The Simpsons cartoon lawyer, Lionel Hutz, never met real life clown car lawyer, Rudi Giuliani.
Lionel Hutz is a Law-Talking Guy or: The Dumpster Fire that is My Legal Career
TMC for ek hornback
Nov 24 2020
The Breakfast Club (Just Leave)
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Jack Ruby fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas; Charles Darwin publishes theory of evolution; Hijacker known as D.B. Cooper parachutes out of plane with ransom money; Queen’s Freddie Mercury dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.
Nov 23 2020
Today’s News Rundown
This is brief rundown of the news so you don’t have to watch cable news. It’s just the facts with maybe a little snark.
Update 1 1830 hrs: Finally, the GSA administrator has signed the order to begin the transition and release the funds.
The General Services Administration has informed President-elect Joe Biden that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process, according to a letter from Administrator Emily Murphy sent Monday afternoon and obtained by CNN.
The letter is the first step the administration has taken to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s defeat, more than two weeks after Biden was declared the winner in the election.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, will step down from that position in the new Congress.
Feinstein’s tenure as the ranking member has been fraught with complaints by Democrats for refusing to challenge Republicans in the committee about President Donald Trump’s recent Supreme Court appointee. Once the hearing had finished, Feinstein thanked committee chair Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), saying, “This has been one of the best Senate hearings I have participated in.” [..]
The 87-year-old California Democrat is one of few on the committee who never attended law school.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) is next in line for the chairmanship.
The infection and death rates of CoVid-19 pandemic continue to climb. At least 843 new coronavirus deaths and 141,034 new cases were reported in the United States on Nov. 22. Over the past week, there has been an average of 171,376 cases per day, an increase of 54 percent from the average two weeks earlier.
A third major drug maker has produced an promising vaccine. Data reveals Oxford AstraZeneca CoVid-19 vaccine has up to 90% efficacy.
California Gov. Newsom has been exposed to the virus and is in quarantine with his family. Gov. Cuomo has announced new restrictions for hot spots in New York City and around the state and he as reactivated the field hospital on Staten Island to ease the burden on increased hospitalizations that are occurring nation wide.
The Guardian has has Live News on the virus which up dates frequently.
It is stiil advised that Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings be cancelled.
In US political news, President-Elect Joe Biden has named his choices for the State Department, Homeland Security, U.N. and his National Security Advisor.
Antony Blinken as secretary of state.
Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the UN which will be moved back to a cabinet level position.
Jake Sullivan to NSA.
Avril Haines, a former top CIA official and deputy national security adviser, will be the first woman Director of National Intelligence.
Former chair of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellin to head treasury, the first woman to head that department.
Also, former secretary of state John Kerry will serve as the president-elect’s special envoy to address climate change.
Of course the Republicans in the Senate are already looking to obstruct Pres.-Elect Biden’s choices which is why the runoff in Georgia for the two Senate seats are so critical.
So far the Squatter-in-Chief’s efforts to overturn the elect in the courts has been a huge failure. The Supreme court appears to be ignoring his petition to overturn a lower court decision that allowed the counting of late-arriving mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. The court could take action at its December 4 conference, which is after Pennsylvania’s November 23 deadline for counties to certify the election.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has granted an expedited hearing on the PA lawsuit that was dismissed by federal Judge Matthew Brann. The Trump Team must submit briefs by 4 PM today, yes, today. Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar was ordered to file her brief on or before Tuesday at 4 p.m. Several Pennsylvania counties and Boockvar asked the Third Circuit for clarification.
Appellees the Allegheny County Board of Elections, Chester County Board of Elections, Montgomery County Board of Elections, and Philadelphia County Board of Elections (the “Appellee Counties”), seek clarification of the Court’s November 23, 2020 Order (Dkt. No. 9), granting the Appellants’ Amended Motion for Emergency Expedited Review to make clear that, under well-established appellate rules, Appellants’ brief must address any bases for their appeal and cannot split appellate issues in sequential briefing or engage in piecemeal litigation. Appellee Secretary Boockvar consents to this Motion for Clarification.
The campaign also said it will seek to delay certification after having said it was NOT seeking to delay certification. This will not go over well with the court. The deadline for PA certification is today November 23.
