(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Day after Valentine's GNR - February 15 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-15 Good Day, Gnuville and Happy day after Valentine’s Day! I was hoping to have Valentine’s Day fall on one of my days this year — in fact, I started this draft (the music) last year when I DID expect it to be my day this year! I planned to arm-wrestle NNNE to switch if it happened to fall on his Tuesday instead of mine 😂 But then I switched to writing Wednesdays and so — 😅 — oh well! You’re going to get to enjoy the nice music and theme anyway! After all, who doesn’t need all the love we can get, right? Let’s start with a lovely quote from Michael Gerson which I think embodies the spirit of Gnuville 💙: “Even when strength fails, there is perseverance. And even when perseverance fails, there is hope. And even when hope fails, there is love. And love never fails.” Michael Gerson 🎶 Opening Music to You with L-O-V-E 🎶 💪💙 Democrats Deliver 💙💪 Another million+ good jobs — Thanks, Biden! Biden to announce a Boeing and Air India deal worth at least $34 billion, Nikki Carvajal, CNN, February 14, 2023. CNN — Boeing 737 passenger aircraft Air India will purchase more than 200 planes from Boeing, a White House official says President Joe Biden will announce Tuesday. It’s the third biggest sale of all time for the aircraft manufacturer. The agreement will include 190 Boeing 737 MAXs, 20 Boeing 787s, and 10 Boeing 777Xs – a total of 220 firm orders valued at a list price of $34 billion, the official says. The purchase will also include customer options for an additional 50 Boeing 737 MAXs and 20 Boeing 787s, totaling 290 airplanes for a total of $45.9 billion at list price. In a statement, Biden said the sale would “support over one million American jobs across 44 states, and many will not require a four-year college degree.”✂️ Production will support three separate U.S.-based manufacturing lines, will result in $70 billion in total economic impact across the United States and support an estimated 1.47 million direct and indirect jobs, a White House official said Tuesday. Biden’s IRS bill enables quicker tax refunds, higher efficiency The IRS has issued nearly 8 million tax refunds. Here’s the average payment, Kate More, CNBC, February 14, 2023. The average refund amount was $1,963, down from last year’s average payment of $2,201 at the same point in the filing season. Of course, the average may change as the IRS processes millions more returns before the April 18 deadline.✂️ As of Feb. 3, the IRS processed more than 16.7 million returns, over 29% more than the previous year, according to the report released last Friday. The nearly 8 million refunds compare to around 4.3 million the previous year.✂️ The agency kicked off the tax season with a bigger customer service team and enhanced technology as it begins to deploy its nearly $80 billion in fundingthat Congress approved in August. ✂️ You can check your refund status with the “Where’s My Refund?” online tool or through the IRS2Go app. But you’ll need to wait 24 hours after electronic filing your 2022 return, and three to four days after e-filing 2020 and 2021 returns. Paper returns may take up to four weeks for a status update. Moar judges! Biden bests Trump on judicial nominations — and it 'has already had a major impact', Maya Boddie, Alternate via Raw Story, February 14, 2023. The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden's 100th appointed judge, surpassing his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, NBC reports. Two Biden-appointed judges were confirmed week, according to The Washington Post. Cindy Chung was chosen to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as the first Asian American to step into the role, and Gina Méndez-Miró — the president's 100th successful nominee — will serve as a district court judge in Puerto Rico. Per NBC, the confirmations are a feat for both Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who "have made it a priority to reshape U.S. courts with judges who tend to be younger, liberal and more diverse."