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The Ledes

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Washington Post's liveblog of developments in the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse is here: “Divers recovered the bodies of two construction workers who died when a massive cargo ship struck and collapsed a Baltimore bridge, as investigators revealed Wednesday that hazardous material was leaking from breached containers on the stranded vessel and state and federal lawmakers rushed to begin the recovery from the disaster that crippled the Port of Baltimore. Rescue crews found the victims shortly before 10 a.m. trapped in a red pickup truck in about 25 feet of water in the Patapsco River near the mid-span of the hulking wreck of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Maryland State Police Secretary Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference. The conditions were treacherous for the divers, so Butler said they were suspending the search for the bodies of four other construction workers who plunged to their deaths when the container ship in distress struck the bridge shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, causing it to fall.

“The workers are believed to be the only victims in the disaster.... The victims recovered were identified as Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, of Baltimore, and Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26, of Dundalk, Md. Other victims identified Wednesday were Maynor Suazo Sandoval, 38, from Honduras, and Miguel Luna, from El Salvador, who was the father of three. The names of the remaining two victims have not been released.” ~~~

~~~ CNN's live updates are here.

The Wires
powered by Surfing Waves
The Ledes

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington Post: “As a cargo ship the size of a skyscraper drifted dangerously close to a major Baltimore bridge that carried more than 30,000 cars a day, the crew of the Dali issued an urgent 'mayday,' hoping to avert disaster Tuesday. First responders sprang into action, shutting down most traffic on the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge just before the 95,000 gross-ton vessel plowed into a bridge piling at about 1:30 a.m., causing multiple sections of the span to bow and snap in a harrowing scene captured on video.... Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) hailed those who carried out the quick work as 'heroes' and said they saved lives, but the scale of the destruction was catastrophic and will probably have far-reaching impacts for the economy and travel on the East Coast for months to come.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here. CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ A Washington Post liveblog of developments is here: “Six people [-- bridge construction workers --] were presumed dead Tuesday evening, authorities announced as they shifted from a search and rescue operation to a recovery effort.... The governor declared a state of emergency, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) announced that the city has deployed its emergency operations plan. Vessel traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore was 'suspended until further notice.'”

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

The Hollywood Reporter has the full list of 2024 Oscar winners here.

Ryan Gosling performs "I'm Just Ken" at the Academy Awards: ~~~

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Washington Post: “The last known location of 'Portrait of Fräulein Lieser' by world-renowned Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was in Vienna in the mid-1920s. The vivid painting featuring a young woman was listed as property of a 'Mrs Lieser' — believed to be Henriette Lieser, who was deported and killed by the Nazis. The only remaining record of the work was a black and white photograph from 1925, around the time it was last exhibited, which was kept in the archives of the Austrian National Library. Now, almost 100 years later, this painting by one of the world’s most famous modernist artists is on display and up for sale — having been rediscovered in what the auction house has hailed as a sensational find.... It is unclear which member of the Lieser family is depicted in the piece[.]”

CNN: “Jon Stewart is heading back to 'The Daily Show.' The comedian, who during his 16-year run as host of the Comedy Central program established it as an entertainment and cultural force, will return to host the show each week on Mondays starting February 12, Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios announced Wednesday. Stewart, who returns as the 2024 presidential election season heats up, will also executive produce the show and work with a rotating line-up of comedians who will helm the program the rest of the week, Tuesdays through Thursdays.”

~~~ Marie: I don't know if this podcast will update automatically, or if I have to do it manually. In any event, both you and I can find the latest update of the published episodes here. The episodes begin with ads, but you can fast-forward through them.

Contact Marie

Click on this link to e-mail Marie.

Wednesday
Jan232013

The Commentariat -- Jan. 24, 2013

My column in the New York Times eXaminer calls out New York Times business columnist Eduardo Porter for writing a column founded on phony facts. ...

... Kevin Drum of Mother Jones: "Given our current trajectory, it's safe to say that even by 2016 the biggest increase in [federal] spending, by far, will have come during the Bush years." With a chart to prove it.

Daily Kos has a petition urging Harry Reid to pass powerful filibuster reform with only Democratic votes. They will email the signatures to Reid's office Thursday morning.

