“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
Welcome to the OPEN THREAD! With the decorations up, this weekend, it’s time to wrap the presents. Yes, these are photos from our attic, master-wrap-center, AKA Southern Regional Distribution Center for the North Pole. Grab the scissors and tape!
This Justice Is Coming December open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA / KAG! / KMAG world.
Please feel free to comment. We have a new policy, starting 20191110. Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.
We have a new board – actually a new SITE – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation. NOT HERE. This board will remain a REFUGE for those who need civility, either some or all of the time.
Please keep the President, his family and team in your thoughts and prayers. If you run into the President, SPEAK THE FIVE WORDS BOLDLY. “I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!“
In 90 minutes, Nadler will gavel in the Judiciary and begin the next phase of the “Impeachment Inquiry”. We begin with 4 law professors, three of whom are already on record, for years, as pro-impeachment. They’re supposed to tell us, lecture us, why it’s important to impeach the President. Jonathan Turley, often seen as a FOX Pundit, is the other Constitutional Lawyer chosen by the Republicans.
Let’s see what happens.
The hearings will dominate the news today, with cable channels going wall-to-wall coverage. Special pundit panels have been brought in. We can use this thread for comments and I will add details to this thread as we go, to use as a resource for later.
According to Alan Dershowitz, the problem Hamilton addresses is that the accuser of wrongdoing as well as the judge of the accusation are both political bodies. Hamilton warned that the process of impeachment might become political, causing factions to polarize further away from each other in their defense or prosecution of the impeached individual. He rejects the notion that the Supreme Court should judge impeachment due to its small size. His recommendation is for the Senate to conduct impeachment proceedings as apolitically as possible.[1] In the end, Hamilton concedes that this is an imperfect solution, but the best one available.
They are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. The prosecution of them, for this reason, will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence, and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.
Federalist #65 Hamilton Essay (emphasis mine)
Federalist #66 goes on to discuss a trial in the Senate. We’ll review that one at a later date.
We an expect highlights for youtube fundraising from members of the Judiciary Committee. Links for various members of the Judiciary Comm go straight to the Open Secrets website, so you can easily view their primary donors. Have fun!!!
I don’t know how President Trump does it. What a nest of vipers, loud mouths with no ammunition to back up their bite. Weak and feckless leaders…..
It’s Day Two at the Summit of Toddlers. The EU/NATO knows they have screwed over the USA. NATO was either going to be an effective organization, modernized for the 21st century to face new threats of terrorism and China, or NATO would be relegated to the dust bin. They know President Trump will not accept current situation, waffling allies who do not honor their commitments, and they know what is coming. President Trump is Daddy, and the allies are whining.
Don’t ever forget this video clip. Ever. Watch it repeatedly, and let your blood boil. These are our allies, who don’t spend 2% on defense, who take advantage of the benevolence of the American taxpayer, but expect our sons and daughters to die for their defense.
This happens at every NATO summit with Trump. Every G7. Every G20. The US President is mocked by US allies behind his back. pic.twitter.com/FWncEM7jVs
This is Boris Johnson, representing the UK who loves the fact that Americans spend 4.5X’s as much for the top 20 medicines at US taxpayer expense. This is Macron, whose French subsidies screwed over Boeing. When France lost at the WTO, he thought it would be a good idea to tax our tech companies. President Trump shamed him publicly… and yes, we’re paying for 2,000 French ISIS citizens in Syria, which Macron refuses to remand. This is Trudeau, a black-faced-bigot, ineffective leader….. the Hunter Biden of Canada.… more concerned with his socks, Climate Change, virtue signaling, and how deeply he can kneel to China. He was embarrassed in the presser, by Trump, in front of the world’s media, when he did not know how much Canada spends on defense. Princess Anne, member of the Royals, rounds out the crew.
Good thing we don’t face a real world war with allies like these. Weak leaders, brimming with false pride, smug and spoiled. Yeah, if I were a radical in the Middle East, video tape like this would make me think these countries would be ripe for the picking. If I were China or Russia, I would be licking my chops at the weakness of Europe. And of course, our American media loves it. Anything to defeat Trump and America is good.
Schedule for the Day:
♦3:25am ET / 8:25am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs Winfield House Landing Zone en route to the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦3:40am ET / 8:40am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦3:50am ET / 8:50am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs the Grove Landing Zone en route to The Grove, London, UK
♦3:55am ET / 8:55am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at The Grove, London, UK
♦4:20am ET / 9:20am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an Official Welcome with the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson, London, UK
♦5:00am ET / 10:00am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session, London, UK
♦7:30am ET / 12:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral meeting with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel, London, UK
♦8:15am ET / 1:15pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a working lunch with the NATO two-percent club, London, UK
♦9:00am ET / 2:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral pull-aside with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, London, UK
♦9:45am ET / 2:45pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a bilateral pull-aside with the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Conte, London, UK
♦10:30am ET / 3:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a press conference, London, UK
~ NATO Summit Concludes ~
♦11:20am ET / 4:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart The Grove en route to the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦11:25am ET / 4:25pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the Grove Landing Zone, London, UK
♦11:35am ET / 4:35pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart the Grove Landing Zone en route to London Stansted, London, UK
♦11:55am ET / 4:55pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at London Stansted Airport, London, UK
♦12:05pm ET / 5:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart London, UK, en route to Washington, D.C., London, UK
♦8:20pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base Andrews
♦8:30pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Joint Base Andrews en route to the White House, Joint Base Andrews
♦8:40pm ET – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at the White House, South Lawn, Washington DC
It may be up to President Trump, and maybe Poland, to single-handedly defend western civilization. The Trump Admin is ready for the challenge and having a luncheon for those countries who budget 2% for defense and honor their agreement.
We’re beginning another day in London at #NATO70 while the Do Nothing Dems literally continue to accomplish NOTHING in THE SWAMP. Sadly, they will do anything to see the POTUS and America fail, but that’s not happening! We’re winning, the American people see through their SHAM!!
Here are the pressers from yesterday. And yes, President Trump sucked all the oxygen out of the room, all the oxygen in England. Trump publicly embarrassed Macron and Trudeau.
Remember the background………….