✂️ Former Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain told NBC, "Appointing 100 judges has already had a major impact on the judiciary — and it puts President Biden on track to name a transformational 200 judges before the end of this term." Biden knows junk fees aren’t small potatoes to most people “Those fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren’t even resorts !” Why the White House is going to war on “junk fees”, Jordan Weissmann, Semafor, February 14, 2023. Joe’s right — people are being ripped off by drip pricing. It might be tempting to downplay the White House’s new big theme as little more than cranky, small-bore populism — like something Andy Rooney might have come up with if he’d ever somehow become president, or an Al Franken joke come to life. (In 1999, the future senator published a goofy novel about winning the White House with a single-issue campaign promising to ban ATM fees). But if you talk to Biden administration officials, its origins sound more high-minded. They make the case that junk fees are deeply serious business, a kitchen table issue that also happens to fit snugly with their wider ambition to bring American antitrust enforcement back from the grave and make markets more competitive. ✂️ The White House estimates that Americans pay about $64 billion annually in fees, which include penalties for late credit card payments and bank overdrafts, as well as sneaky cable, airline, and hotel charges. Economists argue that these sorts of fees end up warping markets by allowing companies to hide the true cost of their services from shoppers. Biden won’t back down Call Rs out? check ✓ Bring the receipts? check ✓ Repeat and repeat the message? check ✓ and check ✓... Add some Biden badassery? check! ✓ Biden escalates fight over Social Security and Medicare, frustrating Republicans, Sahil Kapur, NBC, February 13, 2023. WASHINGTON — After President Joe Biden pummeled Republicans on Social Security and Medicare during his State of the Unionaddress, drawing shouts of outrage from the party, Republican leaders urged him to stop telling Americans that the GOP wants to slash those retirement programs. Then Biden paid a visit to Florida and did it again, exasperating the party and escalating a fight that is poised to play out on Capitol Hill and in the 2024 presidential election.✂️ The next day, at the University of Tampa on Thursday, Biden tore into a plan from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., saying it would “sunset Social Security and Medicare every five years.” He also went after Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who has labeled Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and called for restructuring it. “They were offended. ‘Liar! Liar!’” Biden mimicked.✂️ “Republicans don’t like being called out on this,” Biden said. “A lot of Republicans — their dream is to cut Social Security and Medicare. Well, let me say this: If that’s your dream, I’m your nightmare.” He nearly won in 22, now he’s going to run again! Democrat Adam Frisch announces another challenge to Rep. Lauren Boebert, Chase Woodruff, Colorado Newsline via Raw Story, February 14, 2023. Adam Frisch, the former Aspen City Council member who nearly pulled off a shock upset of controversial Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert of Silt last year, confirmed Tuesday that he will challenge Boebert again in 2024. “It was the honor of a lifetime building a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters who rejected Boebert’s extremism with their vote in 2022. But our work in (the 3rd Congressional District) is not done,” Frisch said in a statement. “November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign.” In her first reelection campaign since winning the 3rd District seat in 2020, Boebert held off Frisch by just 546 votes out of over 327,000 ballots cast, a margin that prompted a week of closely watched late ballot counts in the 3rd District’s 27 counties and Colorado’s first automatic recount in a congressional race in 20 years. Frisch conceded to Boebert on Nov. 18, calling Colorado’s election system “safe, accurate and secure.” 🎶 Love for Joe and the Democrats 🎶 Republicans in Disarray So, so much disarray! 🤣 How ‘Twitter Files’ Hearing Turned Into a Dumpster Fire for GOP, Daily Beast, February 13, 2023. Republicans on Capitol Hill last week were keen to score points against Democrats by pushing the narrative that the federal government was working with Twitter to censor a New York Post story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. However, in the process they conceded a spectacular own goal as it was revealed that it was in fact former President Donald Trump who had reached out to Twitter to have tweets removed that he found offensive—including one where model Chrissy Teigen called him a “pussy ass bitch.” “Clearly Republicans know that they’ve made these requests as well and so to put this into a congressional hearing and thinking that their own actions were not going to come out during the hearing, just seems like they have just this weird blind spot in recognizing how their own actions are going to come back and play out for them,” he said. Even their fringiest supporters are wobbling ‘Trump prophets’ 2023 predictions: some losing their faith in the former president, Lynda Edwards, Raw Story, February 14, 2023. On the internet’s far-right fringes preach a group of “Trump prophets” who, since Donald Trump lost the White House in 2020, have endlessly predicted the former president would return to the White House triumphantly that year.