Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Creamy Mashed Potato Soup with Dashi in the Kitchen

misssassy

 

Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Miss Sassy Puts Junior On Blast" went up earlier tonight.  I still can't get over the fact that loser Robert Kennedy Junior is set to endorse Donald Trump.  What a piece of garbage.

Rita e-mailed to note a soup recipe.  From Food & Wine, this is Creamy Mashed Potato Soup with Dashi:


Ingredients
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
2 large celery stalks, finely chopped
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups dashi or chicken stock
3 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1/4 cup whole milk (optional)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
Unsalted butter and soy sauce, for serving
Chopped mitsuba or celery leaves, for garnish

Directions
Combine onion, celery, and 2 1/2 cups dashi in a small Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 35 to 40 minutes.
Add leftover mashed potatoes to dashi mixture, and whisk until well combined. Stir in milk, if desired, for a creamier texture. Stir in remaining 1 cup dashi, 1/4 cup at a time, to thin soup to desired consistency. Cook over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until warm, 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Top servings with butter and drizzle with soy sauce. Garnish with mitsuba or celery leaves.

News?  C.I. noted the embarrassment that is the Teamsters' Sean O'Brien in today's snapshot (in full in a moment) and Adam Serwer (The Atlantic) also notes the disgusting O'Brien:


Very few individuals who attempt to use Donald Trump for their own interests end up walking away with their dignity intact. That’s something that Sean O’Brien, the head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, should have considered before he lent the union’s credibility to the Republican National Convention back in July.


“President Trump had the backbone to open the doors to this Republican convention, and that’s unprecedented. No other nominee in the race would have invited the Teamsters into this arena,” O’Brien said in his speech.

Myopia is part of the pattern: Trump somehow convinces his targets that they are special for having attracted his attention; then, in the end, they discover that he got what he wanted in exchange for nothing. This week, less than a month after the convention, Trump was chatting with the union-busting right-wing billionaire Elon Musk, and the two bonded over the joy of firing striking workers.

“You walk in, you say, ‘You want to quit?’ They go on strike, I won’t mention the name of the company, but they go on strike and you say, ‘That’s okay, you’re all gone. You’re all gone. So, every one of you is gone,’” Trump said to Musk, who laughed in response. Musk, who is an avid Trump supporter, was hosting the former president on his social-media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter). The next day, the United Auto Workers, which has endorsed the Democratic ticket, filed a federal complaint against the two men for trying to “threaten and intimidate workers who stand up for themselves by engaging in protected concerted activity, such as strikes.” Additionally, making matters more complicated, the Black caucus of O’Brien’s own union, the Teamsters, announced its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris that same day.


This all put O’Brien in a deeply awkward position, given that he had lent his personal credibility to a man who was now publicly endorsing strike-breaking and union-busting. He sent a statement to Politico saying that “firing workers for organizing, striking, and exercising their rights as Americans is economic terrorism.” There’s an old cliché about not negotiating with terrorists, but presumably you also don’t want to be a featured speaker at their big political convention.

Trump’s hostility to unions is neither new nor surprising. As president, he appointed judges and justices who were hostile to organized labor, made anti-labor appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, and altered regulations to make it easier for employers to stiff low-wage workers on pay and overtime. By contrast, the Biden administration has been one of the most pro-labor in history; just ask the Teamsters, whose pensions the administration rescued from insolvency.




This past week the Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC) held their yearly conference in Las Vegas. Angered by Teamsters general president (GP) Sean O’Brien’s embarrassing spectacle at the Republican National Convention (RNC) where he paid homage to the most anti-labor chauvinists and xenophobic bigots in the party’s history, the TNBC uninvited him. In defiance to the actions of the attention deficit suffering O’Brien, the caucus instead invited former Teamsters GP – James P Hoffa Jr.

In further defiance and an insult to O’Brien who is obviously gunning for the Secretary of Labor appointment under a possible second Donald Trump presidency, the TNBC endorsed Kamala Harris for president of the United Sates. With approximately 30% of Teamster members being of African-American descent, the endorsement of Harris by the caucus carries serious weight in not only the nation’s presidential election, but also the Teamsters 2026 general election.

A day after the TNBC announced their presidential endorsement, Josh Zivalich of Teamsters Local 769 in Miami countered in a harsh detailed letter to O’Brien over his flirtation with anti-union Donald Trump and his own failure to acknowledge that the Biden-Harris administration saved hundreds of thousands of Teamster members in failing pension funds from cuts. Interestingly, O’Brien’s own New England Teamsters Pension Fund received $5.7 billion at the end of July. In the letter, Zivalich implored O’Brien to endorse Harris for president.

During the TNBC conference, Chris Silvera of Local 808 delivered a gruesome critique of O’Brien over his embracement of the pro Right-to-Work Trump. But more importantly, he also called on the members to make “the general president a one-term general president.” International vice president-at-large – John Palmer who was also present at the event received a great reception after being the first officer to openly lead the rebellion against O’Brien. Already following O’Brien’s fascistic speech at the RNC, Palmer announced he was seeking to build an opposition slate to unseat O’Brien and “send him back to the truck.”

