Free Republic

[Photo: courtesy of Kraft Heinz] _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As if our nation weren’t polarized enough, a new condiment is threatening to divide us even further: On Wednesday, Heinz announced potential plans to bring “mayochup” into the world. It’s half ketchup, half mayonnaise, and if you ask some people, 100% wrong. The food-processing company announced Thursday it’s contemplating selling the new product, provided it garners enough interest. It launched a public poll on Twitter, asking Americans to make the hard decision for them: “Want #mayochup in stores? 500,000 votes for yes and we’ll release it to you saucy Americans.” The reaction is mixed....

Former Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday blasted President Trump's decision not to re-certify Iran's compliance with the Iran nuclear deal, accusing Mr. Trump of jumpstarting an "international crisis." "President Trump's decision today is dangerous," Kerry said in a lengthy statement he posted to Twitter. "He's creating an international crisis. It endangers America's national security interests and those of our closest allies. "The president has polluted the negotiating waters and made it easier for legitimate concerns to be distinguished from back-door efforts to kill the deal," Kerry added. "What we've seen today lacks common sense and strategic thinking to...

... In Washington under Trump even so rudimentary an activity as eating has become politicized, weighted with aesthetic and class significance, put under the jurisdiction of social arbiters who declare what is woke and what is haram. “Actually, How Donald Trump Eats His Steak Matters,” proclaims a contributor to Eater.com. “The president of the United States insists that his steaks be cooked well-done. Unfortunately, that’s a big problem.” But why is it a problem, Eater.com? Why should so trivial a detail impress itself on the average person’s consciousness for even a microsecond? Aren’t there far more important subjects that warrant...

The president was heading to his new flagship property in D.C., the Trump Hotel, for a private dinner at the BLT Steakhouse inside. Once the president arrived at the location, the reporter who was on assignment to cover him, Jordan Fabian of The Hill, was not let into the building and had to wait in the van outside for the remainder of the dinner, without a guest list or details of what was happening inside. Inside the restaurant, I was seated at a table that had booked hours earlier, directly next to where Trump would be dining. I made the...

When US Secretary of State John Kerry wanted to push his country to take the lead on climate change, it was no accident that he chose to give a speech in Norfolk, Virginia. Norfolk Naval Station is the biggest naval installation in the world. But, Kerry said last November, “the land it is built on is literally sinking.”

Man, sometimes I have had it with our society! I went to a lot of trouble to make some really beautiful cheeseburgers for lunch today. I toasted the buns, I sliced the onions and shredded the lettuce. I flavored the hamburger before and during cooking.But I also put ketchup on them. At my first tasty bite I was repelled by the overwhelming taste of sugar, an obscene amount of sugar. I was horrified. The burgers were ruined! I rushed, gagging and choking, to the fridge, grabbed the ketchup bottle and read the label. 4 GRAMS of sugar, per serving!? It's...

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Kraft Heinz announced Wednesday that it would be closing seven factories and cutting about 2,600 jobs. The closing factories are in Fullerton, California; San Leandro, California; Federalsburg, Maryland; St. Marys, Ontario, Canada; Campbell, New York; Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania; and Madison, Wisconsin, Michael Mullen SVP of corporate and government affairs, said in a statement. Over the next 12-24 months, he said, production in those locations will shift to other existing factories in North America. He said the decision to close the factories came after "an extensive review of the Kraft Heinz North American supply chain footprint, capabilities and capacity utilization." Calling...

Heinz tomato ketchup is a household name around the world, including in Israel. But now, thanks to a court ruling, that's about to change... sort of. Osem, Israel's leading food brand and top producer of ketchup, has succeeded in its bid to knock out its lead rival, by banning it from being called "ketchup." In its petition to the courts back in January of this year, Osem claimed Heinz's product did not have enough tomato content to be called "ketchup." Now, after a long legal battle, the court has ruled in Osem's favor, and Heinz will henceforth be known as...

Heinz tomato ketchup is a household name around the world, including in Israel. But now, thanks to a court ruling, that's about to change... sort of. Osem, Israel's leading food brand and top producer of ketchup, has succeeded in its bid to knock out its lead rival, by banning it from being called "ketchup." In its petition to the courts back in January of this year, Osem claimed Heinz's product did not have enough tomato content to be called "ketchup." Now, after a long legal battle, the court has ruled in Osem's favor, and Heinz will henceforth be known as...