✂️ But now that Trump has officially announced another bid for the presidency and Biden prepares to announce his own plans for re-election, many prominent Trump prophets are changing their tune. For example, some of these Trump prophets who predicted brutal ends for liberals now say Democrats won’t be killed by heavenly forces of justice just for being “woke”. Some are no longer certain that Biden, as previously proffered, is the Antichrist — because someone else is. Perhaps most surprising: some Trump prophets dare predict Americans can be happy … without Trump returning to the White House in 2023 or even in 2025. They’re at each other’s wattles You hate to see it. 🙄 These turkeys! 😂 RonJohn Backs Scott In His Feud With McConnell Over Social Security Cuts, Emine Yucel, TPM, February 14, 2023. Perhaps they’ll gobble each other up! Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) have been sparring publicly over whether Republicans support cuts to Social Security and Medicare – and now Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and other hardline conservatives are getting involved in the fight.✂️ While Republicans like McConnell want to signal to Americans loudly and clearly that the party doesn’t back such efforts ever since Biden called them out during the SOTU, Scott and his sunsetting agenda are making their position harder to spin. And the messaging is made muddier by Scott’s befuddling claims that his 12-point-plan won’t actually harm Social Security or Medicare. But RonJohn thinks we should trust him.✂️ “I think we’re in a more authoritative position to state what the position of the party is than any single senator,” McConnell added. “It’s just a bad idea. I think it will be a challenge for him to deal with this in his own re-election in Florida, a state with more elderly people than any other state in America.” (← don’t threaten us with a good time, Mitch) Sorry Rs, we have the receipts They can try all they want to wriggle out of the truth trap that President Biden set up in the SOTU, but we know better: Three-Quarters of House GOPs Endorsed Social Security Cuts Last Year, Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, February 14, 2023. As we noted earlier, Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee — a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans — released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer. The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words “modernizing”) the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts — aka “retirement freedom.” (See details on pages 81-82 of the Blueprint to Save America.) Pence still trying to thread that needle People continue to be perplexed about why, since he seemed to have done the “right thing” on January 6th, Mike Pence still defends TFG and won’t help in the J6 investigation. But it all makes more sense if you consider that Pence may be protecting himself, not TFG. Maybe he acts guilty because he is guilty. 🤔 Mike Pence To Push Back On Special Counsel Subpoena: Reports, Lydia O’Connor, HuffPost, February 14, 2023. Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning to fight a grand jury subpoenafrom the Justice Department that would require him to testify about former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Sources familiar with Pence’s plans offered details Tuesday to Politico, NBC News and The New York Times, saying Pence plans to argue that the vice president’s duties as president of the Senate protect him from such legal scrutiny, and that he intends to cite the U.S. Constitution’s “speech or debate clause.” ✂️ “It is admittedly a constitutionally murky area with no clear outcome,” Mark Rozell, a George Mason University political scientist who specializes in executive privilege, told Politico on Tuesday. Pence’s plan to fight special counsel subpoena is doomed – according to this legal expert, Matthew Chapman, Raw Story, February 14, 2023. That may be what he’s worried about After having claimed that he was immune, as an executive, from having to answer questions from the January 6 Committee, former Vice President Mike Pence is now trying the opposite strategy to avoid a subpoena from special counsel Jack Smith and claiming, as President of the Senate, his actions at the time of the attack are shielded by the Speech and Debate Clause of the Constitution. But this strategy is ultimately doomed to fail, argued former White House ethics czar and impeachment counsel Norm Eisen in conversation with CNN's Bianna Golodryga on Tuesday.