October 4, 2018

"There's so little honesty in law and politics. I sometimes feel like retreating from all of it and..."

"... reading poetry, listening to music, and painting flowers. But something holds me into this strange practice of observing and talking about it. If I'm just an observer and a writer, why don't I go find something beautiful to observe and write about?"

I wrote in the comments to "The intemperance of the law professors' 'judicial temperament' letter."

David Begley answered my question: "Go watch the Badgers destroy the Cornhuskers on Saturday. A beautiful WI win. I’m serious."

I answered: "I plan to watch the Brewers dissolve the Rockies tonight. Plus, I am eating grits this morning."

Grits

There's been much talk of beer this past week. It's easy to redirect the beer stream to baseball and the team with the beer-based name: The Brewers. In the rock-paper-scissors visualization, beer pours over rock. Beer wins! Brewers and grits. That's something beautiful in this lying, cheating world.

And by "rock," I don't mean ice. Don't put ice in your beer, and don't throw ice at anybody, unless you've got the right fun-loving, ice-throwing relationship with them.

UPDATE: The Brewers won in the bottom of the 10th inning, which is all we saw on TV. The rest of the game we heard on the car radio, as we drove home from Indianapolis, which is where I ate those grits, at a restaurant I recommend, Milktooth.

338 comments:

1 – 200 of 338   Newer›   Newest»
Henry said...

Beer pours over Rock.
Rock blocks Dodger.
Dodger dodges Beer.

Braves stand alone.

FleetUSA said...

Yeah! Grits with a tab of butter and a pinch of salt.

FleetUSA said...

And some bacon as you show

Michael Fitzgerald said...

I liked the Brewers when they had Sal Bando and Henry Aaron.

MadisonMan said...

Grits and Cheese. The perfect WI dish.

jwl said...

Never had grits before, looks like porridge. I can't tell what toppings are, looks like bacon, couscous, yogurt, and green onion but that can't be right. Anyways, hope you enjoyed your breakfast.

Michael said...

My dear lady. I do not know what is in that bowl but it it is not grits. It looks like some kind of midwestern porridge or gruel or gray soup.

rcocean said...

Grits? I never had them before I visited the South, and never liked them.

Shrimp and grits is supposedly a traditional Sea-side SC breakfast/lunch. Maybe that would be OK.

rcocean said...

Grits = Gritty =grimy.

Henry said...

Rocks dilute Brew
Dodgers dodge Rocks
Brew dulls Dodgers

Michael K said...

I just go to the shooting range. Last week I asked the kid at the indoor range if they had any targets with Flakes picture.

No luck.

Plus the de Gaulle bio is pretty good. Dull right now but it will pick up when 1958 arrives.

Henry said...

I read a biography of de Gaulle. Part 1 was surprisingly dull. He spent most of World War II making pronouncements from French Colonies and irritating the people actually fighting.

T said...

""There's so little honesty in law and politics. . . "

or, as the late Fred Thompson said: "After two years in Washington, I often long for the realism and sincerity of Hollywood."

SDaly said...

You could post more photography. I had one of your shots, vivid purple and red foliage over a lake, for my screensaver once.

mccullough said...

Marianne Moore's poem Baseball and Writing is pretty cool like much of her poetry.

She's got a good eye and ear. A bit of cruel neutrality.

Original Mike said...

Althouse throws in the towel.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

I think that I shall never see
A poem as stinky as DC.

Virgil Hilts said...

We're drawn so much to current politics, and the bickering has become so intense, because here we can find monsters and enemies. We need enemies and currently there are no real external threats to the U.S., there are no Vietnams, we are treating minority groups well, and things are just too damn safe and comfy.
So we end up having huge fights over whether a judicial nominee drank in excess 35 years ago. This is also why so many on right dislike Flake (who I like and admire). He wants to calm things down and have people work together. Bullshit, we want conflict and we really, really need horrible people to despise. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-big-questions/201110/enemies-enhance-the-meaning-life

mccullough said...

"All business, each, and modesty.
Blanchard, Richardson, Kubek, Boyer.
In that galaxy of nine, say which
won the pennant? Each. It was he."

I wish Moore had lived long enough to see Harper's bat flips.

tim in vermont said...

I am not a huge fan of Southern cooking, but shrimp and grits are almost worth the drive south. And I don’t particularly care for either shrimp or grits.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Izzat ham there? Then you have it all: ham and eggs, grits, coffee.

Nice pic.

Learning the Panasonic DMC-GX85, came day before yesterday to replace the dropped Fuji X10. Amazon prime 2nd day.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

Is that oatmeal with egg, feta and bacon on top?

Bill Crawford said...

Order a beer in a bar or soda (a small restaurant) here in Costa Rica and you'll be given a bottle and a glass with ice.

buwaya said...

A family favorite many years ago was the Frugal Gourmet's "Beer and Cheese soup".
The kids were thrilled to be drinking (or eating) beer.

We used the recipe in Jeff Smith's cookbook.

The Frugal Gourmet show collapsed of course after Jeff Smith's scandalous downfall.

The soup was innocent.

mockturtle said...

The Rockies are tenacious but their defense is shaky. I'd bet on the Brewers. Should be a good game in any case. Nice to have a pleasant distraction from the ugly political scene.

mockturtle said...

Tim in vermont quips:
I think that I shall never see
A poem as stinky as DC.


We definitely need a third party. But decentralizing the federal government would be a step in the right direction. Divvy it up and spread it out.

SDaly said...

Buwaya -

Thanks. I had somehow missed the story of the downfall of the Frugal Gourmet, I watched the show, but always found his squishy-soft demeanor off-putting.

SDaly said...

Mockturtle -

Why metastasize the cancer?

rcocean said...

de gualle had a surprisingly dull life - most of the time.

IRC, he spent most of WW1 in a POW Camp. didn't do much inter-war, and spent Pre D-day being a pain in the neck and primma donna. FDR hated him, but that's not surprising since FDR hated anyone who didn't kow-tow to him.