To the surprise of everyone, Joint Council (JC) 28 in the state of Washington headed by Western Region vice president – Rick Hicks, in a press release attacked Trump’s and Elon Musk’s union busting conversation, before endorsing Harris for president. The executive board of Local 186 led by Abel Garcia in Ventura CA became the first local of the largest joint council in the nation, JC 42, to also endorse Harris.  


O'Brien is out of touch and needs to go.  He does not represent workers.  He is a scab and he needs to go.  And for those who don't know what a scab is Ellie Abraham (INDY 100) explains:


The UWA president Shawn Fain took to the stage and became a social media sensation after wearing a t-shirt under his suit jacket containing the phrase “Trump is a scab. Vote Harris”.

As he praised Harris and threw his support behind the Vice President, Fain repeated the claim that Trump is a scab.

What does “scab” mean?

The term “scab” refers to a worker who refuses to join a union and a worker who crosses the picket line during strike action, according to the Huffington Post.

Trump’s track record as president saw him appoint Supreme Court picks who helped deal a major blow to public sector unions by denying them the right to collect a small fee from workers who are not in a union but who benefit from working in a unionised workplace.

At the DNC, the controversial former president was also criticised for failing to keep open a large General Motors plant in Ohio, despite promises to do so, costing people their jobs.



This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Tuesday:


Tuesday, August 20, 2024.  This snapshot we focus on the first day of the DNC convention -- Kamala's surprise appearance, Joe's speech, the four who spoke on reproductive rights and much more -- including winding down with an update on MAGA queen Naomi Wolf's sad and troubled reign as she continues her grift.



That's Barbra Streisand explaining that despite all of the lies Donald Trump tells, America actually is great and doesn't need a petty dictator to destroy it and destroy democracy.

Kamala Harris is the candidate who can lift all boats and lift us all.  And the Democratic Party's holding their convention in Chicago this week.   The slogan when "We Fight We Win."  And Monday's biggest moment?  US President Joe Biden passing the baton to Kamala Harris.



Joe was probably the best speaker last night.  However, United Auto Workers' Shawn Fain was another strong one.





UAW has endorsed Kamala and Shawn had done so proudly.  It's a stark contrast between the leader of the Teamsters Sean O'Brien.  O'Brien is now on the sidelines and a wounded leader for a union.  He went to the RNC convention and sucked up to power while betraying the rank-in-file.  He had the added misfortune of embarrassing himself shortly before Convicted Felon Donald Trump got busy with Elon Musk and in a struggling Twitter broadcast in which both, forgetting a (small) audience was watching or just wanting to dry hump one another in public, celebrated strike breaking and firing workers.  That's who O'Brien elected to stand by.  

By contrast, Shawn Fain was in Chicago, calling out the Convicted Felon, talking about the need to be pro-worker and as opposed to being an anti-worker-pro-corporation shill.    He said it to loud applause, "Trump is a scab!" -- a phrase those present immediately began chanting,  and he also wore the statement on his t-shirt.

 
It was a powerful speech so you-know-who didn't show it.


It doesn't fit with the con job FOX "NEWS" tries to put over on their viewers, so they didn't air it. 

CNN offers these highlights from day one.



Also speaking last night was 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton:

The Constitution says the President's job is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Those are the words our founders used: "Take care."   Just look at the candidates. Kamala cares about kids, families, and America. Donald only cares about himself.  On her first day in court, Kamala said five words that guide her still: "Kamala Harris, for the people."  That's something Donald Trump will never understand.


Another powerful moment was delivered by Amanda and Josh Zurawski who traveled from Texas to speak of the very real harm Donald Trump did to reproductive rights. 






Three women — Amanda Zurawski, Kaitlyn Joshua and Hadley Duvall — spoke about their experiences with abortion, miscarriage and pregnancy on the opening night of Democratic National Convention. 

All three speakers have emerged as key surrogates for the Democratic Party, campaigning in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. Zurawski’s husband Josh, who has also campaigned for Harris, spoke alongside her.

Zurawski, who rose to prominence after suing the state of Texas over its abortion ban, was a guest at President Joe Biden’s February 2023 State of the Union address; she also shared her experience in an April ad on behalf of what was then the campaign to re-elect Biden. Joshua, of Louisiana, has been a regular presence at Harris campaign events and appeared in a June ad for the Democratic presidential campaign. Duvall, a Kentucky resident, appeared in a campaign spot for Gov. Andy Beshear last year, and in a July ad backing Biden.

“A second Trump term would rip away even more of our rights: passing a national abortion ban, letting states monitor pregnancies and prosecute doctors, restricting birth control and fertility treatments,” Zurawski said on Monday night. “We cannot let that happen. We need to vote as if lives depend on it — because they do.”

Abortion is a core component of Harris’ election pitch. Other expected speakers this week — including former Planned Parenthood leader Cecile Richards, current leader Alexis McGill Johnson, and Mini Timmaraju of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All — are also likely to use their time to draw a contrast between Democrats, who largely support abortion rights, and Republicans, who generally back bans and restrictions on the procedure. 