✂️ "There is no blanket immunity of this kind for a vice president under the Speech or Debate Clause," Eisen added. "This will just prolong this investigation." Opinion Pence search gives Biden cover, puts Trump in worse shape, Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post, February 13, 2023. Only one of them is not hiding anything “That Biden and Pence have consented to searches while [defeated former president Donald] Trump has not could become a meaningful difference in why neither will be charged but Trump will be,” former prosecutor Andrew Weissmann tells me. “It underscores not just Trump’s lack of cooperation but his active obstruction, which is a weighty factor in the discretionary decision whether to charge.” But it may get worse for Trump. A CNN report raises additional, troubling new facts concerning even more classified documents found scattered about Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, documents only turned over in the past month or so: His lawyers, CNN reported, provided prosecutors “a multi-page document with classified markings and a laptop belonging to an aide.” In addition to an empty folder marked “Classified Evening Briefing,” the materials included a thumb drive, which could in theory allow the material to be widely disseminated. This startling discovery underscores Trump’s utter disregard for keeping classified materials in secured locations.✂️ The new developments leave Pence and Biden, for now, on safer legal ground and Trump in some peril. 🎶 Music — not sure what for! 😅 🎶 Meanwhile, from the Schadenfreude File These assh*les... Red state newspaper lambastes GQP over Twitter hearing. Told you these assh*les couldn’t “investigate” their way out of a wet paper bag: 'It blew up in their faces': GOP buried over 'oafish' conspiracy hearing, Tom Boggioni, Raw Story, February 13, 2023. "The Republican obsession with proving Twitter conspired with Democrats and the FBI against conservatives boomeranged during a House hearing last week, exposing the wispiness of one of the new majority’s favorite made-up scandals," (the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch) wrote. "Republicans have asserted, based on nothing, that the platform was pressured by the FBI to tamp down the story for Joe Biden’s sake. It’s part of a broader narrative on the right that says, again with scant evidence, that mainstream social-media sites are in cahoots with liberals and against conservatives." According to the editors, what transpired was "oafish" and nothing less than "disappointing" when all was said and done. They wrote, "How they [Republicans] must have wished they hadn’t even uncorked this bottle when a witness further testified that, in fact, the company scuttled its standing prohibition on abusive language toward immigrants so it wouldn’t have to ban then-President Trump for his infamous, racist tweet in 2019 saying several American-born congresswomen of color should 'go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.'" And don’t forget this assh*le... 'Mike Lee is a creep': Hometown columnist shreds Utah Republican, Travis Gettys, Raw Story, February 9, 2023. A hometown columnist took Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to the woodshed for attacking President Joe Biden's response to a surveillance balloon launched by China.✂️ "President Biden, I'm sorry for being an opportunist a**hat," Saltas suggested Lee might say. "You had more information, and you reasonably wanted our military to glean any and all useful data from it before it fell. You even considered that rash actions might hurt innocent Americans on the ground. I laud your decision and await your call to arms against our common enemy, the wind." Saltas added the balloon rhetoric to a pile of Lee's faults, which include the self-described strict constitutionalist's supplication to Donald Trump's lawlessness and his affection for Elon Musk. These assh*les, too... Hat tip to Crashing Vor for this story (If Only All Karma were this Instant). Here’s the Politico article that prompted it: Judge demands answers after Jan. 6 defendant recants guilt, Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney, Politico, February 3, 2023. A Jan. 6 defendant’s boast in an interview this week that he had no regrets about his role in the Capitol riot — just days after he acknowledged his guilt in a federal courtroom — may upend the man’s efforts to resolve the criminal case against him. U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta issued an order Friday instructing defendant Thomas Adams Jr. and prosecutors to explain why the guilty findings the judge entered on Tuesday, following a brief “stipulated” bench trial should not be overturned in light of Adams’ comments to a reporter the following day.