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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
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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.

Monday
Nov232015

The Commentariat -- Nov. 24, 2015

Internal links removed.

Afternoon Update:

Joseph Goldstein & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The American airstrike that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Afghan city of Kunduz last month was the result of human errors, failures in procedure and technical malfunctions, according to military officials who have been briefed on the military's internal investigation."

Eric Cunningham of the Washington Post: "A powerful explosion tore through a bus carrying elite security guards for Tunisia's president in the heart of the capital, Tunis, authorities said Tuesday, killing at least 11 people in what appeared to be the latest militant attack in the North African country."

John Eligon & Ashley Southall of the New York Times: "Two men were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the overnight shootings of five people during a Black Lives Matter protest outside a police station, the Minneapolis Police Department said. One suspect, a 23-year-old white man, was arrested in Bloomington, a suburb of Minneapolis, at about 11:20 a.m., the police said in a statement. The other, a 32-year-old Hispanic man, was arrested about 45 minutes later while in his vehicle in South Minneapolis." (See related stories linked under Beyond the Beltway.)

Juliet Eilperin & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "President Obama called Tuesday for the West and its allies to stay united to destroy Islamic State and not allow fear of terrorism to undermine freedoms and values. After meeting with French President François Hollande at the White House, Obama declared 'total solidarity' with France, saying his planned trip next week to Paris for a climate change summit is a 'powerful rebuke' to terrorism.

David Sanger & Nicole Perlroth of the New York Times: "Four months after a historic accord with Tehran to limit its atomic ambitions, American officials and private security groups say they see a surge in sophisticated computer espionage by Iran, culminating in a series of cyberattacks against State Department officials over the past month."

Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "A Chicago police officer has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 17-year-old last year, authorities said Tuesday. The charges were announced a day before the city plans to release a video that captured the shooting, footage that officials worry could lead to intense protests." See link to related story under Beyond the Beltway. ...

*****

"Worldwide Travel Alert." U. S. State Department: "The State Department alerts U.S. citizens to possible risks of travel due to increased terrorist threats. Current information suggests that ISIL (aka Da’esh), al-Qa’ida, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics, using conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests. This Travel Alert expires on February 24, 2016." ...

... Alan Gomez of USA Today: "The U.S. State Department issued a rare worldwide travel alert on Monday, warning American travelers about the widespread threats posed by members of the Islamic State or copycat bombers.... The alert comes as millions of Americans prepare to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, and organizers of major events like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade bolster their security preparations."

Julie Pace & Kathleen Hennessey of the AP: "President Barack Obama will stand in solidarity with French President Francois Hollande at the White House Tuesday, 11 days after the Paris attacks, in a visit complicated by Turkey's shoot-down of a Russian warplane." See also related stories linked under Way Beyond the Beltway.

The Good Fight. Peter Beinart of the Atlantic: "Why is [President] Obama picking a fight on an issue that, according to The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, is a 'political winner' for the GOP? Because of the way he interprets American history.... Obama tells the story ... as America overcoming the evil within itself.... It's a theme that recurs in Obama's speeches.... He sees American history as a series of moral struggles pitting Americans seeking equal opportunity and full citizenship against Americans who defend an unjust or bigoted status quo. Obama clearly sees the current nativist, bigotry-laden, hysteria as such a struggle. He knows he may not win. But he wants future historians to know exactly where he stood. They will. And as a result, I suspect, they'll record the Syrian refugee battle among his finest hours."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court ruled in a decision unsealed on Monday that the Justice Department could continue to conceal internal documents related to targeted killings in the fight against Al Qaeda. A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit forced the Obama administration last year to reveal a secret memo that authorized the killing of the American-born terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki. But the new ruling, handed down in October, makes it unlikely that the suit will yield much else in the way of public disclosures."