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: "Democratic lawmakers plan to formally reintroduce a bill Thursday that would ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, the most ambitious -- and politically risky -- element of proposals unveiled by President Obama to limit gun violence. The 'Assault Weapons Ban of 2013' is similar to one passed in 1994 that expired with little protest in 2004. The measure will be unveiled Thursday morning by a slate of Democratic co-sponsors, led by longtime gun control advocates Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (N.Y.), who have pushed for the ban before in part because of their personal histories with gun violence." ...

... Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "If there is a path to new gun laws, it has to come through West Virginia and a dozen other states with Democratic senators like [Sen. Joe] Manchin [ConservaD-W.Va.] who are confronting galvanized constituencies that view any effort to tighten gun laws as an infringement."

Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Reelected and unconcerned about ever having to face voters again, [President] Obama seems determined to push a far-reaching agenda -- on guns, climate change and gay rights, among other topics -- that looks toward his presidential legacy. [Harry] Reid (D-Nev.), significantly more encumbered, must worry about how to protect 20 Democratic-held Senate seats that will be up for grabs in 2014, while Republicans are defending only 14 spots. For some Democrats up for reelection next year, supporting the president will be politically treacherous terrain, and no issue may capture that disconnect better than gun control."

House Republicans Surrender, Declare Victory. Jed Lewison of Daily Kos has the details.

Gail Collins writes a moving column on military women serving in combat positions. ...

... "Misconceptions." Linda Greenhouse on the history of abortion rights. Her commentary on the "real reason" the Justices ruled for Roe is eye-opening.

** Jesse Eisenger of ProPublica, in the New York Times: "We are never going to have a full understanding of what bad behavior bankers engaged in in the years leading up to the financial crisis. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have failed to hold big wrongdoers to account." But a few private lawsuits, like one brought against Morgan Stanley, "are explosive. Hundreds of pages of internal Morgan Stanley documents, released publicly last week, shed much new light on what bankers knew at the height of the housing bubble and what they did with that secret knowledge.... The documents suggest a pattern of behavior larger than this one deal: people across the bank understood that the American housing market was in trouble. They took advantage of that knowledge to create and then bet against securities and then also to unload garbage investments on unsuspecting buyers."

Jill Lawrence of the National Journal: "President Obama says he's very concerned about income inequality. If he wants to elevate that issue in his second term, he should consider naming Jennifer Granholm as his next Labor secretary. The Current TV host and former two-term Michigan governor would be a highly symbolic choice, given that her Republican successor recently signed a law making Michigan -- birthplace of the organized labor movement -- a right-to-work state."

There Is Plenty the Matter with Kansas. John Eligon of the New York Times: "This month, the largest tax cut in Kansas history took effect, and most of its Medicaid system was handed over to private insurers. [A] bill introduced this week would pare taxes further, with the goal of eventually eliminating the state's individual income tax. [Gov. Sam] Brownback [RTP] has already slashed the state's welfare roll and its work force. He has merged government agencies and is proposing further consolidation. He is pushing for pension changes, to change the way judges are selected and for altering education financing formulas." State taxes on the poor are rising as services decline; taxes on the rich have gone down.

Thomas Edsell in the New York Times: "... much of the Republican electorate, as presently constructed, is profoundly committed -- morally and ideologically -- to 'traditional values.' You're asking groups of people to change who were brought together by their resistance to change. Their opposition to change is why they are Republicans." AND here are maddening facts Edsell includes,

In North Carolina, Bloomberg news found that Democrats won 2.22 million votes to 2.14 million cast for Republican candidates, but Republicans won 9 of the state's 13 House seats. Similarly, in Pennsylvania, Democrats won 2.7 million votes to the Republicans' 2.6 million, but Democrats ended up with only 5 of the state's 18 districts.

Ryu Spaeth, writing in The Week on the President's inaugural address. "Throughout his speech, Obama subtly argued that the Constitution and other founding documents do not have all the answers; that wisdom and foresight is not exclusive to a group of men from the 18th century; and that it is up to a new generation, confident in its own hard-won knowledge and abilities, to chart a path forward." CW: Spaeth is right. The philosophical chasm between Obama & Sir Nino Scalia could not be wider. It is not for nothing the Supreme Martyr looked as furious as funny. ...

... Ed Kilgore: "Obama chose to embrace an old but often-forgotten tradition of closely associating liberalism with the 'positive freedoms' necessary to make 'negative freedoms' meaningful.... In particular, Obama made the long-lost liberal case that collective action is necessary to the achievement of individual freedom, instead of implicitly conceding that social goals and individual interests are inherently at war." ...