Also in the Trump PA Circus, this
County officials in Pennsylvania on Monday voted 3-2 on party lines to certify the results of the 2020 election in Luzerne County—a county where President Donald Trump defeated President-elect Joe Biden by more than 20,000 votes. But in a partisan twist that may shed light on the Trump campaign’s larger legal strategy, the two members of the Luzerne County Board of Elections who voted against certification were Republicans, while the three who voted in favor were all Democrats, according to Politico’s Holly Otterbein. [..]
The GOP’s coordinated efforts not to certify the results in a county that Trump won by 22,000 votes was likely part of the Trump campaign’s larger legal strategy to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying election results statewide in hopes that the decision will ultimately be left to the courts instead of the voters.
Biden got 80,000 more votes than Trump did in Pennsylvania.
The Republicans made unsubstantiated allegations about voting irregularities and urged board members not to certify the results.They have until today to sort this out.
Just awhile ago the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed another of the Trump campaign’s lawsuits
According to Democratic attorney Marc Elias, “Pennsylvania Supreme Court AFFIRMS our 5 victories in Philadelphia and REVERSES our one loss in Allegheny County.”
The suit was attempting to throw out ballots legally cast.
In Nevada, during an election related hearing, a GOP lawyer asked that the judge be tossed from the case because of her Democratic political affiliations. The court recessed so the district’s chief judge could assess the matter.
NBC News has announced Michigan has certified the election for the Biden-Harris team.
Meanwhile, the head of his “crack” team of lawyers, former NYC Mayor Rudi “A Noun, A Verb and 9/11” Giuliani announced on Sunday lawyer Sydney Powell has been fired after just eight days on the job. “Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President,” Giuliani tweeted. Another tweet mocked her dismissal, “Imagine being axed for craziness from a legal team that includes Rudy Giuliani!”
Down in Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service has started preparing for the squatter’s post White House life.
Renovations to living quarters expected to be occupied by Trump and first lady Melania Trump are underway, ahead of when they’ll be living there full time after the Jan. 20 inauguration, sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.
Sources have described the renovations as “updates” to living quarters, in part because the residence has been used only on a temporary basis. The Mar-a-Lago club also had been opened only seasonally, and it remains unclear how a permanent residency by Donald and Melania Trump could change that.
While Trump will be required to spend at least six months per calendar year in Florida to maintain his residence status, the 74-year-old is expected to spend time at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and in New York, according to the sources, who added that all post-presidency plans remain fluid.
There may be updates throughout the evening as needed.
Nov 23 2020
Pondering the Pundits
“Pondering the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news media and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
Thanks to ek hornbeck, click on the link and you can access all the past “Pondering the Pundits”.
Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt
Robert Reich: America is being subjected to a stress test – and Republicans are failing
Most elected Republicans are refusing to stand up to Trump. Their cowardice is one of the worst betrayals of public trust in the history of our republic
Financial regulators subject banks to stress tests to see if they have enough capital to withstand sharp downturns.
Now America is being subjected to a stress test to see if it has enough strength to withstand Donald Trump’s treacherous campaign to discredit the 2020 presidential election.
Trump will lose because there’s no evidence of fraud. But the integrity of thousands of people responsible for maintaining American democracy is being tested as never before.
Tragically, most elected Republicans are failing the test by refusing to stand up to Trump. Their cowardice is one of the worst betrayals of public trust in the history of our republic. [..]
That squalor extends down to Republican members of a board of canvassers in Wayne county, Michigan (which includes Detroit) who, after Trump phoned them last week, tried to rescind their approval of ballot counts that went overwhelmingly to Joe Biden. On Friday, Trump invited Michigan’s Republican lawmakers to the White House, hoping to persuade them to ignore the popular vote, too.
American democracy wasn’t designed for this degree of political depravity.
Here’s the good news. The vast majority of officials are passing the stress test, many with distinction.
Amanda Marcotte: Republicans aren’t scared of the Trump & Rudy show — they love this stuff
Republicans aren’t staying quiet because they fear Trump — this clown-car coup has nothing but upside for them
Donald Trump and his, uh, lawyer Rudy Giuliani are moving into the next phase of Trump’s attempted coup, which entertainingly involves Giuliani sweating out the previous day’s martinis into his hair dye while barking incomprehensible conspiracy theories at bewildered reporters.