✂️ Judges handling Jan. 6 cases have been repeatedly and increasingly irked by defendants appearing to be apologetic and contrite in court, only to make public statements days later minimizing their guilt and sounding cavalier about their actions. And judges are loath to accept what effectively amounts to a guilty plea from any defendant who doesn’t sincerely believe in their own guilt. And This F***ing Guy again Appeals court upholds $110,000 contempt fine for Trump in New York attorney general case, Dan Mangan, CNBC, February 14, 2023. A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine on former President Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt for failing to turn over documents to the state attorney general’s office as part of an investigation of his company. The panel of five justices ruled that Trump’s contempt fine for not complying with a subpoena for the records was a “proper exercise” of the discretionary power of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron. The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day “was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.” Reminder: NY AG Letitia James filed a $250 million lawsuit last September against Trump, his company and three of his adult children, accusing them of widespread fraud involving years’ worth of financial statements. In addition to the $250 million in damages sought, the NY AG’s suit seeks to permanently bar Trump and his children — Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump — from serving as an officer of a company in New York, and permanently bar the Trump companies named as defendants from doing business in New York state. Over here in Chicagoland, CG and I are rooting for AG Letitia James! Lordy, and another assh*le Senators question Jared Kushner's cozy ties with Saudis after explosive report, Sarah K Burris, Raw Story, February 14, 2023. "This isn't just business as usual because we disagree with a president," (Sen. Ben Cardin D-MD) continued. "This is taking the office to a whole new level. ✂️ He argued that the Justice Department should look into this and not the House and Senate. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) said that it's clear the House Oversight Republicans are a "joke" and their approach to investigating corruption in government is only isolated to the Democrats. However, she said, the reporting about Kushner, "raises a lot of questions. I would like to see the legal issues about Trump [in the DOJ] move forward." Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) told Raw Story that the Kushner details are something that should be looked into. Kushner was given $2 billion by the Saudi royals for his hedge fund, despite advisers warning the royals against it. Kushner is now making $20 million annually off of the fund. 🎶 Music for Wicked People 🎶 Health & Wellbeing In honor of Valentine’s Week, I’m going to make the emphasis on wellbeing this Wednesday! Especially on delicious food to feed body and spirit! Forget regret! How to have a happy life – according to the world’s leading expert, Emine Saner, the Guardian, February 6, 2023. This happy kitten has zero regrets! In the 1980s, when data from the world’s longest-running study on happiness started to show that good relationships kept us healthier and happier, the researchers didn’t really believe it. “We know there’s a mind-body connection and we all pay lip service to it,” says Dr Robert Waldinger, the director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has been running for 84 years. “But how could warmer relationships make it less likely that you would develop coronary artery disease or arthritis? How could relationships get into the body and affect our physiology?” Then, other studies started to show the same. “We thought: OK, we can begin to have confidence in this finding.” It was still a surprise, says Waldinger, but so convinced is he of this fundamental truth that the new book he has co-written with Dr Marc Schulz, The Good Life, focuses mainly on relationships and how to improve them. There are other components, of course, and they tend to be similar across countries, cultures and social grades (he points to the UN’s annual World Happiness report). These include good health and a healthy life expectancy, plus the freedom and capacity to make significant life decisions. Trust is important, he says – not just in friends and neighbours, but also in governments. “One interesting thing that people mention around the world is generosity and opportunities to be generous,” says Waldinger. Money – or, rather, economic security – is important. “We are less happy when we struggle for food security and housing and all that, which is obvious,” he says. What is less obvious is that, above a certain income level, happiness doesn’t go up by much, at least according to a 2010 study that set the threshold for US households at $75,000 (£49,000 at that time). The enduring factor is relationships with other people. Waldinger has boiled down his definition of a good life to this: “Being