... Kenneth Baer, a former member of the Obama administration, in a Washington Post op-ed: the concepts Obama expressed were "firmly mainstream." And Newt Gingrich didn't think it was very liberal. ...

... E. J. Dionne: Obama's role model is Ronald Reagan. "Like Reagan, Obama hopes to usher in a long-term electoral realignment -- in Obama's case toward the moderate left, thereby reversing the 40th president's political legacy. The Reagan metaphor helps explain the tone of Obama's inaugural address, built ... on a philosophical argument for a progressive vision of the country rooted in our history."

Jamelle Bouie: the Republican plan to rig the presidential election "would take the existing malapportionment of our political system -- rural states have more representation relative to their populations -- and amplify it by an incredible extent.... If implemented on a large scale, this scheme would result in mass disenfranchisement, and rival Jim Crow in the number of people it (effectively) removed from the electoral process.... A large number of those disenfranchised would be African Americans." ...

... Ari Berman of The Nation: "Election reform should be a top priority of the new Congress." CW: yes, it should. And good luck with that.

The Cowardly, Lyin'. Paul Krugman has a takedown of Paul Ryan that is not to be missed. ...

... BUT Krugman's arch-rival, Jon Stewart, does him one better. Pretty much everything you need to know about Lyin' Ryan:

Secretary Clinton in one of the finer moments during her testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee answering the intelligence-challenged Ron Johnson (RTP-Wisconsin):

... Dana Milbank seems to have a lot more respect for Clinton today than he did back in the day he reserved a bottle of Mad Bitch beer for her. ...

... Steve Benen wrote a great post on Sen. Johnson back in November when Johnson said Americans were too damned dumb to appreciate the conservative message. In the same news conference, he announced he would tutor his new Senate colleague Tammy Baldwin (Big D-Wis.) on fiscal matters because of his superior knowledge of the federal budget. Johnson was elected to public office for the first time in 2010. Baldwin, a mathematician, "has been in public office for two decades" and in the House since 1999. Benen noted,

For the record, Ron Johnson believes affordable contraception is easily distributed over the Internet, thinks 'sunspot activity' is responsible for global warming, believes the Great Recession ended before President Obama took office; and sees public investment in alternative energy as roughly the same thing as 'the Soviet Union.'

CW: wouldn't it be fun to go to a meeting of the GOP Ignoramus Club? Here you have Louisiana State Sen. Mike Walsworth auditioning for club membership in remarks that leave the witness flabbergasted. Thanks to Phil Platt Plait of Slate, Zack Kopplin of Louisiana & Akhilleus for bringing us documentary evidence of a genuine specimen proving the existence of evolutionary throwbacks. Science Is Awesome:

Nicholas Kristof's column sort of irritated me. I'd like to know what you thought of it.

Mark Landler of the New York Times: Benjamin "Netanyahu's weakened position could set the stage for ... an improvement in his ties with [President Obama]."

Local News

Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "Rhode Island, the only state in New England that has not legalized gay marriage, began taking up the matter this week. The State House is expected to pass a bill Thursday that would allow anyone to marry 'any eligible person regardless of gender.'"

Grammar Lesson*

Merriam-Webster sez: "Farther and further have been used more or less interchangeably throughout most of their history, but currently they are showing signs of diverging. As adverbs they continue to be used interchangeably whenever spatial, temporal, or metaphorical distance is involved. But where there is no notion of distance, further is used 'our techniques can be further refined'. Further is also used as a sentence modifier 'further, the workshop participants were scarcely optimistic -- L. B. Mayhew', but farther is not. A polarizing process appears to be taking place in their adjective use. Farther is taking over the meaning of distance 'the farther shore' and further the meaning of addition 'needed no further invitation.'"

* See Comments.

News Ledes

New York Times: "The Rhode Island House of Representatives on Thursday handily passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, paving the way for a showdown in the State Senate in the only New England state where it is not allowed."

Christian Science Monitor: "A federal judge in Chicago sentenced an American citizen to 35 years in prison on Thursday for his role in providing surveillance information and videos laying the groundwork for the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India, that left more than 160 dead and hundreds wounded. David Coleman Headley, a US citizen of Pakistani heritage, was arrested in October 2009. He agreed shortly afterward to cooperate with US investigators and intelligence officials, and he testified against one of his fellow co-conspirators."

