I too cook my turkey on a round Weber grill. I usually do a 25 lb bird, but to do so, I use the round ring insert, made for the rotissierie, to gain vertical clearance. The coals are banked on either side, kept there by heavy wire enclosues designed for that purpose. Weber calls it the "indirect method". The turkey is placed on a rack on the main grill after being stuffed, rubbed with veg. oil and seasoned. Takes about as long as it would in the oven, but all the heat is outside and the oven is available for other puposes. The bird gets smoked red about 1/2 inch deep and stays moist throughout, as the initial heat tends to sear the outside. I have been doing this since 1976, and the idea of roasting it breast down has never crossed my mind, but it will be done tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

From a reader:

Jonah

Not to run the Simpsons food references into the ground here, but the
Helen Hunt episode also contains another of the all-time greats, Moe's
overjoyed response upon finally getting his date:
"Don't eat nothin' for three days, baby, I'm takin' you out for a steak
the size of a toilet seat!"

Cheers

Peter,

Can you put a little update on my recipe for cranberry sauce? I've checked and a bag of cranberries is 12 ounces. It's very important to make sure that you have the right proportions on cranberries to sugar to water because cranberries are VERY tart. If you like it that way, you can cut back on the sugar, but be careful, cranberries don't necessarily taste so great without a lot of sweetener. Also, make sure you cook the berries until they burst, about 6 or seven minutes.

On the other variations to the recipe, a suggestion that I would make: Start with the base recipe to make the cooked cranberries. Then add in your other flavors. Be careful about cooking out the port wine or the orange juice at the beginning because some of the more volatile flavors will cook away.

Good luck and good eating.

RUSSIAN SPECIAL FORCES “VITYAZ” LANDING AT BORYSPIL AIRPORT

Kyiv, Ukraine – Viktor Yushchenko's presidential campaign has received reports that two Russian aircraft landed at the Kyiv International Boryspil airport today carrying military personnel of the “Vityaz” special forces unit. Approximately 1,000 in number, they were transported to Kyiv, but their whereabouts currently are unknown.

This information was provided to the campaign by Ukrainian Colonel Lyashenko, an assistant commander of aviation brigades, who services aircraft landing at the airport. He refused to follow orders from above to accept the aircraft and thereafter submitted his resignation.

The Yushchenko campaign provided this information to Ukraine 's Security Service (SBU) Chairman Ihor Smeshko for appropriate investigation and follow-up. As well, the campaign requested security protection be given Colonel Lyashenko. Subsequently, the Yushchenko campaign was informed by the head of SBU's military counter-intelligence that indeed Colonel Lyashenko resigned his post at Boryspil airport today. However, the SBU representative rejected the fact that Russian special forces arrived at the airport today.

Yesterday, Yushchenko campaign chairman Oleksandr Zinchenko and Yushchenko ally Yulia Tymoshenko reported they saw non-Ukrainian special forces units at the presidential administration in downtown Kyiv, when they were peacefully let through a human barricade located on the street in front of the presidential administration. More reporting to follow.

SECRET TAPES COULD UNCOVER ELECTION FRAUD SCHEME

Kyiv, Ukraine – Viktor Yushchenko's presidential campaign managers possess audio taped recordings of conversations held among top Ukrainian government officials and their aids documenting vote count manipulations, instigation of violence at polling stations, and falsification of election protocols. The tapes include conversations with central election commission leaders as well as top aids to President Leonid Kuchma. Personnel from Ukraine's Security Service passed the secret tapes to Yushchenko campaign managers.

The audiotapes are similar to those released in September 2000, which unveiled that the murder of investigative reporter Georgi Gongadze was tied allegedly to Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma and other top government officials. A partial transcript of the taped conversations can be found on the 24 November Internet site www.pravda.com.ua in both Russian and Ukrainian.

I have work to do, and all you people at NRO seem to do is distract me!

This morning's home page offers a cornucopia of politico-cultural junkie delights: SpongeBob, U2, and Dan Brown, all on the same screen?! Within an inch of each other?

