If you're celebrating the holiday...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Chanukah...

Some Recipes

Happy Thanksgiving.

Here (if you are, or might be, inclined) are some vegetarian and vegan recipes for the holiday, from The Washington Post.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2020/11/20/vegetarian-vegan-thanksgiving-recipes/

Presidents

Some interests, inclinations, from childhood (perhaps more than some) continue, through adulthood. 

Such as, for me: an interest in the American presidents--the lives of the presidents, the histories of their presidencies. 

In October, I had an appointment in West Caldwell, New Jersey, less than a half hour from where I live.  I knew that a few miles away, in Caldwell, NJ, is the home where Grover Cleveland was born, in 1837 (though the Cleveland family moved to Onondaga County, New York, in 1841).  

Cleveland, of course, is the sole American president to have served non-consecutive terms.  He was the country's 22nd president, and its 24th.

I drove to the Cleveland house, after leaving West Caldwell. I knew in advance that the home was currently closed to the public, because of construction taking place at the site. (I don't know if the construction concerns plans, referred to in the link below, for a Visitor Center at the site.)  Yet I was delighted to simply see the exterior of the home.  

https://caldwell-nj.com/index.asp?SEC=EB8D8E00-9060-468C-B387-A112A72BAC3D

For what it is worth, I am certain that my interest in the subject of America's presidents began in 1963, when President Kennedy was killed--fifty-eight years ago tomorrow  At the time, I was seven.  

I still have the November 23, 1963 edition of The Boston Globe, the headline of which contained a dramatic, eloquent rhyme:  SHOCK...DISBELIEF...GRIEF.

I also still have the photograph, above, a picture I took after the assassination. The photograph is of the front page of the November 23rd Globe.  I remember placing the newspaper on a couch in our house, in order to take the picture. This partial, slightly out-of-focus, black and white image of the front page of the paper, taken when I was seven, remains interesting to me, fifty-eight years after the fact.

(Photographs of the Grover Cleveland Birthplace, Caldwell, NJ, and of the November 23, 1963 Boston Globe, © Andrew Fielding)

"New Yorker" cover, by Bruce McCall

This very funny, enjoyable cover of The New Yorker--the November 22, 2021 issue--is by the artist and humorist Bruce McCall, and is titled "Season’s Special.” 

(Please click on the image, to enlarge it.  Still, some of the signs, in the illustration, might not be entirely legible, because of the image's reduced size.  One reads, "Xtra-Stale Popcorn."  Another is "Bagel Bits."  A third reads: "Crumbs," followed by "Yum!")

Here, too, is a link to a brief conversation between Mr. McCall and Françoise Mouly, the art editor of The New Yorker, posted on the magazine's website on November 15th.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2021-11-22

("Season's Special," © Bruce McCall and The New Yorker)

Brian Williams, and "The 11th Hour"

I was sorry to read, on Tuesday night, that Brian Williams has decided to leave his weeknight MSNBC program, The 11th Hour--and will be leaving NBC News altogether--at the end of the year.

The 11th Hour has aired since 2016. I've been something of a latecomer to the program--having mostly watched it during the past couple of years. Mr. Williams is a very fine (and often very witty/wry) conversationalist and host.  

In addressing his end-of-December departure, on Tuesday evening's broadcast, he said: "The 11th Hour is way bigger than any one man or woman. The truth is, our secret has always been: it's always about our guests. That will never change."  

His guests (more often than not, recurring) have, indeed, been routinely superb--journalists, historians, political and social analysts, legal analysts, law enforcement, military, and intelligence experts, and, during the grim era of Covid, medical professionals. Yet despite his modesty regarding his role on the program, as expressed last night, it is Mr. Williams who establishes, each evening, the program's distinctive and pleasing tone. His stewardship of The 11th Hour will be missed.

Liz Cheney

Republican Representative Liz Cheney, of Wyoming, gave a speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

She said, in part:

"We are...confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before: A former president who's attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic, aided by political leaders, who have made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man." 

The CNN.com report, below, noted that Cheney--known for her conservatism--said she disagrees "strongly with nearly everything President Biden has done since he has been in office."  The report continued:

But while she [has] opposed Biden's policies, she repeatedly took aim at the former President, calling him a "liar" who "tragically misled" Americans and "provoked violence" on January 6.

 

"I love my party. I love its history. I love its principles," Cheney said. "But I love my country more. I know this nation needs a Republican Party that is based on truth."

 

"We need a Republican Party that is led by people who remember that the peaceful transfer of power is sacred," she added. "We need Republican leaders who remember that fidelity to the Constitution, fidelity to the rule of law — those are the most conservative of conservative principles."

The CNN.com story included the following:  "Her comments are sure to prompt speculation about a 2024 presidential run, which could potentially be against the former President." 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/09/politics/liz-cheney-trump-reaction/index.html

Colin Powell

Colin Powell--who during his career was chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of State, four-star general--was a noble, honorable man.  

At his funeral, this past Friday, Madeleine Albright--Mr. Powell's immediate predecessor as Secretary of State--paid tribute to her longtime friend.

She said:  "As I grew to know him, I came to view Colin Powell as a figure who almost transcended time--for his virtues were Homeric:  honesty, dignity, loyalty and an unshakable commitment to his calling and word."

She said that "beneath that glossy exterior of warrior statesman was one of the gentlest and most decent people any of us will ever meet."

Election night

Essential viewing, tonight, on CNN:  John King's election-night analyses (as he presides over the network's touch-screen electoral maps).

King, as I have written previously in this space, is a terrific analyst and reporter.  He is CNN's Chief National Correspondent, and is the host of the weekday program Inside Politics.