In the United States, Heinz is nearly synonymous with ketchup, but Israel has kicked the brand out of that category of condiments all together. Israel’s Health Ministry recently ruled that the Heinz brand product does not contain enough “tomato solids” to be labeled as ketchup in Israeli stores. It will now be relegated to the title “tomato seasoning,” Ynet reported. The ruling was the result of a lobbying campaign by Israeli food manufacturer Osem, which produces a large portion of the ketchup consumed in Israel. Israelis have long complained that local monopolies distort the economy, and especially the food market,...

John KerryVerified account ‏@JohnKerry Feeling good a week after surgery. Good chats today w/@AmbassadorRice & @StateDept senior team. The work continues!

A friend sends along an email attachment—a handwritten letter by his 8-year-old son, Peter. It’s addressed to First Lady Michelle Obama. “It all started because he saw something about school lunches [and] how ketchup is bad for you, and that Michelle Obama wants to limit the amount of ketchup” in schools, my friend explained. When the boy’s mother reminded him he attends a private school, making the ketchup rationing a nonissue, “He said something about wanting to ‘give a voice to the voiceless.’” But ketchup is actually the least of the boy’s concerns, as he then continues onto foreign policy,...

Secretary of State John Kerry spent five minutes of a Senate hearing excoriating a group of 47 Republicans who sent a highly unusual letter to the government of Iran warning that Congress could modify the terms of any nuclear deal it negotiates with the White House. 'This letter raises questions of judgment and policy,' he insisted, before Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker cut him off and scolded him for delivering 'a well-written speech.' 'It's not a speech! This is not a speech!' Kerry erupted. 'This is a statement about the impact of this irresponsible letter. The letter does not have...

The rise of violent extremism represents the pre-eminent challenge of the young 21st century. Military force is a rational and often necessary response to the wanton slaughters of children, mass kidnappings of schoolgirls, and beheading of innocents. But military force alone won’t achieve victory. In the long term, this war will be won only by deploying a broader, far more creative arsenal. A safer and more prosperous future requires us to recognize that violent extremism can’t be justified by resorting to religion. No legitimate religious interpretation teaches adherents to commit unspeakable atrocities, such as razing villages or turning children into...

US Secretary of State John Kerry has paid his respects to the victims of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris. Mr Kerry told his French counterpart that he "felt bad" not being in Paris as he saw millions of people demonstrating. "This has touched him," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. "He saw the millions demonstrating, he told me that he felt bad not being here." At a ceremony at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, Mr Kerry called the attacks a "living nightmare".

In much the same way most American homes have different half-filled tubes of sunblock, off-sized batteries, and calculators that can't be thrown away, most American homes have the six following foods. We may not eat them often, or even like them, but we still keep them on hand. They're just part of what make a home a home — even if we forget why. Here, the largely forgotten histories of six American staples. 1. Tuna fish During the 20th century tuna fish was one America's most purchased proteins — but it didn't happen without a dash of ingenuity. In 1903,...

CHICAGO (CBS) — In a race as tight as the campaign for Illinois governor, all it takes is one mistake to turn the election. Bruce Rauner made it on Tuesday. The GOP candidate placed a hot dog order at Portillos–one of them was with ketchup and mustard.

First Lady and school nutrition advocate Michelle Obama’s stringent lunch guidelines are limiting children to just one ketchup packet per meal. A recent EagNews.com article profiled unhappy Idaho customers of the Obama administration’s revisions to the National School Lunch program, including a parent who called school lunches “not edible” and kids who have stopped eating lunch completely. “Kids can’t take two ketchup packets [for burgers] because that would set them over on calories,” said a Burley, Idaho “district food-service secretary.”

While Al Qaeda has been taking over Iraq, Obama and Kerry have kept a laser focus on oceans. Obama ordered the Department of Defense to fight mislabeled seafood and Kerry kept tweeting about Leonardo DeCaprio and the oceans. Then he opened up for questions on Twitter and the ones he got, he didn’t like much. Typo Dynamofo @TypoDynamofo Follow #OceanChat How is it you have time to chat with Iraq in flames and a major crisis in Israel? #tcot 8:53 AM - 17 Jun 2014 Typo Dynamofo @TypoDynamofo Follow John Kerry ? @JohnKerry Follow .@TypoDynamofo: 1/2 Have talked to 3...