His arrogance during WW2, was remarkable, given he had nothing to back it up with.


Once he gets back to France its fairly interesting, but then retired from Politics in 1946 or 47, and didn't return till 1958.

rcocean said...

One good thing about De Gaulle is he supported Quebec Independence. Which caused Trudeau to hate him.

Darrell said...

One of the crew at the Frugal Gourmet tapings said that hardly anybody touched the food after the cameras stopped rolling. With most food shows, the food was gone in two minutes.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

My 2nd favorite teams are usually Wisconsin teams.

Colorado comes first. Despite that our state is lost to the CA - east coast proggy crap hole.

Original Mike said...

”Order a beer in a bar or soda (a small restaurant) here in Costa Rica and you'll be given a bottle and a glass with ice.”

The ice is for throwing.

stevew said...

Don't ever put ice in your beer, or wine.

My Red Sox take on the the hated NY Yankees tomorrow night. Even with 108 wins during the regular season there is much concern and trepidation about the Sox pitching.

-sw

rehajm said...

Shrimp and grits is supposedly a traditional Sea-side SC breakfast/lunch. Maybe that would be OK.

It is not OK. Grits are aptly named.

tim in vermont said...

My Red Sox take on the the hated NY Yankees tomorrow night. Even with 108 wins during the regular season there is much concern and trepidation about the Sox pitching.

I hate a short series.

jwl said...

DickinB - good eye with identifying it as an egg, I thought it was dollop of yogurt but now I look again it looks like fried egg but can't see yolk.

I am also curious on how Althouse was able to mix grits with the toppings because that bowl is full and once you start stirring half the grits would go over edge.

rehajm said...

Divvy it up and spread it out.

I do enjoy entertaining the idea we move Federal government to a flat and frozen tundra. Then again it's currently in a swamp and it hasn't discouraged excessive growth.

Bay Area Guy said...

"There's so little honesty in law and politics. I sometimes feel like retreating from all of it and reading poetry, listening to music, and painting flowers.."

I say do both! You have a deep, long-standing, commitment to honesty in both law and politics, so ferret out the source of dishonesty and hammer it.

As for poetry, music and painting -- Hell Yeah! Makes life worth living. Don't forget college football though. And Friday night baseball games. And beer. And pretty women who smile. And nice long hikes.

wildswan said...

Frugal Gourmet had some rules for what to have in your kitchen at all times, including lemons and fresh ginger. I've followed that rule and it really helps with sticking to gluten free recipes. I added limes, scallions, balsamic vinegar, Chinese vinegar, peanut oil and a powdered taco sauce base. I'm missed, and I'm glad I missed, another story of downfall. I wonder if there's something like Spanish fly in knowing yourself a camera-based star.

Henry said...

Red wine over ice is actually great on hot summer evenings.

Patriots tonight. Red Sox tomorrow.

SDaly said...

Good quality red vermouth over ice, with an orange wedge or splash of orange bitters is a great drink to sip while reading in the evening.

Michael K said...

He spent most of World War II making pronouncements from French Colonies and irritating the people actually fighting.

I'm now up to 1948. He saw himself as the conscience of France. A bit pompous and egotistical.

He was very difficult to work with. Pompidou has now appeared in the book.

Post war is pretty dull right now.

I recommend another book, if you are interested in this stuff, called "Between Silk and Cyanide, by Leo Marks, which is the story of the SOE. They were rivals of de Gaulle's group.

I like France and French history and thought I needed to know more about de Gaulle.

Ralph L said...

A family quip from the early 70's is that once grits have cooled, you can use them for insulation. I can't cook them without remembering that.

Amexpat said...

I am also curious on how Althouse was able to mix grits with the toppings because that bowl is full and once you start stirring half the grits would go over edge.

Sort of like an overstuffed sandwich - it looks good until you start eating it.

mockturtle said...

rehajm writes: I do enjoy entertaining the idea we move Federal government to a flat and frozen tundra. Then again it's currently in a swamp and it hasn't discouraged excessive growth.

Swamps encourage excessive growth. Slimy growth.

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

I have cut way back on my frivolous political consumption. I keep a pretty close watch on this blog, Drudge, Instapundit, and the WSJ but I don't spend a lot of time on any of them. Of course, this blog, Drudge, and Insta frequently lead me to click on links and I do that some but I make an effort never to knowingly click on Wapo or NYT. I have deleted my Twitter account because that's just too much. Since I have cut back I am spending a lot more time on creative endeavors - writing some, going to movies, learning some dance steps, running and exercise a little more... my wife and I are going to a lake this weekend where we will hike, I will run trails a little, and we will kayak and maybe bike some. Politics is fascinating but, for me, it is just so sick now that it's kind of like having a porn addiction or something like that, to look at it too much. I think the culprit is cultural marxism generally, identity politics and corrupt media in particular. I think that if the media would just report the straight facts, the progressives would lose half of their votes and things would get a lot better but I can't see how this could possibly come about anytime soon and so I really don't know that there is much that I personally can do about it.

BJM said...

If I'm just an observer and a writer, why don't I go find something beautiful to observe and write about?"

Bay Area Guy put it well.

There's a reason you chose a career in law, or perhaps law chose you...it is now part and parcel of your life experience and you would be bored without the stimulus it provides.

buwaya said...

Beer with ice cubes, or crushed ice, used to be common in the Philippines.
And elsewhere in East Asia IIRC.
Dates back to when local refrigeration facilities were uncommon.
And ice would come from an ice-plant and could be expensive for cooling beer off in buckets.

rhhardin said...

There's rock soup. A traveler gets a pot and puts water and a rock in it and proceeds to boil it. People ask what he's doing and he explains rock soup is delicious. People offer to add spices, others vegetables, and so forth, and soon everybody's sharing in an actual soup.

Ralph L said...

A bit pompous and egotistical.
Who didn't think him a PITA?

William said...

