#vox needs someone around in order to be his most functional

[randomly--accessed--memories]

Since Alastor doesn't want to spend time with Vox, the hotel probably throws Vox to Pentious, so he will be his problem. He would be like, " Now I need to baby prof not just for my eggs but also taller people :{ "

In the end, he could be able to help a little (when you bother teaching the person what to do[cough cough Alastor is a bad teacher cough ])

Vox is actually able to interact with the Egg Bois pretty well; he’s not clumsy in most respects, his electricity is just super volatile. As long as he doesn’t turn up the heat too much, he can’t really hurt them (they’re raygun resistant, after all), which is a nice change of pace for him. Doesn’t mean there aren’t still some incidents, but regardless.

Yeah, Pentious is really good for Vox. He’s willing to be patient with him due to the respect he has for (ex-)overlords and the fact that keeping an eye on him/potentially rescuing him was the whole reason he was sent to the hotel in the first place. Vox’s retention may not be great, but if you can keep him calm and on task, he’s actually pretty decent at his job— it just takes some wrangling. It’s convenient that Pen doesn’t have any particular responsibilities at the hotel unlike a lot of the other residents, so he can basically help Vox full-time. It’s with Pen’s help that Vox goes from constantly frying things to only doing so in moments of high emotion or if he spends too much time on/in something.

[sepublic]

Ideas for potential future Hazbin Hotel episodes...

So in the event that Hazbin Hotel gets greenlit by some outside studio, or continues to function and thrive with fan support, I think there are a couple of important ideas/concepts that are worth exploring and forming episodes and subplots around;

-An episode about a second visitor (Alastor doesn’t count as he’s a benefactor and Niffty and Husk are employees, not guests) would be VERY important and I feel a good starting point for the next episode. We already have Angel Dust, but he admits that he only signed up for a free room (not that this won’t change...). For the show’s themes of redemption, we need to actually see someone else, probably someone who saw Charlie’s ad on TV, actually sign up to stay at the hotel. By having this happen, it’ll show that, yes, there ARE people who are legitimately interested in the Hazbin Hotel and its offer of redemption, and this can pave the way for more guests. Having the Hazbin Hotel gain traction (along with reactions from other demons to Alastor’s sponsorship) would move the plot along.

Based on the official art by Vivzie, I think characters such as Mimzy, Crymini, or Baxter would work. Rosie is a demon lord, so I don’t see her signing up anytime soon, Arackniss is unrepentant, and I think Molly might be saved for later. We’ve already had cameos of Mimzy and Crymini (the latter even watching Charlie’s advertisement), and considering how prevalent the aforementioned three are in art, they’d probably be good starting points for the hotel. Likewise, Cherri could possibly join later, but I’m not entirely sure.

-It’s mentioned in a Q&A that Demons can actually ‘level up’, increasing their rank and power in the process. Considering Alastor seems to be vying for the spot of a demon lord (or at the very least started off concerningly powerful for someone who hadn’t yet leveled up), this would be a good subplot to explore not only Alastor and his motives and abilities, but also introduce Rosie and potentially Lillith, Valentino, and Vox. Ideally, we’d be introduced to leveling up as a concept, and see how it works and what it does.

Likewise, we could also explore the demon hierarchy in general, and how it works. How does Lucifer, Lillith, Satan, and Beelzebub’s authority extend? How do other demons feel about them? Have there been attempts to overthrow them, and how loyal are the Demon lords, assuming they have any allegiance whatsoever? We see a Bat Demon Lord and Dinosaur Demon Lord with Lillith when she looks at Charlie’s fireworks, so it seems THOSE two at least have it good with the ruling family.

-Having an episode dedicated to a new arrival at Hell would also be interesting, as we’d see what it’s like to suddenly die, only to be reincarnated as a demon (potentially as an animal you hate, no less) immediately afterwards. Having a subplot of the Hazbin crew welcoming in a new demon would be a neat way of exploring how Hell works, how one gets introduced and acclimated to the area, and the lifestyle. It could also be used to explore the origins of other characters, or at least the circumstances in which they died and/or arrived. Additionally, it’d be in Charlie’s best interest to immediately invite new arrivals to Hell, as presumably they’d be in a vulnerable, disoriented state and want to leave Hell ASAP. It might be taking advantage of someone else’s predicament, but it’s probably in anyone’s best interests to leave Hell, and we can also explore Charlie’s character flaws later.

-Speaking of arrivals and new guests, having the story focus on how the redemption and rehabilitation process actually works would be pretty important. 

-Character backstories and origins are pretty key, and exploring Angel Dust’s family and mobster origins would be vital regarding his redemption. Likewise, a proper introduction to Valentino (and the Hazbin crew possibly dealing with him, a bit VIOLENTLY might I add...) is begging to be animated. We could answer various questions, such as what exactly ARE the Egg Bois, Vaggie’s hostility to other demons, the origin of Alastor’s power, why Niffty seems rather obsessed with men, and so forth.

-Twice, Alastor has offered Charlie’s hand, and both times she’s declined a handshake/deal. This seems like foreshadowing towards an inevitable ‘deal’ she’ll make with him, so an episode about this (probably later in the series) would be an interesting concept.

-Similarly, Alastor always smiles because he sees anything else as a sign of weakness; So obviously, preferably as late into the series as possible, we need to have the show’s most major ‘All hell is loose’ moment in which Alastor frowns.

-More Sir Pentious antics... that’s really all I have to say. Presumably these would be Wile E. Coyote subplots as he attempts to destroy the Hazbin Hotel and repeatedly fails, with some plots failing without the main cast even being aware Pentious was trying.

-Charlie backstory, alongside her family dynamics with Lucifer and Lillith, as well as her thought process in creating the Happy Hotel. A meeting with Vaggie and explanation of the two’s relationship origins would also be neat, and the introduction and clarification of Satan and Beelzebub as separate entities from her father is also neat.

-I think an episode actually showing if it IS possible to be redeemed and go to heaven would be very important regarding, again, the show’s themes and Charlie’s motives and goals. Perhaps it’d happen later in the series, or earlier, depending on the answer to the age-old question; If you CAN go to heaven, we’ll definitely need an episode exploring a demon that rehabilitates, and the process of ascension. If you CAN’T go to heaven after redemption, then this would probably be revealed as some devastating reveal later down the line that forces Charlie to question herself.

-Likewise, an episode(s) focusing on Charlie’s flaws and misunderstanding of redemption would be great for her character. Charlie is definitely well-meaning and optimistic, but at the same time you get the idea that she’s a bit naive and doesn’t quite fully understand how people end up in Hell, and how tricky of a process it is to actually rehabilitate oneself. Charlie learning that she can’t push people into becoming better just by being all happy and sunshine-y would be relevant as a character arc, and it’d motivate her into approaching redemption more subtly. People can and ARE messed up in Hell and are dealing with intense issues, and Charlie needs to learn to recognize this and give people the space they need to improve.

