We're not done yet

It's pronounced "Ann, ise."

There's an anise oil that is part of the ingredients list.

I totally forgot about these cookies until a relative mentioned that she was making these for Christmas.

Here's one recipe:

During an attempted home invasion in Bradenton, Florida, a homeowner fired at the perpetrators leaving one of the intruders dead.
According to police, both of the two suspects are Chilean nationals.

Controversies have begun to emerge from President Joe Biden's decision to conduct the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. Among those benefited by it are people who were widely condemned for their crimes, including Rita Crundwell, a former public official convicted of embezzling over $50 million from a city in Illinois.

Crundwell was the comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, and was sentenced in 2013 of embezzling $53 million in actions that went as far back as 1990. She pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Crundwell was due to serve 85% of her sentence, meaning that she was set to remain behind bars until October 2029. However, she was released in August 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic along with several thousands of prisoners as the disease was rapidly spreading in facilities across the country.

"America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances. As President, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities," Biden said in a statement when announcing the clemency.

Overall, he commuted the sentences of 1,500 people released from prison and placed under home confinement during the Covid-19 pandemic and pardoned 39 more who had been convicted of nonviolent crimes.

Crundwell was in the former group, staying in home confinement since 2021. According to her plea deal, she opened in 1990 a bank account under the name of Dixon but used her for personal expenses, including a horse breeding business, credit card purchases and several properties. She also created fake invoices to make it seem like the funds were being used for legitimate expenses and justified shortfalls saying the state was late in payment of tax revenues to the city.

Then-Dixon Mayor Jim Burke reported Crundwell to authorities after an employee took over her duties while she was on extended vacation and found evidence of her crimes. Current Dixon City Manager Danny Langlossa criticized Biden's decision in a statement obtained by CBS News.

"The City of Dixon is shocked and outraged with the announcement that President Biden has given Rita Crundwell clemency for the largest municipal embezzlement in the history of our country. This is a complete travesty of justice and a slap in the face for our entire community," he said.

"While today's news in unimaginable, the City of Dixon is in an incredible place today. We will continue to focus on the future and work to capitalize on the momentum we have created."

One can hardly contain one's astonishment. In fact, my own "shocked" expression might remain forever frozen.

Ready for this? The establishment media colludes with Democrats, and the federal government swindles Americans. Who knew?

Thursday on social media platform X, with the prospect of a government shutdown looming, independent investigative journalist and former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson shared what she called a "quick story about govt. shutdowns and the theatrics behind them."

Attkisson recalled that around 2013, she and CBS News colleagues searched in vain for a government shutdown's "real life impact."

"When we couldn't find any, *that* should have been part of the story. Instead, we kept trying to create the appearance of an impact," she wrote.

Attkisson then attributed their behavior to journalists' tendency to fit facts to a predetermined narrative.

Of course, they had plenty of help from Democrats, including then-President Barack Obama's administration.

"Anyway, the Ds were blaming Rs for the shutdown, so we were calling Ds and the Obama administration for ideas to report what was the real impact. Taking our cue, these officials fabricated impact that we could report," she wrote.

The fabrication came in the form of cordoning off public monuments in Washington, D.C.

"We knew and even discussed in the newsroom that this made no sense. These monuments weren't 'manned' to begin with," she wrote.

Attkisson characterized this incident as simply the most memorable among multiple acts of shutdown-related theater and deceit.

"There are other examples but this is the one I remember the most," she concluded.

The 63-year-old Attkisson, author of "Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism" (2020), has made amends for that behavior, though she certainly qualified as old enough to know better at the time.

The real story, however, involves two facts that remain relevant to this day.
First, the establishment media will stoop to any degree of dishonesty, provided it helps Democrats.

CBS's own "60 Minutes," for instance, got caught doctoring an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris in October during her failed presidential campaign.

Second, Democrats and their allies in the Republican establishment desperately want Americans to regard the federal government as essential. After all, the federal government functions as the mechanism by which the establishment plunders American citizens.

