Althouse

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• "Here are some things at which this book looks askance: alcopops, the Alexander Cocktail (for those 'who have just been taken off stick candy,' one guidebook said), blenders (unless in careful hands)..."
• Sounds? I listened to the sound and paid no attention to the substance, and the answer is clearly "no."
• Did Governor Hochul go too far using religion in her health-policy rhetoric?
• At the Sunrise Café...

"Here are some things at which this book looks askance: alcopops, the Alexander Cocktail (for those 'who have just been taken off stick candy,' one guidebook said), blenders (unless in careful hands)..." Posted: 14 Dec 2021 07:27 AM PST "... stunt garnishes (i.e. skewered cheeseburgers on a Bloody Mary) and hot buttered rum, overrated because... 'the butter often leaves a slick.'... Among the things this book admires: Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy; using dense, very cold ice; knowing how to 'spank' an herbal garnish; understanding the variety of ways to shake and stir and roll and toss; having a firm handle on muddling, layering, swizzling." From "An Encyclopedic New Guide to Cocktails Stirred, Shaken, Rolled, Tossed, Swizzled, Muddled..." by Dwight Garner (NYT)(reviewing "The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails").  I read this article because the teaser on the front page was "A new book helps you convince yourself 'that your interest in getting wasted is an academic pursuit,' our critic writes." Don't read beyond the jump if you care about today's Spelling Bee puzzle and haven't finished with it and don't want a hint.... ... but I feel as though that mention of Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy is an intentional tie-in with the somewhat difficult pangram.

Sounds? I listened to the sound and paid no attention to the substance, and the answer is clearly "no." Posted: 14 Dec 2021 07:17 AM PST How many of you think this Rogue Doctor sounds credible? https://t.co/dqcEOoMXwe — Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) December 14, 2021

Did Governor Hochul go too far using religion in her health-policy rhetoric? Posted: 14 Dec 2021 06:14 AM PST Yesterday we were talking about Justice Gorsuch's dissenting opinion in Dr. A v. Kathy Hochul. In finding a right to a religious exemption from a vaccine mandate in New York, he focused on Governor Hochul's statements using religion to justify the mandate and to criticize opponents of the mandate. I was particularly struck by what Governor Hochul said when she attended a service at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn on September 26, 2021: "All of you, yes, I know you're vaccinated, you're the smart ones, but you know there's people out there who aren't listening to God and what God wants. You know who they are." I wanted to read more of that speech and see how much Hochul used religion to deliver a health/politics message.  Here's the transcript of that speech. It might be worth keeping in mind that the Christian Cultural Center is evangelical, the litigants who want a religious exemption are Catholic (with their own interpretation of what opposition to abortion requires), and Hochul comes from a Catholic family (but is pro-choice on abortion). Here's the excerpt, showing the most religious parts of the speech: I am humbled and just as Reverend Bernard and First Lady Karen were called to the ministry to leave their lives and serve way back in 1979 I feel that God has tapped me on the shoulder as well because everything I have done in life has been because of the Grace of God leading me to that place and now God has asked me to serve humbly as your servant, as your Governor, and yes it is the first female governor.... Thank God for President Joe Biden. He sent money to us to help people... Get this money out to the people... God let you survive this pandemic because he wants you to do great things someday. He let you live through this when so many other people did not and that is also your responsibility. But how do we keep more people alive? We are not through this pandemic. I wished we were but I prayed a lot to God during this time and you know what - God did answer our prayers. He made the smartest men and women, the scientists, the doctors, the researchers - he made them come up with a vaccine. That is from God to us and we must say, thank you, God. Thank you. And I wear my 'vaccinated' necklace all the time to say I'm vaccinated. All of you, yes, I know you're vaccinated, you're the smart ones, but you know there's people out there who aren't listening to God and what God wants. You know who they are. I need you to be my apostles. I need you to go out and talk about it and say, we owe this to each other. We love each other. Jesus taught us to love one another and how do you show that love but to care about each other enough to say, please get the vaccine because I love you and I want you to live... I will use the inspiration of God in my life and fight for you every single day as your governor and beyond.... Some people think political office holders ought to get religion out of their rhetoric entirely, but that is an extreme position, and it's not followed.  Others, notably Justice Scalia, celebrate the use of religion in speeches by political figures: The politicians are expressing themselves and should feel free to use religion. They're not requiring others to follow their religion, and it's fine for them to have a religious reason for adopting a policies and to speak openly about that rather than to sanitize it out of the public discourse. The Gorsuch opinion held Hochul's statements against her because she declared what is orthodox in religion and impugned the religious position of those who wanted an exemption. She said they hadn't listened to and understood God.  One problem with politicians using religion in their rhetoric is that it can cheapen religion. Who believes what Hochul said to the Christian Cultural Center congregation was sincere?! Does she believe God tapped her on the shoulder and made her Governor? Does she believe God made the scientists come up with the vaccine? It was — as it looks to me from halfway across the country — insipid pablum for a megachurch full of African-American Brooklynites. It's patronizing.  You know there's people out there who aren't listening to God and what God wants. You know who they are. Give me a break!

At the Sunrise Café... Posted: 13 Dec 2021 03:20 PM PST ... you can write about the topics of your choice. And please think of supporting this blog by doing your shopping through the Althouse portal to Amazon, which is always right there in the sidebar. Thanks!

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