New York Times: "As French forces fight Islamist rebels in Mali, the country has ramped up police and army presence at home and is sending special forces to help protect uranium production sites in Niger."

Reuters: "The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell to its lowest since the early days of the 2007-09 recession, a hopeful sign for the sluggish labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 330,000, the lowest level since January 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday."

AP: "President Barack Obama will nominate Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, tapping an attorney with broad experience in prosecuting white-collar crimes to lead an agency that has a central role in implementing Wall Street reform. A White House official said the president would announce White's nomination during a ceremony in the State Dining Room Thursday afternoon. At the same event, Obama will renominate Richard Cordray to serve as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.... The president used a recess appointment last year to ... install Cordray as head of the bureau." ...

     ... New York Times Update: "In its choice of Ms. White and Mr. Cordray, the White House is sending a signal about the importance of holding Wall Street accountable for wrongdoing. Both picks are former prosecutors."

AP: "Democratic Sen. John Kerry, on a smooth path to confirmation as secretary of state, is likely to face friendly questioning when he testifies before the committee that he's served on for 28 years and led for the past four. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman will sit at the witness table Thursday when he appears before the panel.... The five-term Massachusetts senator is widely expected to win overwhelming bipartisan support...." ...

     ... Washington Post Update: "Sen. John F. Kerry, testifying before a Senate committee on his nomination to become secretary of state, said U.S. foreign policy is defined by much more than military intervention abroad and the fight against terrorism, and he called for consensus on promoting American leadership on matters ranging from food security to climate change."

Washington Post: "North Korea threatened Thursday to carry out a nuclear test as part of an 'all-out action' against the U.S., which it called the 'main player' behind recently adopted international sanctions."

Reader Comments (24)

Re: Does the NYT have an ax to grind? One more time, I admire the way Marie presents a case.( today's essay in NYTEX) sometimes you got to wonder if she was a legal beagle in her times...
I read, I ponder, and I wonder why the "Paper of Note " goes with “Everyone agrees that federal spending must be drastically cut. But there is an alternative: raising more money from all taxpayers, including the middle class.”
Am I nuts or is that a threat? Do I read too much between the lines? Or is the real truth that the NYT protects the status quo as they see it?
Marie does the hard work; Mr. Porter is either a brown noser or a puppet; take your pick.
But what about the Paper of Note; can I no longer count on it as a dispenser of balanced reporting?
Was it ever?
Puzzled in SoCal.

January 23, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJJG

Spellcheck: It's Phil Plait, not Platt, and really he's not "of Slate" so much as a genuine scientist: Wikipedia.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterDavid Guichard

And to take Krugman just a bit farther (or his argument a bit further--the proper usage of those two words drives me nuts!), if everyone who gets more from the Federal treasury than they contribute is a "taker," then we have numerous whole states who qualify, and-- lo! a load of irony you can count in the billions--it is mostly the red states whose representatives spawn this "taker" nonsense.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Small Balls of the Week Award (it seems) to Harry Reid:

..."Senate aides say lawmakers could compromise as soon as Thursday on modest limits on filibusters, which a party in the minority uses to kill legislation. If no deal is reached, Democrats may push a package of changes that would place MILD restraints on the practice."

Apparently Senator Small Balls Reid has all along wanted only minimal, non-threatening change to the filibuster. No liberal he. Nor a man of conscience. Just content to play the "old Washington game." No wonder the American public rates Congress lower than accidentally stepping in dog shit!

I hope Jeff Merkley gives a knock-em-dead speech about this. I am sure he will be justifiably furious.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison

Kristof plays the role of our pretend conscience. Certainly we Americans make noises, at least from time to time, to express how shocked we are that people living in poverty aren't right in there competing with the kids at Phillips and Choate. Such an expression of shock labels us as concerned, which then allows us to get back to ripping off the system and stashing our loot in the Caymans. But we're concerned. Ya gotta believe we're concerned. We read Kristof.

I don't know how to address generations of poverty and ignorance. I would imagine that one could begin by making sure that classrooms didn't teach bullshit like creationism and revisionist American history in which the redneck overlords were good and kind and none of that bad stuff happened to the poor kids' ancestors. (In other words, their families devolved into poverty because they were inferior, not because they were oppressed for hundreds of years.)