The two most written about 19th cenrury figures were Lincoln and Napoleon. It's hard to write a dull biography of either of those two men.....I guess it's too early to name the towering figures of the twentieth century. My money is on Churchill as the most interesting. Lenin may have been the most influential, but he's not much fun to read about.

tomaig said...

Is that feta cheese? Popcorn? Can't make it out.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

George Scott was fun to watch, huge swing producing lots of K's and taters, with necklaces like Mr. T, wearing his batting helmet in the field, a big-bellied big man doing the splits at first base- The Boomer!

Ralph L said...

My college eating house had a small group that met for "Monday Morning Beer for Breakfast"--on their cereal. It was a very small group.

mikee said...

Grits aren't gritty unless undercooked. Even Joe Pesci knows that to make real grits will take 20 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T24lHnB7N8

Michael Fitzgerald said...

And Skip Lockwood pitched for our local legion team...

Lucien said...

I recommend the shrimp and grits at the Hominy Grill in Charleston.

Mr. Majestyk said...

I am taking a walk on the National Mall. What do I find? Someone has set up a giant video screen that plays on continuous loop a video showing: the Access Hollywood video, accompanied by text saying that "Trump is trying to put another man with a history of sexual assault on the Supreme Court," then a screen saying, "Donald Trump, Roy Moore, Brett Kavanaugh. This is the Republican Party. The rest of us? We believe survivors. " Mind you, this is playing literally less than a block fron Kavanaugh's office at the DC Circuit. Nice people, huh? Fortunately, almost no one is paying attention to it

Fernandinande said...

"Some Spaniards worried that by eating indigenous foods, which they did not consider nutritious, they would weaken and risk turning into Indians."

Charlie said...

ABOLISH ICE!

Deb said...

So much grits-hate! If you cook them correctly, they are delicious but bland. Need a lot of salt, butter, and maybe cheese. If your grits are gritty, they are undercooked.

But, they do take a really long time to peel.

Charlie said...

Grits Ain't Groceries.

MountainMan said...

I have eaten grits all my life. My family has always loved the Saturday morning breakfasts which I prepare - eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits. However, if you have only experienced "quick" grits - like Quaker brand - or instant (which are an abomination) - you really don't know how good they can be. I only use stone ground grits from a real grist mill. My normal suppliers are The Old Mill in Pigeon Forge, TN, and the Norah Mill Granary in Helen, GA. You can order online from both but each is really a great place to visit and see the old 150 year old mills grinding out grits, corn meal, and flour. The Norah Mill is a very nice stop if you are ever in north Georgia.

In the South we will eat grits anytime. I especially like them for dinner with fried ham and black eye peas. The best shrimp and grits I have ever had are at The Blue Marlin in Columbia, SC, which has a wonderful Low Country menu.

traditionalguy said...

Cheese grits are great. That beautiful dish may be hominy. Whatever , just add bacon and it 's all perfect .

Curious George said...

"I plan to watch the Brewers dissolve the Rockies tonight."

Just a heads-up, the game is at 4PM in case you didn't know.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Grits are okay, those look kinda watery. But if that is goat or feta cheese with the bacon and poached egg, it becomes sublime.

tcrosse said...

Grits: odorless, colorless, tasteless. What's not to like?

Michael K said...

"Someone has set up a giant video screen"

Sounds like a target to me. When my daughter was at U of Arizona in 2008, they had big screens all over campus running Obama ads.

BudBrown said...

You don't pronounce it grits. You pronounce it grits.

born01930 said...

My beer stream after the first go is almost continuous

Bay Area Guy said...

If these DC political assholes keep vexing Prof. Althouse, she might just start a "Grits-Blog," where we talk exclusively about grits 24/7.

I love grits. But I'm a Yankee. It's hard to get authentic grits out here. I did have some tasty shrimp and grits in San Diego a few months ago. But, I question my grits-judgment. I need to go back to South Carolina and git me some real grits.

Clyde said...

Only a Yankee would put greenery in the grits. Usually milk and sugar is the faux pas, so points for originality.

rehajm said...

You don't pronounce it grits. You pronounce it grits.

As a child in the piedmont of NC it was three syllables - Gree-YEE-its.

rhhardin said...

I prefer oat bran.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

Speaking of cruel neutrality and honesty and just plain cruelty. Here’s a bit of honesty for you folks. November is coming.

The Cruelty Is the Point
President Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.

The cruelty of the Trump administration’s policies, and the ritual rhetorical flaying of his targets before his supporters, are intimately connected. As Lili Loofbourow wrote of the Kavanaugh incident in Slate, adolescent male cruelty toward women is a bonding mechanism, a vehicle for intimacy through contempt. The white men in the lynching photos are smiling not merely because of what they have done, but because they have done it together.

This isn’t incoherent. It reflects a clear principle: Only the president and his allies, his supporters, and their anointed are entitled to the rights and protections of the law, and if necessary, immunity from it. The rest of us are entitled only to cruelty, by their whim. This is how the powerful have ever kept the powerless divided and in their place, and enriched themselves in the process.“

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Now THAT was funny Inga!

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Now THAT was funny Inga!”

Good! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed pointing it out.

traditionalguy said...

You must have seen the warning posted on Southern gas pumps:"contains up to 10% processed grits. "

Energy sugars come in grits and in corn liquor. Just remember the additive bacon grease.

narciso said...

Was their explanation, why he sent the expedition to indo china.

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

Withdraw daily: Matt 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. .. do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. .. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you." Matt 6:1-6.

buwaya said...

The conquistadors, or at least those serving with Cortes, usually did not worry about the nature of the food, just whether they had enough, or any.

In the Bernal Diaz account, especially in the second part, lack of food and the difficulty of obtaining it for the expedition is a constant theme. Outside the region of influence of the Valley of Mexico it seems the Indians didn't raise much of a surplus as there was much less trade. So there were problems requisitioning food from even civilized peoples, as even for tribes with stone-built walled towns agriculture was in subsistence mode. They cultivated precisely as much as they needed to, and no more.

