put on hold due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the United Kingdom. A spokesperson for AstraZeneca, a frontrunner in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, said in a statement that the company's 'standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.' In a follow-up statement, AstraZeneca said it initiated the study hold. The nature of the adverse reaction and when it happened were not immediately known, though the participant is expected to recover, according to an individual familiar with the matter."
Katherine Wu of the New York Times: "As the world awaits the arrival of a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine, a team of researchers has come forward with a provocative new theory: that masks might help to crudely immunize some people against the virus.... Masked exposures are no substitute for a bona fide vaccine. But data from animals infected with the coronavirus, as well as insights gleaned from other diseases, suggest that masks, by cutting down on the number of viruses that encounter a person's airway, might reduce the wearer's chances of getting sick. And if a small number of pathogens still slip through, the researchers argue, these might prompt the body to produce immune cells that can remember the virus and stick around to fight it off again."
** Kim Severson of the New York Times: "When the coronavirus hit..., Americans began spending more money at the supermarket than at places where someone else made the food.... Here are seven ways the pandemic has already changed the way Americans shop for food: 1. Trips Are Fewer, Lists Are Better.... 2. Online Aisles Are Bustling.... 3. Orange[s Are] the New Snack.... 4.... Pandemic shopping has ushered in wider aisles, new methods of sanitation and less-crowded stores. And shoppers want these changes to stay.... 5. Choices Are Shrinking.... 6.... Frozen food ... sales [are] up almost 18 percent.... 7. 'Local' Is a Bigger Lure." Mrs. McC: Contributors, I'd be interested to read how the pandemic has affected your own food shopping, preparing & eating habits. You can use a different avatar to reply, if you wish.
Black Lives Matter, Etc.
Let's See if This Draft Report Becomes the Official Report. Geneva Sands of CNN: "White supremacists will remain the most 'persistent and lethal threat' in the United States through 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security draft documents. The most recent draft report predicts an 'elevated threat environment at least through' early next year, concluding that some US-based violent extremists have capitalized on increased social and political tensions in 2020. Although foreign terrorist organizations will continue to call for attacks on the US, the report says, they 'probably will remain constrained in their ability to direct such plots over the next year.' The threat assessment -- which also warns of continued disinformation efforts by Russia -- is especially notable as ... Donald Trump has often employed race-baiting tactics in his quest for reelection and frequently downplayed the threat from white supremacists during his term in office. The Trump administration has portrayed Antifa and anarchists as a top threat to the US, with the President tweeting this summer that the US will designate Antifa as a terrorist organization.... The 2020 draft report also finds that Russian state-affiliated actors will continue targeting US industry and all levels of government with 'intrusive cyber espionage.'"
David Montgomery of the New York Times: "U. Reneé Hall, the police chief in Dallas, abruptly announced her resignation on Tuesday amid eroding support on the City Council stemming from her department's handling of protests over the policing of African-Americans. Her resignation, which becomes effective on Nov. 10, follows a wave of police chief resignations in other cities during a tumultuous summer that has brought intense scrutiny on American law enforcement. Chief Hall, who is African-American, is the first woman to lead the Dallas department and has held the position since 2017.... She gave herself a C-minus when council members asked her to assess her performance in handling the situation, and her report on the department's actions during the protests found problems with operational plans, communications and maintaining a unified command structure. Some council members found fault with the fact that the report emphasized protesters who targeted the police with violence but failed to discuss some of the harsh measures employed by officers against the demonstrators."