engaged in activities I care about with people I care about.” Is chocolate good for your heart? Finally the FDA has an answer – kind of, Allison Aubrey, NPR, February 12, 2023. (Public broadcasting story, so I’m taking a little bit more — but the whole story is pretty fascinating! Please go read it and support public broadcasting if you can!). Scientists have honed in on a particular mechanism that helps explain how chocolate can influence our cardiovascular systems. The bio-active flavanols in cocoa can prompt the production of more nitric oxide, a gas which causes our blood vessels to open up — or dilate. "Vasodilation seems to be the mechanism for lowering of blood pressure and what appears to be signals for reduction in cardiovascular events," Manson says. ✂️ Despite dozens of published studies evaluating the links between chocolate and health, the FDA's assessment is that, as of now, the science is still inconclusive. It's pretty clear that the compounds in cocoa are good for us, but we may not get enough of them when we consume highly-processed, sweetened chocolate candy bars.✂️ One of the challenges, he says, is that it's nearly impossible to do the kind of study that could prove whether a given amount of chocolate reduces heart disease. For starters, scientists would need to recruit thousands of people, half of whom would have to agree to eat chocolate every day for many years. The other half would need to agree to never eat chocolate. "Who would sign up for that?" Gardner asks.✂️ Some chocolate lovers may push back against the idea of sports drinks infused with cocoa. Nat Bletter, who operates Madre Chocolate in Hawaii, and makes a minimally-processed chocolate, high in antioxidants, says while some chocolate connoisseurs are interested in health benefits, others are all about the taste. "They sometimes want to feel like they're sinning a little bit when they're eating chocolate," he says. He likes to help his customers get the most out of every bite by using all their senses when they eat chocolate. "Don't just taste it," Bletter says. "You can smell it before you put it in your mouth." And you don't have to chew it right away. "Let it melt on your tongue and see if you can get all the different flavors," he says. Just like wine, chocolate can have lots of unique and interesting flavors, so the aim is to relish it. "People need to have some fun and enjoy it," Gardner says and not get too hung up on the evidence for, or against health claims. This winter's U.S. COVID surge is fading fast, likely thanks to a 'wall' of immunity, Rob Stein, NPR, February 3, 2023. Delicious Easy Meals Help Us Feel Good in Winter I love the slow cooker. It’s one of the most economical (you can get a decent 4qt slow cooker for between $25-$45 — and it will last you for many years), indispensable appliances in a busy kitchen. Although I don’t use it as often now as I did when I was raising my family, I still bust it out a couple of times per month to make old favorites to eat now and/or freeze for later. This article has ten scrumptious-sounding recipes that I’m going to have to try! And if you have a slow cooker, Gnusies, it’s an easy way to “eat nutritious food” as I like to advise in my roundup winddowns each week: 10 best slow cooker chicken recipes for cozy nights in, Annabelle Doliner, Salon, February 6, 2023. Slow cookers are lifesavers in the kitchen, especially during busy weeks when (let's face it) cooking is the last thing you want to do after a long workday. In these cases, the tiniest bit of advance planning can have a major payoff: All it takes is a few minutes of prep in the morning, and by the time you get home, you'll have a hot meal waiting for you. Though there's an endless number of dishes that can be made in a slow cooker, we're focusing on one of the most versatile proteins out there: chicken. Whether you're a dark meat evangelist or a fan of a boneless and skinless chicken breast, slow cookers consistently yield a juicy, tender bird without any of the fuss. Here are 10 of our favorite slow cooker chicken recipes.✂️ 2. Slow Cooker Chicken Wings These wings are first cooked in the slow cooker, then finished under the broiler for a golden exterior. A simple glaze consisting of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and Sriracha finishes off this sticky, sweet, and spicy dish. 14 best winter dessert recipes for any occasion, Paul Hagopian, Salon, February 5, 2023. When the holiday season ends but cold and darkness persist, we often find ourselves stuck inside, contemplating some of life's bigger questions like, "What should I make for dessert this morning evening?" If you've asked yourself that question lately (as I have), there are countless options to choose from. For me, winter is the season to celebrate the more subtle flavors of the