AP: "A lawsuit is challenging the Indiana governor's [Mike Pence (R)] decision to stop state agencies from helping resettle Syrian refugees, saying the action wrongly targets the refugees based on their nationality. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the federal lawsuit Monday night on behalf of Indianapolis-based nonprofit Exodus Refugee Immigration."

Manny Fernandez of the New York Times: "Planned Parenthood sued Texas officials in federal court in Austin on Monday, seeking to block the state from cutting off its Medicaid funding, the latest in a series of lawsuits it has filed against Republican-led states after the controversy over its use of fetal tissue."

Ari Melber of MSNBC: "A former investigator for the House Benghazi Committee filed a federal lawsuit against the committee Monday.... Last month, Brad Podliska, an Air Force Reserve major, alleged the Benghazi committee terminated him based on his military obligations and his refusal to advance an agenda targeting Hillary Clinton. Now, Podliska is detailing those charges in court in a new filing that alleges Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy broke the law by defaming him in their public battle over Podliska's firing."

Dennis Overbye of the New York Times: A hundred years ago tomorrow, Albert Einstein set down his theory of relativity, a rule that "transformed our understanding of space and time."

Presidential Race

Jesse Byrnes of the Hill: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) currently leads online polling for Time magazine's 2015 Person of the Year, with less than two weeks to go before voting ends.... The magazine's editors pick the Person of the Year, though anyone can weigh in online." CW: If you can figure out how to do it, you can vote here; you have to "authenticate" your vote by signing in with Facebook or Twitter. I think I voted for Bernie but can't be sure. My bet is that Time will pick Trump. ...

     ... Trump naturally thinks he should be the guy but says, "... there's no way they give it to me. They can't. Because, mentally, they can't. They just can't. They can't do it."

Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would ... in a heartbeat ... And I would approve more than that. Don't kid yourself, folks. It works, okay? It works. Only a stupid person would say it doesn't work.... Believe me, it works. And you know what? If it doesn't work, they deserve it anyway, for what they're doing. It works. -- Donald Trump, at a rally in Columbus, Ohio yesterday

Dylan Matthews of Vox: "The media has [sic!] no idea how to deal with Donald Trump's constant lying." Matthews runs down Trump's performance on "This Week" Sunday. In sum, "A careful viewer, paying close attention to all of Stephanopoulos's rebuttals, would come away thinking (correctly) that Trump spent the entire interview reiterating falsehoods. But a casual viewer could very well come away thinking that a) thousands of Arabs celebrated 9/11 in the streets of New Jersey, b) the Obama administration is planning on bringing in up to 250,000 Syrian refugees, most of them young men primed to be radicalized by ISIS or other terror groups, and c) it's currently illegal for people on terrorism watch lists to get guns. None of those things are [sic!] true." But media outlets keep booking him because (a) he's the GOP frontrunner, & (b) ratings. ...

... Greg Sargent: To Trump supporters, his lies don't matter: "Trump's supporters have been persuaded that he will be a 'strong leader.' Once that decision has been made, any liberal media fact-checking of Trump's statements, particularly criticisms that seem 'politically correct,' only confirm that original impression." ...

Jon Greenberg of PolitiFact: "A day after a black activist was kicked and punched by voters at a Donald Trump rally in Alabama, Trump tweeted an image packed with racially loaded and incorrect murder statistics..., including that blacks kill 81 percent of white homicide victims. Almost every number in the image is wrong. The statistics on white victims are exaggerated five-fold. The police-related deaths are off as well."

Judd Legum of Think Progress: "In an interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Donald Trump defended tweeting a series of fabricated murder statistics designed to perpetuate racist stereotypes. 'I retweeted somebody that was supposedly an expert and it was also a radio show,' Trump said. Trump actually copy-and-pasted a tweet from @SeanSean252, an anonymous Twitter user. @SeanSean252's bio does not indicate that he is an expert in crime statistics or any other kind of expert.... The graphic actually originated from a neo-Nazi on Twitter.... 'It came from sources that are very credible, what can I tell you,' Trump [said]."