New York. Michael Wilson of the New York Times: "The police chief of Rochester, N.Y., and several of his department's highest ranking officials resigned on Tuesday in the aftermath of the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who suffocated after he had been placed in a hood by city police officers and pinned to the ground. The resignations of the police chief, La'Ron D. Singletary, the deputy chief, Joseph Morabito, and, according to Mayor Lovely Warren, others in the department, came three days after the state attorney general, Letitia James, announced that she would impanel a grand jury to consider evidence in Mr. Prude's death. 'As a man of integrity, I will not sit idly by while outside entities attempt to destroy my character,' the police chief said in a statement. He later added: 'The mischaracterization and the politicization of the actions that I took after being informed of Mr. Prude's death is not based on facts, and is not what I stand for.'" (Also linked yesterday.) An ABC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Not in My Pricey Neighborhood. Nikita Stewart of the New York Times: "Nearly 300 homeless men who had been temporarily living in a hotel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan will be relocated after weeks of backlash from some residents who said the men had diminished the quality of life in the upscale neighborhood. The city had moved the men into the hotel, the Lucerne, in July as part of an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in New York's dormitory-style homeless shelters. Over all, thousands of homeless men and women have been placed in hotels around the city. But the decision was met with particular blowback on the Upper West Side, becoming a test of values for a largely white neighborhood with a reputation as one of the most liberal enclaves in New York and elsewhere in the country."
Utah. Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "A Salt Lake City police officer shot a 13-year-old boy with autism on Friday night, prompting an investigation and raising concerns about officers' use of force in a city that has been reckoning with protests and police accountability. The officer fired at the boy while responding to a call about a 'violent psych issue,' Sgt. Keith Horrocks of the Salt Lake City Police Department told reporters on Saturday morning. 'In this case it was a juvenile that was having a mental episode, a psychological episode, and had made threats to some folks with a weapon,' Sergeant Horrocks said, adding that the officer had fired his gun 'during a short foot pursuit.' The boy's mother, Golda Barton, identified her son to local news reporters as Linden Cameron. She said that he did not have a weapon, and that she had called the police to get help and possibly take him to a hospital."
Donnie Jr. Dismisses Kenosha Double Homicide as a Typical Stupid Kid Thing. Karen Robinson-Jacobs of Forbes: "When asked in an interview with the TV show Extra about the deadly shootings in Kenosha in which 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse has been accused of killing two protesters and wounding a third, Donald Trump Jr. said, 'we're waiting for due process,' and he lamented the tragedy of a 'young kid' putting himself in a volatile situation while armed with a deadly weapon, saying, 'We all do stupid things at 17.'"
Craig Timberg & Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post: "Facebook software engineer Ashok Chandwaney has watched with growing unease as the platform has become a haven for hate. On Tuesday morning, it came time to take a stand. 'I'm quitting because I can no longer stomach contributing to an organization that is profiting off hate in the US and globally,' Chandwaney wrote in a letter posted on Facebook's internal employee network shortly after 8 a.m. Pacific time. The nearly 1,300-word document was detailed, bristling with links to bolster its claims and scathing in its conclusions.... Chandwaney specifically cited the company's role in fueling genocide in Myanmar and, more recently, violence in Kenosha, Wis.... Tuesday's resignation made Chandwaney the latest Facebook employee to quit amid rising discontent within a company that, just a few years ago, was considered an ideal employer -- exciting, deep-pocketed and, as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg frequently said, animated by the seemingly benevolent mission of connecting the world together. Worker frustration with Facebook's policies on hate and racist speech has risen as protests against racial injustice have swept the country, with thousands of employees demanding that Zuckerberg, who controls a majority of Facebook's voting shares, change his stances."