New VDH and turkey frying? What am I to do? I don't have this kind of time. And then on the Corner, people are quoting the Simpsons and talking turducken! .... Stop being so interesting!

P.S. My use of the word "cornucopia" above reminds me that my six-year-old [son] adorably called it a "corn-mania" earlier this week.

The Lions last championship was won in 1957. Since that time, the Lions have generally been awful, with occasional bursts of pretty good.

Win or lose, my father will be watching his beloved Lions on Thanksgiving Day, hoping for the best despite plenty of reasons to expect the worst.

Morton Blackwell, a man who served as a GOP delegate for Barry Goldwater and has attended every Republican convention since, has seen the ebb and flow of politics. His Laws of the Public Policy Process includes this gem: "Don't fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing."

K-Lo,
The "pinko" NPR cranberry relish sounds interesting, but here's a "red state" cranberry relish. Sorry if it's too late for Thanksgiving - I kept assuming someone else would write in - but we make this at Christmas too. Ten minutes prep - no cooking.

1 large orange
4 cups (about 1 lb) fresh cranberries, picked over and washed
1/2 cup sugar, or more to taste
1 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger

1. Peel orange and remove all pith. Keep the orange sections and the zest.
2. Combine the orange flesh, zest, cranberries and sugar in a food processor. Process until mixture is chunky. Stir in the ginger and additional sugar if needed.

Let it sit for 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to blend. Keeps well (refrigerated) for a few days, but it never lasts that long. (Great on turkey sandwiches.)

Best wishes,
Kevin Clark

P.S. If anyone wants the recipie for tipsy sweet potatoes (secret ingredient is Jack Daniels) let me know.

A number of thoughtful readers have written in on my Monday column
(geneticist makes house call) by remarking that the way genes determine the
characteristics of living things is complicated & not very well
understood -- it depends to some degree on the interaction of a gene with
(a) other genes, and (b) the environment a gene, or its host organism,
happens to find itself in.

All of that is perfectly true, and I did not say or imply otherwise. In
this area of science, though, it remains the astounding case that _the
dominant consensus in the public square is an extremist one_.

That dominant consensus is, in fact, the assertion that genes do _nothing at
all_, most certainly nothing to do with brain function! The consensus is,
as Steven Pinker has scoffed: "See no genes, hear no genes, speak no
genes." This is preposterous. Genes, with all their complications and
subtleties, are tremendously important in determining our characteristics --
both physical and personality characteristics -- as every parent surely
knows.

My column leaked out to several lefty websites, where there has been much
sneering at it as a typical attempt to buttress white male supremacy etc.
etc. For the record, my visitor -- the "datanaut" -- is a dark-skinned
South Asian. He boasted to me, in fact, about how easy it is for him to win
arguments with campus lefties by pulling race on them -- "I'm darker than
you, so what do you know?..." He says it generally does the trick.

From a reader:

Jonah ... I have been enjoying your articles for the past few months, but this one really hit my heart. I will be saving it for myself and perhaps sharing it with others from time to time, if that's okay with you. My son will be going back to Iraq in January and from what he has experienced from his fellow citizens, since his notification, he goes, knowing that they care. He also knows that he is doing this to show that he cares and believes in America. I'm thankful that I found out about NRO from, of all places, the CBS News website. Your writing as well as others around you has restored my faith in opinion writers. Thanks ... [Name withheld]

From a reader:

Jonah,

I read your post on Thanksgiving and the interpretation of the holiday by the Ayn Rand Institute. It struck me that perhaps this is where the notion of original intent may be most appropriate considering the times we live in, our brave men and women who are serving in far off places, and the risks they are facing day in and day out. And for that, I will defer to the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, as written through the pen of William Seward.

"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union."

Seems to me that his proclamation speaks volumes today, as it did in 1863.

All the best to you and the rest of the tireless crew at NRO.

A nice profile of three medics in Iraq.