Next, we could make a commitment to robust national minimum standards for schools and classroom physical plants so that poor kids do not have to share books or wait in line for a computer. Next, we could fund scholarships at prestigious institutions for kids who are looking to go into education, especially at the elementary level and in poor communities. My daughter will receive a BA in English from the UChicago this year, and has decided that she wants to teach poor kids (walking the liberal walk rather than her father, who generally only talks the liberal talk).

All this takes money in a country where, according to the NYT's Eduardo Porter, "Everyone agrees that federal spending must be drastically cut." Yes, and "everyone" agrees that none of those cuts must affect the Department of War (sorry, I'm going back to the old name, which is more apt than ever). As Kurt Vonnegut wrote, "We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap." I would add, "and addicted to war."

As long as there is no outrage from those who fund our government (I'm looking at you, Charles and David), nothing will happen. However, Kristof will continue to play the role of our pretend conscience so we don't have to actually do anything. Thanks Nick!

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJack Mahoney

@David Guichard. Thanks for the correction. According to Plait's Wiki page, "On November 12, 2012, the Bad Astronomy blog moved to Slate magazine, ending 4 years of being hosted by Discover Magazine." That makes him "of Slate" in the same way Paul Krugman, for instance, is "of the New York Times." Krugman had/has a whole career outside of newspaper opinionating, but his contract with the Times makes him, in fairly common parlance, "of the Times."

Try to remember, people, what you are reading is a blog by an old lady who is writing under oppressive time constraints but does so because she hopes others will enjoy what she & her friends find of interest here & there on the Intertoobz.

If you want bios of the bloggers I link, do as Guichard has done & provide them yourselves. However, it would be less annoying if you provided this additional information as a public service rather than as a criticism -- in the way of Guichard.

Thank you very much.

Marie

January 24, 2013 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

I'm an old lady too and I can tell you you're running circles around me. RC is the first read for me every morning. Thanks.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

Boehner: Obama admininistration wants to 'annihilate' GOP (http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/23/16665481-boehner-obama-administration-wants-to-annihilate-gop?lite )

In an address Tuesday to the Ripon Society, a Republican-leaning group, House Speaker John Boehner charged that it was the Obama administration's goal to "annihilate" the Republican Party and "shove" it "into the dustbin of history.

Really? So this Obama's grand scheme for the GOP.

Damn, here along I've thought 'twas the senior partners of the firm of Boehner, Cantor, McConnell & Co who were doing a splendidly outstanding job of self-destruction all on their own. Of course, with value-(less) added input from such junior partners and associates as: Ryan, Gohmert, Bachmann, and out-sourced to others (Governors Scott, Walker, LePage, Perry) too numerous to mention.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

There are some that are skilled in the duel act of praising while putting people in their place––you could call that the act of diplomacy. Words matter and how we form words matter even more; we could all take lessons from a certain "old lady" who manages this quite successfully.

And hats off to Jack's daughter. I wish her luck––it will be hard work and work that I much admire. You, Jack, might think you generally only talk the talk, but what you talked seeped into your daughter who now walks your talk––you must be proud.

And speaking of putting someone in their place. Last night Jon Stewart does a masterful job of exposing Ryan, that cowardly lion whose dark mane corresponds to his black heart.

Watching Hillary take on the likes of thems that gots dem small balls was exhilarating and the glasses add just the right touch of gravitas.

At the same time as this poor woman was going through this slog, there was at last a hearing on RAPE in the military. A long time coming, but I'm hoping changes will be forth coming.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

And look forward any day now to the thank you card from Kansas' Brownback, who while cutting state taxes even more, will surely acknowledge that in the twenty years between 1990 and 2009 his state received 25 billion more in federal money than it paid in taxes.

Love these sharp pencil Repugnants who can't do arithmetic. But then that would be dealing with reality, and thus flat vorboten. If you even acknowledged it, you'd get drummed out of the corps.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Occurred to me as I rushed off to do the recycling and unload a truckload of sawdust for the blueberries I didn't reference the 25 billions claim above, so

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/08/americas-fiscal-union

Don't have time now to look at the other states leaping on the Brownback wagon re the NYTimes report, but it would be interesting to see if most are not also "takers" already. My guess could be wrong.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

As usual, when I want to know what's REALLY going on in the Middle East, I turn ton Juan Cole: http://www.juancole.com/

As Marie pointed out in her NYT Examiner column, there's a difference between facts and opinion. Juan's post uses facts. The CongressCritters used mostly opinion.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

Ken,

I can appreciate your chagrin concerning farther and further. Why, just yesterday I believe I typed "affect" in place of "effect" (or maybe it was the other way around). An ineffective affectation if ever there was one.