Way Beyond the Beltway
Robyn Dixon & Ruby Mellen of the Washington Post: "Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned last month with a nerve agent similar to the Soviet-era chemical weapon Novichok, was brought out of an induced coma, and his condition has improved, German doctors said Monday. A statement from the Charité clinic in Berlin said he was responding to voices, but it was too early to know the long-term impact of the poisoning. The clinic's statement said that Navalny, an acerbic critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was being weaned off a ventilator." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
AP: "Wildfires raged unchecked across parts of the Western U.S on Wednesday, with gusty winds forecast to drive flames into new ferocity. In California, Diablo winds in the north and Santa Ana winds in the south were stoking unprecedented numbers of fires that have already grown explosively. In Washington, more acres burned in a single day than firefighters usually see all year. Fires also forced people to flee in Oregon and Idaho." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments in the Western wildfires. ~~~
~~~ AND this, from contributor unwashed: "Re: the fires out west. Windy.com provides imagery of how extensive they are. Two are Fire intensity and CO concentration, as measured from space. (Found under menu option for Air quality)"
New York Times: "Diana Rigg, the British actress who enthralled London and New York theater audiences with her performances in classic roles for more than a half-century but remained best known as the quintessential new woman of the 1960s -- sexy, confident, witty and karate-adept -- on the television series 'The Avengers,' died on Thursday at her home in London. She was 82."
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All the Pretend president's lawyers:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/08/nyregion/donald-trump-jean-carroll-lawsuit-rape.html
Got word of this yesterday. Didn't think the local paper would have the courage to report on it,.
But this morning, here it is:
https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/republican-fundraiser-
draws-400/article_9ac5306b-2bde-5976-8f21-edae481bfde4.html
There's Dr. Evil himself from the Whitey House (I liked it, too, Bea); then all these Mini-Me's spread across the country in airport hangers near you.
@Ken Winkes: And note how local practices mimic the presidential campaign: "About 400 people attended the annual Lincoln/Reagan Day Gala, violating public health guidelines aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19.... Meanwhile, the Skagit County Democrats decided to cancel their annual gala because of the virus."
Precisely, Bea, down to the articulate but boneheaded argument put forth by one of our county commissioners whose selfish thinking never went beyond his own safety.
Again, the Republican trademark: No concern for others.
Dear Junior,
I don’t recall having killed someone to support a racist president as one of the “stupid things” I did when I was 17.
There is no bar too low for these rat bastards.
And since we’re talking about low Barrs...
People complaining that the full weight of the Justice Department, pardon, the “Justice” Department, backed by unlimited “legal” resources all paid for by the American public, should not be deployed to protect the (ahem, alleged) rapist in the White House, forget an important fact.
Bill (Low...really Low) Barr is that rapists personal lawyer and the “Justice” Department is his personal law firm. By the time this is over, Fatty’s accuser will have her taxes audited, be subject to wiretaps and 24/7 FBI surveillance, have horrible lies spread about her, and every manner of intimidation employed by Low Barr and his minions. The tab will not be paid by his rapist client, but by American taxpayers, because Trump never pays a bill. He’s the king.
Just imagine the hair-on-fire outrage had the Clinton DOJ lined up to protect him from Republican engineered attacks, or had Obama ordered his AG to pull out all the stops to defend Hillary Clinton against the bullshit Benghazi mauling. But here we have an entirely believable claim against a self-confessed serial sexual predator and we’ve now got to pay for this rapist prick’s defense, mounted by a department of the federal government.
Forget about EVER thinking these arrogant crooks can’t possibly go any lower.
“Lincoln/Reagan Day”?? The mind reels. The air reeks. The soul is repelled. That a racist prick of a wingnut should have his moniker attached to the name Abraham Lincoln...
Mr. Cognitive Dissonance has moved into the back bedroom and ain’t leaving anytime soon. He even brought his black light posters and Pat Boone records.
What’s next? Mona Lisa/Pepe the Frog Day?
"Trump's greatest beef with Obama had little to do with Obama's policies and everything to do with the color of Obama's skin. A Black president is an insult to a country that is rightfully & wholly "owned & operated" by white people." --Bea
This also explains the psychotic obsession of erasing every possible part of Obama's legacy. Actually, not just erasing, but doubling down on whatever Obama was against.
More on the Sturgis uncertainty:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/09/08/worst-case-scenerios-sturgis-rally-may-be-linked-266000-coronavirus-cases-study-says/
Dosn't say, but tracing would be aided greatly if the virus had an implanted chip or were required to wear a glow-in-dark neon vest....