-We see the results of the Exterminator Angels’ annual massacres, but we have yet to see one in action. Thus, an episode that showcases what an extermination actually looks like would be both fascinating and also utter nightmare fuel as the characters try to survive and protect the guests at the Hazbin Hotel, who may not be any more exempt from extermination than anyone else. Likewise, seeing how the Demon Lords and others prepare for an extermination would be neat world-building.

-Mobster, crime-ring shenanigans with Angel Dust, Cherri, Arackniss, etc., would also be fun to see. It could be used to explore what the demon underground looks like, what ‘laws’ there are in Hell, if any, and how society functions. It could also explore the idea of Exterminator weapons being a major thing in the black market due to their ability to actually, permanently kill a demon.

-What happens if a demon dies from an Exterminator weapon? Vivzie may or may not answer this, but going into speculation, I think a slain demon might actually reincarnate into a new life outside of Hell, thus given another ‘chance’ but as a different person entirely.

-Somebody dies permanently; Again, we know demons can be taken out completely by the Exterminator weapons. I think this could make for some interesting drama, or it could just be reserved for some one-off, one-shot character in order to explain how Exterminator Weapons work.

-An episode about Charlie just completely, UTTERLY losing it and revealing her true demon form in all of its hellish entirety would also be amazing.

-More Niffty and Husk interactions! 

-Another musical number isn’t NEEDED, but it would admittedly be pretty great. Potentially, there could even be an entire musical episode dedicated to all of the characters singing, which explores their motives, backstories, etc.

-Additionally, having filler subplots of the cast trying to deal with and rehabilitate the episodic, demon-of-the-week and dealing with said demon’s flaws and making them a better person could be entertaining.

-How much of Hell IS there? Overpopulation is an issue, so presumably there are boundaries... And if so, what ARE those boundaries? Does Hell just end at a cliff hovering over an empty void, or is it contained at the bottom of a giant pit?

[easyfoodnetwork]

From the Strategist: This Compact, Do-It-All Oven Makes Me Feel Like Julia Child in Quarantine

Courtesy of the retailer

Why Cuisinart’s air fryer–slash–toaster is an essential kitchen gadget, from the Strategist

On top of working from home and taking care of a 14-month-old, sheltering in place means that I, like most people I know, am cooking more than ever. Managing my schedule and my son’s are pretty much full-time jobs on their own, so I have little extra time for my third gig as the family chef — too little, I’ve learned, to wait around for the Thermador double oven in our kitchen to warm up every time someone wants a hot meal. The oven’s slow heating time demands that I plan ahead whenever I want to use it, but my current reality too often requires the ability to prepare something in a flash. Longing for a more versatile alternative, I decided it was time to clear some counter space for an air fryer–slash–toaster oven my husband and I had stashed away in a closet after receiving it from my parents last May. The only regret I’ve had since is that we didn’t open the thing up sooner.

Pre-quarantine, I only made about one meal a day during the week, so cooking was more of a hobby than a necessity, and I didn’t think it was worth the clutter of installing yet another appliance. But this do-it-ourselves moment called for a sous chef that more or less does it all at the press of a button, which is exactly the Cuisinart’s appeal: It can bake, broil, toast, fry, and even convection cook at basically the turn of a dial. And it’s fast. Unlike my actual oven, which needs some time to preheat before I even begin cooking, the Cuisinart oven gets right to work. If I feel like having whole roasted sweet potatoes for lunch, I simply pop them in, set it to bake, turn the dial up to 350 degrees, and set the timer for about 25 minutes. By the time I finish feeding Augie his yogurt, I have perfectly cooked potatoes (or perfectly roasted broccolini, or perfectly toasted, open-faced ham and cheese sandwiches).

An even more miraculous ability is the Cuisinart’s air-frying function. Instead of cooking with oil, an air fryer uses really hot air to the same effect, yielding food that’s just as crisp and golden but without the grease (though you can add a little oil for extra crunch). I’ve used it to make mini frozen pork dumplings oil-free, which came out crunchy and hot in less than ten minutes. (When I panfry, dumplings always end up burnt before cooking through on the inside.) I’ve also whipped up more-than-respectable French- and sweet-potato fries, culinary feats that have convinced me I could air-fry just about everything, like the kale I recently bought to make homemade kale chips. The Cuisinart’s toast function also works as well as, or better than, a stand-alone toaster, and its ovenlike design makes it easier to toast open-faced sandwiches or enough English muffins for three. I have yet to use the convection and broil settings, but it’s only a matter of time before quarantine cooking compels me to do so.

And the Cuisinart doesn’t just stand in for our oven — it’s also a great alternative to our microwave, because it can consistently prepare leftovers without turning them soggy. For instance, we recently ordered Korean fried chicken from a new neighborhood joint, Jiku, and got some extra pieces, knowing we could reheat them for a future meal. When that future meal came, I pulled a few wings from the fridge, threw them in, turned on the air-fry setting, and (again) in less than ten minutes had ready-to-eat wings that were (almost) as good as the ones we ate straight from the restaurant. I suspect reviving old pizza using the Cuisinart’s toast function would result in crust as crispy as our reheated wings were.

As helpful as it is, the Cuisinart does have its limits. One is its size, which is too compact for, say, baking a dozen cookies or roasting a turkey for the whole family (though I could probably roast one for two; the machine’s manual includes a recipe for a four-pound whole roast chicken). Because there is only a dial to set the heat, I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable making anything that requires a super-precise temperature. And depending on what setting you’re using, you have to move around the different racks inside the Cuisinart or take them out completely — which isn’t difficult, just tedious. But even with these minor nuisances, the gadget has done wonders at helping me feel in control of my kitchen. Now if I could just say the same about the rest of my household.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2yDfBAp https://ift.tt/2RYPz1k

Courtesy of the retailer

Why Cuisinart’s air fryer–slash–toaster is an essential kitchen gadget, from the Strategist

On top of working from home and taking care of a 14-month-old, sheltering in place means that I, like most people I know, am cooking more than ever. Managing my schedule and my son’s are pretty much full-time jobs on their own, so I have little extra time for my third gig as the family chef — too little, I’ve learned, to wait around for the Thermador double oven in our kitchen to warm up every time someone wants a hot meal. The oven’s slow heating time demands that I plan ahead whenever I want to use it, but my current reality too often requires the ability to prepare something in a flash. Longing for a more versatile alternative, I decided it was time to clear some counter space for an air fryer–slash–toaster oven my husband and I had stashed away in a closet after receiving it from my parents last May. The only regret I’ve had since is that we didn’t open the thing up sooner.

Pre-quarantine, I only made about one meal a day during the week, so cooking was more of a hobby than a necessity, and I didn’t think it was worth the clutter of installing yet another appliance. But this do-it-ourselves moment called for a sous chef that more or less does it all at the press of a button, which is exactly the Cuisinart’s appeal: It can bake, broil, toast, fry, and even convection cook at basically the turn of a dial. And it’s fast. Unlike my actual oven, which needs some time to preheat before I even begin cooking, the Cuisinart oven gets right to work. If I feel like having whole roasted sweet potatoes for lunch, I simply pop them in, set it to bake, turn the dial up to 350 degrees, and set the timer for about 25 minutes. By the time I finish feeding Augie his yogurt, I have perfectly cooked potatoes (or perfectly roasted broccolini, or perfectly toasted, open-faced ham and cheese sandwiches).