Today's syndicated column
is on Thanksgiving. And, yes, it was partly inspired by (i.e. ripped-off from) 2001 Thanksgiving column which people seemed to like at the time.

From a reader:

Ok, the magical animal quote was good re: Turducken, but I immediately thought of the episode where Moe gets a date with Helen Hunt, and Moe, Helen, Homer and Marge are at The Gilded Truffle. When the waiter asks Moe what he would like to order, Moe Responds:

Moe: We'll have you best dish, stuffed with your second best:

Waiter: Very good sir, lobster stuffed with tacos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From that emailer from NPR:

Jonah:

LOL to the NPR comment in the Corner…

Let it be known that:

1. My position is technical, so I have no (direct) control over what goes on the air…yet!

2. I voted for W, along with the other 3 conservatives at NPR.

3. The post-election atmosphere here is absolutely delightful. Plenty of shock and awe for everyone. It culminated in a reporter incredulously asking me “Are you being ironic?” after she saw a “Viva Bush” bumper sticker on my desk (put there entirely to get amusing responses like that)…

Have a great Thanksgiving,

Deep Cover NPR Guy

From a reader:

"We are giving thanks for the soil, the land, for the gifts of providence which were bequeathed to us long before we figured out our political system."

Not according to the Ayn Rand Institute: "This holiday is designed to
celebrate, not faith and charity, but thought and production.

"Thanksgiving celebrates man's ability to produce. The cornucopia filled
with exotic flowers and delicious fruits, the savory turkey with
aromatic trimmings, the mouth-watering pies, the colorful
decorations--it's all a testament to the creation of wealth."

http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10469&news_iv_ctrl
=1021

Steve - Did you not know about my dark fascination with the Turducken? It always reminded me of this scene from the Simpsons:

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?

Lisa: No.

Homer: Ham?

Lisa: No!

Homer: Pork chops?

Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal!
Homer: Heh heh heh... ooh... yeah... right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Dear Klo,

I would offer a slight modification to my fellow Georgian's recipe for Cranberries.

Replace the water with a Ruby Port - it gives a rich fuller taste.

And being a good conservative reserve the remainder of the open bottle's contents for the cook.

To everyone - I wish you all a Great Thanksgiving wherever you are with whoever your with.

Several readers have -- quite fairly -- pointed out that the Fourth of July probably qualifies as a more nationalist holiday. I think this is certainly right in one sense. But I think it also illuminates how the word "nationalist" doesn't really fit the American context very well. For some, nationalism is about martial songs and patriotic fervor. For others, it's about an organic bond with the land and the soil and the founding culture of the nation. I consider the Fourth a patriotic holday more than a nationalist one. We are celebrating the signing of a text, the establishment of a set of laws and principles on the Fourth of July. The Fourth is about political liberty and national independence. It is, for all its pomp and circumstance, a fairly secular and rational holiday. Meanwhile, Thanksgiving plays upon the mystic chords of memory and is prior to and independent of many of things we celebrate on the Fourth.

Anyway, I agree its a fair criticism and probably just highlights different perspectives. And, yes, the food on the Fourth of July is really, really good. I am all about hotdogs, beer and barbecue.

It's my favorite holiday, I think. It's without a doubt my favorite American Holiday. I love Christmastime, Chanuka etc. But Thanksgiving is as close as we get to a nationalist holiday in America (a country where nationalism as a concept doesn't really fit). Thanksgiving's roots are pre-founding, which means its not a political holiday in any conventional sense. We are giving thanks for the soil, the land, for the gifts of providence which were bequeathed to us long before we figured out our political system.

Moreover, because there are no gifts, the holiday isn't nearly so vulnerable to materialism and commercialism. It's about things -- primarily family and private accomplishments and blessings -- that don't overlap very much with politics of any kind. We are thankful for the truly important things: our children and their health, for our friends, for the things which make life rich and joyful.