dessert category (think: brown butter, maple, and olive oil). And while I'll never say no to a warm, fresh-from-the-oven treat on a frigid day, winter desserts are much more than baking projects. Cold desserts like chocolate mousse and coffee ice cream are sometimes exactly what you're in the mood for after a day of shoveling snow, sled pushing, or ice skating. Put plainly: Winter desserts have range and are worth exploring — here are 14 of our favorite recipes to try. (Do yourself a favor and go to the link and TRY these!) Salad maker for the world, Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun Times, February 6, 2023. (NO PAYWALL! The Chicago Sun Times makes its content available free to readers online. I encourage you to check out the hardest-working newspaper in America!) Not Farmer’s Fridge, but a nice tasty-looking salad! Readers might recall I first tried their Harvest Salad during a few hours of idleness at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, noticed that it’s a Chicago endeavor, talked to founder Luke Saunders and was intrigued by the fact that the salads, with their fleeting shelf life are not produced at satellite plants around the country, but are all created in Chicago, at a single 100,000-square-foot production facility.✂️ But I’m jumping ahead. Before ingredients can be washed, they have to get here. In February, they’re coming from the West Coast, but in season, 25% of the 150 ingredients that go into Farmer’s Fridge products come from within 250 miles of Chicago.✂️ Once washed, the lettuce and tomatoes, corn and the rest get cooked, sliced, diced or, in the case of apples, soaked in brine to resist turning brown. Fresh salad dressing is mixed, guacamole churned from scratch, then covered in pico de gallo to keep the air from it. Another national operation might off-load the process — buy the lettuce already cut, for instance. But that sacrifices freshness. “We built this whole operation around cutting the tomato in the morning that we’re making the salad,” Saunders said. “That’s a huge part of the challenge. But also why the food is so much better and fresher. Build the business around a product rather than building the product around a business.” What to cook in February: Foods to transport you to places out of reach, Jessica Brooks, CBC Life, February 4, 2021. Paella This year as this month rolls around, I'll be tapping into the thrill of those teenage themed nights again. I can use cuisine as a way to experience a taste of cultures and places out of reach for now. On my list of things to cook are crispy Corn Pakoras and Pho Beef Dumplings. You can do the same, or even lean into your nostalgia and recreate the best meal you ate in the place you long to get back to. Normally I'd suggest you cook with in-season ingredients when possible, and you still can. For example, if you're making tacos, add shredded cabbage to them, or spiralize a rutabaga and toss the curls into Pad Thai. Staying flexible is a good rule for travel and it's a great rule for cooking too. If there's one thing growing up on a remote island taught me (before the internet was even a thing), it's that food can take you places. Here are some recipes that may do that for you. (Go to the link for some yummy recipes!) 🎶 Music Just Because I’ve Always Loved This Song 🎶 🐩💙 CG’s Picks 💙🐩 Hello, Everybody, it’s me, Curlygirl! Happy day after Valentine’s Day! 💝 My first story today is about a very old dog — I mean, this dog is way older than me! I’m going to be 9 years old on May Day, but this dog — this dog! — Bobi is 30 years old! THIRTY YEARS OLD! Nearly 31, in fact! He will be 31 just 10 days after I turn 9! My stars that’s an old dog! I’m putting in some words from the story, but I am leaving out the scary part — just so you know! A Portuguese pooch that was almost killed at birth has become the world's oldest dog, Juliana Kim, NPR, February 3, 2023. (This is public radio, so I’m allowed to quote a bit more of it so you can understand the whole story!) Bobi is 30 years and 266 days old as of Feb. 1, according to Guinness. He is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo, a livestock guardian dog with an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years. Now he's the world record holder for oldest living dog. But originally, Bobi wasn't supposed to live long at all. Bobi was born, along with three other male puppies, in the rural village of Conqueiros in Portugal. At the time, the family who owned them already had a number of animals and decided they could not take care of any more. (I am skipping the bad part here 🐩 🫣) But days after, Costa noticed something strange. Bobi's mother, Gira, continued to return to the shed where her puppies were born, despite it being empty. One day, Costa and his brothers decided to follow Gira and soon