First off I want to thank @Anonymous for posting Adam Server's Atlantic piece yesterday; one of the best!
Listening to Michael Cohen last night I suddenly felt this strange phenomenon of upside down, right-side up kind of reality. The adoration and fealty to a man known to be corrupt and devoid of loyalty and that thing called "caring for your fellow man" would lead to you being the one who takes it on the chops while the man to whom you would take a bullet for becomes the leader of the free world and ruins it and now you let loose and vomit up all the undigested sordid particles in a book.
"He never really wanted to be president" Cohen tells us
And so he hasn't been. What he has been is a usurper––a spy in the House of the People running it as a private entity for his own self and family. The fact that he has been able to get away with it is testament to a system that has let him get away with it and that is something we need to fix--to change–- and if not, this country will be dragging its sad republic to its demise. And I don't think this is hyperbole.
Food prep in the Age of the Trump Virus.
Ohhhkay...so, in a nutshell, not as much takeout, practically no eating out (with the exception of a single Mexican restaurant with separated outdoor tables, and that, only twice so far), lots more cooking at home. This means more shopping to ensure fresh ingredients, but I don’t mind that. Going back to my grad school days in NYC, I got used to buying only what I could carry home and up five flights of stairs from the Sloan’s on 6th, so I’ve always made several trips a week to the grocery store (which drives my wife crazy).
So, lots more cooking but not so much on the outré experimental dishes (ie, no chocolate omelettes—although thanks to a new non-stick omelette pan, I’m turning out those suckers cleaner than the omelette line at a Sunday brunch.). The family put the kibosh on gastric experimentin’ early on. Although I have recently collected the necessary ingredients for various Chinese and Thai dishes. Look out, kids!
Anyway, planning dinners every night, I’m reminded why my mother would occasionally resort to the old tuna, peas, and cream of mushroom on toast. It ain’t half bad. You should try it.
@Safari
The Pretender is indeed the anti-Obama.
Where Obama was smart, the Pretender is dumb.
Where he was articulate, the Pretender speaks garble.
Where Obama was knowledgeable, the Pretender is ignorant.
Where Obama was civilized, the Pretender is savage.
It isn't just the sensible, humane Obama policies the Pretender has reversed out of jealousy and spite; his very being is Hyde to Obama's Jeckyll, the obvious irony made more biting because in this case black is literally white.
But the frightening element is all this is that it has revealed how prevalent and deep-seated is the Hyde in our country.
Safari,
Fatty’s racist urges, brought into sharp relief by his Obama hatred (and, very importantly, Obama fear) meld nicely (If I can stretch that metaphor) with what has become a standard of the Modern Republican Party, at least since Saint Ronnie of Ray Guns: tearing things down.
They ain’t much on building or making (no, not only didn’t you build that thing on your own, you don’t build ANYTHING) but they’re past masters at ripping things down. Like Vandals marauding through the streets of Ancient Rome, the Party of No destroys any and every thing they can’t steal or repurpose for their own use. And over the last 20 years or so, the Party of No has become the Party of No Democracy.
It takes smarts, guts, assiduousness, and great political acumen to build things like Social Security, the ACA, and any number of initiatives pushed by Democrats. For Republicans, anything Democrats can build with hard work over years, they can destroy without breaking a sweat in an afternoon. With plenty of time left to visit K Street and get a nice big bag of money, or if you’re a lazy sack of shit fat man, to hit the links and cheat your way through another 18 holes.
Re: the fires out west. Windy.com provides imagery of how extensive they are. Two are Fire intensity and CO concentration, as measured from space. (Found under menu option for Air quality)
RE: the eating of and shopping experiences. We haven't eaten out since the virus reared its ugly head but then we didn't do much of that anyway. Like Achilleus Joe is now the major cook and baker in this household given that his wife, after years and years of doing just that, is sick of it. He is trying all sorts of new recipes and since we have an abundant garden we have lots of fresh vegetables. We venture down the road to a farmer who has the best corn I've ever had and so we have lots of corny meals––in fact Joe is right now making his famous corn chowder. As far as shopping, we are pleased that here in Ct. all people wear masks and respect keeping a distance.