Robert Lighthizer, USTR dropped a MOAB on France, completing their investigation with perfect timing to recommend up to 100% tariffs on anything French. Similar action is expected for Austria, Italy, and Turkey, who are also targeting USA companies. Yes, the “digital tax” is also being considered in Great Britain and Canada (It’s so easy to shake down USA companies). Again, we have another example of the expropriation of American wealth. Please consider, the recommendation comes AFTER the 7 Billion dollar ruling for America, against France, in the WTO for subsidies to AirBus, harming Boeing.
The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its “Section 301” investigation found that the French tax was “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies,” including Alphabet Inc’s Google <GOOGL.O>, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.
As financial contributions to NATO have been a subject for many years, let’s take a look at the 2.5 billion dollar budget. Wait, what???? Not a much as we thought and the terms are confusing. How can President Trump claim to add 130 billion when the budget is only 2.5 billion? When President Trump refers to 2% of GDP spending, it is the internal military spending for the various countries own defense as a percentage of their GDP. After all, we don’t want an ally who is not ready and prepared to defend or contribute to the defense of other members.
“NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019.” The extra 130 BILLION is other member countries beefing up their own defenses, to become stronger allies. AND when the media tells you the USA is decreasing their spending to 16% and Germany will match at 16%, don’t be fooled. It’s only the 16% of the 2.5 billion……… in effect, a few hundred million for Germany. Chump change, not the billions needed to assume real responsibility for defense of Europe. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_161633.htm
What is the purpose of the North-American TransAtlantic Organization? It used to be the group were allied to defend Western Europe against Russia. Yet today, France wants to buy ships from Russian military and form a closer alliance with Moscow. Germany has been working on Nordstrom pipeline, to supplying 60% German citizens with LNG from Russia. Obviously, Western Europe does not perceive Russia as a threat.
Newly declassified documents paint a CLEAR picture of the promise from George Herbert Walker Bush and his admin, to Gorbachev of Russia around the time of the of the Berlin Wall. The promise made was that NATO would NOT expand past the East German Border, “not one single inch”. In effect, if the Soviet Union was to disband, there was no further purpose to NATO. Yet, various interests in the USA and Europe were reluctant to give up the fiiefdom of NATO. In fact, over the last 30yrs, NATO has expanded to include 13 former Soviet Bloc Nations, and advance all the way up to the Russian border. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629 RT points to the 30 documents as proof of a broken promise. https://www.rt.com/news/413029-nato-gorbachev-expansion-promises/
Of course, IF the USA and NATO broke their promise to Russia, it would still be fresh in the mind of Putin, who was stationed in East Germany 1985-1990. AND it would explain his objections, nervousness, as NATO absorbed more and more countries, placed Patriot missiles in Poland, and probably why Putin would object to our involvement in Ukraine.
Again, we come back to Ukraine. Funny, eh?
Yet, this particular NATO Summit is fraught with high stakes drama from all sides.
A NATO Summit the week before the election gives Boris Johnson a chance to take the stage as a world leader. Look for President Trump to try to help him as much as possible.
Added to the drama is our squirrelly ally Macron of France. He gave an interview to the Economist in November and his comments were “scary” as to the future of NATO’s alliance. He doubted if the USA would show up for a conflict in Europe and said NATO is experiencing “brain death”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/08/allies-aghast-at-emmanuel-macrons-dismissal-of-nato The Allies were “aghast”, as The Economist points out, they were sure it would be Trump who would make the incendiary remarks. (Sigh).
French President Emmanuel Macron’s critical remarks about NATO were “dangerous”, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published on Sunday evening by the Financial Times.
Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. (Got that? Macron waffles on NATO – but blames Trump)
“I think President Macron’s doubts about (NATO’s commitment to mutual defense) can make other allies wonder if perhaps it is France that has concerns about sticking to it. I hope that we can still count on France fulfilling its obligations,” Morawiecki was quoted as saying. (Morawiecki puts the blame back where it belongs)
“France is spending below 2 per cent of GDP (on defense) . . . I think it’s worth asking why certain aspects of NATO do not look as we wish. And it’s not for the lack of U.S. commitment to the alliance, but rather the lack of reciprocity on the part of some European allies,” he said. (Ouch, that one hurt, but Morawiecki is correct)
France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966 to 2009 despite being a founding member. Still Macron’s comments – a month before NATO’s Dec. 4 summit in London – were unexpected.
Wait……… What do you mean France takes no part in strategic military planning and hasn’t since the mid-60’s? So, France contributes less than 2%, complains about it, and has absolutely no idea how their country is defended? Did France just become the 14yr old teenager, consuming more than they contribute?
With friends like France, who needs enemies? Of course, everything is relative and media cannot be trusted. Many times leaders use hot rhetoric to their domestic audience which does not play well on a foreign stage.
Take a look at Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen ……. the petite blond to the right of Merkel, and Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “Mini-Merkel” the brunette to the left of Merkel….. thought to be Merkel’s successor…. a “coronation in waiting”. The woman on the far right, wearing red, is German Politician Julia Kloeckner.
Germany has pledged to bump defense spending to 2%……. but by the year 2031. They hope to get to 1.5% by the year 2014. No kidding, they’re waiting until 2031. According to Kramp-Karrenbauer “A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.
The Bundeswehr should be deployed proactively abroad, the defense minister said. She has pledged to bump defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2031, which could make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world.
In other words, Germany wants a seat at the table but for the USA to pick up the tab. President Trump believes this is unfair to the USA taxpayers….. but apparently President Trump is a brut for asking his allies to pay for their meal.
Merkel has problems with her health, the videos of her shaking violently are still fresh on the minds of others. She also has problems with allowing free speech in Germany, her most recent contentious policy stance. Merkel is on the way out. It will be interesting to see if her “replacement” accompanies Merkel and is introduced to new leaders. Watch the makeup of the German delegation.
According to AP, the USA will pay less for NATO in 2019 and Germany will pay more. The U.S. spends more on defense than all other 28 allies combined. Macron refuses to increase France’s portion, citing the death of 13 French soldiers.
Macron said France won’t increase its contributions for NATO’s in-house budget and referred to the 13 French soldiers killed in a helicopter collision as they were fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali.
“If anyone wants to see what they call cost sharing, they can dome to the ceremony that France is organizing on Monday,” he said. “They will see the price.”
As Eastern EU nations are still fearful of Russia, western EU nations look to strengthen ties with Russia. Eastern nations strongly object to the dangers of nation security which come with more immigration from the Middle East, while Germany/France/Belgium and Spain embrace more and more migration. Trade/IP theft/National Security and surveillance from China and problems with radical Islam present new problems.