But never fear, Professor Wagstaff is here to clear up any grammatical confusion:

Anything further, father?

This, by the by, is from Horsefeathers, which boasts one of the cleverest lines in film history written, I believe, by the great S.J. Perelman.

Groucho, as the president of Huxley College, is busy flirting with co-eds while the college dean cools his heels in an antechamber. A receptionist bursts in to inform Groucho that the dean is not happy:

Receptionist: The Dean is furious! He’s waxing wroth!

Groucho: Is Roth out there, too? Well, tell Roth to wax the Dean for a while.

And let that be a lesson to us all.

Or something.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Huff Post reports that Harry Reid (and a few other SB Senate Dems) are furious with Jeff Merkley for calling out the names of the Dem asswipes who would not support meaningful filibuster reform! He has sharply criticized Merkley for this, and plans to do so again. What I think is that they are all jealous that Merkely does not share their physical endowment of possessing microscopic balls!

..." At Tuesday's closed-door caucus meeting, Merkley was upbraided by Reid for breaking unspoken Senate rules and naming specific senators in a conference call with Democratic activists last week, according to sources familiar with the exchange. "He's pissed off so many in the caucus," said one Democratic aide piqued at Merkley. "He has been having conference calls with progressive donors and activists trying to get them energized. He's named specific Dem Senators. Many are furious. He was called out on Tuesday in caucus and very well could be again today."

GO MERKLEY! You are courageous, unrepentant and unafraid of the SB do-nothings. No PAC money to keep your mouth closed. Keep it up (so to speak). You have plenty of support from those of us who are sick to death of the moose turd Congress!

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison

Lots of people seem to tossing around the pejorative 'bitch' these days— (i.e,; just track some of the things being said about Hillary—past & present) - but in my view, if anyone is more deserving of that title, it is this woman: New Mexico State Rep. Cathrynn Brown Proposes Imprisoning Rape Victims who have Abortions

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/politics/abortion/new-mexico-state-rep-cathrynn-brown-proposes-imprisoning-rape-victims-who-have

P.S. for helpful grammar & style usage check out the After Deadline blog on the NYTimes. It is quite useful. http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/

2 P.S. My own particular peeve: I can't stand the currently accepted use of "dove." Drilled into me from my fourth or fifth grade English & Grammar class, it remains dive, dived, dived. Not dive, dove, diven!!!

..and farthermore, OOps! furthermore.... :—)

the end!

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

I am disappointed that every MSM outlet appears to find Clinton's exchange with Johnson to be the highlight of her day in the pillory. To me it was the low point, the only time she verbally revealed her emotional reaction to stupidity in the slightest. I expected Hillary the jalapeno that I remembered from her earliest appearance as Secretary of State in Canada when she publicly lectured our Prime Minister on abortion funding. Instead I saw an absolutely riveting display of a superhuman mastery of a subject over something approaching 8 hours (?). Conservatives complain that she had months to prepare for this but then so did they and the best they could come up with was something like Paul's ridiculous display of Republican irrealis modality.

Marie has requested our reaction to Kristof's column. Mine, after a quick perusal, is that it qualifies him for the old fashioned tag of 'bleeding heart liberal'. He looks at a cityscape and sees disadvantaged children who need books and a computer. Obama!!here are some needy children. Give them money! It's treating the wounded in front of you and ignoring the civil war raging all about. Yes, the children need aid but without addressing the inequality that is destroying your society you are doomed to be treating the children of these children for ever from a vanishing resource base. Ultimately of course there is revolution and redrawing society on a shattered slate.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered Commentercowichan's opinion

I'm with Kate on Merkley. Bet those he called out peed their pants. Not supposed to be held accountable for being an asshole. Not in Harry Reid's senate.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

OK, on usage, the one my wife always corrects me for is hang/hung, as in "The Majority Leader was not hung, he was hanged."

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

After I read Kristoff's column, and I am a fan, I thought it was pretty much a nothing burger from the standpoint of new information. All the interventions Kristoff suggested, early public health contact and parental reinforcement for developing a fund of knowledge and communication skills have long been staples of the research in this area. I see Kristoff as a pragmatist.

I can't assign him motivation, but it felt like a fairly innocuous column. Perhaps he assumed that people already understand the structural dysfunction is a big, overwhelming task that takes big changes. I feel like he was saying " here's a few things that improve the chances of success for poor kids".