An even more miraculous ability is the Cuisinart’s air-frying function. Instead of cooking with oil, an air fryer uses really hot air to the same effect, yielding food that’s just as crisp and golden but without the grease (though you can add a little oil for extra crunch). I’ve used it to make mini frozen pork dumplings oil-free, which came out crunchy and hot in less than ten minutes. (When I panfry, dumplings always end up burnt before cooking through on the inside.) I’ve also whipped up more-than-respectable French- and sweet-potato fries, culinary feats that have convinced me I could air-fry just about everything, like the kale I recently bought to make homemade kale chips. The Cuisinart’s toast function also works as well as, or better than, a stand-alone toaster, and its ovenlike design makes it easier to toast open-faced sandwiches or enough English muffins for three. I have yet to use the convection and broil settings, but it’s only a matter of time before quarantine cooking compels me to do so.

And the Cuisinart doesn’t just stand in for our oven — it’s also a great alternative to our microwave, because it can consistently prepare leftovers without turning them soggy. For instance, we recently ordered Korean fried chicken from a new neighborhood joint, Jiku, and got some extra pieces, knowing we could reheat them for a future meal. When that future meal came, I pulled a few wings from the fridge, threw them in, turned on the air-fry setting, and (again) in less than ten minutes had ready-to-eat wings that were (almost) as good as the ones we ate straight from the restaurant. I suspect reviving old pizza using the Cuisinart’s toast function would result in crust as crispy as our reheated wings were.

As helpful as it is, the Cuisinart does have its limits. One is its size, which is too compact for, say, baking a dozen cookies or roasting a turkey for the whole family (though I could probably roast one for two; the machine’s manual includes a recipe for a four-pound whole roast chicken). Because there is only a dial to set the heat, I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable making anything that requires a super-precise temperature. And depending on what setting you’re using, you have to move around the different racks inside the Cuisinart or take them out completely — which isn’t difficult, just tedious. But even with these minor nuisances, the gadget has done wonders at helping me feel in control of my kitchen. Now if I could just say the same about the rest of my household.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2yDfBAp via Blogger https://ift.tt/2XUZxoi

[luckylq40-blog]

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[silverhands-etcetera]

After Midnight.

I’m the first one to wake up today. This is a rare thing in any house. The ticking of the clock and the tapping of the letters on my keyboard are the only sounds. Rain is coming down steadily outside, but the sky is still bright, it’s easy to be in the kitchen without any lights on.

Every morning when I walk to this kitchen, I half expect Tommy to be in here -reading his book, pot of coffee started. Tommy being the designated early riser of Joy Mills band tours, his was often the task of putting the first kettle on. Today it’s me. I’ve got the press stewing on the table in front of me, waiting for the big hand to get to the 4, so I can drop the plunger & strain out a cup of precious elixir.

We’re at a place in our travels that doesn’t particularly coincide with what is happening on stage. I’ve reached that point in a trip where the most accessible feeling of normalcy is in the van. There’s a nagging fatigue in all of the days, -nothing strong enough to dull the edge of the the excitement of just being on the road, and nothing even coming close to lethargy, but more of an awareness of always being slightly hungry, always slightly too full, running in a cycle of consumption that squeezes every last drop of enjoyment out of each part of every day. We’re all drinking a lot of coffee.

Our day-to-day is in an easy flow, we know the drill when packing up the van, all of the things and the order in which they go. We’ve long forgotten the origin of the catchphrases & inside jokes we tell, but we keep saying them and they keep cracking us up. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to remember where we were yesterday, but then sometimes it’s the same at home, so maybe that’s not strange at all.

Life itself is currently a well-oiled and streamlined operation, -the difference right now is that on stage we’re starting up a brand new show. I have to crawl out of the shadows and be the face of the band for the next couple weeks. An abrupt shift happens in my mind when I come from basically any other task into singing my own songs. I have been enjoying just playing the bass -not “just” playing the bass as if it is an element of little consequence, but the singular focus and purpose behind doing something that I feel I’m good at, and more importantly, something that allows me to find my feet beneath me quickly when I go astray.

When I am singing, there are more variables, some of which I’m not as good at reigning in -which is why it’s important to have a band that can roll with anything I toss out. If I have any rule at all in my band, it’s that we play everything the way it comes to us naturally. If something doesn’t work, that’s probably a sign that it’s not a thing that’s meant for us to do. I’ve spent a lot of energy in former times trying to duplicate a phrase or a pocket from songs that are special to me, only to eventually realize that the most captivating part of it is how very different it is from my self.

I don’t know where the influence comes from, and what synapses between my memory and my hands are firing or missing to make things happen the way they do. It’s not just what you listen to, it’s how you have processed it. My favorite players are the people that appear as though the music is just happening to them -being a conduit for something bigger than themselves. The way Jack’s riffs can freak you out while simultaneously tucking you into the fluffiest, most comfortable resolutions you’ve ever heard. Or how Esme can play rests like Danko on the bass, while she dangles vocal melodies over both ends of a measure as though she’s got two people on the job.

I’m not someone who is good at directing musicians, but I think I’m smart enough to know something that works when I hear it. Silverhands in this incarnation is not a wall of sound, we’re a vessel for the songs. I’m playing the guitar, and sometimes I like to leave holes in the guitar part, or just let a particular chord finish what it has to say for several measures. This is where the rhythm section keeps things glued together. I don’t try to analyze it too much, it just works.

—

We rolled back into Lovenich, the serene low rolls of the hills and lazy windmills beautiful now in their comforting familiarity more so than in any feeling of exotic landscape. It was still early afternoon, and it was a clear day, so we opted to postpone rehearsal and head out for a bike ride through Rurich & Baal and through the woods back to the house. Our bodies were feeling the constriction of a day in the van, and a little bit of air & exploration was in order. In the end, we managed to put off any kind of rehearsal until the next day, about two hours before the first gig. We wrote out a rough set list & ran through a few of the fresher numbers -all in all, about 100% more rehearsing than we did when the 2016 tour came over here.

The first gig was back at the scene of the first Del Vox show, two weeks and several lifetimes ago, at the Kultus cafe in Grevenbroich. Veronika was waiting for us -actually since 6 pm, due to a lapse in communication somewhere, but I made it up to her by not asking for any kölsh beers all night. Hien was ready for us with the sound, and I was itching to bust the rented Fender Twin amplifier out of its case. The room was starting to fill in, so we busted out a quick verse of soundcheck and laid down our instruments until showtime.