This situation also afflicted Legaspi's Philippine expedition. They were fewer than three hundred Spaniards, plus a couple of thousand native allies, but they had to go to extraordinary lengths to feed even these few, in an extremely fertile land. And they usually went hungry. Indeed, this problem of supplies was the main obstacle to that conquest, not native resistance.

The Crack Emcee said...

What the Hell kind of grits are those? What'd you put on 'em? What are those green things? That looks like food in a magazine.

The only thing I recognize is the coffee.

Just when you think you know somebody...

Unknown said...

Love our literate hostess

Many big brained commenters with unique and oblique perspectives

Sports.... Zzz

Especially rah rah for the local team here on the net

As the song goes

You take the good

You take the bad

And then you have

Unknown said...

Grits...with ruffage?:)

Achilles said...

Inga...Allie Oop said...
Speaking of cruel neutrality and honesty and just plain cruelty. Here’s a bit of honesty for you folks. November is coming.


Nobody cares about your vicious bile and projection.

You are a terrible person whose tribe is losing power.

It is precisely your reaction to the loss of power over other people that is driving liberals out of the democrat coalition.

Kavanaugh is seated on Saturday. Democrat senators will vote for him.

I hope they don't but they want to keep their jobs more than they want to destroy due process.

Heartless Aztec said...

I always aim my ice throws for the sig others cleavage.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Brewers are starting a relief pitcher tonight? Didn't they see how badly that turned out for the A's last night?

Achilles said...

Do you think grits would be the proper medium to determine whether someone is a witch or a warlock?

Lindsey Graham asks vicous shrew “Why don’t we dunk him in the water and see if he floats?”

Do grits float?

tim in vermont said...

Even Shakespeare would have had trouble sustaining irony for as long as that link by Inga did.

tim in vermont said...

ou don't pronounce it grits. You pronounce it grits.

Not ‘craw’! Craw!

tim in vermont said...

Grits aren't gritty unless undercooked. Even Joe Pesci knows that to make real grits will take 20 minutes.

Not to mention he had a pretty good eye for false memories.

Freeman Hunt said...

Those are some fancy grits.

Unknown said...

please slide that dish back a little bit.....

buwaya said...

From a letter to Philip II, by Fray Diego de Herrera, on behalf of his commander Miguel Lopez de Legaspi - reproduced in Blair&Robertson's "Philippine Islands", Vol III

"The natives sustain life by eating little and drinking much--so
heavily, that it is a marvel if they are not drunken all the time,
or at least from noon on. And the more important their position,
the more intoxicated do they become, for they have more to spend for
this purpose."

Francisco D said...

I recommend the shrimp and grits at the Hominy Grill in Charleston.

I hated grits until I had shrimp and grits done low country style in Charleston.

Delicious.

MadisonMan said...

Shrimp and Grits is awesome. The best I had was a Doc Taylor's in VA Beach.

Anthony said...

12 gunmen tried to assassinate De Gaulle when riding in his Citroën DS in 1962, and many observers credit the car to saving his life.

In my opinion, they weren't aiming at De Gaulle but at THE FUGLIEST CARE EVER MADE.

tim in vermont said...

Must have been gunmen loaned out by Bond villains.

n.n said...

Stand your ground. State your principles. Then reconcile.

Ken B said...

The defeat option has cratered at PredictIt. In other words the prediction markets favor confirmation at better than 10:1

Mid-Life Lawyer said...

As for baseball, when Dusty Baker ruined Mark Prior and Kerry Wood's arms in 2003 and the Cubs lost the National League Championship series after being up 3-1 in games and only a few outs away from going to the series by winning the fifth game, I could hardly hold my head up for a few days which is, of course, ridiculous. I still get really excited during games and generally when my teams are doing well but I can't take it so serious anymore, either. I'm happy when my team wins but just about as soon as it's over, when they lose, I get over it. The Cubs were very tired and dinged up in September and they caught a really bad scheduling break. I was almost glad it was over the other night after staying up to 12:30 watching the wild card game. Milwaukee is hot and I don't begrudge them but a Milwaukee/Colorado series isn't very sexy to me. I will be watching the Red Sox/Yankees series some. Some of the most exciting baseball I have ever seen is during those series and I like it that I don't usually have a favorite. I usually develop a favorite as a watch those games but there is little emotional attachment, which I enjoy.

narciso said...

No the leader bastien thiery was a,veteran of both Indochina and Algeria if memory serves.

Saint Croix said...

Wow that is an amazing bowl of grits!

I've been eating grits all my life and that has to be top 3, just from looking at it..

I hope you used milk instead of water.

Is grits a thing in Madison?

The best grits I've ever had was in Savannah Georgia, little dive called the Omelet House. They had a giant pot that sat on the stove, filled with grits, and they would cook for hours. If you want too early, the grits would be too runny. And if you went too late, the grits would be too thick. But if you were there from, say, 9-11? Oh my God those grits were amazing.

The guy who owned the restaurant was an Asian, I think. And the head chef was Mexican. So it wasn't like some ancient Southern recipe. And I kept trying to solve the mystery of why these are the best grits in the world. The only clues I have is milk, not water. And apparently they have to cook in a giant pot sitting on the stove for hours. And that's how you do it.

Also grits play a major plot point in My Cousin Vinny, which has (by far) the best cross examination I have ever seen in my life. A thousand times better than Perry Mason. Not even close. And way funnier.

jaydub said...

That doesn't look like grits. It looks like hominy because it appears to contain hominy-like kernels. There's a fairly significant difference between hominy and grits.

Francisco D said...

Is Chris Coons trying to rehabilitate himself?

He will vote against Kavanaugh because of judicial philosophy, but he seems to be distancing himself from the Ford/Feinstein/Flake ffffiasco.

tim in vermont said...