I think Reid overestimates the capacity of voters to understand or care about reforming the filibuster. I seriously doubt the wingnuts will base a challenge to anybody's seat on reforming the filibuster. They operate on a visceral, not intellectual plane. Those idiots on the other side can smell fear and Reid is exposing his wrinkled old throat. Secure your balls Senator Reid and move forward. The chinless prick with the 1000 yard stare is not your friend. Were the situation reversed, McConnell would leave your smoking corpse on the steps of the Senate.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

@MAG: Merriam-Webster again: "Dive, which was originally a weak verb, developed a past tense dove, probably by analogy with verbs like drive, drove. Dove exists in some British dialects and has become the standard past tense especially in speech in some parts of Canada. In the United States dived and dove are both widespread in speech as past tense and past participle, with dove less common than dived in the south Midland area, and dived less common than dove in the Northern and north Midland areas. In writing, the past tense dived is usual in British English and somewhat more common in American English. Dove seems relatively rare as a past participle in writing." I think I say "dove," but if I were writing something, I'd probably have to look up the proper past tense because I wouldn't be sure; then I'd write "dived.

@Patrick: your wife is right. "His lover, sobbing, hung her head while the posse hanged him on the old oak tree." One of many English language peculiarities.

Marie

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMarie Burns

As Barbarossa points out there is a terrific piece by Juan Cole today:
"Top Ten Republican Myths on Benghazi that Justify Hillary Clinton’s Anger".

I have been frustrated with no questioning regarding Ambassador Stevens presence in Benghazi on 9/11. Finally, " It is still not clear what Ambassador Chris Stevens and the CIA were doing in Benghazi, and unless we know that we can’t know why they were attacked." Thank-you!

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

Thanks to everybody who wrote on the Kristof column. I'm in agreement with you all. First, Kristof writes that throwing money at the problem hasn't alleviated poverty; then he suggests throwing money at the problem. Second, he writes there aren't enough services for poor kids; then he writes poor families don't avail themselves of services -- like libraries. And we're all supposed to feel guilty about this.

I have always believed that education is the key to personal success, & I don't necessarily mean financial success. Barack Obama is a good example. His mother was young & poor, but she made him get up & study. Somewhere in there, he figured out that learning for the sake of learning had value. Then he translated that value into a productive life. If parents don't instill that in their kids, the kids will grow up thinking going to the tractor pull is the highlight of the month. If we want to save the next generation, we have to get the parents of this generation to understand that. Obama himself has talked about it -- and been criticized for it -- but when he urges parents to sit down with their kids & go over their homework, he is on the right track.

I think schools in poor neighborhoods should spend MUCH more time on outreach to parents. Right now, teachers are trying to do the work of parents, too. And they cannot do it, except perhaps for a few students whom they find exceptional for some reason. If public school systems want to get the best bang for their buck -- and frankly, most don't care if they do -- they would get families involved in their kids' educations. If the parents have iffy relationships with our educational system &/or are non-responsive & not helpful, school systems should get those parents back in school themselves. If the parents are hopeless, schools could find mentors for their kids.

There are plenty of kids who went through lousy school systems & made something of themselves anyway. But it's a pretty good bet those kids had a parent -- or a teacher or some other adult -- who inspired them to learn.

Marie

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMarie Burns

A further comment on "farther vs. further." My problem with the distinction between the two is that I learned it many years since, but since that lesson the termites of common usage seem to have consumed the wall that once existed between the two, so that now even the dictionary uses one to define the other, leaving me knocking my head against a wall that is no longer there. The resultant face plant is understandable, I tell myself, but still bewildering.

Originally (if I can count my youth as original) "farther" denoted distance and "further" degree or extent, but now I too am as puzzled by change as all those old white guys trying to figure out how my country could possibly have elected that black guy twice.

And on this day when the filibuster had no surgery further than a toe-nail trimming, and the Senate remains little farther along toward functionality than it was before, I'd rather think about American usage than the Senate Democrats' anatomy, or as previous commenters have said, the obvious and specific lack thereof.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

I'm another old lady from sunny CA who reads RC first thing in the morning so I have something of interest to write (yes, as in a letter) to grandson studying Journalism in icy Evanston. Thank you, Marie, and all the great commenters. I'm learning a lot.

January 24, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJoannieB
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