When we finally went on, the place was full up. I had the expected variables of playing a borrowed guitar through an unknown amp, but any jitters cleared up quickly. We were solid right out of the gate, busting through our openers and feeling the warm approval of the room at our first pause. The amp sounds great, a lot like my Music Man twin back home, with a little more of a bark, but also with a really great functional vibrato. Having this at my disposal while I’m here is gonna make me really want to get the vibrato fixed (redesigned) on my own amp when I get home.

At the break we ran into our Irish friend John, who came down from Rees to see the show. The gig went by like several blinks, and we were hanging out in a room full of friends that we had acquired in just the last two weeks. Veronika made me promise that we’ll come back next year, -there’s a lot of talk like this.

—

At Nagelhaus, breakfast turns into conversation that burns through no less than 4 pots of coffee every morning, and often runs straight through to lunchtime. Saturday was a morning much like this. (I enjoy the times when I notice that I have been in Europe long enough for the English spoken by the locals to impact my phrases as I write) It was another brisk fall day, but free of precipitation. The gig is only an hour away, so the band headed to the stable and saddled up the bicycles for a ride up to Erkelenz. We can only go roughly 45 minutes at a time without eating or having coffee at this point, so the 30 minute ride was safely within our window.

It was chilly, only Aimee was wise enough to pack a pair of gloves on this trip, so when we locked up the bikes our interest was first drawn to any store that might have some handwear to sell us. First up was a fancy clothes joint that offered some really nice leather gloves, -which I considered, even at an asking price of 80 bucks. As it happened, a drugstore-looking establishment down the street sold me on a pair of $2 garden gloves.

What I find amusing (about myself) is that both glove options had an almost identical chance of being what I went home with. Ultimately it’s not that I ain’t prone to drop a chunk of money on a random accessory that I didn’t know I needed, it was more that I just can’t be trusted with gloves and things that get stuffed into pockets and lost before I even get home. Whichever direction I go, I go all out -I’m riding with a pair of bright green, plastic-dipped knit gloves, the cheapest and ugliest in the store. Sherri opted for the $5 mechanic’s gloves, in a stylish black & grey. Aimee bought a can of wine.

Back in the square we met our daily soup needs, and broke the seal on lagers, before heading down the street for coffees at a little bakery with a familiar-looking poster in the front window. By the time we’d topped off our tanks, it was time to get back home & get ourselves to work.

—

Maartje and Ronnie are two of the longest-held friendships I have in the Netherlands. We shared a gig in Landgraaf on my first visit here in 2013. The bands have changed a bit, but tonight we are back at the Theater Landgraaf, where we all first met.

We rolled up right on time. Ronnie had his many Gretsches all out on display, framing a persian-style rug front & center on the stage. There was much discussion with Wick, our engineer for the evening, over how to set up and backline the drums & bass amp. Eventually we settled on drums at stage left, forcing me & my guitar to the center. Not my favorite place to be, but I can roll with it.

Right about then, a woman in a red felt cloak walked in carrying two pans of lasagne and about a dozen jars of custard. She introduced herself & said “I have made your food for tonight, but I am going out for supper, so make of that what you will.” I appreciated her sense of humor, and in the end, I appreciated her cooking as well. We all took a break for supper & made ourselves comfortable at the bar, serving ourselves and hanging around on both sides, staff & artists alike. The room had an easy vibe of camaraderie to it. We took an interview for a local radio program, and I was still behind the bar talking with the DJ when a white-haired fellow with a collared shirt under his sweater turned the corner, speaking almost a full paragraph of Dutch to me as he slowly stepped closer & closer until he was right at my shoulder, looking at me sternly.

At a bit of a loss, I said “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch most of what you said there”

“oh” he said, & his face turned a bit. “you stay on the other side with your friends and not on this side of the bar”

It was only then that I noticed he had a sticker nametag on his sweater. Good thing he doesn’t have a badge…

—

Maartje & Ronnie soundchecked first, the venue has a new mixing desk & much time was spent in squaring up the monitor mix -which I appreciated when we got up to check ourselves & I walked right up to the lead vocal mic and immediately had a perfect balance -which never happens. Maartje & I are the same height, apparently, as I didn’t even need to adjust the mic stand. I was feeling pretty good about things when I saw Wick coming over to me with another mic & stand, reaching for the one I was singing into.

“You can’t use that mic, it’s the one I have checked for Maartje”

“but it’s perfect”

“it is EQ’d for her”

“but it sounds great. I’m really happy with it like it is. You can leave it exactly how it is”

“…”

I don’t like telling people how to do their job, but I also don’t like creating needless variables, especially when there’s new technology in play, and lots of options for producing more chaos than necessary. The fact was that it sounded great & I didn’t feel like taking the time to start again from zero to get a different mic to sound exactly like this one already did. In the end, I was able to convince Wick to just leave the same mic up. It was pushing 8pm, doors were in just a few minutes.

Both bands would play around 45 minutes, but there were no rules. We could play whatever length of set we wanted. Ronnie told me that the only important thing that was that we need to be out of the theater by midnight. I told him that wouldn’t be a problem.

—

They’ve got a nice new batch of songs, and a new album in the works. Ronnie’s got some great new folk rock numbers & Maartje keeps producing beautiful songs with universal truth and timeless settings. Her voice sounds like it comes straight out of the american experience, I don’t know how she does it.

Silverhands up on that big stage,.. we had a lot space between us. I felt a bit like I was on an island in the center, but the sonic support came in from both ends. I reckon I was in the sweet spot. There’s a couple of small differences between my electric guitar at home & Sherri’s guitar that I’m playing on this tour. The tone is coming from the same location on the spectrum, it doesn’t do anything unexpected. The things that I need to adapt to are purely architectural -the bridge doesn't lay down as low as my G&L does, and I find that the volume knob is a lot higher up the body, leading me to punch it when my downstroke gets too animated. As usual, the band held it down while I was cracking myself up over my unexpected antics.

We closed the night joined by Maartje & Ronnie for a couple numbers, and just like that another show was over. It was one of those gigs where you are in no hurry to tear down & pack up. Ronnie was doing an interview with the radio guy. Sherri, Aimee, Maartje & I were chatting with Wick & the equally jovial light tech on the stage, while we all casually wrapped up our business.

The crowd finished their beers & we had a round of photos on the stage, eventually talking about our influences & the paths we took to get here, standing around our piles of gear when Wick tapped me on the shoulder.

“Can you bring the van & begin loading? The staff would like to go home”

I looked at the time. It was after 12. How did this happen?

Hugs all around. Let’s do it again.

—

We were starving when we got home. Aimee made us popcorn & we cracked a couple of crispy Jupilers from the fridge. The nights get so long, even when they aren’t. The story keeps going, I’m sure I’ve missed a lot, but this brings us back to the beginning of this chapter.

[theconservativebrief]

Brandon Truaxe is arguably the most controversial beauty industry figure in the world. The founder of Deciem, which produces the popular and affordable skin care line the Ordinary, was ousted from the company in October after months of increasingly troubling and erratic behavior that culminated in an announcement he was ceasing business and closing all Deciem stores worldwide, through a post on the brand’s Instagram.