Abortion has not historically received this much attention at the party’s national gathering. But it reflects the fact that this year the party views abortion — an issue on which they generally poll better with voters than do Republicans — as one that could help them retain the White House, and potentially even win control of Congress. 

 
Here's a video of all four speakers who addressed reproductive rights last night.






  On Monday, amid speeches from celebrities and some of the biggest names in Democratic politics, four everyday Americans took the stage to speak about how the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade — and the slew of state-level abortion restrictions implemented in its aftermath — have impacted their lives. 

Perhaps the most gut-wrenching testimony of the night came from Hadley Duvall, a young woman from Kentucky who at age 12 became pregnant and miscarried after being sexually assaulted by her stepfather. Duvall, now 21, shared her story for the first time on Facebook in 2022 following the demise of Roe. 

“At age 12 I took my first pregnancy test, and it was positive,” Duvall told the DNC audience. “That was the first time I was ever told ‘you have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice but today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Trump’s abortion bans.” 

“He calls it a beautiful thing,” Duvall said of Trump’s bragging of his role in overturning Roe. “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”    


Exactly.  And that is MAGA -- they don't want progress and they don't want freedoms.  They want a time that we thankfully moved on from -- a time when only a few wealthy men (usually White and straight or closeted) had rights worth being respected by the courts.  Screw the rest of us, we don't matter -- that is the message MAGA wants people to embrace.

Pregnant by your step-father?  It's a gift!  It's a gift of life!  "You dirty whore," is implied but usually left unsaid.  Because it doesn't matter to them that you were raped.  You were the female -- even if you were only 12 -- so it's your fault.  That's MAGA thinking and it's why we've seen so many -- including that Ohio state senator -- backing Donald get arrested in the last years for raping children.

That is what's at stake in this election.  Do we have our rights or don't we?

Ron DeSantis didn't try to outlaw studying about the effects of slavery because he wanted students to devote more time to calculus.  He tried to outlaw it because he doesn't want it known.  He doesn't just avoid accountability, he avoids reality.  He wants to strip the majority of us of our rights.  That's what MAGA's about and that's what Project 2025 is about.  It's an assault on Civil Rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, workers rights, children's rights (including the right not to be slave labor) and much more.

It's about destroying democracy and re-creating what we once had in this country -- two classes of people.  One group had full rights.  The other group had whatever rights those in power would let them have.  Lincoln (and Harriet Tubman and John Brown and many others) fought to free the slaves.  When the crooked Supreme Court embraced and favored Colorado liar Lorie Smith, the spat on that legacy and they created a two-tiered class of citizenship.  

I don't know, was the country distracted by Lorie's massive arm fat and the hideous tattoo that she slapped on it?  That ruling says straight people have rights and gay people have the rights that others are comfortable giving them.  It says Lorie can't refuse to design a website for straight people but when it comes to a same-sex couple, their rights are not as important as Lorie's supposed religious beliefs.  There's nothing in the Bible about websites or, for that matter, whom vendors can take on as clients.

But that's the world MAGA wants to bring about.  And they already control the Supreme Court.

This is a US issue.  And it's going to determine the fate of the country.

Maybe it doesn't seem that way from Brazil where Glenneth Greenwald lives?  

But this is bad.

How bad?

Need something to cheer up your morning?  Professional crazy Naomi Wolf.  "Dr" Naomi -- a doctorate bestowed for writing that she then turned into a book that the publisher had to pull off the market when it turned out that she got everything in her dissertation wrong.  Oxford refuses to pull the doctorate because her failures are also a reflection on the dissertation committee that issued her that doctorate for shoddy scholarship. 

We could take this back to THE BEAUTY MYTH which also started as a work for Oxford and which was also garbage scholarship since she repeatedly stole from Judith N. Shklar (specifically the lecture series Shkalr gave at Oxford).

But let's not get too bogged into the weeds.  Go over to THIRD if you're new to creepy Naomi -- Ava and I have called her out since 2006 and documented her racism, her college days of standing with rapists and ignoring the women her friends raped, and so much more.  


Naomi has become the poster elderly girl for MAGA.  And it's a ride she's enjoyed as a fresh group of people who don't know her have embraced her.  But Naomi's spent weeks recoiling.  She reached out over the weekend to a friend of mine -- I've already stated the left should never let her back in -- and lamented that she might have gone too far.  She's trying to lead the MAGA to a better place, a place where they won't use sexism to rip apart Kamala.  She's even tried to explain to them that sexism against Kamala won't play well with non-MAGA voters.  But they don't listen to her.  Wah-wah.  

They loved her so much and embraced all her crazy ideas about vaccines and how airplanes were seeding the clouds and controlling us and how Santa Clause was probably a Zionist control device (I'm joking on that last one, but give her time, give her time) but when she tries to speak about sexism, and she sobbed over the phone at this, they call her SOB "a bitch."

Oh, poor thing.  Guess what, Namoi?  You are a bitch.  And you're a useless bitch whose sold out the people to grift.  You knew what was at stake and you betrayed everything you supposedly stood for.  You're on your own bitch and if MAGA tears you apart limb by limb?  You begged for it and I won't shed a tear.




The following sites updated:


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