Unfortunately, the less amusing and more worrisome aspect of the whole ordeal involves Trump’s efforts to lean on Republican-run state legislatures to appoint pro-Trump electors in states where Joe Biden clearly won.
Like most people reading this, I, too, wish I had a crystal ball and could look into the future at Jan. 20, 2021, to see how this all shakes out. In the meantime, the main point of concern is that nearly all Republican politicians are, to one degree or another, supporting Trump’s efforts. [..]
The common theory in the political class is that this silence is borne out of fear of Trump and his tweeting fingers. Former President Barack Obama, who has been blunt in his concerns about the threat Trump represents to our democracy, characterized the GOP’s passive consent to this coup exactly this way.
Richard Wolff: Let’s count the ways Donald Trump has tried to subvert this election, shall we?
Here are some of the most slimy steps down the slippery slope towards The End of America As We Know It
Donald Trump is the kind of populist who hates the people: specifically, the clear majority of the people who voted him out of office.
So he has set about one last gambit – what Dick Cheney liked to call “the last throes” – to steal the election he lost by gumming up the electoral college.
He will fail in his crass attempts to corrupt the election, just as he has failed in his crass lawsuits to challenge the vote counts. Just as he has failed in his entire presidency.
But let’s not brush aside this moment because of its grotesque ineptitude and corruption. It’s not just another Trump tantrum. It may not be a coup, but it is an attempt to destroy American democracy forever.
So let us count the ways this loser of a president has tried to Trumpify America’s elections.
And let us never forget that he did so in cahoots with the formerly Grand Old Party that used to belong to Republicans but now belongs to the Trumpistas.
Here are some of the most slimy steps down the slippery slope towards The End of America As We Know It.
Karen Tumulty: Republican leaders swore an oath to defend the Constitution. That means telling Trump it’s over.
Who in the Republican Party would be capable of doing what their country’s interest calls them to do today?
Where is our Barry Goldwater? Our John Rhodes? Our Hugh Scott?
As President Trump becomes more and more detached from reality, it is past time for him to hear directly from senior members of his own party that he must accept his loss to President-elect Joe Biden and participate in a peaceful transfer of power.
Trump needs to hear this directly, not via a concerned tweet here and there. Republicans cannot deliver the message by cluck-clucking to the media behind a cloak of anonymity. Instead of stepping up to the national interest that beckons, they have indulged the president’s narcissism and abetted Trump in spreading unhinged conspiracy theories that claim the election was stolen.
And what has that done? It has encouraged Trump to become more and more reckless, more and more lawless, to the point where he is putting the arm on Republican officials in Michigan, Georgia and elsewhere to overturn the will of voters in their states.
On Friday, Michigan legislative leaders Mike Shirkey and Lee Chatfield were summoned to the White House. Reports have it that Pennsylvania officials will be next.
It is a subversion of democracy unlike anything we have ever seen. And it demands a response from the president’s own party, on the order of what happened late Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 7, 1974.
Nov 23 2020
An Anthology of Turkey Day Helpful Hints and Recipes
Republished from November 18, 2012 because it’s that time of year again.
Over the last couple of years I’ve shared some of the recipes that I served at the annual Turkey Feast. There have also been diaries about cooking the bird, whether or not to stuff it and suggestions about what to drink that will not conflict with such an eclectic meal of many flavors. It’s not easy to please everyone and, like in my family, there are those who insist on “traditions” like Pumpkin Pie made only from the recipe on the Libby’s Pumpkin Puree can slathered with Ready Whip Whipped Cream. For my son-in-law it isn’t Thanksgiving without the green bean casserole made with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. Thank the cats we have a crowd that will eat just about anything on the table that looks pretty. Rather than reprise each recipe, I’ve compiled an anthology of past diaries to help you survive the trauma of Thanksgiving Day and enjoy not just the meal but family and friends.
Health reasons why not to stuff that bird and a recipe with a clever decorative way to serve the dressing.