Whatever happens this week in England will surely make headlines.
Trumps and the American delegation will be in England, on a world stage, with impeachment swirling on the homefront. Dems and US Press Corps will do their best to discredit our leader. Expect it, as the sun will rise in the east. The Trumps take it all in stride, goofing with each other.
On the way to England for NATO, December 2, 2019
Robert Lighthizer, USTR dropped a MOAB on France, completing their investigation with perfect timing to recommend up to 100% tariffs on anything French. Similar action is expected for Austria, Italy, and Turkey, who are also targeting USA companies. Yes, the “digital tax” is also being considered in Great Britain and Canada (It’s so easy to shake down USA companies). Again, we have another example of the expropriation of American wealth. Please consider, the recommendation comes AFTER the 7 Billion dollar ruling for America, against France, in the WTO for subsidies to AirBus, harming Boeing.
The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said its “Section 301” investigation found that the French tax was “inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies,” including Alphabet Inc’s Google <GOOGL.O>, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Apple Inc <AAPL.O> and Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>.
Meanwhile, the uber graceful Lady in Red, with the most beautiful feet in the world and a megawatt smile, has landed in London. She’s our FLOTUS, Melania. Expect a fashion roll out extraordinaire! Because Melania speaks so many languages, she becomes a secret weapon for President Trump when it comes to events with many world leaders. With that smile, Melania could STOP London fog. Wow.
Schedule for Day One is loaded with activity:
♦4:10am ET / 9:10am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a 1:1 meeting with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, London, United Kingdom
♦4:30am ET / 9:30am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a working breakfast with the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, London, United Kingdom
♦6:00am ET / 11:00am Local – THE PRESIDENT departs Winfield House en route to the InterContinental London Park Lane, London, United Kingdom
♦6:15am ET / 11:15am Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at the InterContinental London Park Lane, London, United Kingdom
♦6:30am ET / 11:30am Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a roundtable with supporters, London, United Kingdom
♦7:05am ET / 12:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT departs the InterContinental London Park Lane en route to Winfield House, London, United Kingdom
♦7:20am ET / 12:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT arrives at Winfield House, London, United Kingdom
♦9:00am ET / 2:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in a private ‘restricted’ bilateral meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, London, United Kingdom
♦9:20am ET / 2:20pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, London, United Kingdom
♦10:30am ET / 3:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT participates in an expanded bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, London, United Kingdom
♦11:55am ET / 4:55pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Winfield House en route to Clarence House, London, United Kingdom
♦12:10pm ET / 5:10pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Clarence House, London, United Kingdom
♦12:15pm ET / 5:15pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY have tea with H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and H.R.H. The Duchess of Cornwall, London, United Kingdom
♦12:50pm ET / 5:50pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Clarence House en route to Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom
♦1:00pm ET / 6:00pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Leaders’ Reception hosted by Her Majesty The Queen, London, United Kingdom
♦2:35pm ET / 7:35pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Buckingham Palace en route to No. 10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
♦2:40pm ET / 7:40pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at No. 10 Downing Street, London, United Kingdom
♦2:45pm ET / 7:45pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Leaders’ Reception hosted by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Boris Johnson, London, United Kingdom
♦4:05pm ET / 9:05pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart No. 10 Downing Street en route to Winfield House, London, United Kingdom
♦4:30pm ET / 9:30pm Local – THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY arrive at Winfield House, London, United Kingdom
As financial contributions to NATO have been a subject for many years, let’s take a look at the 2.5 billion dollar budget. Not a much as we thought. “NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019.” https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_161633.htm
What is the purpose of the North-American TransAtlantic Organization? It used to be the group were allied to defend Western Europe against Russia. Yet today, France wants to buy ships from Russian military and form a closer alliance with Moscow. Germany has been working on Nordstrom pipeline, to supplying 60% German citizens with LNG from Russia. Obviously, Western Europe does not perceive Russia as a threat.
Newly declassified documents paint a CLEAR picture of the promise from George Herbert Walker Bush and his admin, to Gorbachev of Russia around the time of the of the Berlin Wall. The promise made was that NATO would NOT expand past the East German Border, “not one single inch”. In effect, if the Soviet Union was to disband, there was no further purpose to NATO. Yet, various interests in the USA and Europe were reluctant to give up the fiiefdom of NATO. In fact, over the last 30yrs, NATO has expanded to include 13 former Soviet Bloc Nations, and advance all the way up to the Russian border. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629 RT points to the 30 documents as proof of a broken promise. https://www.rt.com/news/413029-nato-gorbachev-expansion-promises/
Of course, IF the USA and NATO broke their promise to Russia, it would still be fresh in the mind of Putin, who was stationed in East Germany 1985-1990. AND it would explain his objections, nervousness, as NATO absorbed more and more countries, placed Patriot missiles in Poland, and probably why Putin would object to our involvement in Ukraine.
Again, we come back to Ukraine. Funny, eh?
Yet, this particular NATO Summit is fraught with high stakes drama from all sides.
A NATO Summit the week before the election gives Boris Johnson a chance to take the stage as a world leader. Look for President Trump to try to help him as much as possible.
Added to the drama is our squirrelly ally Macron of France. He gave an interview to the Economist in November and his comments were “scary” as to the future of NATO’s alliance. He doubted if the USA would show up for a conflict in Europe and said NATO is experiencing “brain death”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/08/allies-aghast-at-emmanuel-macrons-dismissal-of-nato The Allies were “aghast”, as The Economist points out, they were sure it would be Trump who would make the incendiary remarks. (Sigh).
French President Emmanuel Macron’s critical remarks about NATO were “dangerous”, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published on Sunday evening by the Financial Times.
Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. (Got that? Macron waffles on NATO – but blames Trump)
“I think President Macron’s doubts about (NATO’s commitment to mutual defense) can make other allies wonder if perhaps it is France that has concerns about sticking to it. I hope that we can still count on France fulfilling its obligations,” Morawiecki was quoted as saying. (Morawiecki puts the blame back where it belongs)
“France is spending below 2 per cent of GDP (on defense) . . . I think it’s worth asking why certain aspects of NATO do not look as we wish. And it’s not for the lack of U.S. commitment to the alliance, but rather the lack of reciprocity on the part of some European allies,” he said. (Ouch, that one hurt, but Morawiecki is correct)
France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966 to 2009 despite being a founding member. Still Macron’s comments – a month before NATO’s Dec. 4 summit in London – were unexpected.