As for all the stuff about killing Indians and whatnot, I can certainly understand why Indians might have some ambivalence about the holiday (though I suspect many do not). The sad -- and fortunate -- truth is that the European conquest of North America was an unremarkable old world event (one tribe defeating another tribe and taking their land; happened all the time) which ushered in a gloriously hopeful new age for humanity. America remains the last best hope for mankind. Still, I think it would be silly to deny how America came to be, but the truth makes me no less grateful that America did come to be.

Also, I really, really like the food.

K-Lo (If I may call you that)

I've been following this recount thing closely - sure it would happen and am now not as sure.

Not only has Kerry distanced himself from the Ohio recount but he's also not picking up anywhere near the provisionals needed.

So, I did the math and looked at Ohio state law. The recount folks will have to raise five times what they already have and I don't think they can do it for a lost cause.

Hope this eases your mind. It eases mine. I was never worried about Kerry overtaking Bush's lead but it was what John Fund calls the "margin of litigation" that worried me and Kerry seeing Ohio as a last chance as 2008 slipped away.

Does anyone know if (MS)NBC has transcripts of the nightly news hidden anywhere? I've been poking around at their website for ten minutes and can't find any sign of 'em. Nexis no have either. I'm looking specifically for their story on the Ukraine from last night.

KLo,

I am a HUGE fan of NRO and especially the Corner. I also happen to be a Republican, a GOTV volunteer (partially through reading your pages), and a small businessman. The business I happen to own is a restaurant company. (4 located in Atlanta, 39 Best of Atlanta awards and reasonably priced www.bridgetowngrill.com ). For NRO readers only, I am willing to share the easiest of all homemade Thanksgiving recipes; and, it is for fresh cranberry sauce, and it actually really tastes great. BR>
1 bag fresh cranberries (1 pound or so)
1 C Sugar
1 C Water

Boil water, add sugar, stir, add cranberries, stir, boil 5 minutes (the skins will pop on the cranberries), refrigerate overnight (it thickens up in the fridge). After removing from the stove, I fold in a small can of drained mandarin oranges (you can stir in whatever you think you would like), and I squeeze a little juice of one of whatever I have in the fridge (lemon, lime, or fresh orange). Save a few fresh cranberries to garnish with.

Even if you don't like cranberry sauce, try it, it is quite tasty. I would also say it is the true cranberry sauce of conservatives. You have to be smarter to do it (you have to figure out that the stuff in a can is actually made from something); it represents what is best about America, self-reliance-you can make it yourself; you don't need the approval of others to make it, like in the UN; and, it is true to our roots, not like some over-refined, homogenized crap invented in France, it's made of basic and solid ingredients, just like Americans. If the Pilgrims actually ate cranberry sauce, I bet it would be like this. Maybe this isn't quite as witty or funny as I had hoped it would be, but it the recipe is a nice and easy surprise for Thanksgiving dinner.

Your loyal reader,
Greg Vojnovic
Roswell, GA

Here's an email on how to help (and it came from someone at NPR!):

Jonah:

Regarding your question in the Corner about how to support British troops, here are a couple of ideas:

Support-A-Squaddie: http://supportasquaddie.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/index.jhtml

Support-A-Squaddie connects you with British military servicemen—you can send care packages, letters, etc.

Books for Soldiers: http://booksforsoldiers.com/

This is a great site that allows soldiers (American or British) to post requests for books (and other items) on a bulletin board. They have excellent instructions on how to package and send items to the troops.

With the holidays approaching, I’m sure soldiers of any nationality would appreciate our support!

Here's an email on how to help (and it came from someone at NPR!):

Jonah:

Regarding your question in the Corner about how to support British troops, here are a couple of ideas:

Support-A-Squaddie: http://supportasquaddie.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/index.jhtml

Support-A-Squaddie connects you with British military servicemen—you can send care packages, letters, etc.

Books for Soldiers: http://booksforsoldiers.com/

This is a great site that allows soldiers (American or British) to post requests for books (and other items) on a bulletin board. They have excellent instructions on how to package and send items to the troops.

With the holidays approaching, I’m sure soldiers of any nationality would appreciate our support!

I must admit that I am prefer that pinko-socialist concoction: Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish.