As for baseball, when Dusty Baker ruined Mark Prior and Kerry Wood’s arms in 2003 and the Cubs lost the National League Championship series after being up 3-1 in games and only a few outs away from going to the series by winning the fifth game,

Thanks.... for the memories... If it’s any consolation, that was a VERY good Florida team.

Michael K said...

Blogger Anthony said...
12 gunmen tried to assassinate De Gaulle when riding in his Citroën DS in 1962, and many observers credit the car to saving his life.


Helen MacInnes, one of my favorite novelists, wrote a novel about that assassination plot. It was written in 1963 and involved a plot that was foiled but no doubt based on the real event. It was called "The Venetian Affair."

I like her books because they are travelogues. I have visited most of her locations and that is a fun way to spend time on travels.

Michael K said...

He will vote against Kavanaugh because of judicial philosophy, but he seems to be distancing himself from the Ford/Feinstein/Flake ffffiasco.

I think the Dims are starting to realize that another torpedo fired at Trump is circling.

Saint Croix said...

I am not a huge fan of Southern cooking, but shrimp and grits are almost worth the drive south. And I don’t particularly care for either shrimp or grits.

The most aggravating bowl of shrimp and grits I ever had was when they left the tails in, for some damn reason. You had to cut the tails off and scoop them up out of a bowl of grits. Without taking too much of the grits with them. Incredibly annoying.

Vermont, did you try the BBQ?

victoria said...


Go Dodger Blue!!!!!


Vicki from Pasadena


I have already reconciled myself to the fact that Kavanaugh (even though it is wrong) is going to be confirmed. Corruption on all sides. The worst, most corrupt, wins.

Vote, people, vote. it's the only way we will get these horrible people (Cruz, Nunes, Rohrbacher and more) out of office.

tim in vermont said...

I did, one time, eat at a little place in Charleston where they had roasted pig on the patio with a sailor’s hat on and a cigarette it it’s mouth. But I am not a huge meat eater, almost a pescatarian, but the best flounder I ever had was in Savannah at a place called the Pink Lady, I think, several years ago, so there’s that.

The Crack Emcee said...

Freeman Hunt said...

"Those are some fancy grits."

No shit. That's just the word for 'em - those are some fancy-fucking-grits. Why, those are probably the fanciest-fucking-grits I've ever seen before in my life.

I got grits in my house, that I've been staring at for a half-hour, wondering what's wrong with 'em.

JackWayne said...

I feel sorry for anyone falling for the scam that the bowl contained grits. Worst looking grits I’ve ever seen.

Sydney said...

Any cooked corn meal dressed up like that deserves to be called polenta, not grits.

SDaly said...

pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you

Sadly for dems, the "Father" is George Soros. (I kid, but only slightly.)

rehajm said...

the best flounder I ever had was in Savannah at a place called the Pink Lady, I think, several years ago, so there’s that.

The Pink House. Still rockin'. Go to the bar downstairs that opens to the patio.

buwaya said...

On a matter of privations, expedients, and culinary practices in Mexico, the account of Bernal Diaz, Vol 2

"Before describing our further march, I must not forget to mention that a
few Mexican chiefs, who were unable to endure the pains of hunger any
longer, had secreted two or three Indians of the townships we had passed
through, among their baggage. These unfortunate beings they slaughtered
on our march, and baked them after the fashion of their country, between
heated stones, under ground, and then devoured their flesh. We
afterwards discovered that our two guides, whom we so suddenly missed,
had been served in a similar manner. When Cortes was informed of this
revolting circumstance, he ordered the caziques into his presence, and
reprimanded them for committing such atrocities, threatening to punish
them most severely if they repeated this abominable conduct. One of the
Franciscan monks likewise preached a sermon on the occasion, and he
told them many holy and edifying things. In order, however, to deter the
caziques from committing a similar offence, one of them was sentenced to
be burnt at the stake."

SDaly said...

Tim in VT said Not ‘craw’! Craw!:

Thanks for that. One of the funniest scenes ever on television.

The Crack Emcee said...

Sydney said...

"Any cooked corn meal dressed up like that deserves to be called polenta, not grits."

Polenta - see?

Hang around with white folks and you learn shit.

JAORE said...

"I hated grits until I had shrimp and grits done low country style in Charleston. "

My experience exactly. Now I like them several ways.

I especially like them, made by my beautiful Southern wife, with bacon and smoked Gouda cheese. Oh Lawz!

Enlighten-NewJersey said...

Inga, care to tell us exactly which Trump administration policies you believe to be cruel? Your top 5 laws or policies that began during Trump's time in office would be helpful.

Unknown said...

I called Coons' wilmington office after his appearance with
Flake. I expressed my disappointment with him and the party;I said he was acting like Elmer Gantry. Staffperson said "who is that other person?" Had to explain
Sinclair Lewis..;)

Lewis Wetzel said...

When I read Inga's 11:57, I couldn't help but think of Kim Davis:
https://www.firstthings.com/tag/kim-davis
And I am cheered because the Left is so full of self-regard it has literally become impossible for them to see themselves as the people outside of their group see them: as moral monsters.

chuck said...

Polenta - see?

Hang around with white folks and you learn shit.


Made me laugh. Thanks.

narciso said...

I've read some of later machines, but not that one. The irony is degaulle was highly indlfluenced by a passel of Soviet sympathetic advisors

Michael said...

Those are emphatically not grits.

walter said...

https://www.grits.state.ga.us/

Lucien said...

@SDaly:

How can you force us to relive such a vile racist stereotype?

What will you stoop to next -- quotes from Blazing Saddles?

Ralph L said...

a veteran of both Indochina and Algeria
Explains why they failed.

Ralph L said...

Palenta sounds too much like placenta, so I ain't eating it.

Ralph L said...

I like grits, but I have to admit that it's just a vehicle for things with actual flavor.

Kevin said...

"There's so little honesty in law and politics.

See, I don't think so. The Dems didn't want anyone Trump picked off his list to replace Kennedy. That's what they've said, and that's how they've acted.