During it all, he has suggested multiple times that there were “financial crimes” occurring within the company. He’s back in the news again thanks to a wide-ranging report published in Canada’s Financial Post.

The report confirms suggestions that Truaxe has been hospitalized for mental health issues several times in the past and has had problems with drug use. It also provides details about how minority investor Estée Lauder acted to remove him. Finally, it sheds more light on the tangled web left behind for current interim CEO Nicola Kilner to handle. Along with copies of emails Truaxe himself sent to Vox over the past several months, it paints a picture of a company in even more turmoil than originally suspected.

Truaxe, who the Financial Post reports was born as Ali Roshan, gave the paper his first interview since the ouster. The article also includes information from court documents.

Apparently Truaxe was hospitalized in the UK at the time of the interview, where he was “diagnosed with presumptive bipolar disorder, and held for a fortnight under the UK Mental Health Act,” according to reporter Joseph Brean. Ultimately, a tribunal determined that he could be released. In the story, Truaxe denied that he is mentally ill.

Social media commenters have long speculated about Truaxe’s mental health or possible drug use during episodes he made public on Deciem’s Instagram (which has now been scrubbed of those posts). The Financial Post story suggests he has had problems with drug use.

“The hospital was unable to rebut Truaxe’s lawyer’s suggestion that his psychosis was induced by his use of psychedelic mushrooms and crystal meth,” according to the Financial Post.

Truaxe admitted to the Post that he has used several substances regularly:

His youth also saw his introduction to magic mushrooms, which he said he has used often since childhood, sometimes daily, but also sometimes going months without. He said he does not seek hallucinations, but rather the period of open-minded calmness that follows a few hours after consumption.

Truaxe said he overheard workplace whispers about himself, his drug use and his mental state. He heard someone talk about crystal meth. He thought the talk was triggered by his offer of mushrooms to Kilner [Deciem’s acting CEO] in Amsterdam, where the drug is legal, while they were on a team-building tour via Venice and Paris. He called this offer a mistake.

Truaxe also posted a series of disturbing videos on Deciem’s Instagram saying he was in trouble and needed help from a hotel in London.

“The Ham Yard Hotel is a stylish place just around the corner from Piccadilly Circus in London’s Soho. This is where in May Truaxe said he took crystal meth for the first of four times, all in the U.K. It went poorly,” according to the Financial Post. Police found crystal meth and mushrooms in his hotel room. Estée Lauder allegedly arranged for a lawyer for him and no charges were filed. He was hospitalized briefly after this episode.

This is all a seemingly new admission from Truaxe. According to a series of emails to various lawyers and Estée Lauder executives forwarded to me in May and June, Truaxe confirmed he’d been hospitalized at that time but suggested that he had been given drugs against his will. He also denied trying meth.

On June 1, he emailed an Estée Lauder executive and included me and a large group of others as recipients. The email read in part: “I will now report the extreme crimes you have committed to try to frame me as a drug addict by collecting videos of drug dealers feeding me dangerous drugs, performing extremely damaging acts to my body with heat and other objects and recording them on video. … I passed all the drug tests, went to your ‘mental hospital’ where they could not justify any sign of any odd behaviour or any trace of drugs in my urine for over a week, never had a real arrest.”

Later he said, “you know that I had never touched Crystal Meth in my life. You know that I have never done any damaging acts to my body.” Truaxe did not respond to a request for comment before publication time.

It was pretty clear to followers on social media that Truaxe and Deciem were having problems, but the Financial Post story adds some bizarre details. For example, as mentioned in an October story in the New York Times, executives had noticed a change in Truaxe’s behavior after he supposedly came back from a trip to Mongolia, where he allegedly almost died due to extreme weather. According to Truaxe, there was no trip to Mongolia, which he proved by showing images of his passport.

View this post on Instagram

We make beautiful products. But the reality is that before beautiful products, we are a team of beautiful humans with deep hearts invested so heavily and lovingly in DECIEM. This love is what makes weeks like the last one so difficult. Following the court ruling on Friday we have now reopened all stores, offices, factories and warehouses. Together, we are committed to serving our customers, partners and everyone involved in this journey to the best of our humble abilities, and we are ready for the next part of our story to begin. Brandon will always be the founder of DECIEM. We will take the passion and values he has instilled within us as we continue to grow the brands we have created with transparency, integrity, authenticity, function and design. Thank you from the very bottom of our hearts to each and every person who has continued to support our journey. We look forward to sharing what’s to come with you.

A post shared by THE ABNORMAL BEAUTY COMPANY (@deciem) on Oct 15, 2018 at 12:14pm PDT

According to court documents reviewed by the Financial Post, Estée Lauder is a one-third equal partner in Deciem and paid $50 million for its share. It has previously been reported, from information given by Truaxe himself, that Estée Lauder had a 28 percent share of the company.

After October’s events and Truaxe’s effective shuttering of the company, Estée Lauder mobilized to have Truaxe legally removed. Court documents state that Truaxe apparently “went behind the board’s back to lease a new headquarters and a private plane.”

“He has essentially lit the company on fire,” Estée Lauder’s attorney Mark Gelowitz said at the court hearing, according to the story. Gelowitz also used phrases like “calculated insanity,” “spiralling decline,” and “gone too far” to describe Truaxe and his behavior.

Truaxe had fired and rehired co-CEO Nicola Kilner, but apparently fired her again prior to shuttering stores. He also tried to remove the company’s third investor, Pasquale Cusano, from the board, even going so far as to allegedly “crudely forge” Cusano’s signature on documents. (Cusano filed a lawsuit against Truaxe alleging the latter had been trying to remove him the board. Truaxe had confirmed to me in previous conversations that Cusano had filed against him, but not specifics of the lawsuit.)

Later, Truaxe did not show up to a company board meeting, saying that “he had been pushed into Lake Ontario the day before, his birthday, and had to be saved by police and paramedics.”

Truaxe has insisted, both on his Instagram account and in conversations with me since the summer, that “financial crimes” had occurred at Deciem, but he never gave specifics.

On November 11, which would have been during his most recent hospitalization, he forwarded me an email he had sent to Jay Clayton, the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. It’s not clear whether the SEC has done anything in response.

In the email, he mentioned the word “bribery” and wrote: “During the last year, I have been concerned about possible, but very-likely, financial wrongdoings related to one of our shareholders. … During this time, the shareholders of DECIEM have attempted to present me as mentally unable, as a drug addict and as a person unqualified to run the business or even be a director, to the public, to the DECIEM team, to police, to medical professionals, and now to courts.”

According to the Financial Post, an “outside accountant” was ordered by the judge to investigate Truaxe’s claims of financial wrongdoing within the company. No information has yet been publicized about any findings.

A spokesperson for Estée Lauder would not comment on the details but sent the following statement to Vox: “We remain strongly committed to Deciem, Nicola Kilner and the entire team as they continue to run their business and provide consumers with the products that they know and love.”

A judge had to issue a restraining order against Truaxe after he made comments perceived to be threatening in an email to Leonard Lauder, the patriarch and chair emeritus (and son of Estée) of the Estée Lauder companies, and another executive.