I was listening to "All Things Considered" around Thanksgiving years ago and heard Susan Stamberg (who was then one of the anchors) give the recipe. The recipe is scary, and it is REALLY pinko, like pepto-bismol, but tastes great.

The link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4176014

Opinions were split. About half the emailers didn't like it for one reason or another. The other half liked it.

But one criticism I knew I would get was over my assertion that the New York Times is a great and influential newspaper. I don't want to spend all day on this issue -- and I won't. But two forms of argumentation I don't find persuasive go something like this: "The Times isn't influential because I don't read it." And: "The Times isn't great because it's so dishonest and liberal."

Let's take the first one first. Simply because you are not directly influenced by something doesn't make it uninfluential in general or even uninfluential on you. I don't read the New Yorker very much anymore (I let my subscription lapse and events conspired against renewal) that hardly means it's not influential. The Public Interest never had more than 10,000 subscribers in its life, but it has been hugely influential. Almost no one but inside-the-beltway types read the Hotline, but it too sets the agenda in ways few people appreciate.

Which brings us to the fact that you don't have to read something yourself for it to influence you. The New York Times sets the national media agenda more than any other newspaper. As Brit Hume noted during the explosives brouhaha at the end of the presidential campaign, it is the only newspaper which can, through sheer will, force an issue onto the public debate simply by giving it sufficient play on the frontpage. You may not read the Times, but the writers, editors and producers of countless outlets you do read and watch do pay rapt attention to what it does. This may be good or bad (almost certainly bad) but it is a fact. Which brings us to argument number two. Saying it's not great and influential because you don't want it to be is like saying Napoleon wasn't great and influential because you don't like the guy.

Vaclav Havel should replace Kofi Annan!

This is a great, wonderful, humane, inspired idea. The only problem I can think of is that Havel is such a righteous dude he would once again reinvigorate the UN with moral authority. But he might actually make it somewhat moral too, so who knows?

Any ideas how to do this? From a reader:

I have already given to our US troops abroad and I will give more. I am wondering if there is a way to give to troops abroad that are fighting along side with ours, say from Britain. It must be especially difficult for them since they will have less of a hero’s welcome when they go home and are more likely to be attacked by stupid anti-war Europeans. Any show of support from the American public would go a long way I think.

What do you think?

My friend Jack Heinz and I, having appreciated the same wines on a hundred different occasions , made a pact a dozen years ago that we would limit our purchasing to white wines we could get for three dollars a bottle, red wines for four dollars a bottle. Those who have feasted at Jack Heinz's table will believe that if this story is true, Mr. Heinz has mastered not only the art of making ketchup, but also of alchemy. Not fair. He has a cellar of vintage wines he raids for special occasions .We are talking about rule-of-thumb drinking…

Any ideas how to do this? From a reader:

I have already given to our US troops abroad and I will give more. I am wondering if there is a way to give to troops abroad that are fighting along side with ours, say from Britain. It must be especially difficult for them since they will have less of a hero’s welcome when they go home and are more likely to be attacked by stupid anti-war Europeans. Any show of support from the American public would go a long way I think.

What do you think?

Never consent to taste wines that, should it happen that they meet the Heinz-Buckley formula (which has inflated [as of 1985] to ten dollars per bottle), you can’t then go out and buy in quantity. Nothing is more frustrating than to find a good cheap wine and then discover that there are two and one half cases left of it in all of New York. I bought thirty cases of a Chateau Livran from Sokolin at under three dollars a bottle, and my guests have gasped with pleasure on tasting it.
Posted at 08:09 AM

HAPPY, BLESSED DAY [KJL]
Today is WFB's 79th birthday. Official Corner love and gratitude to our founder--for all he's done to make what we're doing right now possible, for all he's done for our country and world. And for being a terrific person! Happy birthday, sir!
Posted at 07:54 AM

SOCIAL INSECURITY [Mark Krikorian]
The president's proposal to create private Social Security accounts is going to be hard enough to achieve without complicating the issue. But that's apparently not stopping the White House; according to this English-language story from the Mexican press, Vicente Fox and President Bush agreed to simultaneously introduce to their respective legislatures the Social Security "totalization" deal they agreed to, which has the potential to bankrupt our old-age benefits system by incorporating millions of currently illegal Mexicans. Congress will have 60 days after the presentation of the deal by the White House either to vote it down or to do nothing and let it become law.