According to U.S. News & World Report, suburbs of Washington, D.C. accounted for five of the 10 wealthiest counties in America by median household income in 2023. Only a massive transfer of wealth to the nation's capital can produce a statistic like that.

Thus, government shutdowns temporarily save Americans from their own government.

Of course, Democrats' allies in the establishment media would go to any length to convince us otherwise.

I remain too "shocked" for words.

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From the October show. Was reviewing those photos and this was the best of the bunch. (sometimes it takes a while to figure it out)

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Iowa -31.5 with o/u of 163.5 as of 10:30

A citizens group that works to protect streams and groundwater in Northeast Iowa has given notice it intends to file a federal lawsuit against a large meatpacking facility in Postville for its repeated wastewater pollution violations.



The Driftless Water Defenders sent notice last week to Agri Star Meat & Poultry that it plans to seek substantial fines — about $67,000 per day per violation — and a court order to comply with contaminant limits in its wastewater discharge permit.


The lawsuit would be an uncommon move by residents to force compliance with the federal Clean Water Act, which in Iowa typically is handled by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.




The most significant violations can be litigated by the Iowa Attorney General's Office. State Attorney General Brenna Bird has said similar citizen lawsuits aren't proper because they circumvent states' oversight.


Agri Star is a large meat-packer of kosher beef, chicken and turkey. In recent years it has processed more than 50 million pounds each of cattle and poultry annually, according to state documents related to its permit.


The company has an on-site wastewater treatment system with lagoons that discharge up to about a million gallons each day into nearby Hecker Creek, which flows to the Yellow River.

Numerous violations​

In the past four years, the Iowa DNR has noted more than 50 violations of the conditions of Agri Star's wastewater permit. Those were tied to excessive pollution of ammonia, copper, chloride, suspended waste particles and others.


The company is accused of failing to test its wastewater as frequently as required, which the company has attributed to staff turnover, Iowa DNR records show.


The Driftless group's notice also mentioned an incident in March 2024 when a blockage of Agri Star's wastewater system illegally redirected about 250,000 gallons of meat processing wastewater into the city of Postville's sewer system. The notice alleges Agri Star did not reduce its production speed to limit the contamination and that the company "was not aware of the blocked sewer line until contacted by the city," according to a copy of the notice obtained by The Gazette.


The company has since installed a system to detect irregular water flow and other measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. Egan Guerrero, an Agri Star supervisor, said the blockage was a result of "vandalism or sabotage," according to an April letter he sent to the Iowa DNR.


The department has sought in recent years to get Agri Star into compliance, but has not fined the company. It most recently issued violation notices to the company in November and December for excessive chloride and for failing to submit a required stream antidegradation analysis for some of its wastewater.


The company, through one of its operation managers, declined to comment for this article.


The Driftless group plans to file the federal lawsuit in about two months. The Clean Water Act allows such lawsuits when there is no pending enforcement action by state governments or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and it requires a 60-day notification period before the suit is filed.





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The Iowa DNR declined to comment for this article because litigation is pending.


In October, Bird decried a similar citizen suit in Washington state that she said seeks to wrest regulatory authority from states. The litigation strategy could be used against farmers, she said, by "woke green activists."


"It that's who we are, then I do think Iowans are becoming awakened to the fact that their water is becoming more contaminated and increasingly polluted, and that the pollution is affecting their health and well-being," said Jim Larew, an attorney for the Driftless group.


The group also is being represented by Public Justice and FarmSTAND, both of Washington, D.C., which have litigated environmental concerns on behalf of residents in other states.


“This potential citizen suit is an example of one of the key enforcement mechanisms of the (Clean Water) Act, ensuring that polluting industries are held accountable for violations of their permits,” said Dan Snyder, a Public Justice attorney. “There are many examples of these types of cases across the United States, for polluters are too often allowed to violate the law without meaningful enforcement.”


The Driftless group also has pending lawsuits against government officials in Winneshiek County, where it hopes to block the construction and operation of a manure digester.