Waaaaahhh...
The Orange Menace has a sad about the Pentagon keeping military contractors in the pink (and the black, too). “Waaahh! These guys [almost all of whom you appointed, numbnuts] are giving piles of money to their pals in the military industrial complex!” (Okay, he didn’t really say “military industrial complex”, I translated to make it clearer than “the bullety-bomby guys who make stuff that go ‘boom!’”).
His real problem? He’s not getting fat and happy along with the rest of them. I mean, yes, he’s fat. He’s all of that. And more. But happy? This whiny bitch would complain about a lifetime subscription to “Yuuge Knockers”. Little donnie-kin’s ain’t gettin’ a piece ‘a the action, so it’s time to kick and scream about war (like he cares).
If the Trump Crime Family was dipping its collective beak into bullety-bomby brewskis, like the Pentagon’s buddies, all would be well. They’d all get the Presidenshul Meddle of FreeLunch.
Poor don, always the Sad Clown.
Maddow’s interview with Cohen last night made me fidget. Not sure why. Maybe because Cohen’s mea culpa performance struck me as hollow. He seems like the stereotype of a NJ wise guy. I didn’t think the interview covered much new ground. What stood out to me was his comments about the Falwells. He spoke to them 2 hrs before the interview, the whole I didn’t have the compromising pix, etc...hmmm?
Adam Serwer posted the books he used for background and reference for his piece this a.m. Thought some might be interested.
https://bit.ly/3bICiCW
Trump gets nominated for the Nobel Peace prize. Since Trump does things bigger than anyone else how about we make this a nomination for the Pieces prize, for his unending efforts to tear the United States into pieces?
We have not made any big changes in food shopping since the supermarkets around here stabilized (i.e., when hoarding and shortages died down). Our purchase volume has gone down with the dearth of guests to feed, and when we freeze meat we pack smaller portions since we normally just thaw for two now. We used no farmers' markets this summer. We are more conscientious about preparing meals which generate less (fewer?) leftovers, and of using the leftovers when we do create them. I started making simple pasta with KitchenAide mixer attachments -- after flour came back after the new breadmakers depleted the shelves. We reorganized our pantry and bulk containers. One of us (the one who is not me) likes to have way more paper products on the shelf than we used to. Ditto clorox-based items. Our laundry loads are smaller, perhaps because of lighter summer wear -- this area had the hottest July on record, and June and August were no slouches either. We use a lot less gasoline.
I had blood drawn at our clinic today and the phlebotomist remarked that all the current precautions there are the way the future will be even after covid peaks, no walk-ins (appointment only), patient masks, stripped waiting room, staff gowned, masked, gloved, surfaces cloroxed between patients. They have figured that even after covid we will just be between pandemics.
@ZoeTillman reported that the Court changed Barr’s filing from Carroll v USA back to Carroll v Trump last night, which was the original filing. She points out that the Court has yet to grant the premise that Trump was acting in an official capacity. Fingers crossed, not hopeful.
“...Just be between pandemics”.
Exactly. And this is how we should treat this election, and every election after. We must disinfect in the most aggressive manner possible, in order to minimize a reinfection by Trumpists.
In “War and Peace”, Tolstoy creates a most passionate scene the night before the tumultuous Battle of Borodino. The normally taciturn, composed, and refined Prince Andrei, flies into a paroxysm of barely contained rage at the idea that medalled generals and kings dressed up in unbloodied (and never to be bloodied) military uniforms, should have the vaguest notion of how battles are fought and won. His diatribe brings him to the shocking (but in his mind, inescapable) conclusion, that the only way to ensure that wars do not go on forever is to take no prisoners. Kill them all. “Take no prisoners. That alone would change the whole war and make it less cruel. Otherwise, we’re just playing [a game].”