It's only when you want to believe otherwise that things become dishonest and complex. It's only when you listen to the Dems on the Judiciary Committee and think they're "just asking for a little time to get to the truth," that it all falls apart.

None of them are going to vote for Kavanaugh. They never were. Not even Chris Coons, who made "an agreement" with Flake to get the FBI involved, is going to change his mind.

If you took them at their word, if you listened to who they are, it's all been quite simple and transparent.

tcrosse said...

If you happen to run into Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, or the Cream of Wheat guy, tell them Martha White says Hi.

Rocketeer said...

I got grits in my house, that I've been staring at for a half-hour, wondering what's wrong with 'em.

Amen and holy crap, Crack, that whole comment made me laugh out loud!

Rick said...

When I read Inga's 11:57, I couldn't help but think of Kim Davis:

I thought of Christine Fair who called for while males to be castrated. This then led to thoughts of the political left's use of the term white male as an insult as if accomplishment is determined by a person's race and gender.

Then I laughed because she accepted someone else's baseless and crazy assertion her enemies are cruel even as she managed to ignore that the left is intentionally so. They just aren't capable of noticing behavior that doesn't fit their narrative.

https://dailycaller.com/2018/10/02/twitter-removes-georgetown-christine-fair-white-men/

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“Vote, people, vote. it's the only way we will get these horrible people (Cruz, Nunes, Rohrbacher and more) out of office.”

Hear, hear!

Michael K said...

Inga, we finally agree on voting. I was calling voters yesterday and will do so again tomorrow. Most of those that answered said they were voting the straight Republican ticket.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

If you happen to run into Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, or the Cream of Wheat guy, tell them Martha White says Hi.

Martha White cornmeal (yellow) makes the best cornbread. It isn't gritty. Nice fine grind. The Martha's white cornmeal makes the best hushpuppies and corn flapjacks.

Golden Pheasant Polenta is to die for. I make it with half milk half water. Lots of salt, butter and at the last stir in some fresh grated parmesan cheese. It takes about 30 minutes of constant stirring, with a big wooden spoon, at a low simmer to get the right creamy texture. Patience is the key.

Serve with MORE butter and italian sausage meatballs in a chunky spicy tomato,red pepper flake, red wine, onion, garlic and black olive sauce. And of course, more parmesan cheese

The whole reason for Polenta and Grits IMO is for more butter!!!! and salt

walter said...

Blogger Ralph L said...I like grits, but I have to admit that it's just a vehicle for things with actual flavor.

"delicious but bland"

Wince said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
walter said...

Almost zero nutrients to them there grits. Plenty O' carbs though.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

GO YANKEES!

https://www.mlb.com/yankees

Wince said...

"There's so little honesty in law and politics. I sometimes feel like retreating from all of it and..."

World that's ugly and a lie
it's hard to even want to try.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.


Sick of Myself

You don't know how you move me
deconstruct me and consume me.
I'm all used up, I'm out of luck I am star struck
By something in your eyes
that is keeping my hope alive.

But I'm sick of myself when I look at you
something is beautiful and true.
World that's ugly and a lie
it's hard to even want to try.
I'm beginning to think
maybe you don't know.

I'll take a leave, the room to breathe
The choice to leave it
I'll throw away a chance at greatness just to make this
dream come into play
I don't know if I'll find a way.

tcrosse said...

“Vote, people, vote. it's the only way we will get these horrible people (Cruz, Nunes, Rohrbacher and more) out of office.”

Or you could lynch them.

Narayanan said...

@rcocean ...

***FDR hated anyone who didn't kow-tow to him.***

What was Uncle Joe's trick for manipulate him? Flattery?

Narayanan said...

* Don't ever put ice in your beer, or wine.*
Says Grinch.
What about spritzer or wassail?

Michael K said...

A reminder of where this sort of thing can lead.

In a sane world, Janet Reno would have been removed from office, disbarred, and possibly charged with criminal offenses of her own. Instead, President Bill Clinton made her attorney general of the United States of America, with predictable consequences: Her most significant act in office was overseeing the massacre of religious nonconformists in Waco, Texas, schismatic Seventh-Day Adventists who had been targeted by Reno because they were, she believed, a cult involved in the sexual abuse of children. (There were some ludicrous gun charges, too.) But there was never any substantiation of that child abuse. No problem: As the Washington Post put it at the time, “Officials said lack of evidence does not mean abuse did not occur.” Well, if officials say so . .

So we ended up with Waco and OK City.

Rocketeer said...

“Vote, people, vote. it's the only way we will get these horrible people (Cruz, Nunes, Rohrbacher and more) out of office.”

Or you could lynch them.


Democrats have plenty of options they're comfortable with besides their historical specialties of "voting" (i.e., stuffing ballot boxes) or lynching. They can also doxx them. Or harass them in public. Or even, I dunno, shoot at them on softball fields. Maybe we'll see them rekindle their enthusiasm for burning crosses in Republicans' yards!

Narayanan said...

Nixtamalization ...
To make maize nutritional.
Hominy does it , not grits

narciso said...

I've read some of later machines, but not that one. The irony is degaulle was highly indlfluenced by a passel of Soviet sympathetic advisors

becauseIdbefired said...

Also, lest this seems too critical:

"There's so little honesty in law and politics. I sometimes feel like retreating from all of it and..."
"... reading poetry, listening to music, and painting flowers.


Not to be selfish with your time/life/happiness, but I appreciate your efforts to bring interesting topics forward folks can bat around in various ways.

LordSomber said...

Grits Ain't Groceries

Great musical reference. Haven't heard that tune in years.

Ralph L said...

who had been targeted by Reno

To be fair, she was just cleaning up the ATF's mess--like a Viking.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Dammit DBQ! I just got done boiling up some smoked pork necks and hamhocks for some ham and bean soup. Now I want to come overvand have your meatballs and grits.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

"I'd like some grits, please."

"Homminy?"

"Just one."

Can't believe they never did a sequel to that.

But whatever is in that bowl, it's not self-respecting grits.