Truaxe, according to his personal Instagram page, has also tried to enter Deciem stores both in New York right after the order and in London right after his hospitalization, where he was escorted out. He also published a recent email sent to Leonard Lauder, along with a cease and desist notice from an attorney, which has since been deleted from his Instagram, though a mention of it remains. Truaxe continues to post sometimes rambling and incoherent posts on his own account.

Deciem has scrubbed its Instagram account of many of Truaxe’s old posts and resumed a more traditional social media marketing campaign, posting professionally shot videos of its employees and announcing a Black Friday sale and new products. It’s also rehired ex-CFO Stephen Kaplan, who resigned in protest after Kilner was fired the first time in February 2018.

It seems that Deciem may be trying to recover, and may succeed if the company can continue to provide the same products at a price point customers have become accustomed to. But there might be more to this saga.

The unknown factor here, as always, is Brandon.

Want more stories from The Goods by Vox? Sign up for our newsletter here.

Original Source -> What the latest report on skin care company Deciem reveals about its troubled founder

via The Conservative Brief

[the-daily-wtf-blog]

Day 13: Supreme.

Source: https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2017/02/01/Day-13/

02/01/2017

Updated: 02/01/2017 07:07:57 PM PST

Subscribe: Get the Daily WTF in your inbox

1/ Trump Picks Neil Gorsuch, A Scalia Clone, For The Supreme Court. Ideologically, Gorsuch would almost certainly represent a reliably conservative vote and voice. Gorsuch would be the most conservative justice save for the silent stalwart Justice Clarence Thomas and would sit somewhere just to the right of the ideological space occupied by Scalia. (FiveThirtyEight)

UPDATE: What Gorsuch means for the Supreme Court. 13 top legal scholars weigh in. (Politico)

Related:

Where Gorsuch would fit on the Supreme Court. Should he be confirmed, the court will return to a familiar dynamic, with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy holding the decisive vote in many closely divided cases. (NY Times)

Who Is Neil Gorsuch? Like Justice Antonin Scalia, Gorsuch has cultivated a reputation as a memorable and clear author of legal opinions. (NPR)

Why Liberals should back Gorsuch. One basic criterion should be paramount: Is the nominee someone who will stand up for the rule of law and say no to a president or Congress that strays beyond the Constitution and laws? (NY Times)

Why Democrats should oppose Gorsuch. The presumption should be that Gorsuch does not deserve confirmation, because the process that led to his nomination was illegitimate. (NY Times)

2/ Trump to McConnell: Go nuclear if necessary. But McConnell, a well-known institutionalist, has been noncommittal about whether he would invoke the so-called “nuclear option” to force Gorsuch through the upper chamber. (The Hill)

Related:

Make Republicans nuke the filibuster to confirm Gorsuch. Once Mitch McConnell blockaded Barack Obama’s last Supreme Court nomination, and then Donald Trump carried the Electoral College, the chance that Republicans would fill the vacancy rose to 100 percent. McConnell already indicated that he does not respect Democrats’ right to filibuster, and that he would eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations if one is used. It is McConnell, his extraordinary blockade tactic, who has functionally changed the rules of the game. He should be forced to do it in name. (New York Magazine)

3/ Rex Tillerson is confirmed as Secretary of State amid record opposition. The votes against Mr. Tillerson’s confirmation were the most in Senate history (NY Times)

4/ Sessions approved by Senate committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Sessions 11-9 along party lines. His nomination now goes to the floor, where he is widely expected to be confirmed given the GOP’s 52-seat majority. (The Hill)

5/ Republicans suspend committee rules, advance Mnuchin, Price nominations after confronting a boycott from Democrats. Senate Committee rules normally require at least one Democratic senator present to have a vote. But when Democrats refused to show, the committee’s chairman suspended those rules. (CNN)

6/ Two Republican senators says they aren’t committed to voting for Betsy DeVos on Senate floor. Democrats say they have 48 votes against DeVos on the floor but need 51 — and they have been looking for Republican votes against her. (Washington Post)

UPDATES:

Two GOP senators to vote no on Betsy DeVos. The first two Republicans to break with Trump on his Cabinet picks. (The Hill)

DeVos nomination stands at 50-50. It could come down to Vice President Mike Pence, in what would be a history-making confirmation vote. (Politico)

7/ Resistance from within: Federal workers push back against Trump. Less than two weeks into Trump’s administration, federal workers are in regular consultation with recently departed Obama-era political appointees about what they can do to push back against the new president’s initiatives. (Washington Post)

Related:

State Dept. dissent cable on Trump’s ban goes viral at U.S. embassies, attracting around 1,000 signatures – far more than any dissent cable in recent years. The letter, which harshly took apart the executive order, said the visa ban would “alienate allies” and “hurt America economically.” (NY Times)

Trump transition email shows initial effort to oust all inspectors general. (Washington Post)

8/ White House ices out CNN. Trump administration refuses to put officials on air on the network the president called “fake news.” (Politico)

Related:

Fatigued by the news? Experts suggest how to adjust your media diet. Or, just read WTF Just Happened, Today? instead. (NY Times)

Covering Trump the Reuters way. In a message to staff, Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler wrote about covering President Trump the Reuters way. (Reuters)

9/ Bannon thinks there will be war with China in the next few years. Comments on his radio show are re-surfacing as the “special counsellor” assumes unprecedented power in the White House. (The Independent)

UPDATES:

Trump administration “officially putting Iran on notice.” National security adviser, Michael Flynn, issued a statement in reaction to an Iranian missile test and an attack on a Saudi warship by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. “It’s either an empty threat or a clear statement of intent to go to war with Iran.” (The Guardian)

Trump to focus counter-extremism program solely on Islam. (Reuters)

Trump to Mexico: Take care of “bad hombres” or US might. Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them itself. (Associated Press)

News of Lesser Importance:

Bannon explained his worldview well before it became official U.S. policy: countries should protect their citizens and their essence by reducing immigration, legal and illegal, and pulling back from multinational agreements. (Washington Post)

President Trump campaigned as a Washington outsider. But his first Supreme Court nominee has deep roots in the city and the establishment Trump criticized. (NY Times)

How Democrats missed a chance to reshape the Supreme Court for a generation. If it weren’t for 77,744 voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court would have had, for the first time in nearly 50 years, a majority of Democratic-appointed justices. (Vox)

Trump has a message for poor immigrants: Get Out. The ban targeting seven Muslim-majority countries was just the beginning. (The Atlantic)

Tweets to Shake Your Head At:

The est. security cost for Melania living 200mi away from Trump is double the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts.

43,64743,647 Retweets

43,80243,802 likes

Here is a transcript of President Trump's comments on Dr. Martin Luther King at his Black History Month gathering this morning. pic.twitter.com/qHq9i1Ligg

This is a full transcript of President Trump's speech to his Black History Month event. pic.twitter.com/uJ9iXvUOGr

19,06319,063 Retweets

21,12321,123 likes

This just happened: Spicer: "I want to go to my 2nd Skype seat: Lars Larson of the Lars Larson show..." Lars: "Commander Spicer..."