Wait……… What do you mean France takes no part in strategic military planning and hasn’t since the mid-60’s? So, France contributes less than 2%, complains about it, and has absolutely no idea how their country is defended? Did France just become the 14yr old teenager, consuming more than they contribute?
With friends like France, who needs enemies? Of course, everything is relative and media cannot be trusted. Many times leaders use hot rhetoric to their domestic audience which does not play well on a foreign stage.
Take a look at Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen ……. the petite blond to the right of Merkel, and Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “Mini-Merkel” the brunette to the left of Merkel….. thought to be Merkel’s successor…. a “coronation in waiting”. The woman on the far right, wearing red, is German Politician Julia Kloeckner.
Germany has pledged to bump defense spending to 2%……. but by the year 2031. They hope to get to 1.5% by the year 2014. No kidding, they’re waiting until 2031. According to Kramp-Karrenbauer “A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.
The Bundeswehr should be deployed proactively abroad, the defense minister said. She has pledged to bump defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2031, which could make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world.
In other words, Germany wants a seat at the table but for the USA to pick up the tab. President Trump believes this is unfair to the USA taxpayers….. but apparently President Trump is a brut for asking his allies to pay for their meal.
Merkel has problems with her health, the videos of her shaking violently are still fresh on the minds of others. She also has problems with allowing free speech in Germany, her most recent contentious policy stance. Merkel is on the way out. It will be interesting to see if her “replacement” accompanies Merkel and is introduced to new leaders. Watch the makeup of the German delegation.
According to AP, the USA will pay less for NATO in 2019 and Germany will pay more. The U.S. spends more on defense than all other 28 allies combined. Macron refuses to increase France’s portion, citing the death of 13 French soldiers.
Macron said France won’t increase its contributions for NATO’s in-house budget and referred to the 13 French soldiers killed in a helicopter collision as they were fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali.
“If anyone wants to see what they call cost sharing, they can dome to the ceremony that France is organizing on Monday,” he said. “They will see the price.”
As Eastern EU nations are still fearful of Russia, western EU nations look to strengthen ties with Russia. Eastern nations strongly object to the dangers of nation security which come with more immigration from the Middle East, while Germany/France/Belgium and Spain embrace more and more migration. Trade/IP theft/National Security and surveillance from China and problems with radical Islam present new problems.
Whatever happens this week in England will surely make headlines.
The President and FLOTUS Melania are traveling to Britain this morning for the NATO Summit. They will attend various functions with other world leaders through December 4th. Thus, the Trumps will be in England, on a world stage, with impeachment swirling on the homefront. Dems and US Press Corps will do their best to discredit our leader. Expect it, as the sun will rise in the east.
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PUBLIC SCHEDULE For Monday, December 2, 2019. 9:45am ET, THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart the White House en route to Andrews AFB. South Lawn. Open Press Q&A. 10:05am ET, THE PRESIDENT and THE FIRST LADY depart Washington D.C., en route to London, UK.
As financial contributions to NATO have been a subject for many years, let’s take a look at the 2.5 billion dollar budget. Not a much as we thought. “NATO Allies have agreed the civil and military budgets for 2019. At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday (18 December 2018), Allies agreed a civil budget of €250.5 million and a military budget of €1.395 billion for 2019.” https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_161633.htm
What is the purpose of the North-American TransAtlantic Organization? It used to be the group were allied to defend Western Europe against Russia. Yet today, France wants to buy ships from Russian military and form a closer alliance with Moscow. Germany has been working on Nordstrom pipeline, to supplying 60% German citizens with LNG from Russia. Obviously, Western Europe does not perceive Russia as a threat.
Newly declassified documents paint a CLEAR picture of the promise from George Herbert Walker Bush and his admin, to Gorbachev of Russia around the time of the of the Berlin Wall. The promise made was that NATO would NOT expand past the East German Border, “not one single inch”. In effect, if the Soviet Union was to disband, there was no further purpose to NATO. Yet, various interests in the USA and Europe were reluctant to give up the fiiefdom of NATO. In fact, over the last 30yrs, NATO has expanded to include 13 former Soviet Bloc Nations, and advance all the way up to the Russian border. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/newly-declassified-documents-gorbachev-told-nato-wouldnt-23629 RT points to the 30 documents as proof of a broken promise. https://www.rt.com/news/413029-nato-gorbachev-expansion-promises/
Of course, IF the USA and NATO broke their promise to Russia, it would still be fresh in the mind of Putin, who was stationed in East Germany 1985-1990. AND it would explain his objections, nervousness, as NATO absorbed more and more countries, placed Patriot missiles in Poland, and probably why Putin would object to our involvement in Ukraine.
Again, we come back to Ukraine. Funny, eh?
Yet, this particular NATO Summit is fraught with high stakes drama from all sides.
A NATO Summit the week before the election gives Boris Johnson a chance to take the stage as a world leader. Look for President Trump to try to help him as much as possible.
Added to the drama is our squirrelly ally Macron of France. He gave an interview to the Economist in November and his comments were “scary” as to the future of NATO’s alliance. He doubted if the USA would show up for a conflict in Europe and said NATO is experiencing “brain death”. https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/11/08/allies-aghast-at-emmanuel-macrons-dismissal-of-nato The Allies were “aghast”, as The Economist points out, they were sure it would be Trump who would make the incendiary remarks. (Sigh).
French President Emmanuel Macron’s critical remarks about NATO were “dangerous”, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview published on Sunday evening by the Financial Times.
Macron told The Economist last week that NATO was experiencing “brain death”, citing a lack of coordination and U.S. unpredictability under President Donald Trump. (Got that? Macron waffles on NATO – but blames Trump)
“I think President Macron’s doubts about (NATO’s commitment to mutual defense) can make other allies wonder if perhaps it is France that has concerns about sticking to it. I hope that we can still count on France fulfilling its obligations,” Morawiecki was quoted as saying. (Morawiecki puts the blame back where it belongs)
“France is spending below 2 per cent of GDP (on defense) . . . I think it’s worth asking why certain aspects of NATO do not look as we wish. And it’s not for the lack of U.S. commitment to the alliance, but rather the lack of reciprocity on the part of some European allies,” he said. (Ouch, that one hurt, but Morawiecki is correct)
France has traditionally had an ambivalent role in NATO, taking no part in its strategic military planning from 1966 to 2009 despite being a founding member. Still Macron’s comments – a month before NATO’s Dec. 4 summit in London – were unexpected.