Suggestions on wine and beer pairings that go with everything including brussel sprouts.
A great substitute for those sticky, over sweet, marshmallow topped tubers that goes well with pork or ham and breakfast.
Hate those gritty, tasteless lima beans in succoatash? I do but this recipe using edamame change my mind
Includes a great recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake that will please even those diehard traditional pumpkin pie lovers.
Any squash can be substituted for pumpkin in this recipe. My daughter is using butternut served with a dollop of cumin flavored sour cream.
Besides making turkey soup or hash with those leftovers and the carcass, there is also some great recipes like the mushroom risotto in this essay.
May everyone have a safe and healthy Thanksgiving.
Nov 23 2020
The Breakfast Club (Suitcase Of Memories)
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:00am (ET) (or whenever we get around to it) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
UN war crimes panel to try Slobodan Milosevic for genocide in Bosnia; Ukraine’s Viktor Yushchenko declares win in disputed vote; ‘Life’ first hits newsstands; Singer Enrico Caruso makes American debut.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.
Nov 22 2020
What’s Cooking: Thoroughly Modern Meatless Mince Pie
Mince pie is a old holiday tradition that can be traced back to 13th century when European crusaders returned from the Middle East with recipes for meats, fruits and spices. Mincing was a way of preserving meats without salting or smoking. The pie has been served at royal tables and, at one time, was banned by the Puritans since it was a symbol of the Pagan Christmas celebration.
Traditional mincemeat pie contains shredded meat and suet along with fruits and spices and cooks for hours. Mostly made with beef, there is a record of a recipe that used whale meat. Today, most cooks buy mince in a jar, like Cross & Blackwell or None-Such, to make pies and small tarts. I use to do that as well, adding chopped apples, walnuts and extra brandy.
Several years ago, I came across recipe for a meatless mince full of apples, dried fruits and lots of spices. It cooks over low heat for about ninety minutes filling the house and the neighborhood with its spicy aroma. It can also be done in a slow cooker. This recipe calls for pippin apples but MacIntosh, Granny Smith or any pie variety of apple is a fine substitute. I use a combination. It can be made a week or so ahead of time and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. The recipe will make one pie or about a dozen medium tarts. I like the tarts even though it’s more work making the crusts. For the top crust, I make decorative cutouts with small cookie cutters, shaped like leaves and acorns. I’ve also just made a few cutouts in the top crust and surrounded the pie edge with the dough cutouts.
Continue reading
Nov 22 2020
What’s Cooking: Turkey Technology
Oh dear, it’s that time of year again when you invite all the family members and friends whom you haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving to partake in the great American traditional gorge. Only this year is different. Because of the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control and many health department are urging people to keep indoor gathering to under 10 people and discouraging travel. We are zooming our Thanksgiving with our family and friends.
The word for this year’s Thanksgiving feast is “downsize,” everything smaller, including the turkey. A smaller bird means a shorter cooking time but the cooking technique for a juicy bird is the same. So here is thr Alton Brown tried and true method for getting the best result with the minimum of effort, i.e. more time to relax.
If you’re an experienced cook or one who looks at the kitchen as a foreign country and are preparing a turkey on Thanksgiving, or any time for that matter, our hero is Alton Brown and his absolutely fool proof method for roasting a turkey is here. No basting required which leaves you time for other tasks or enjoying your company. We repeat this post every year at this time. If you haven’t already purchased your bird, you need to do that today. A frozen bird needs at three days in the refrigerator to defrost. The best bet is a fresh turkey. While it may cost a few cents more, you’re assured that it’s thawed and ready to cook. So, get thee to the grocery store!
Revised from November 20, 2010 for obvious timely reasons.
I never went to cooking school or took home economics in high school, I was too busy blowing up the attic with my chemistry set. I did like to eat and eat stuff that tasted good and looked pretty, plus my mother couldn’t cook to save her life let alone mine and Pop’s, that was her mother’s venue. So I watched learned and innovated. I also read cook books and found that cooking and baking were like chemistry and physics. I know, that was Translator’s territory, but I do have a degree in biochemistry.
For you really geekie cooks here is a great article about the “Turkey Physics” involved in getting it all done to a juicy turn.
