An Appreciation Post for Toot the Chicken

This evening I’m working on a deep dive piece on some legal issues for you, something substantial that’s taking me several days. So tonight, just some chickens and a little suggested reading.

A few days ago, my husband said Toot was the stupidest chicken. But it’s not true. So tonight, this appreciation post for my sweet chicken, Toot.

Toot is a Frost White Legbar. They’re a relatively rare variety, highly desirable because they lay blue eggs. That’s exactly why I picked her as one of our four new chicks this year. There’s just something about a blue egg.

Toot hasn’t laid any eggs yet, although she’s the right age. But it’s gotten cold and dark, and she may decide to hold off until spring, which would be fine with me because she has other virtues.

Toot is not the friendliest chicken, but I think she’s wise. She likes to perch on the chairs by our fire pit and observe. She’s done it since she was small. She observes the dogs. She’s a big observer of the new kitten, and quick to make herself scarce before she can become the subject of Tofu’s stalking games (he’s harmless, but still…) Mostly, she observes me. She was the first chicken in line when I pulled out a bag of cucumbers this morning, and she’s often the first to notice new treats or toys. She’s smart.

Toot also has a lot of friends. It’s a curious thing about chickens. In a flock, they will have a best friend or two. Chickens like to hang out together. When they leave the coop in the morning, I watch the friend-groups wander off for their favorite spots to forage in the yard. Friends stick together for most of the day, although there is some shifting. But they’re pretty consistent. Our rooster hangs out with the two Silkies who are white with black splashes. The four new chickens from earlier this year hang out together. Ruth and Pickles, the two chickens who are primarily brown, and Ruth’s chick Cleo, tend to stick together. And Pepper, the black Silkie is mostly a loner.

But Toot, although she likes her age-cohort and usually starts the day with them, floats between the different groups with ease. And they all accept her. No one pecks her away, she’s universally welcomed.

Now, all of this might lead you to believe I spend too much time watching the chickens. You would probably be right. But I’m here today to defend Toot’s honor. She is definitely not dumb. Really, none of the chickens are.

Look at that knowing look. This is a chicken who is going places.

A couple of important reads if you haven’t already seen them today:

Stephen Miller, who got his start working for Jeff Sessions but transferred his loyalty to Donald Trump when his old boss got canned, is working on a plan to install loyalist attorneys across the federal bureaucracy if Trump wins in 2024. The first sentence of a story in Vanity Fair is chilling, “imagine a future in which Bill Barr seems moderate.” Miller, who supported and helped implement the family separation policy for migrants, is working with John McEntee, who started out as Trump’s body man, but was fired by then-chief of staff John Kelly when he couldn’t pass a background check. Trump brought him back after Kelly left and made him Director of the White House Personnel Office. He currently runs a right-wing dating site. Neither Miller nor McEntee is a lawyer.

This is no joke, it’s deadly serious stuff. The goal is to replace lawyers across the executive branch with Trump loyalists. That’s the litmus test. Forget about competence, good judgment, or a commitment to the Constitution, none of that will matter in the nation’s lawyers, including at the Department of Justice. The power to prosecute will be a political tool to be deployed at the whim of Donald Trump. It’s terrifying and you should read the full New York Times piece on it here.

Dan Alexander at Forbes has a nice recap of Donald Trump, Jr’s testimony today in the New York Attorney General’s fraud prosecution—complete with fact checking. Testifying has to be a tough gig when the truth is this obvious. Asked about Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s former CFO and the third member of the troika that ran Trump Organization after Trump became president (along with him and Eric), Junior said that Weisselberg no longer worked with them because of “some legal trouble he got himself into.” With brilliant answers like that, what could go wrong.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more.

We’re in this together,

Joyce