Wait……… What do you mean France takes no part in strategic military planning and hasn’t since the mid-60’s? So, France contributes less than 2%, complains about it, and has absolutely no idea how their country is defended? Did France just become the 14yr old teenager, consuming more than they contribute?
With friends like France, who needs enemies? Of course, everything is relative and media cannot be trusted. Many times leaders use hot rhetoric to their domestic audience which does not play well on a foreign stage.
Take a look at Germany’s Defense Minister, Ursula von der Leyen ……. the petite blond to the right of Merkel, and Kramp-Karrenbauer, known as “Mini-Merkel” the brunette to the left of Merkel….. thought to be Merkel’s successor…. a “coronation in waiting”. The woman on the far right, wearing red, is German Politician Julia Kloeckner.
Germany has pledged to bump defense spending to 2%……. but by the year 2031. They hope to get to 1.5% by the year 2014. No kidding, they’re waiting until 2031. According to Kramp-Karrenbauer “A country of our size, with our economic and technological power, our geostrategic position and global interests, cannot just stand on the sidelines and watch,” she said.
The Bundeswehr should be deployed proactively abroad, the defense minister said. She has pledged to bump defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2031, which could make Germany the third largest defense spender in the world.
In other words, Germany wants a seat at the table but for the USA to pick up the tab. President Trump believes this is unfair to the USA taxpayers….. but apparently President Trump is a brut for asking his allies to pay for their meal.
Merkel has problems with her health, the videos of her shaking violently are still fresh on the minds of others. She also has problems with allowing free speech in Germany, her most recent contentious policy stance. Merkel is on the way out. It will be interesting to see if her “replacement” accompanies Merkel and is introduced to new leaders. Watch the makeup of the German delegation.
According to AP, the USA will pay less for NATO in 2019 and Germany will pay more. The U.S. spends more on defense than all other 28 allies combined. Macron refuses to increase France’s portion, citing the death of 13 French soldiers.
Macron said France won’t increase its contributions for NATO’s in-house budget and referred to the 13 French soldiers killed in a helicopter collision as they were fighting Islamic State group-linked extremists in Mali.
“If anyone wants to see what they call cost sharing, they can dome to the ceremony that France is organizing on Monday,” he said. “They will see the price.”
As Eastern EU nations are still fearful of Russia, western EU nations look to strengthen ties with Russia. Eastern nations strongly object to the dangers of nation security which come with more immigration from the Middle East, while Germany/France/Belgium and Spain embrace more and more migration. Trade/IP theft/National Security and surveillance from China and problems with radical Islam present new problems.
Whatever happens this week in England will surely make headlines.
Somewhere in this house, there remains a photo of the “Gingerbread House”, but I cannot find it. It was a spectacular creation. As an annual tradition, all the hotels in New Orleans had a pastry chef competition for the best gingerbread house. I entered one time…. and won….. the whole thing… which came as a big surprise to a whole lotta people.
The story behind The Great Gingerbread House is better. That one grand and indulgent confection made me who I am today…. in a way…. it “hatched” me. Strange how events evolve. It turned into a life lesson on why taking chances is usually a good thing, and why forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission.
Here’s the backstory.
In school I skipped a few grades, so by the time college rolled around, I wasn’t 18yrs old. It created problems for me, socially, when it came to friends who were of driving or drinking age, but I tried to fit in as best as possible. I was lucky, however, with a new law passed in Louisiana against elder discrimination. It meant employers could no longer ask a person’s age on an application. It meant, they didn’t know how old I was…..
One of my first jobs was as a hostess for a local Sheraton Hotel, about 2 miles from our home in suburbia. Didn’t have a car at the time, but I did have a Honda Mo-Ped, which required a helmet, but it also meant Daughn was mobile and no longer dependent on others. The hostess uniform was a rust-colored-bullet-proof-polyester-formal-evening gown with a big slit up the middle. Obviously, I could not wear a formal evening gown on a Mo-Ped. Thus, every day, I packed a bag, wore shorts into work, changed clothes in the restroom, and re-curled my hair. It was the 80’s and big hair was mandatory.
The new job started on a Monday, early summer, after graduating high school. Surely, this job would be so much better than working as a cashier at A&P. I was excited. After a day or two of training on the register (which was easy after A&P), and training on how to seat people and be polite (no kidding – lessons on how to be polite), I blended into the group. Miss Gloria, the other hostess, was an elderly lady who had been there a long time, but she wasn’t good at adding up tickets and dividing up tips correctly, and I quietly rechecked her numbers.
Unknown to me, the restaurant business has added tension, stress, and a great deal of drama. The Restaurant Manager got into a scuffle with the Food and Beverage Director, while the General Manager was there. Restaurant Manager was fired, on the spot, the first Friday. On the way out of the door, still upset, the GM handed me the keys to the front door and promoted me to Restaurant Manager. I hadn’t been there a week.
The ride home that night was exhilarating. I was a MANAGER, my first promotion! My little Mo-Ped rolled along the right side of the thoroughfare, top speed of 22 mph, but I wanted to ride in the middle of the road and scream to the heavens. Of course, I wasn’t REALLY a manager. I wasn’t REALLY in charge of anything. All it REALLY meant was I was responsible enough to have the keys, remain last and come in first, vacuum, turn in the receipts, and lock the doors. BUT I was oblivious to all that…. after all, I had a new name tag which said, MANAGER.
Glory of new status faded quickly as I waded through the drama of wait staff and kitchen chefs who argued all the time. Why couldn’t they just get along? As part of my new duties, I had to go to “meetings” for “managers”. Ohhhh, I was so happy and felt so important…. only to be crushed. I learned a new Restaurant Manager would be hired by a “corporate” office in the faraway land called….. Pennsylvania. They owned over a hundred similar hotels. I was sad. At least they let me stay in the meeting.
It was a real managers meeting, where we talked about “revenue” and “sales”. Gee whiz, Dad was an exec. Yeah, I knew what “revenue” and “sales” meant. I knew they had to go UP, otherwise I was a bad manager…. and now I was fighting for my job. Hmmmm…. what to do?
Well, if I had to pass the keys to someone older and more experienced, at least I should hand over a clean”ship”, right? I started deep cleaning, re-organizing old storage closets, when I found a mountain of old banquet equipment, tiki bars that rolled into place, and decorations for every holiday. The next day, I asked Miss Gloria about my find. She confirmed “those were the days”, the “heyday” of the hotel.