I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering" as the World Trade Center collapsed. -- Donald Trump, November 21, in comments during a speech

Trump's recollection of events in New Jersey in the hours after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks flies in the face of all the evidence we could find. We rate this statement Pants on Fire. -- Lauren Carroll of PolitiFact

Trump ... is already demanding apologizes from all the critics and fact checkers who have been pointing out he is Completely Making Shit Up on this one. -- Hunter of Daily Kos

I want an apology. Many people have tweeted that I am right. -- Donald Trump, in a tweet

... Kevin Drum: "It's hard to figure out what this episode says about Trump. Is he delusional? Is he merely unable to admit any error?... Or is Trump consciously making stuff up to play to nativist GOP voters? As two GOP strategists working against Trump noted in a recent memo, 'Trump voters are exceedingly low-information voters. They do not read The Washington Post or Politico or even conservative blogs. They do not watch cable news rigorously.' To put it less politely, Trump voters are susceptible to his BS that reinforces their own assumptions and biases.... He routinely says crazy crap that isn't true and doubles or triples down when challenged. And sorry, fact-checkers, but so far none of this appears to register with his 'low-information' fans. This fabulist remains the Republican front-runner." ...

... Lie or False Memory? Max Ehrenfreud of the Washington Post: "Trump's assertion might not be a bald-faced lie. Psychologists suggest that people unconsciously fabricate memories all the time, and that Trump might have done the same." ...

... James Downie of the Washington Post describes Trump as the leader of "21st-century McCarthyism." ...

... "Dear Media, Stop Freaking Out About Donald Trump's Polls." Nate Silver: "Lately, pundits and punters seem bullish on Donald Trump, whose chances of winning the Republican presidential nomination recently inched above 20 percent for the first time at the betting market Betfair.... I'd still say a 20 percent chance is substantially too high.... Right now, he has 25 to 30 percent of the vote in polls among the roughly 25 percent of Americans who identify as Republican. (That's something like 6 to 8 percent of the electorate overall, or about the same share of people who think the Apollo moon landings were faked.)... If past nomination races are any guide, the vast majority of eventual Republican voters haven't made up their minds yet. ...

... Nicole Rojas of International Business Times: "Senior managers from five of the major news networks in the US have joined forces to lay out demands from Donald Trump's presidential campaign after the Republican's campaign officials threatened to 'blacklist' journalists during rallies last week. Representatives from ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox and NBC News met on 23 November to discuss their responses to behaviour deemed restrictive by Trump's managers including top aide Corey Lewandowski. According to The Washington Post, Lewandowski threatened to pull credentials of CNN reporter Noah Gray during Trump's campaign in Worcester, Massachusetts. Gray, who has covered Trump for months, attempted to leave the press pen when he recorded Lewandoski threatening to 'blacklist' him from future events." ...

... Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "After Donald J. Trump hosted 'Saturday Night Live' this month, several of his Republican rivals filed complaints about receiving equal airtime. So NBC has granted the campaigns of Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, Mike Huckabee, James Gilmore and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina their specific equal-airtime requests. This does not mean that a coming 'S.N.L.' episode will be hosted by any of the candidates.... What it does entail will be the use of commercial and promotional airtime in prime time this weekend, including during 'Saturday Night Live,' when a re-run will be broadcast. Still at the negotiating table is George E. Pataki...."

Profiles in Cowardice. Dana Milbank: "Trump gets ever more base in his bigotry -- and yet, with few and intermittent exceptions, rival candidates, party leaders and GOP lawmakers decline to call him out. So he continues to rise, benefiting from tacit acceptance of his intolerance.... The longer Republican leaders take to find their anti-Trump voices, the more their quiescence becomes an endorsement." ...

... Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBC News: "... John Kasich is not holding back. He's launched an all-out offensive against fellow Republican Donald Trump. On the day that Trump is holding a rally in Kasich's state, the Ohio governor is hosting two conference calls challenging Trump and his electability. The conference calls are just one component of a larger effort over the past several days to damage the Republican front-runner's credibility among voters. Kasich is attacking Trump more fiercely than any other Republican in the field." ...

... Emily Fritter of Reuters: "Nearly a dozen big Republican donors backing different presidential candidates are coming together to help fund an advertising campaign attacking front-runner Donald Trump, who faced sharp criticism from rivals this week for his inflammatory comments about Muslims." ...

... Steve M.: What these rich donors are doing is recycling stuff that was supposed to bring down Trump when the news first hit. "This is one more reason we ought to raise taxes on the rich: because when it comes to spending money on politics, the rich have no damn sense. We need to save them from themselves." CW: What all these ad campaigns do is redistribute money from various business moguls to media moguls.

First He Saw It, Then He Didn't. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... on Monday, one of Mr. Trump's chief rivals for the Republican presidential nomination said that he, too, saw American Muslims celebrate as the twin towers fell. 'I saw the film of it,' Ben Carson ... said. But later on Monday, Mr. Carson said that he was mistaken in saying that he saw Muslims cheering in New Jersey. According to ABC News he said he was thinking about protests he saw in the Middle East. Accounts of such an behavior in the United States have largely been considered folklore in the years since the attacks, and New Jersey lawmakers and officials say they cannot remember such celebrations occurring."

Jonathan Chait: "Marco Rubio opposes the legal right to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. This extreme position would pose a significant liability in a general election. But since Rubio still has to win the nomination, he can't wriggle out of it yet. Instead he is obfuscating." He's a sneaky sniveling misogynist with Mr. Spock ears.

Jason Noble of PolitiFact: President "Obama is so unwilling to work with Senate Republicans, [Jeb] Bush alleges, that he didn't even invite one to dine at the White House until his fifth year in office.... Based on our review of visitor logs, there are a handful of instances in which Republican U.S. senators visited the White House residence between 2009 and 2012, including a 2011 dinner attended by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell. There's also that high-profile 2010 case in which Obama invited two Republican senators to dinner -- the famous Slurpee Summit -- only to be publicly snubbed. And it's worth noting, too, that the records indicate that Obama hasn't dined privately with Democratic senators all that often either...."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Tulay Karadeniz & Maria Kiselyova of Reuters: "Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday after repeated warnings over air space violations, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space. It was the first time a NATO member's armed forces have downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s and Russian and Turkish assets fell on fears of an escalation between the former Cold War enemies. A Kremlin spokesman said it was a 'very serious incident' but that it was too early to draw conclusions." ...

... The Washington Post story, by Hugh Naylor & others, is here. "The downing underscores a scenario feared for months by the Pentagon and its partners: a potential conflict arising from overlapping air missions over Syria -- with Russia backing the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a U.S.-led coalition conducting airstrikes the Islamic State."

Rosemary Barton of Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) News: "The [Canadian] federal government's much-anticipated Syrian refugee plan will limit those accepted into Canada to women, children and families only, CBC News has learned. Sources tell CBC News that to deal with some ongoing concerns around security, unaccompanied men seeking asylum will not be part of the program. The details of the plan will be announced Tuesday, but already Canadian officials have been working on the ground to process people."

Loveday Morris & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Belgian authorities charged an additional suspect Monday in connection with this month's deadly Paris attacks, as Belgium entered the workweek with shuttered schools and offices in an effort to disrupt a suspected similar plot. The suspect, whose name was not released, was one of 21 people detained in 29 raids in the capital and the southern cities of Liege and Charleroi, a sweep that ended Monday morning."

