There is a tacit assumption that all rich and/or powerful people are utterly corrupt and that it’s ever been so. To get someone not personally creepy and corrupt would be the unusual case. So as it works out, there are inexplicably some people who think he is doing an alright job and that anyone who replaced him would be as bad of a person so who cares.

Personally - I think since its illegal, he should be arrested, and most of Congress should too, they are subject to the laws they make. New elections. Rinse and repeat until we get people who care about the country, not themselves.

We are not the only nation with corrupt and irredeemably creepy and abusive politicians. Power corrupts.

This would then apply to all religions, correct?

She is so messed up. Religious marriage is separate from state licensing of relationships. Religion can discriminate away, but the state serves all its people.

She can’t argue she was acting on behalf of the state, and literally says it was based on her personal beliefs how can she then argue she has no personal liability?

I think that firing her would have been the better answer though, if she won’t do the job then fire her and hire someone without a conflict.

I am so confused. Why do you think I said taste is the only thing that matters about food? I did not say that. I said that it does matter, and should not be devalued, would never argue that it’s the only thing that matters, and never said that.

? I grow vegetables and fruit, make healthy meals, mostly homemade. Sourdough bread, fermented drinks with odds and ends to divert waste. Why do people think good food doesn’t taste good? Good food tastes great.

Why are you conflating animal foods and pleasure in eating? My vegan kid is a foodie, a good cook and a person who gets a lot of sensory enjoyment out of the texture and flavors of food. It’s important to her.

What is wrong with entertainment, though? Taste is one of our senses, like hearing or seeing, having food that tastes good is not inefficient , it’s lovely - I think having a good palate and appreciation for lots of flavors is a positive good in a life.

I like Beyond Burger more than hamburger but not more than black bean burgers or ground pork. I just dislike ground beef though. That Beyond Burger is made from isolated pea protein, flavoring and wishes. It does have a distinct flavor, and is a highly processed food.

How is this not just crisco, hydrogenated fat? Butter seems like it has more going on, traces of milk proteins & sugars that give it flavor.

I cook, my husband cleans up after. Because I am a good cook but not so good at cleaning. I do clean as I go, don’t explode the kitchen or anything but there is always more and he does that.

If the kids (teen and 20 are the ones still at home) don’t want what I make, they make their own food. All the kids cook better than my husband does - I remember when we were dating, his teenager asked if I could make mashed potatoes from potatoes for his birthday. But he got an Italian girlfriend and learned to cook too.

If I work late, I ask my husband to get us takeout and he does. On the odd occasion he cooks, I or the kids clean up.

If eggs don’t release well, it’s not seasoned well, most of mine are pretty nonstick but I struggle with the biggest one, the surface is not as good.

I would say baby that one. Clean it immediately then dry, wipe some oil in, almost none, and heat it while wiping it. Or make pancakes, that seems to rehab them. Long slow cooking with fat in there and something that doesn’t want to stick, getting scraped often.

If I am babying them, kosher salt and oil once it’s cool enough, then rinse & dry. Otherwise I scrape at it with the metal spatula then wash with soap and a scratchy sponge, it’s fine as long as you don’t soak them, and do dry them well after.

We do have a chainmail scrubber - my husband was soaking the skillets and killing the finish, he likes the chainmail scrubber.

In music this tracks. There is the meta, the stadium shows and radio plays. Some good but I can’t tell how they are any better than other bands, some worse in some hard to define way, I think maybe in appealing to so many people, while it must have some quality, it also has to lack some quality though? Art shouldn’t be able to please everyone, I guess. If I can’t hate it while someone else loves it, is it art?

Yeah I have worked at startup companies, twice, from beginning through 12 years, it’s been my career so far, and honestly I like seeing the progression and jump out when it gets too established and bureaucratic and inflexible. Those long hours at the beginning usually do come with some flexibility, and figuring out things and fixing problems, implementing new systems (I am an accountant) is good and interesting work. I guess I got lucky both times since they didn’t go under, one got sold and this one is starting to get too corporate.

Not religious texts specifically, but books in general - human imagination often creates something that is later discovered or invented. So I don’t know why it would not be true of older books.

Yeah, no. I don’t want to divorce but this would force my hand. We were two separate -for-legal-purposes-households living in the same house before, can be again.

Those who disregard history will be doomed to repeat it.

I think it’s pretty common for people to think doctors are great at treating acute conditions (stroke, broken bones, severe illness) but distrust advice on chronic conditions. So this may not be something they see as a discrepancy. And I can kind of see it if I squint - people on lots of medicines are often sick, and people on none healthier, and they may think this causation runs in the opposite direction, that they can magically join the healthy group by not taking medicines.

I remember telling my boss I would be on vacation, and when. He said I was supposed to request vacation time. I said ok, I’d like to request vacation time for these days I will be on the other side of the state, and not at work.

I am a coffee snob, will skip it unless it’s good.

Wine, I don’t like it enough to like bad wine so good wine or nothing, I am fine with just water.

Cheese puffs - I thought I didn’t like them at all until I worked at the health food store, they had these white cheddar cheese puffs made of food, real cheese, corn, salt. Those are so good! I never, ever eat Cheetos they are gross, but those white cheddar puffs are good.

Moderation in all things, keep your weight in check, do physical activity, don’t drink too much and don’t eat too much, seems like that is 80% of staying healthy. The details of all that, how you do it and what your remaining vices are, I think less important. But diabetes doesn’t run in my family at all.

I liked the Chinese tv adaptation, didn’t read the book, and won’t watch the American version. I think the series was good largely because of the actors, not so much the plot.