His feeling is, that by allowing Napoleon and his troops to live and fight another day, the Russians guarantee their own demise and dishonor those who have already sacrificed all.
If and when Trump and his horde of traitors are defeated, they must all be killed. Electorally speaking, that is. Wherever and whenever it can be accomplished.
Otherwise, we’re just biding time until the next political pandemic.
The biggest casualty in our shopping has been the good corner market, where I used to stop every two days to get fresh stuff to cook. We changed to going to the larger supermarket every 10-14 days. We were never much for restaurants or frozen food, as my wife's digestion reacts to soybean oil unfavorably*. Our treats have been relegated to seltzer, tortilla chips, and Outshine raspberry and lime popsicles.
Before I left home for road work two weeks ago, we started easing up a bit and started to shop at the corner marked once a week or so. It was better stocked on some items I had missed at the big store.
We signed on to a CSA and have been getting weekly veggie dumps on our doorstep, unlike previous years with pickup. Before the CSA, we were eating hardy green vegetables.
On the road, my colleague and I are alternating between take-out and cooking in our apartment. The restaurants look like lots of fun, and the people in them seem happy for the most part, but the tables are much too close together for me.
*If anyone else has experience with this problem I would love to hear. Canola oil is fine, olive oil is fine, but soybean oil or "vegetable oil" often have disastrous results.
The pandemic changed my own cooking & eating habits somewhat marginally. Because I live on a dirt road that is not snow-plowed till the last run of the plow, I often can't get out in the winter, so for the past few years, I have been in the habit of plugging in an auxiliary fridge in the basement & loading up on frozen foods in case I got stuck for a long period of time without being able to get to the grocery store. So I was ready to extend this practice when the coronavirus made this a necessity rather than a mere precaution.
What changed the most was the time of day I shop. Normally, I would shop during the middle of the day (and in the winter, after the plow had come & I had shovelled my drive). Now I'm at the grocery story at 6 am. I also have cut down the number of times I shop. So, yeah, my lists are more careful & complete. In the summer & fall, I used to shop at the local farmer's market; I don't even know if it's open now.
I've quit eating most fresh vegetables that can't be cooked. So asparagus, yes; lettuces no. I do still eat avocados because I can clean the skins. When the meat shortage scare was on (is it still?), it had no effect on me. For years, I have bought very little red meat; since the virus hit I have found pork tenderloin, boneless free-range chicken breasts, salmon steaks & steelhead trout readily available at the local grocery stores, if a bit more expensive than they had been.
I used to go to restaurants occasionally; now I turn down invitations & never go on my own. If I was going into town anyway, I usually treated myself to some decadent fast food. I don't do that at all any more as I don't want kids who have just wiped their noses handling my meal. I do find always eating alone a bit depressing. Shared meals are the part of our culture I miss the most.
Re: Cooking oil....I only use sunflower oil....get it from Smudes over the internet...https://www.smudeoil.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhqfN8Jjd6wIVksDACh0Uxg2IEAAYASAAEgJ46PD_BwE
It's also great for removing eye makeup.....
Shopping:
Anne and I have not been in a grocery store since we returned from Florida in late February.
We had home delivery few months, and in the last three months have transitioned to parking lot pick up. Made two trips to a local flour mill where I entered the office to grab the bags. Beyond that , our daughter-in-law (a physician tested every two weeks) has occasionally seasoned our larder with a few specialty items from the Co-op which she hazards.
I avoided stores entirely until last month. Then entering a hardware store, where I had to eyeball a purchase for a repair, and since a cautious entry, masked of course, into Lowe's and Office Depot, both timed to avoid crowds.
Along the way, my.wife has made Amazon very happy.
Whole thing is still very weird.
As you can tell, we didn't believe the Pretender.