Sometimes ignorance and naivety is a good thing. It sure helped me. Too young to realize I couldn’t do something and too young to be intimidated. As an added plus, I went to work at about 3:00pm, and the REAL managers left the building at about 4:00pm, which meant….. I had no one to tell me I couldn’t do something.
I was UNSUPERVISED.
Naturally, I assumed if we brought back the “heyday” of the hotel, then revenue would go up, and Daughn could keep her job as a manager. Pretty simple formula, win-win situation, and made sense to my teenage brain. I had a long talk with the “Bar Manager” and he liked the idea. We never asked anyone else for permission…. to expand. Our joint boss, the Food and Beverage Director was an Italian, who spoke broken English, and was never there.
The restaurant and bar were configured in a large “L” shape, with a gorgeous but “BARREN” hotel pool nestled in the middle. Yet, the restaurant had heavy curtains across the glass wall, always drawn, so no one could see the pool. I wondered, “Why?” The far side of the pool had a wrought iron fence, next to a busy interstate intersection. So, if you were wearing a bathing suit, you might “feel” naked in the middle of an intersection and awkward, as Gloria explained to me. I was confused and frowned. “Well, why not just put up a bunch of plants and screen the traffic?”, I asked. “Good idea.”, she said. At some point in the evening, I went to the restroom, down a long corridor, glass wall on one side, lined with tall PLANTS. I stopped about half-way, realizing, those were the plants which were supposed to be outside, along the fence. We moved the plants/trees, cleaned off the pool furniture, and spruced it up. The pool was lovely and inviting.
As we geared up for our first “pool party”, we needed special drinks and food, right? The bar manager was totally on board but another problem surfaced. My head chef, master of the kitchen, was Swiss, barely spoke a word of English, mid-30’s and highly temperamental. He hated the sight of me and the kitchen was his domain. Message was clear – I should keep out. Yet, our menu offered nothing from Louisiana…. which didn’t make sense. He told me the restaurant catered to people who were travelers and not familiar with the “spice” indicative of Louisiana. I reread my “Dale Carnegie – How to Win Friends and Influence People” and, as best as I could, asked him to add a couple of recipes for the pool party….. boiled shrimp, oysters on half-shell, etc. I even brought him mom’s recipe for marinated shrimp. Can’t remember how it happened, or what I had to trade him, but he conceded. Vaguely, I recall, he was convinced the idea was doomed to fail…… and he wanted to watch me go down in flames.
The first pool party was a great success. I called friends who were young and attractive to attend. All the activity brought guests to the pool. We made money… which was a GOOD thing. Revenue was increasing……….. and all of a sudden, there was no more talk about replacing me with a Manager from “corporate”. Our events (and even Mom’s shrimp) made a few local papers. We became a hot spot for the locals.
We added items to the menu, slowly but surely, traditional LA fare. A killer red beans and rice on Mondays as was tradition. We added a lunch buffet after church on Sundays to draw the local crowd, and a late night burger stop on Friday nights after local football games, and LA chicory coffee and fresh beignets at Check-Out desk. More revenue. Looking good. Every time I turned around, I was getting a raise… but I was having the time of my life.
College started but classes were easy as a freshman. It did cut my sleep and I was burning the candle at both ends, but young people can handle it. There were several big events which happened. The Swiss Chef quit in a big kitchen ruckus (a whole nother story)……. and I learned to be a temp chef that day… there was no one else. He was replaced quickly. The Italian F&B Director quit and a decision was made not to replace him. A busboy was completely out of hand and I fired my first person. He vandalized my Mo-Ped, killing it. Bummer.
As the weeks rolled by and more people were fired, I took over the food and bar ordering, and I still was not 18yrs old. It was far more involved than I thought – again, ignorance and naivety was my friend. A few mistakes but nothing serious. Not supposed to be in a place serving liquor, let alone ordering the liquor. It worked out well though, because I knew all the Bacardi/Seagram’s/Beer and Wine vendors from time spent at A&P.
I was spending a lot of time at the hotel, and the GM offered me a suite to use. I moved a few things in and sometimes slept there. That’s when everything came to a sudden crash.
Dad was not happy with my newfound business sense and independence. Spending the night in a hotel was not working for him at all. Of course, nothing was happening, I wasn’t sleeping with anyone. Heck, I lost my boyfriend because I didn’t have time. Didn’t matter to Dad. I had to come home after work….. Okay, fine. I still had the suite at my disposal when I needed it to nap or change clothes/shower/whatever.
The fall passed quickly and we geared up for Christmas season. Suddenly, we had a banquet division, and we were scheduling big office parties for the month. Again, the “heyday” was back! December was approaching and soon I would be 18yrs old. The GM called me to his office for my Christmas bonus and offered to pay for my college tuition if I would major in HRT. Wow, paying for my college as well? I was thrilled.
But Dad had other plans. I had to have my wisdom teeth removed before age 18 and while his insurance would pay for it. I would be “down” for several days. “What?”, I objected. How could I possibly be absent from work during the holidays? Of course, I thought I was so important nothing would happen without me……. but I was responsible for the effort and wanted to see it through. No compromise. Dad made his decision. I told my GM and arranged for extra staff at work for a few days.
I went “under the knife” on December 8th, after my last final at school, but there were problems, and the Oral Surgeon had to break my jaw in three places to remove the impacted wisdom teeth. One look in the mirror and I was mortified. Sure, I was a shallow female teenager who looked like she had been in a car wreck, but I couldn’t possible let anyone see me with a purple face! The pain and swelling were terrible. When I leaned over, I thought my head would explode. The surgeon said I would be “down for at least 10 days”.
Phoning my GM with the bad news, he returned with more bad news. I would be….. “replaced”. Immediately, my mind raced to the threat of “corporate Pennsylvania”. My heart sank to my toes. I wanted to throw up. I was….. “fired”? Dispensable? Just wiped away with a brush…… casually. Someone else, stealing my glory….. but time marches on. After all I did, I was heartbroken, but it was a valuable lesson.
Moping around the house, I went from bad to worse. Gheez, I was foul. Not only could I not go out on my 18th birthday, finally able to celebrate being “legal”, but I lost my boyfriend and my job. I blamed Dad for my utter ruination. My social life was dead for the holidays, I lost my suite at the hotel, now had to pay my own tuition. I was a walking talking big black storm cloud.
