YOUR SUNDAY MOMENT OF ZEN

 

SATURDAY NIGHT DANCING

 This is known as a "Timeline Cleanse."  Enjoy!

Timeline cleanse. You want to watch this. No…seriously…you do. https://t.co/7qxDzUaarL

— Hil.i.am (@hilaryluros) December 29, 2023

Nikki Haley is just another pol...

 

who wouldn't answer an easy, simple question because she's fearful of losing the MAGA cultist votes!

Haley was the governor of the first state to secede from the Union over slavery!

Imagin if...

President Biden wrote this for his Christmas message on social media:

(Brian Krassenstein on "X" rewrote, above, what Trump posted on Christmas Day to make it look like Pres. Biden wrote it, just so we could imagine how shocked and disgusted Americans would have been to read such malevolence and hatred as a Christmas message.) 

Well...

 

Trump actually posted this on his failing "Truth Social" platform, and millions of Americans want this maniac to be POTUS again!

What happened to Americans that made so many otherwise normal people become attracted and loyal to such a despicably unhinged and hateful creature?

"FACTS ARE STUBBORN THINGS." --John Adams, 2nd POTUS

 

 

At least 11 people who played a role in Trump’s presidential campaigns or his administration have been charged with crimes: 

 1. Steve Bannon: Trump’s political Svengali was charged with fraud in August 2020 for a fundraising scam tied to raising dollars to build Trump’s much bally-hooed border wall. 

 2. Tom Barrack: Barrack was charged on seven counts on Tuesday. The allegations, according to the indictment, center on the idea that Barrack used his closeness to Trump to “advance the interests of and provide intelligence to the UAE while simultaneously failing to notify the Attorney General that their actions were taken at the direction of senior UAE officials.” 

 3. Elliott Broidy: Broidy, a top fundraiser for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, pleaded guilty in October 2020 to conducted a secret lobbying campaign in exchange for millions of dollars. 

 4. Michael Cohen: The one-time fixer for Trump, Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for a series of crimes, most notably secret hush-money payments made during the final months of the 2016 presidential campaign to two women alleging affairs with Trump. 

 5. Michael Flynn: Flynn spent a brief stint as Trump’s national security adviser before being forced to resign after he failed to disclose the depth and breadth of his contacts with Russian officials during the transition. 

 6. Rick Gates: Gates, deputy to the campaign chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Paul Manafort in concealing $75 million in foreign bank accounts. 

 7. Paul Manafort: Trump’s campaign manager for part of the 2016 presidential campaign, Manafort pleaded guilty in 2018 to on count of conspiracy against the US and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice due to attempts to tamper with witnesses – and agreed to cooperate with the ongoing Russia probe. 

 8. George Nader: An informal foreign policy adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, Nader cooperated heavily with special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

 9. George Papadopoulos: Papadopoulos, a relatively junior adviser to Trump’s campaign, was sentenced to 12 days in prison for lying to investigators about his contacts with individuals tied to Russia. 

 10. Roger Stone was convicted in November 2019 for lying to Congress and threatening a witness regarding his efforts for Trump’s campaign. 

 11. Allen Weisselberg: Earlier this month, the longtime chief financial officer for the Trump Organization was charged with tax crimes tied to perks he was given in lieu of salary. 

Full List of Donald Trump Lawyers Who Have Pleaded Guilty to Crimes 

Michael Cohen 

Sidney Powell 

Kenneth Chesebro 

Jenna Ellis

Rudy Giuliani

Donald J. Trump has 91 felony counts charged against him; he has been found liable for sexual assault/rape, and found guilty of tax fraud.

Trump has called people who disagree with him "vermin;" and further echoing Adolph Hitler, has said people from South America, Asia, and Africa are "poisoning our country's blood."

The current Republican Party and MAGA Americans want this disgusting, despicable human being to represent all of America and serve another term as POTUS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

via GIPHY

CHRISTMAS EVE'S FEAST OF SEVEN FISHES

"Jornu cortu, pisci longu; jornu longu, pisci curtu." *--Sicilian proverb

*(Short days, long fish; long days short fish: "eat long fish in winter; eat short fish in summer.")

 A childhood memory:

Growing up in a southern Italian family, I participated each Christmas Eve (La Vigilia di Natale) in the tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  I've never been able to find definitively where the tradition started or why seven fishes.  Here are some suggestions:



The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church -- baptism, penance, Holy Eucharist, confirmation, marriage, holy orders and the sacrament of Extreme Unction.



The seven sins of the world -- pride, envy, anger, gluttony, sloth, lust and greed.


The seven days it took Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem.


Some say it's the seven hills of Rome, some say it's the seven winds of Italy, or the Seven Wonders of the World.

Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection: the traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.

I have no idea why seven fishes were used, but it doesn't matter, since the idea of the feast was to carry on a tradition that was started somewhere in the obscure past and to celebrate a holiday in a manner that Italians know best--with lots of incredibly delicious food. 


My childhood memories are of my mother, grandmother (nonna) and aunts all working in the kitchen while the men smoked cigars, talked politics, and played cards in the parlor. [Beh!] 