As for barbecue, SC sits on the barbecue fault-line, and the religious arguments about tomato-based, vinegar-based, mustard-based or Orangeburg style can result in a stoning of the heretics.

roesch/voltaire said...

Even retired justice Stevens stepped in and said that Kavanaugh doesn't belong on the Supreme Court. The swamp elite want this guy for some odd reason to resist Stevens and a thousand law professors and the American Bar Assc. all of whom think he does not have the temperament to be a fair judge .

Freeman Hunt said...

I got grits in my house, that I've been staring at for a half-hour, wondering what's wrong with 'em.

Ha!

Snark said...

Those are some mighty elite grits.

narciso said...

The fellow who regretted providing the targeting info, to take out yamamoto?

tcrosse said...

Roesch/voltaire is carrying a torch in the lynch mob, and opining on who will not be a fair judge. It is to laugh.

Michael K said...

The irony is degaulle was highly indlfluenced by a passel of Soviet sympathetic advisors

He flirted with Stalin before the end of the war and until the Cold War began. After that he opposed the communists with enthusiasm. His party, the RPF, was anti-communist.

I'm taking a break to order an iPod player. I used to have a Bose but they require the old iPods.

lb said...

Thanks guys..been trying to eat Keto and now I have to have polenta and grits and aaarghhh

Sprezzatura said...

Althouse ties it all together in this post. Though, assuming I scanned the thread correctly, it seems that most (all?) here don't get grit.

E.g., “Webster’s dictionary defines Grit[s] as the ability to win ugly, whether it’s getting your pad level lower than a dead dinosaur’s lunch pail or piling into a smelling van with 2 other guys and matriculating your way through the rust belt. Grit is what separates the winners and losers in life” Grit Week 2017!"


https://www.reddit.com/r/barstool/comments/6cp8e9/websters_dictionary_definition_of_grit/

rcocean said...

"What was Uncle Joe's trick for manipulate him? Flattery?"

Yes, plus the fact Soviet spies around FDR were telling Stalin about FDR's goals, aspirations, and negotiating positions before EVERY "Big Three" meeting. And how to manipulate him.

Further, at Yalta and Tehran - the Soviets had FDR bugged and Stalin knew everything FDR said before - and after every meeting.

tim in vermont said...

and the American Bar Assc. all of whom think he does not have the temperament to be a fair judge .

R/V must have spent so much time reading philosophers in his sooper genius reading group that he doesn’t know that the ABA sticks by their approval of BK and that letter was a misuse of their letterhead by one partisan member.

Sprezzatura said...

"I'm taking a break...."


A break from wasting time.

The doc is funny.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Dammit DBQ! I just got done boiling up some smoked pork necks and hamhocks for some ham and bean soup. Now I want to come overvand have your meatballs and grits.

Come'on over Annie. Bring a pot of your soup and I'll fix up a to go box for you for the polenta and italian sausages. We can trade meals and have some wine, beer, scotch or whatever you like to drink and discuss.

We are having pork stir fried rice tonight. Chopped up pork butt roast (leftovers from a few days ago), bacon, eggs (broken yolk fried and chopped), peas, carrots, green onions, soy sauce and Shichi-mi tōgarashi on the top. Our favorite leftover and clean out the veggie drawer meal.

Isn't this better than talking about politics? Wine anyone?

rcocean said...

De Gaulle, like many people his age, didn't really understand communism.

To him, Stalin was just the Czar Mark II, just like Hitler was the Kaiser Mark II.

Naturally, after the war he wanted to go back to the Russia-Franco alliance that existed before 1918. Its only after the Berlin Blockade, Czech Coup of 1948, and numerous communist interference in France internal politics AND USSR support for Anti-French colonialist movements that he changed his mind.

FullMoon said...

For Inga et al:

"On Wednesday, Kelley Paul, Sen. Rand Paul's wife, wrote an open letter to Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) about the tragic loss of civility in America today. She called on Booker to retract his public call for activists to harass members of Congress, referencing the horrific struggles her family has faced.

"It's nine o'clock at night, and as I watch out the window, a sheriff's car slowly drives past my home," Kelley Paul began. "I am grateful that they have offered to do extra patrols, as someone just posted our home address, and Rand's cell number, on the internet — all part of a broader effort to intimidate and threaten Republican members of Congress and their families."

Indeed, last night police arrested 27-year-old Jackson Cosko, a former staffer to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (R-Texas) who has been charged with releasing private information about Republican senators.

Kelley Paul explained the personal ramifications of the threats and harassment against her and her family. "I now keep a loaded gun by my bed. Our security systems have had to be expanded. I have never felt this way in my life."

"In the last 18 months, our family has experienced violence and threats of violence at a horrifying level," Kelley Paul explained. "I will never forget the morning of the shooting at the congressional baseball practice, the pure relief and gratitude that flooded me when I realized that Rand was okay."

Sen. Paul (R-Ky.) was caught up in the shooting that threatened the life of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). He has condemned the climate of political violence that encouraged a terrorist to mark congressmen — and the brave police defending them — for death. Scalise and Paul survived, but two police officers did not.

Mere months after this tragic shooting, Sen. Paul faced more violence. As his wife recalled, "He was not okay last November, when a violent and unstable man attacked him from behind while he was working in our yard, breaking six ribs and leaving him with lung damage and multiple bouts of pneumonia."

Decent Americans might expect decent Democrats (a phrase that seems to be quickly becoming a contradiction in terms) to condemn the attack. Instead, "Kentucky's secretary of state, Alison Lundergan Grimes, recently joked about it in a speech. MSNBC commentator Kasie Hunt laughingly said on air that Rand's assault was one of her 'favorite stories.' Cher, Bette Midler, and others have lauded his attacker on Twitter.""

Yancey Ward said...

I wrote it last week- assassination to prevent Kavanaugh's confirmation is no longer in the realm of improbable. The longer this goes on, the more dangerous it gets for the participants on the right.

narciso said...