Every year I visit my folks and some friends in Phoenix for a few weeks, typically anywhere from late Jan to Early May. Normally I fly but last year I made a road trip out of it and had a blast. This year I was half-kicking around the idea of taking a train (the Amtrak Southwest Chief) but most of my friends think I'm a crazy for tossing around the idea. Personally I think it would be a cool experience getting your own roommette (I'd fly back). The route would be from Galesburg to Flagstaff and then I'd rent a car and make the beautiful drive down from Flagstaff to Mesa. /csb

Anyone travel by train in the US anywhere? Good/bad times? Obviously Alaska but any contiguous US routes worth experiencing?

It’s much better that I remember. Especially if you watch it with your kid and get to explain the original show to them and why the stuff is supposed to be funny. And it really was perfectly cast.

Changing my original review of it and rating it two Bananas up.

It’s remarkable how fast you can go from guest to entree at the big MAGA buffet.



Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst certainly knows.


Last week, she committed the grave offense of being a voice of reason. She told Real Clear Politics she had not made up her mind on Pete Hegseth’s nomination to become secretary of defense.




Ernst said she didn’t plan to campaign against Hegseth and wanted to see the confirmation process unfold. How unreasonable, a senator wanting to follow the Senate process before making a final decision. She’s a pivotal vote on the Armed Services Committee, which will be handling Hegseth’s confirmation.


But then, the MAGA warning light flashed, and all hell broke loose.


Fox News showed a series of X posts aimed at Ernst.


Donald Trump Jr pointed out Ernst had voted to confirm Joe Biden’s pick for defense secretary, Lloyd Austin. He suggested Ernst may be “in the wrong political party.”





Somebody called Wall Street Mav called Ernst a “neocon.” Gasp. And suggested she face a conservative primary opponent in 2026. Right-wing radio host Steve Deace bragged he could be the one to topple Ernst in that primary. Or maybe double Arizona failure Kari Lake could return to her Iowa roots. Sure.


Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA (his turn signal blinking toward the abyss) accused Ernst of “leading the charge” against Hegseth.


Ernst is the first woman combat veteran elected to the U.S. Senate. Pete Hegseth is a Fox News personality who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He’s also been overserved many times. He’s vowed to quit drinking if confirmed.


A woman has accused Hegseth of sexual assault. This, alongside multiple reports of sexual misconduct and mismanagement of veterans’ groups he led.


But MAGA has decided he’s the sort of strong, rugged, take-no-prisoners guy we need to make America tough again. He’ll fix the “woke” military, whatever that means.


Hegseth said women don’t belong in combat. Ernst is a combat veteran. He’s accused of sexual assault. Ernst is a sexual assault survivor. So, Ernst was supposed embrace this guy’s nomination? Be impressed by his raw manliness? Suddenly I could use a drink.


But by Monday, after a weekend of MAGA bludgeoning, Ernst took a step back. She met again with Hegseth, was encouraged and said the allegations against him won’t count unless victims step forward.


“As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources,” Ernst said.


But after that process, will you vote for him? She didn’t really go there. But it’s likely she’ll vote to confirm.


It’s disappointing, but not unexpected. I wish she would have said, “Pete Hegseth? I wouldn’t put that guy in charge of latrines. I wouldn’t hand him the keys to the nation’s military if he was the last man on earth. And that last man thing sounds pretty good right now.”


What Ernst said last week was spot on. If this guy wants to become secretary of defense, he’s going to have to show he’s capable. That’s what the confirmation process is for. Ernst wanting to wait and see the show makes sense.


Only one top Iowa Republican defended her, Rep. Ashely Hinson. But Hinson also had to do her duty and say Hegseth is a “strong pick.”


Yes, I know. Ernst played her own role in creating the MAGA monster. Now she got a glimpse of what happens when it turns on you. No loyalty and genuflecting before the dear leader can save you. Toe the MAGA line, or else. This is the party of freedom.


(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com

Opinion: MAGA monster comes for Joni Ernst

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst talks about Rep. Ashley Hinson during Ashley Hinson’s BBQ Bash at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, …

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