Most of all, I was bored out of my mind,….. when I got a call from Miss Gloria that changed everything.
Apparently, I signed up the hotel for the annual Christmas Gingerbread Pastry Chef competition, but I made a mistake, and filled out the form in my own name as “entrant” for the hotel. Gloria told me that the hotel didn’t want the entry as they were scaling back “outside activities”, but I had to call the Association and withdraw myself, otherwise it would embarrass the hotel with a “Non-Entry”. I agreed, hung up the phone and started dialing the association ……… and then I stopped.
Why couldn’t I enter the competition? Again, ignorance and naivety, forgiveness instead of permission. No, I didn’t call my GM back and ask for permission. No, I had never made a gingerbread house. No, I wasn’t that good of a cook, and I sure as hell was no pastry chef on the level of grand hotels in New Orleans…………. but I was bored and mad, occasionally spitting lightning bolts from my fingertips.
I made up my mind.
I took over the dining room to make a gingerbread house, three storied Victorian, why not? I had a picture to go by and thought, “Sure, I can do this”. Over the next week, it consumed me. I worked late into the night, while my parents were asleep. Finally, Dad took pity on me and cut a piece of plywood for my masterpiece….. With a 2’x4′ piece of plywood, that meant I could make a garden and small village for the house. As the deadline approached, my step mother helped, teaching me to make frilly scrolls…. perfect touch. Dad and I were back to normal as I calmed down. He helped me engineer a licorice swing for the gingerbread garden. Dozens of trips to the grocery and specialty stores plus 60lbs of flour later, I was finished. It really was beautiful.
Dad and I took the House downtown to the competition, my jaw was still nine shades of yellow but I had almost recovered. Other pastry chefs had installed their exhibits and gosh, they were breathtaking. That was December 16th but the houses would not be judged until Christmas Eve. I walked away feeling better. It was good to be outside and in a Christmas atmosphere. Never in a million years did I hope for an honorable mention.
Over the next few days, I was back to normal, out and about, playing with friends, scurrying around to get ready for Christmas. Kind of forgot about the house competition because I didn’t enter to win it, I entered because I was bored.
Christmas Eve rolled around and all the repeat winners for the competition were awaiting the big announcements for this year’s division champs and grand prize winner. They were all dressed in their finery, waiting for the obligatory photo in the local papers. I wasn’t there….. cuz it was Christmas Eve…… Grandma and Grandpa were in town, and we had stuff to do.
And I won, grand prize.
I didn’t learn about it until Christmas Day and the news came as a complete surprise. MANY other entries, I thought, were far better than mine. My old GM called and told me the “hotel” had a “mystery entry” for the Gingerbread competition and THEY took first place. I got my job back, another raise, school tuition……. and still can’t remember what presents I received that year.
It was a good Christmas.
The decades flew by and I went to work in Manhattan, then Miami, in the Finance biz……. Yet, when I could afford to live where I chose to, and do what I wanted, I bought a little B&B back in Mississippi. And again, I’m thinking about making a Gingerbread House for Christmas.
Ever had a recipe that didn’t quite turn out like you planned? Hehe, I have.
Recipe Failures are a favorite topic in our house.
As a young broker, I learned to cook out of necessity. Couldn’t afford swanky dinners on my credit card for clients. Besides, our parents’ generation invited people home for dinner….. kind of thought that’s the way it was supposed to be. My clients were mostly men, owners of companies, at least a generation older than me. With a “couple” invitation to dinner, kind wives took pity on me, and taught me a great deal. I was a willing student, and although unplanned, the “come to my house for dinner” bonding time often cemented my relationship with the wives.
There were so many mistakes in the beginning years.
Like the time I bought the most beautiful beef fillets I could afford, had them specially cut by the butcher, but I didn’t know how to grill….. had a penthouse but no grill. I put them in the oven at 350 degrees, and thought they would be “done” in 11 minutes….. just like Dad did when I was a kid. That one was a beauty.
Or the time I bought specialty steaks from a high priced Miami Steakhouse and took them to a Manhattan client as my “guest” contribution for the weekend. The steaks were like rubber…. sold me a crappy lot. We ended up eating potatoes for dinner.
Or the time I decided to make croissants from scratch. Did you know there are 162 layers of butter in a croissant? Bakeries have a machine, called a laminator, to process the dough. It looked so easy to do by hand on a Saturday morning cooking show….. took me all day long. I’ll never make croissants again.
How about the Rum Cake I made to take to a boyfriend’s family for Christmas? It was on the cover of Southern Living Annual Cookbook. The recipe required 12 eggs and an entire afternoon. No one ate a single slice. It even smelled bad.
Or the time I was over zealous to create a spectacular dessert for Christmas Eve dinner, as opposed to a normal dessert, cuz I was trying to impress my boss. I started a complicated pumpkin cheesecake at 8:00pm the night before. Finally got it into the oven at 1:00am, should have been finished at 2:00am…… but then the instructions told me to leave it in the oven, temp off, for another 2 hours, and “don’t open the oven”. I waited and waited, eventually setting an alarm for 4:00am. Yet, because I was up all night with dessert, I nodded off during dinner…. great impression, eh?
There were a few monumental errors. My step-mother was an incredible cook. As a teenager, we watched PBS on Saturday morning. Dad was a frustrated Bob Vila. Often, my step-mother would copy something from one of the cooking shows for dinner. I watched her do it for years, so how hard could it be? Thus, when I was newly married, I was watching one of the cooking shows and thought I could make bagels at home. Why not? Well, first of all they were ugly – the color of oyster white paint. Beyond that, they were hard… all the way through. In fact, they were so hard, we decided to feed them to the birds….. and the birds ignored them. The dough was so heavy the birds couldn’t carry off the scraps… little wings fluttering so fast…. nothing. The guys teased me for weeks, “We don’t need a fence to keep the deer out, we’ll just use Miss Daughn’s Bagels…. better than chain link.” Yeah, that bad.
Or the time I was convinced to create a more “natural” home and start making my own bread. Oh yes, I was determined. I bought books on the subject. Over a $100 of specialty flour and new pans…… and the bread rose to the thickness of cardboard and I ended up with a bread boat.