WH briefing Spicer: “I want to go to my 3rd Skype seat: Lars Larson of the Lars Larson show.” Lars: “Commander Spicer, it's a pleasure...” pic.twitter.com/CixxjU7wgk

1,1351,135 Retweets

1,5391,539 likes

WTF, right? Get this in your inbox, daily.

-Matt Kiser

[easyfoodnetwork]

Courtesy of the retailer Why Cuisinart’s air fryer–slash–toaster is an essential kitchen gadget, from the Strategist On top of working from home and taking care of a 14-month-old, sheltering in place means that I, like most people I know, am cooking more than ever. Managing my schedule and my son’s are pretty much full-time jobs on their own, so I have little extra time for my third gig as the family chef — too little, I’ve learned, to wait around for the Thermador double oven in our kitchen to warm up every time someone wants a hot meal. The oven’s slow heating time demands that I plan ahead whenever I want to use it, but my current reality too often requires the ability to prepare something in a flash. Longing for a more versatile alternative, I decided it was time to clear some counter space for an air fryer–slash–toaster oven my husband and I had stashed away in a closet after receiving it from my parents last May. The only regret I’ve had since is that we didn’t open the thing up sooner. Pre-quarantine, I only made about one meal a day during the week, so cooking was more of a hobby than a necessity, and I didn’t think it was worth the clutter of installing yet another appliance. But this do-it-ourselves moment called for a sous chef that more or less does it all at the press of a button, which is exactly the Cuisinart’s appeal: It can bake, broil, toast, fry, and even convection cook at basically the turn of a dial. And it’s fast. Unlike my actual oven, which needs some time to preheat before I even begin cooking, the Cuisinart oven gets right to work. If I feel like having whole roasted sweet potatoes for lunch, I simply pop them in, set it to bake, turn the dial up to 350 degrees, and set the timer for about 25 minutes. By the time I finish feeding Augie his yogurt, I have perfectly cooked potatoes (or perfectly roasted broccolini, or perfectly toasted, open-faced ham and cheese sandwiches). An even more miraculous ability is the Cuisinart’s air-frying function. Instead of cooking with oil, an air fryer uses really hot air to the same effect, yielding food that’s just as crisp and golden but without the grease (though you can add a little oil for extra crunch). I’ve used it to make mini frozen pork dumplings oil-free, which came out crunchy and hot in less than ten minutes. (When I panfry, dumplings always end up burnt before cooking through on the inside.) I’ve also whipped up more-than-respectable French- and sweet-potato fries, culinary feats that have convinced me I could air-fry just about everything, like the kale I recently bought to make homemade kale chips. The Cuisinart’s toast function also works as well as, or better than, a stand-alone toaster, and its ovenlike design makes it easier to toast open-faced sandwiches or enough English muffins for three. I have yet to use the convection and broil settings, but it’s only a matter of time before quarantine cooking compels me to do so. And the Cuisinart doesn’t just stand in for our oven — it’s also a great alternative to our microwave, because it can consistently prepare leftovers without turning them soggy. For instance, we recently ordered Korean fried chicken from a new neighborhood joint, Jiku, and got some extra pieces, knowing we could reheat them for a future meal. When that future meal came, I pulled a few wings from the fridge, threw them in, turned on the air-fry setting, and (again) in less than ten minutes had ready-to-eat wings that were (almost) as good as the ones we ate straight from the restaurant. I suspect reviving old pizza using the Cuisinart’s toast function would result in crust as crispy as our reheated wings were. As helpful as it is, the Cuisinart does have its limits. One is its size, which is too compact for, say, baking a dozen cookies or roasting a turkey for the whole family (though I could probably roast one for two; the machine’s manual includes a recipe for a four-pound whole roast chicken). Because there is only a dial to set the heat, I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable making anything that requires a super-precise temperature. And depending on what setting you’re using, you have to move around the different racks inside the Cuisinart or take them out completely — which isn’t difficult, just tedious. But even with these minor nuisances, the gadget has done wonders at helping me feel in control of my kitchen. Now if I could just say the same about the rest of my household. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. from Eater - All https://ift.tt/2yDfBAp

http://easyfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2020/04/from-strategist-this-compact-do-it-all.html

[theconservativebrief]

Republicans have hung on to their Senate majority, which means Mitch McConnell can spend the next two years jamming through as many judicial nominees as possible.

It’s a plan he hasn’t been shy about.

“You know what my top priority is? It’s the judiciary,” he said during a press conference last week, while outlining upcoming priorities. “We intend to keep confirming as many as we possibly can as long as we can do it.”

The Senate’s approval of judicial nominees is one rare issue on which the Republican conference has been able to remain united. With the narrow majority they’ve had, the party has needed every Republican vote in order to move pretty much anything — but with a handful of troublesome Republicans gone and the potential expansion of their majority as Florida and Mississippi’s Senate seats get resolved, confirming more judges should only get easier for them.

Democrats say they’ve done their best to capitalize on procedural tactics and other strategies in order to block nominees, but at least one progressive activist thinks there’s plenty of room for them to be more aggressive. Brian Fallon, the head of Demand Justice — an activist group that was vocal in opposing Brett Kavanaugh — thinks Democrats need to stop making deals with Republicans when it comes to approving judicial nominees in bulk, for starters. (Democrats had previously signed on to two deals that enabled Republicans to fast-track 15 judicial nominees as a package.)

“The act of continuing to grant consent for huge packages of nominees allows McConnell in the aggregate to plow through more nominations than he otherwise could,” Fallon says, adding that Democrats also have the opportunity to use more of the leverage they have on issues like funding legislation in order to obstruct questionable nominees.

Given Republicans’ continued dominance in the upper chamber, however, Democrats only have so many limited options.

A big reason Republicans are now able to barrel through with their nominees is changes to Senate rules (a process that Democrats kick-started).

Tweaks to the Senate’s filibuster rules — shifts that were initiated by then-Majority Leader Harry Reid after Republicans refused to let President Obama’s judicial nominees through — along with the erosion of other informal congressional checks have rendered Democrats increasingly powerless to express their opposition. Today, Republicans only need a simple majority (50 votes plus Vice President Mike Pence as a tiebreaker) to move through their nominations.

And they’ve been more than happy to take advantage of this.

As of September, the Senate had confirmed the most circuit judges that have been approved by this time in a president’s first term, according to a Washington Post analysis. Meanwhile, Trump has lagged behind other presidents — excluding Obama — when it comes to confirmations of lower district court nominees.

Circuit and district court judges are federal appointees. Circuit court judges sit on the second-highest federal court in the US, following the Supreme Court. They handle appeals on different cases within their jurisdiction, while district court judges focus on trials. There are 13 circuit courts across the country, and 94 district courts.

On average, the nominees that Trump has offered up are younger, whiter, and more male than those previously appointed by Obama.