Beyond the Beltway

Karen Zamora of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Police are searching for three white men who allegedly fired into a crowd protesting near the Minneapolis Police Department's 4th Precinct Monday night, wounding five people.... Miski Noor, a media contact for Black Lives Matter, said 'a group of white supremacists showed up at the protest, as they have done most nights.' One of the three counter-demonstrators wore a mask, said Dana Jaehnert, who had been at the protest site since early evening. When about a dozen protesters attempted to herd the group away from the area, Noor said, they 'opened fire on about six protesters,' hitting five of them." ...

     ... Ashley Southall of the New York Times: "The victims were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, the police said.... Ms. Noor said one of the victims was shot in the stomach and underwent surgery early Tuesday."

Don Babwin & Michael Tarm of the AP: "A white Chicago police officer who shot a black teenager 16 times was expected to be charged with murder Tuesday, just a day ahead of a deadline for the city to release a squad-car video of the shooting. Veteran officer Jason Van Dyke is expected to be indicted in the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, an official close to the investigation told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt an announcement of the charge."

What an Excellent Ad Stunt! Erik Baard in the Gothamist: "Seats on 42nd Street subway Shuttle cars are wrapped with symbols from Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, intended to carry commuters into the alternate history of the Amazon TV series, The Man in the High Castle, in which the Axis Powers were victorious.... Evan Bernstein, the Anti-Defamation League's New York regional director, says the ads fail to provide riders with enough context to accompany the Nazi imagery." CW: Since Amazon founder Jeff Bezos likes to run his distribution factories like WWII Axis prisoner-of-war camps, maybe this ad campaign is appropriate. Still, New Yorkers should not have to view these horrid symbols on their crosstown hop.

"Them ... Niggers Gotta Learn How to Read." Good Intentions Gone Ever So Slightly Awry. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "A newly sworn in police chief in Farrel, Pennsylvania said that he planned to make a public apology on Monday after he was caught using the N-word during a book drive fundraiser. WICU reported that the email was discovered just days after Thomas Burke was sworn by the City of Farrell as the new police chief last Monday. He is scheduled to begin the job in January. 'Good morning,' the email begins. 'Please click and review. Even $1.00 will be greatly appreciated. Them [Town of] Sharon n****s gotta learn how to read.'... City of Farrell Councilwoman Stephanie Sheffield ... said that Burke explained [to her,] 'that he does use the N-word very often because that's just the way that it is here our area.'... Farrell Mayor Olive McKeithan, who is black, stood up for Burke's character."

News Ledes

New York Times: "The American economy turned in a better performance last quarter than first thought, expanding at a 2.1 percent rate, the government said on Tuesday. While well below the pace of growth recorded in the spring, it was better than the 1.5 percent rate for the third quarter that the Commerce Department reported late last month."

Houston Chronicle: "A helicopter crashed at Fort Hood on Monday, killing four crew members, U.S. Army officials said. Military officials said the UH-60 helicopter crashed sometime after 5:49 p.m. Monday in the northeast section of the central Texas Army post. Emergency crews spent several hours searching the area and later found the bodies of the four crew members."

Reuters: "A bomb exploded outside the offices of a Greek business federation in central Athens on Tuesday, badly damaging the nearby Cypriot Embassy but causing no injuries, police officials said. The blast, which police believe was carried out by domestic guerrilla groups, is the first such incident since leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras came to power in January. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.Attacks against banks, politicians and business people are not uncommon in Greece, which has a long history of political violence and has been mired in its worst economic crisis in decades."

Reader Comments (24)

Max Ehrenfreund of the WashPo suggests Trump's thousands of New Jersey "Arabs" cheering on 9/11 may have been a false memory, & Ehrenfreund backs up his suggestion with data showing how easily people's memories can be manipulated. This seems possible to me. Trump is a bigot, so in his mind he sees Arab-Americans as anti-American. Then he feeds into his prejudicial cortex the video he's seen of Middle Eastern people cheering the downing of the Twin Towers & moves those people to New Jersey, which he also probably thinks sucks. Ben Carson did the same thing, till he realized that was what he had done, & he fessed up.