One aunt made her famous ricotta filled ravioli.  Nonna made the dolci:  biscotti di regina, struffoli, pizzelle, pizza dolce, casatelli.   My mother, aunts and older cousins cracked steamed lobsters, picked the succulent meat from the knuckles, claws, 
and tails and put it into a marinara sauce that was ladled over piping hot bowls of linguini or fettucini. [We kids got to suck the little juicy bits of lobster meat from the legs, which were discarded because there wasn't enough meat in them to bother with.] I remember sweet, tender razor clams, stuffed with anchovy, parsley, and garlic flavored bread crumbs;  baccala--salted cod--made into a heavenly dish with hard-boiled eggs, floating in a savory sauce along with little salty green capers and bright red pimentoes.  The table was loaded with platters of lightly fried smelts, delicate sweet slender fish dredged in flour, sauted in olive oil, and served with cold lemon wedges; spicy, plump mussels in marinara sauce; scungilli salad; and my favorite, delicately battered and fried calamari.  One Christmas Eve, my mother prepared eel, which was surprisingly delicious--it tasted like chicken.

After everyone's bellies were filled, the uncles took out their musical instruments--violins, guitars, the older sisters and cousins played the piano, and we sang traditional Italian Christmas songs. [One of my childhood favorites was "Tu scendi dalle stelle." I just called it "Bambino."]  Finally, it was time for midnight Mass.  We all left the house and walked to church.  When we returned, we opened our gifts, played more music, ate more dolci and fell into bed by 2 am, exhausted, full, and happy.  Christmas day we all gathered again for our Christmas dinner--lasagna (in those days lasagna was made only for special occasions), followed by a meat course--roast beef or turkey, verdure (vegetables), salad, fruit, nuts, roasted chestnuts.  And later in the day, dolci--cannoli, pizza dolce, baba rum, and for the adults, caffe correcto (espresso coffee with a shot of sambuca in it).

I continued the tradition of cooking the seven fishes on December 24 when my children were at home, but now that they're living all over the country, it isn't as easy to do so with all of them so far away and on their own schedules.  But here is a feast of seven fishes meal I've made since then and am happy to share with everyone:


Feast of the Seven Fishes



Mussels with orzo (serves two)


2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and scrubbed
4 Tablespoons good fruity olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium stalk of celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
4 plum tomatoes, diced with skin and seeds
1 cup good burgundy wine
2 Tablespoons of minced fresh herbs (basil, mint, oregano, thyme, parsley, tarragon)
12 pitted black olives, sliced in half
1 tspn. anise seeds, crushed
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
3 Tablespoons minced parsley
1/4 pound of orzo


Boil water for orzo. Put orzo in water and cook until just tender (al dente).


Wash and scrub mussels and set aside. In a large, deep saute pan, saute the next 4 ingredients in olive oil until golden and tender, add plum tomatoes, and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add wine and simmer until alcohol evaporates. Place mussels in pan, turn up heat and cook just till the shells open. Remove from heat. Stir in herbs, olives, anise seeds, salt and pepper. Add orzo to pan and stir so that the little rice-shaped pasta gets into the opened mussel shells. Place in deep pasta bowls and sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve immediately






Smelts with lemon (serves 2)


1/2 dozen smelts
3/4 cup flour
salt, pepper
4 Tablespoons olive oil
lemon wedges
1 Tablespoon minced parsley


Go to your local fishmonger and select the freshest smelts. Their eyes must glisten like the newly fallen snow. No cloudiness in the eyes. Ever.


Take the smelts home. Take a pair of scissors and snip off their heads, then run the scissors down the front of the fish and degut them. Very easy.


Wash and dry the smelts. Put the flour on a platter and generously season with salt and pepper. Roll the smelts into the seasoned flour and set aside. Place olive oil in saute pan and heat. Saute the smelts over gentle heat until they take on a golden color. Do not overcook. Place on a platter and squeeze some lemon on them. Serve with more lemon wedges and garnish with minced parsley.






Lobster meat with fresh tomatoes and linguini (serves 2)


1/2 lb. lobster meat (buy shelled at fishmonger or cook your own)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
3 plum tomatoes, diced, with skin and seeds.
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tablespoon minced parsley


In a medium saute pan, saute the onion and garlic until soft and golden in the combination butter and olive oil. Add the diced plum tomatoes. Simmer for 2/3 minutes. Stir in basil and thyme leaves, salt and pepper to taste. Stir in lobster meat and heat through. Serve over linguini. Sprinkle with minced parsley.






Shrimp Scampi (serves 2)


3/4 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 Tablespoons olive oil
5 oz. of shitake mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 dozen cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 oz. good quality feta or goat cheese
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 Tablespoons combination minced fresh herbs (basil, thyme, mint, tarragon, parsley)


In a medium saute pan, saute the garlic and onion in olive oil until tender, add the mushrooms and simmer for 1-2 minutes, add the white wine and simmer until alcohol burns off. Add the tomatoes, lemon juice and lemon zest. Add shrimp and saute just until they turn pink, do not over cook. Remove from heat. Serve in shallow bowls. Sprinkle cheese and parsley just before serving.