New husband suggested I call his mother for advice. I scoured the kitchen sparkling clean and begrudgingly called her. Everything was prepared for her ‘lesson’ as if she was a visiting surgeon. She didn’t measure anything. Stuck her elbow under a hot water tap to check temperature. She put a little sugar in the yeast to feed it and so it would foam. “What do you mean, FOAM?”, I said. “Oh dear”, she replied with the contempt dripping from her fangs, “You have to let the yeast foam, otherwise the bread won’t rise.”
Wut?
How come my recipes didn’t tell me about the “FOAM THING”? She was in my kitchen less than 15 minutes, said she would be back “after lunch, it will be done rising”. The sun was shining through the glass door as she waved goodbye, and the sun bathed her like a “bread goddess”. I sat and stared at the bowl for over an hour, flabbergasted. So many things I did not know.
The Diet Light Cookbook was funny….. looking back. I was a pretty good cook by that point, but thought we should start eating healthier. Over a couple of weeks, I made many dishes, all from the cookbook….. everything tasted the same. I came home late, almost dust, and husband was burning sticks in the backyard. He told me to grab a glass of wine and come join him. As I approached, I realized he was ripping pages from the cookbook and burning them. I protested a little, “We could both lose 10lbs and you should drop blood pressure.” He took a long swig of his beer and said, “I’d rather die happy”.
There was no bigger failure than the “Great Potato Soup Escapade”. Hours and hours of effort, over 20lbs of potatoes, but it turned to starch. My husband dumped it out back, behind our old chicken coop. The following spring, it was still there. He had to bury it. Nothing grew there for years.
In summary, to our friends and family, please excuse us while we try to be creative this Christmas. If our project turns out looking like the magazine photo, terrific. If it doesn’t, that’s okay.
The point of the failure becomes – don’t ever stop trying.
Take a chance, try some new skill or ethnic food.
Even the failures become a terrific story.
If worse comes to worse, we can always eat Chinese Christmas Turkey.
Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. It’s time to decorate the Christmas QTree. Ready?
First lady Melania Trump tosses an ornament to a child across the table after he tossed one to her as she visits with children in the East Room among the 2017 holiday decorations with the theme “Time-Honored Traditions” at the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
This ACTION NOVEMBER open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA / KAG! / KMAG world.
Please feel free to comment. We have a new policy, starting 20191110. Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.
We have a new board – actually a new SITE – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation. NOT HERE. This board will remain a REFUGE for those who need civility, either some or all of the time.
Please keep the President, his family and team in your thoughts and prayers. If you run into the President, SPEAK THE FIVE WORDS BOLDLY. “I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!“
AND WHAT TIME IS IT?
TIME TO….
DRAIN THE SWAMP
Our movement
Is about replacing
A failed
And CORRUPT
Political establishment
With a new government controlled
By you, the American People.
Candidate Donald J. Trump
Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
I’ll leave you with the very best of us. Thank you, Clarence.
Note to all, this is NOT a fake photo, or photoshopped. It’s an official Getty Photo from the Hong Kong celebration for our Thanksgiving, and as a special thanks to President Trump for signing the Hong Kong Support Act.
Getty Image
It was the Scut Farkus moment for Hong Kong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbzObyvBslw
It’s time to bring on Christmas. Ode To Joy, in Honor of our President, our Troops in Afghanistan and stationed all over the world, the voters in Hong Kong, and……. America. Brings me to tears every time.
Sunrise, Florida, is really a bedroom community to Ft. Lauderdale, slightly north of downtown, and a little bit southwest of Mar-A-Lago. This is my turf, my old home. My former secretary lived in Sunrise. President Trump is working on breaking the Dem Lock on Broward/Dade counties. We KNOW Brad Parscale has practically been living in Florida for months.
Well, here we go. I will add more links as they populate.
Freedom is easy……. when it’s not in danger. A challenge to freedom, awakens a sleeping giant.
The results of the Hong Kong Elections, after 6 months of protests, are a staggering win for the Pro-Democracy effort and a slap-heard-round-the-world, to Beijing.
From RTHK:
“…… no one was predicting that the pro-democracy camp would win a majority of seats – much less almost all of them.”
“While official results are yet to be announced, partial counts suggest that opposition candidates should win an overwhelming majority of the 452 District Council seats up for grabs, and may have a winning ratio of as high as nine-to-one.”
Seven out of eight pro-democracy lawmakers who fought for a seat in the polls won, with the exception of Council Front lawmaker Chu Hoi-dick, who lost to independent Lai Wing-tim in Yuen Long.
“…… yielded a landslide win to pro-democracy candidates, delivering a strong rebuke to chief executive Carrie Lam from the people of Hong Kong and shocking Beijing ……
” ……3 million people in a city of 7 million queued to vote in the local election held every four years, or 71.2 per cent of registered voters. At the previous election just 47 per cent voted.
By Monday morning pro democracy candidates appeared to have won a stunning 390 of the 452 seats and were on track to control at least 17 of 18 district councils. (emphasis is mine)
Beijing is rather surprised, insisting, no matter what, Hong Kong is still part of China…….. they would not allow “Separatists” to run for office.
Separatism is banned under Hong Kong law. But Wong’s last-minute substitute, Kelvin Lam, won the seat of South Horizons West. Wong wrote on Twitter: “I’m extremely delighted to announce that, despite my disqualification by Beijing, my backup candidate Kelvin Lam has won in South Horizons West with 57 per cent of the vote.”” (Sydney Morning Herald)
Take a few moments and look at this website for election results. Pro-Democracy is green. Look at all the green!
Keep your eyes on this website for the Hong Kong election results. Results should be posted tonight. Red is pro-establishment, gray is independent and green is pro-democracy.https://t.co/IjtBxhtsaV
Historic turnout in local council elections in Hong Kong. The result: A landslide vote for freedom, democracy, and continued autonomy from Beijing. The people were heard loud and clear. Now their leaders need to listen.
Somewhat satisfying to watch the NYTimes forced to admit Communism FAILED when elections take place.
In a stunning sign of support for the protests that have roiled Hong Kong this year, more than half of the 452 seats in Sunday’s local district council elections flipped from pro-Beijing to pro-democracy candidates. https://t.co/5keoE63aGH
Even the South China Morning Post had to admit losing control in 17/18 districts. How on earth can the CCP keep news of this landslide win from the people on the mainland?
Freedom tends to spread like wildfire…….
Hong Kong elections: pro-Beijing camp left reeling from landslide defeat https://t.co/kXhLMyN89T