So let me understand this -- the White House, which will be facing stiff opposition from Democrats to any form of private accounts, is also willing to jeopardize Republican support by trying to force through the Social Security deal with Mexico. Who is the White House expecting support from?
Posted at 07:48 AM

KILLING JOURNALISTS [Mark Krikorian ]
So far this year, three journalists have been murdered in Mexican cities along the U.S. border. And this is yet another thing that doesn't stop at the Rio Grande: "Maria Eugenia Guerra, with the Laredo-based tabloid LareDos, said drug-trafficking violence has moved from the streets of Nuevo Laredo [in Mexico] to the suburbs of Laredo [Texas] in recent years."
Posted at 07:39 AM

RE: DA WHITE GUYS [KJL]
Or, uh, Katie, Tim? She'd get to wake up much later...
Posted at 07:37 AM

"WHITE GUY" WATCH [Tim Graham]
In an interview on Rather, Katie Couric had to ask something like "all the anchors are white guys. What's the deal with that?" She must also favor Lester Holt in the anchor chair...
Posted at 07:34 AM

JUST THE BEGINNING OF WHAT YOU'RE MISSING [KJL]
if you are not NR Crusing:

My Cruise Highlights:
--hours of casual, political conversation with like-minded NR readers
--how easy it was to make new friends
--the sense of family that quickly developed at the frequent socials
--getting my books signed in the relaxed, friendly atmosphere
--seeing Jonah be himself; seeing Melissa O' be herself
--seeing the shocked reaction of liberals onboard as they realized their cruise vacation would include the constant presence of National Review t-shirts and conservative conversation
--the parade of the Baked Alaskas

Elizabeth Herring
Lexington SC

The next cruise is a big one--NR's 50th anniversary cruise, this July. Sign up here.
Posted at 06:32 AM

""THE MEDIA CERTAINLY IS NOT IN OUR HANDS ANY LONGER." [KJL]
That's precious, from Loretta Sanchez, re: Rathergate. Reed Irvine, who passed away last week, has got to have a wee bit of a smile on.
Posted at 06:22 AM

AN EXCELLENT POINT [KJL]
Where's Hollywood? A flimmaker was murdered--where's the outrage?
Posted at 06:17 AM

(EX-REP.) BOB SCHAFFER REPORTING FROM UKRAINE [KJL]
"'There's a high amount of anxiety,' he said. 'There's always a risk this thing could turn violent at any point in time.'"
Posted at 06:08 AM

MORE RE: HELPING (AND ENTERTAINING) TROOPS [KJL]
From a friend. I think this is the same group Shannen Coffin and his wife recently signed up with.

My personal favorite is Operation AC (air conditioner, although at this time of year, they are sending ceramic heaters) where you get to adopt a soldier. I have been corresponding with several for some time now (so far 2 have returned home safely and we are still in touch), and aside from snail-mail addresses, if they have access to E-mail, those are provided as well. They always need combat boots, but after sending those, I find they truly love dried fruit, hard candies, phone cards (of course), disposable cameras, and for Christmas, I'm sending one group a Presto Pizza Maker with various pizza mixes. I checked first, of course, that they have a ready supply of electricity...but this should be something they would use. I also found, at Restoration Hardware, a great dart board with magnetic darts, that is rolled up in a nicely-sized canister that can be shipped easily. Remember to ship all things "priority mail" and they usually take 3 weeks (this works for Ramadi, Kuwait, etc.). Operation AC also has general funds which can accept contributions for mass mailings.

Posted at 06:00 AM

ERRRR [KJL]
More recount talk in Ohio.
Posted at 05:37 AM