Due to all the updates in rules and norms, there’s little Democrats can do to stop this.

“At this point, if the majority would proceed with the nominee, there’s not a ton that we in the minority can do to stop it if they align behind it,” one Senate Judiciary Committee aide told Vox.

Kavanaugh’s confirmation process offered a prime example of how much norms have shifted.

In the past, both parties have worked together to request documents from a Supreme Court nominee’s record, for example. In Kavanaugh’s case, however, the majority opted to unilaterally request the documents they were looking for and then bypassed the National Archives to do a parallel, expedited document review led by someone who had served as a personal attorney for President George W. Bush.

“It’s a sad state of affairs that for the first time, Chairman [Chuck] Grassley has decided to go it alone and take a partisan approach, producing the most minimal amount of documents for the public,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at the time.

In October, Republicans sped ahead with confirmation hearings for multiple judicial nominees, even though the majority of senators were out of town and Democrats had asked explicitly to reschedule. On different nominations, Democrats have said that Republicans are rushing these nominees through so fast that some have not received evaluations from the American Bar Association — usually a key vetting criterion — by the time their hearings roll around.

What’s more, Grassley, the Judiciary Committee chair, has also signaled a weakening of “blue slips,” one of the ways lawmakers in the minority have previously been able to express their concerns about different nominees.

A spokesperson for Grassley says that prior judiciary chairs have used their discretion to determine how blue slips are interpreted and notes that many of them did not consider them definitive blocks on nominees.

These are just some examples of how the majority can do pretty much whatever it wants, Democrats say.

Democrats are pretty hamstrung, but they aren’t completely powerless. They are able to delay the consideration of judicial nominees both in committee and on the floor, though these tactics aren’t able to fully block anyone from confirmation.

They can, however, potentially limit the number of judges who are ultimately confirmed by slowing down the broader confirmation process. “The Senate is all about the calendar,” says Jim Manley, a former communications adviser for Harry Reid. If judicial nominees aren’t confirmed by the end of the congressional term, for example, they can either be re-nominated by the White House to be considered again in the new term or they could be dropped.

Democrats have already used some of these approaches. Because the Senate requires “unanimous consent,” or the agreement of all senators to proceed with its daily business, Democrats can take turns withholding their approval for various steps — including voice votes on nominees.

If even one Democrat declines to vote on a nominee when the majority decides to do so, lawmakers are able to force a procedural vote to set up 30 hours of debate before a final vote can take place. Nominations can take up to four days to clear as a result of this process.

Adam Jentleson, a former deputy chief of staff for Reid, outlined just how this tactic works in a Washington Post op-ed this past January:

If a single senator objects to a consent agreement, McConnell, now majority leader, will be forced to resort to time-consuming procedural steps through the cloture process, which takes four days to confirm nominees and seven days to advance any piece of legislation — and that’s without amendment votes, each of which can be subjected to a several-day cloture process as well.

As of April, about one in four Trump nominees had been subject to this extra procedural step, and Trump had already lambasted these delays as obstructionist. Jentleson, in his op-ed, argues that this tactic could potentially be used by Democrats even more — although he notes there are strategic reasons why they wouldn’t be.

“If Democrats withhold consent from everything the Senate does until such a process is established, they can stall Trump’s agenda and confirmation of his nominees indefinitely,” he writes, adding, “The kind of universal obstruction pioneered by McConnell during Obama’s presidency is not in Democrats’ nature: They believe in the smooth functioning of government.”

Democrats could also deny quorums at committee meetings by refusing to show up, says Manley — a way to prevent committee votes from happening and nominees from advancing in the process. He notes, however, that McConnell could ultimately overcome and wait out all these efforts. As a result, they should only be deployed when necessary, he says — or else they could completely inhibit the Senate from working at all.

Grinding the Senate to a halt could certainly send a message, but it could also cause irreparable damage to how the body functions. “McConnell, if he wants, can break any logjam,” Manley emphasizes.

While Democrats note that they’re using pretty much everything at their disposal to stop the wave of judicial nominees, some progressive activists argued that they could have done more when it came to two recent deals.

In August, Democrats struck an agreement with Republicans that included the fast-tracking of 15 Trump-nominated judges, so vulnerable red-state lawmakers could return home and campaign. In October, they made another deal that basically accomplished the same thing.

Groups including MoveOn and Demand Justice, both of which were active in the fight to block Kavanaugh, were furious.

“This deal … is a bitter pill to swallow so soon after the Kavanaugh fight that so many progressive activists poured their hearts and souls into,” said Demand Justice’s Chris Kang following the October agreement. “This period will be long remembered not just for the historic number of judges Trump has been able to confirm, but also because of how passive Democrats were in response.”

A senior Senate Democratic aide said that on both occasions, many of these judges had bipartisan support. The aide also said that the October deal minimized the number of judges who could have been confirmed ahead of the midterms. Additionally, it could have helped ensure that red-state lawmakers weren’t penalized by their decision to skip out on votes. (Democrats’ most endangered red-staters, Sens. Joe Donnelly, Claire McCaskill, and Heidi Heitkamp, lost anyway.)

Demand Justice’s Fallon emphasizes that Democrats should stop taking any such deals in the future — especially since 2019 is not an election year. He notes that Democrats need to be clear that they’ll be willing to disregard blue slips and jam through their own judges when they take back power in the White House and the Senate. Drawing a line in the sand could have a “chilling effect” on how freewheeling Republicans have been with these kinds of moves, Fallon says.

Democrats could very well face another decision on a judicial nominees deal later this year, as the end-of-the-year holidays approach. McConnell has emphasized that he’s willing to keep confirming nominees as late as Christmas Eve, and he could potentially hold senators’ ability to return home for holiday breaks as a point of leverage over Democrats.

It’s up to Democrats not to blink, Fallon says. “The reality is in most of these circumstances, McConnell is relying on the Democrats [to cave],” he told Vox. “He doesn’t actually have what it takes to keep the chamber open.”

Democrats say they are aware of this outcry and note that they are constantly weighing what forms of opposition are most effective. In some instances, like the case of Ryan Bounds — a Ninth Circuit nominee who was withdrawn over concerns about his past racist writings — they’ve succeeded in highlighting the nominee’s biases and lack of qualifications as a way to sink him or her.

“I know that our ranking member and our leader talk a lot about options that are procedurally realistic. We are not blind to the backlash,” the Judiciary aide noted.

The influx of Trump’s judicial picks has the potential to shift the federal judiciary much further to the right — and have a lasting impact on everything from environmental protections to campaign finance reform. This judicial deluge is yet another instance of Republicans trying to upend existing institutions to favor corporate interests, says Fallon.

Many Democrats emphasize, however, that their only real solution is regaining an advantage in the Senate. “I can’t get over the fact that we can’t control the Senate, so it’s all a moot point,” says Manley.

Without the majority, they only have so many options.

Original Source -> Democrats’ very limited options for stopping Mitch McConnell’s judicial onslaught

via The Conservative Brief