Now the only proper way to eat grits is with a fried egg on top,

This ring of influence was uncovered by vosjoli, an associate of angleton, the story was fictionalized in uris topaz which Hitchcock made into a film.

tcrosse said...

While we're in the neighborhood, a little corn pudding would hit the spot.

Sprezzatura said...

Full M,

Does writing an "open letter" mean that a person is writing a press release rather than a letter to another individual?


How does the "open letter" become "open"? Does the writer have it sent out to media in some way? Isn't this sorta open letter actually written to, potentially, everyone in the universe? Why even bother pretending that it has one intended addressee when it factually does not?


Seems like an "open letter" is by definition one that does not have one addressee.







tim in vermont said...

I just had some sweet corn ice cream with strawberry shortcake made with buttermilk biscuits the other day, it didn’t suck either.

tcrosse said...

I just had some sweet corn ice cream with strawberry shortcake made with buttermilk biscuits

Now you're talking.

Big Mike said...

Wife mentioned something worth repeating: overlook the hyperbole and the puffery, and Donald Trump is the most honest president of our lifetimes -- and we both came cf age when JFK was in office.

tcrosse said...

My chef grandfather believed that the only correct use of grits was to hold wallpaper up.

Sprezzatura said...

"My chef grandfather believed that the only correct use of grits was to hold wallpaper up."

Someone up-thread expressed worry that this bowl was too full, therefore a person could not move things around if they wanted to bypass the stuff on top, hence the grits underneath were not accessible.

Maybe this is by design. A second use re grits. To hold up good food.

Michael K said...

Blogger FullMoon said...
For Inga et al:

"On Wednesday, Kelley Paul, Sen. Rand Paul's wife, wrote an open letter to Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)


I posted the link on facebook. I haven't looked yet to see if I've been banned.

Peanut, a "open letter" is written to someone but also made public. Sort of like Martin Luther.

Dope.

Fabi said...

Those grits are not cruelly neutral.

walter said...

Maybe gruelly natural.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

R/V

ABA committee re-affirms Judge Kavanaugh's high rating.

The rogue person at the ABA who issued his own personal negative rating for Kavanaugh was bogus and not official or done by the committee. The media(D) ran with it.

I heard CBS run with it on the radio after the truth was known.

Shame shame shame on the media.

Listen to Mitch McConnell's press conference today. It was good.

tim in vermont said...

Maybe the New York Times will deliver Flake for Kavanaugh yet, check out this . op ed:

When I ran from Senator Jeff Flake’s office door to the elevator last Friday and put my arm in to stop it from closing, I wasn’t thinking about what would come next. I had no idea what I was about to say. But when he would not look at me, or the woman standing next to me baring her soul, I felt only fury.

tim in vermont said...

I am actually grateful that I have no "brain" memory of the event, but I have a physical memory, a physical imprint that has left me with life-long screaming-outloud nightmares that wake me (and everyone around me). That these senators dismiss my pain, dismiss my injury, dismiss the sequelae of these events because I don't have a police report or a witness is beyond demoralizing. It negates my personhood. - Comment to the above editorial

I guess that Kavanaugh has reversed her birth and now she is not a "person" anymore, just like an unborn baby! The irony meter is pegged. But now I see why Althouse subscribes to the New York Times, It's a fucking hoot1

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

Clean out the fridge stir fry is reqiured by federal statute. I am compliant.

jimbo@35 said...

Ann,

Has Meade noticed the woman behind home plate at the Brewers game?

stevew said...

"There's so little honesty in law and politics."

When it comes to honesty, lawyers and politicians make sales people like me seem like paragons of virtue and truth.

-sw

Michael K said...

Jennifer Rubin, unlike Stephens, is still in the grip of psychosis.

Michael K said...

When it comes to honesty, lawyers and politicians make sales people like me seem like paragons of virtue and truth.

And used car salesmen who were slandered by comparisons to politicians.

Michael K said...

A break from wasting time.

The doc is funny.


Yes, reading your droppings is a waste.

Meanwhile, Guess who accompanied Blasey Ford to the hearing.

Her BFF that she coached on polygraphs. And whose house she was at to write her letter to Eschoo.


rehajm said...

Clean out the fridge stir fry is reqiured by federal statute. I am compliant.

Yesterday POTUS tweeted me PERSONALLY to ‘take no action’. I am complying with this call to inaction as the true patriot I am.

Michael said...

Grits are not eaten with a spoon

Spiros Pappas said...

Politicians have always sucked. Cicero's advice to his big brother was to flatter voters but to be aware “politics is full of deceit, treachery, and betrayal.” Some other stuff: make absurd promises (the Wall!), remind people how perverted your opponents are (Bill!), surround yourself with rabid supporters, don't worry about broken promises, etc. That was two thousand years ago. Cicero, of course, was the archetype for the modern conservative creep.

Chuck said...

Althouse, a Brett Kavanaugh Op-Ed is going into tomorrow's Wall Street Journal and you have remarked many times that you do not have a Journal subscription, so I am sending it to your email from my WSJ subscription account.

David Begley said...

As a Cornhusker, I have never had grits although I have been to our beautiful Southern states.

Madison really has a nice food culture. I have been there twice. Loved the Cottage Cafe.

My point about the football game is that the pageantry and traditions of college football are so much fun. The irony is that Wisconsin - under Nebraska alum Barry Alvarez - has become what Nebraska used to be. It will be s blow out Badger win. A whole lot of fun for Althouse and Meade if they go. Nothing like Fall in the Midwest. Beautiful.

HT said...

It's right here

https://www.wsj.com/articles/i-am-an-independent-impartial-judge-1538695822

narciso said...

So you'd be a fan of Catiline?

HT said...

Until Wisconsin wins a national championship it is not really what Nebraska used to be. And I for one hope it does not get there, necessarily. There's something special about regional teams who have medium-sized stadiums and do not have to go go go all the way to number one. All day all the time. Don't sell out your traditions.

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