Cooking a turkey is not as easy as the directions on the Butterball wrapping looks. My daughter, who is the other cook in the house (makes the greatest breads, soups and stews) is in charge of the Turkey for the big day. Since we are again having a house full of family and friends, one the two 13 to 15 pound gobblers will get cooked outside on the gas grill that doubles as an oven on these occasions. Her guru is Alton Brown, he of Good Eats on the Food Network. This is the method she has used with rave reviews. Alton’s Roast Turkey recipe follows below the fold. You don’t have to brine, the daughter doesn’t and you can vary the herbs, the results are the same, perfection. My daughter rubs very soft butter under the skin and places whole sage leaves under the skin in a decorative pattern, wraps the other herbs in cheese cloth and tucks it in the cavity. If you prefer, or are kosher, canola oil works, too.
Bon Appetite and Happy Thanksgiving.
The recipe is below the fold.
Nov 22 2020
Cartnoon
Nov 22 2020
The Breakfast Club (California Raisins)
Welcome to The Breakfast Club!
AP’s Today in History for November 22nd
On this date in 1963, President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Gov. John Connally is seriously wounded during a motorcade in Dallas. Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes America’s 36th president.
Breakfast Tune Steve Martin And The Steep Canyon Rangers: “California”
Something to think about, Breakfast News & Blogs below
- Understanding the Trump voters: Here’s why nobody is doing it right
Nathaniel Manderson
- The FBI’s War on Folk Music
ALEXANDER BILLET
Something to think about over coffee prozac
‘This Is How a Torturer Ended Up Running the CIA’: Biden Reportedly Hopes to Avoid Probes Into Trump Crimes
Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
Taking cues from former Presidents Gerald Ford and Barack Obama—who pardoned or ignored their predecessors’ crimes in the name of national unity and healing—President-elect Joe Biden has privately signaled to advisers that he is unlikely to pursue federal investigations of the Trump administration’s policies and actions, NBC News reported Tuesday.
…
Biden’s position, which was widely anticipated, drew comparisons with his former boss Obama, who while campaigning for president in 2007 and 2008 pledged to investigate the Bush administration officials responsible for CIA and U.S. military torture and to hold accountable the Wall Street bankers and other capitalists whose criminal actions helped cause and exacerbate the 2008 global economic crisis.
However, once in office Obama not only declined to prosecute any of the Bush war criminals, his administration actively protected and promoted them—one of whom, Gina Haspel, now directs the CIA. And while not one Wall Street criminal was sent to jail by the Obama administration for the kind of fraud that led to the economic collapse, many top financial executives ended up in the Obama White House to shape and guide economic policy.
…
Nov 22 2020
Pondering the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition
Pondering the Pundits: Sunday Preview Edition” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.
On Sunday mornings we present a preview of the guests on the morning talk shows so you can choose which ones to watch or some do something more worth your time on a Sunday morning.
Follow us on Twitter @StarsHollowGzt
The Sunday Talking Heads:
This Week with George Stephanopolis: The guests on Sunday’s “This Week” are: Ronald Klain, President-Elect Biden Chief of Staff; and Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Operation Warp Speed Chief Science Adviser.
The roundtable guests are: Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ); Karen Finney, Democratic Strategist; Sarah Isgur, Dispatch Staff Writer; and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D??).
Face the Nation: Host Margaret Brennan’s guests are: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Larry Merlo, CVS CEO; Symone D. Sanders, Senior advisor to President-Elect Biden; Scott Gottlieb MD, former commissioner of the FDA; and Lt. Gen. (ret.) H. R. McMaster.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd: The guests on this week’s “MTP” are: Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA); Sen. Kevin Kramer (R-ND); and Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Operation Warp Speed Chief Science Adviser.
The panel guests are: John Podhoretz, New York Post columnist; Anna Palmer, POLITICO senior Washington correspondent; Hallie Jackson, NBC News chief White House correspondent; and Eddie Glaude Jr., Princeton University professor.
State of the Union with Jake Tapper: Mr. Tapper’s guests are: Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Operation Warp Speed Chief Science Adviser; Jen Psaki, senior advisor to Biden-Harris transition; Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD); former Trump National security advisor John Bolton