discovered that Bobi was alive, still in the shed. Costa believes his father possibly overlooked Bobi because his brown fur coat camouflaged him in the shed. Costa and his siblings decided to keep Bobi a secret for a few weeks, just until Bobi was old enough that his eyes would open and Costa's parents would not have the heart to turn him away, Costa recalled. "I confess that when they found out that we already knew, they screamed a lot and punished us, but it was worth it and for a good reason!" Costa said. x x YouTube Video 🐶 How old is your dog? Here’s something fun! My uncle found this calculator and it says I am 55 years old in human years! But I am really only 8, going on 9! And if you’d seen me today playing with some neighborhood puppies, you’d see I really am! They don’t picture a standard poodle here. That doesn’t seem right! This next story is about a hairless breed of dog, Xoloitzcuintli who is being recognized for its importance culturally in Mexico. Like poodles, Xoloitzcuintle dogs come in 3 sizes so we have something in common!: “The Xoloitzcuintle is one of several breeds of hairless dog. It is found in standard, intermediate, and miniature sizes. The Xolo also comes in a coated variety, totally covered in fur. Coated and hairless can be born in the same litter as a result of the same combination of genes. Wikipedia” Dog owners tout Xolos’ loyalty and sacred underworld history, María Teresa Hernández, AP, February 7, 2023. Dozens gathered on a recent day at Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City for a meet-and-greet with Mezcal and three more “Xolos”, as these slender dogs are locally known. The canines were at the art and culture museum as part of an effort to raise awareness about responsible adoption of Xolo puppies and promoting the significance of the breed.✂️ By reviewing ancient codex and records written after the conquest in 1521, experts have determined the religious relevance of the dogs among Mesoamerican civilizations. That fact isn’t lost on the sisters. “We are privileged because we have among us some precious jewels of history that are living cultural heritage,” said Gutierrez’s sister, Itzayani, who owns a playful Xolo named Pilón. Experts found that the Nahuas believed these dogs represented the god, Xólotl, the twin brother of deity Quetzalcóatl. While the latter personified life and light, the former was an effigy of the underworld and death. The Xolo, thought to be a creature capable of moving through the darkness, was conceived as a guide for their owner’s soul after dying, wrote historian Mercedes de la Garza in an article published by the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Unfortunately, I could not lay my paws on a free picture of a Xoloitzcuintle, but it’s a very regal dog! That’s all the stories I have for this week. But now I have my favorite song for you again. I know I played it for you once before, but it is my very favorite and it is Valentine’s week! 🥰 Happy Valentine’s Week, Everybody! Bye for now! Luv, CG 💙🐾 🎶 CG’s favorite love song video 🎶 ⚡️ Lightning RoundUp ⚡️ ⚡️ Surprise from Wonkette: Mississippi Might Just Oust Gov. Tate Reeves For Elvis Presley* (Technically His Democratic Cousin), Stephen Robinson, February 14, 2023. ⚡️ Following the State of the Union, Voters Strongly Support Biden’s Legislative Agenda, Data for Progress, February 10, 2023. ⚡️Gift article! Opinion How Schumer and Jeffries plan to win over the American people, Jonathan Capehart, Washington Post, February14, 2023. ⚡️Ageism needs to be gone: From Joe Biden to Madonna: ageism is everywhere, Margaret Sullivan, the Guardian, February 13, 2023. ⚡️ And for good measure: 2024 Is Probably Biden-Trump Rematch. Deal. Stephen Robinson, Wonkette, February 13, 2023. ⚡️ Republicans Have Wanted To Cut Medicare And Social Security For Decades, Kate Riga, TPM, February 11, 2023. ⚡️ Minister warns Wisconsinites about 'destructive worldview' of white Christian nationalism, Eric Gunn, Wisconsin Examiner via RawStory, February 7, 2023. ⚡️ Chicago’s vote-by-mail initiative is paying off! Mail-in ballots driving record returns as early voting opens in all 50 wards, David Struett, Chicago Sun Times, February 14, 2023. ⚡️ Results are in: Electric cars are making big improvements to people's health, Todd Perry, Upworthy, February 14, 2023. ⚡️ An Old Romantic Custom We Should Bring Back, Arthur C Brooks, the Atlantic, February 14, 2023. ⚡️ Rihanna's maternity style isn't just fashionable. It's revolutionary, experts say, Rachel Treisman, NPR, February 14, 2023. 🎶 A lightning quick musical story for Valentine’s 🎶 💗 How Can You Help Build Our Democracy Back Better? 💗 [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/15/2137003/-Day-after-Valentine-s-GNR-February-15 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/