Crabmeat and scallop stuffed filet of sole (serves 2)

2 good sized filets of sole pieces (approx. 1/2 lb. in total weight
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup crab meat
3 large scallops, cut in pieces
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
salt and pepper, red pepper flakes to taste
1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
2 Tablespoons minced fresh herb combination (basil, thyme, parsley, tarragon, cilantro)
1 Tablespoon toasted pignole nuts
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Lemon wedges


Place the olive oil and butter in saute pan. Add the scallops and cook to tender, add crab meat and heat through. Remove from heat. Stir in breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, cumin seeds, pignole nuts and herbs. Take the two sole filets and spoon mixture evenly on each filet. Carefully roll up the filets and place in glass baking pan. Dot with butter and squeeze lemon on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with minced herbs and serve with lemon wedges. 

 Clams rapini with tomatoes and pancetta (serves 2) 

 2 dozen little neck clams, scrubbed and washed 

4 oz. pancetta (or unsmoked bacon) cut into strips 

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly 

1 shallot thinly sliced 

14 oz. can of diced tomatoes 

1/4 cup dry white wine 

3 cups thoroughly washed rapini greens (broccoli rabe), with stems cut off 

3 tablespoons good quality olive oil 

2 tablespoons of minced fresh herbs (parsley, mint, thyme, tarragon, etc.) 

Cook the pancetta in a large fry pan, big enough to hold the clams, until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Saute the garlic and shallot in the pan in which you cooked the pancetta. Add a bit of olive oil if needed. Saute the garlic and shallot until tender (about 2 minutes). Add the tomatoes and cook about 1 minute. Add the wine and cook another 2 minutes. Add the clams, cover and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, cook about 5 minutes. Add the rapini, cover and continue to cook until the clams completely open (about another 5 minutes). Divide the clams, rapini and tomatoes between two shallow bowls. Top with the pancetta, drizzle with olive oil and minced herbs.



Pass the Alka-Seltzer and have a Happy Holiday, however you celebrate!

This is my neighborhood, Boston's historic North End.

This video was taken in 2021, but the Christmas decorations are about the same, especially the tree in front of the Paul Revere statue in the Prado, on Hanover Street. 

Below the first video is Boston's Faneuil Hall Market Place.

 

ELVES AND DADS FEELING THE GROOVE!

 

When the coffee starts to hit 😄☕️ pic.twitter.com/tH4kovAFC7

— Woman of Wonder (@WonderW97800751) December 19, 2023

To call this guy awesome? Is an understatement, to mock him is suicidal lol pic.twitter.com/3zloFCAMKu

— StacesCases 🇨🇦 (@CasesStaces) December 18, 2023

And here's an ABBA Christmas:

WINTER SOLSTICE

 "It's a perfect night to get lost in the woods and change your name to something only the wolves can pronounce." --Doth the Doth

 

THE SHORTEST DAY BY SUSAN COOPER 

So the shortest day came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

To drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive,

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, reveling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us—Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,

This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, feast, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!

WOW!

 

Trump Is Disqualified From 2024 Ballot, Colorado Court Says in Explosive Ruling

The decision, the first by a court to find that Donald Trump is ineligible to hold office again because he engaged in insurrection, is likely to put a monumental case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

 Conservative judge, J. Michael Luttig: 

 "1) The Supreme Court will affirm the masterful decision of the Colorado Supreme Court and disqualify Trump from appearing on the ballot. 

2) This decision is not political. It has nothing to do with politics, only constitutional law. 

3) Neither the Colorado Supreme Court nor the US Supreme Court is a political court. "I don't recognize politics within the judicial system. All 9 Justices will apply the law as written and disqualify Trump." 

4) I have nothing to comment on regarding Judge Clarence Thomas. I regard the Supreme Court with reverence and no decision can change that. 

All Americans should accept that."

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Lincoln Project (@lincolnproject.us)

"THERE ARE NO MODERATE REPUBLICANS"

Nikki Haley is okay with a federal law to ban abortions.

So, girls and women like Kate Cox would NOT be able to obtain an abortion to save their lives.

Period. 

Also, Haley raised her hand when, at one of the MAGApublican debates, the moderator asked who would still vote for Trump should he be found guilty of the felons he is now under indictment for. IOW, she is good with allowing a convicted felon to lead America -- a felon who was also found liable for rape and convicted of tax fraud. 

She's also on record for pardoning Trump should he be convicted of the federal crimes.

Why does ANYONE think this cowardly woman would be good for America?

Which is it, Nikki? What do you REALLY think?

Oscar™

@oscarchim

·

11h

I remember how some "liberals" hailed Haley as a "moderate" when she said on the debate stage a few weeks ago that anyone expecting a federal abortion ban was being unreasonable. I'm glad she's beginning to show her true colors - that she's no different from tRump and DeSantis.

There are no moderate Republicans. https://t.co/8l9OGPk7Xj

— Heather Thomas (@HeatherThomasAF) December 19, 2023