Last week, as I was on my way to the bank, I remembered I had a check I wanted to deposit. I had a vague memory of having put the check in my purse a few weeks prior. This vague recollection engendered a stronger memory of having "seen" the check in my purse more recently. But when I looked for it, it wasn't there. During the intervening time, I had taken some papers -- receipts & stuff -- out of my purse, & I thought I must have inadvertently taken out the check, too. I looked through those papers -- twice -- and the check wasn't there, either.

Yesterday, when I got out a file that was only tangentially related to the check, I found the check there. It had never been in my purse. My "seeing" the check in my purse was a false memory.

So it can happen, even to a person who might not be completely bonkers. The differences between my false memory & Trump's are that (a) I have no trouble admitting I was wrong, (b) my false memory wasn't inspired by racial animus, & (c) my memory wasn't hurtful to anyone (except maybe me, & it didn't hurt much).

Marie

November 24, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Marie, your memory issue is in no way related to Trump's lies. He lies because he looks at it as a way of showing how totally wonderful he is. That behavior is a basic component of NPD. If 6% of the population agrees with him (or even one person) then his lie serves it's purpose. Or in this case he thinks that since his 25% number stays the same it shows how wonderful he is. Yes he may have remembered the fake story about the non-event in NJ but he claimed it as his own observation because well it is all about him. NPD also involves stealing from others. In other words he claimed the story as his own observation even though he knows it was not. He never bothered to check if it was true because once it comes out of his mouth, it is true. People with NPD desperately want anything that will make them feel wonderful. And Trump is demanding an apology from the 100 million people who missed the event. Serious mental illness and the word delusional is getting popular in the media.
And as the NJ Star Ledger said today, the problem of delusion applies not just with Trump but to the people who support him.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

Now I’m really confused.

Just been reading up on Cultural Appropriation.

Seems that Yoga must not be practiced by persons not of Western Oriental ethnicity. What’s this going to mean for all the devotees of Ancient Chinese Medicine? Does it work both ways? Must Chinese people not take antibiotics?

A few weeks ago I saw Chinese pianist Lang Lang play Grieg's Piano Concerto at the Kennedy Center. Is that allowed?

What about African American bass-baritone Eric Owens singing Alberich in Wagner’s Ring? Can a black man be a Nibelung?

Hell, I don’t even know how to dress. My mother was a second generation German American, my father an umpteenth generation Redneck. So what am I supposed to wear? Bib Overalls, or Lederhosen? A Homburg, or a ball cap backwards? Mix and match? Overalls and a Homburg backwards -- or vice versa?

What’s a Well Intentioned Middle Class Liberal to do? Sing the blues?

https://youtu.be/Fqr-fQf-CVE

Sigh...

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

"... Lie or False Memory? Max Ehrenfreud of the Washington Post: "Trump's assertion might not be a bald-faced lie. Psychologists suggest that people unconsciously fabricate memories all the time, and that Trump might have done the same."

Yes, Trump certainly might have thought he actually saw THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of New Jersey Arabs applauding, clapping and dancing in the streets when the towers fell, but I don't buy it. If this was the first time he made up stuff then...but he, Carson and Carly have made it their signature pieces. And I'm reminded here what happened to Brian Williams––no excuse there from psychologists –-Brian was sent to the hinterlands for awhile until NBC thought it was time to bring him back. Fox, on the other hand, let's O'Reilly who makes up big ones all the time off the hook cuz––hey, that's just how our Bill operates. Journalists have been fired for "making up shit" and the New Republic's Stephen Glass whose "made up" stories almost brought the magazine down.

And Marie illustrates perfectly the difference between her check memory mistake and someone whose fabrications (nice word) could effect THOUSANDS.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@D.C. Clark: Here's a story in Slate on this particular "cultural appropriation."

Definitely Lederhosen & a Homberg backwards (as if anyone could tell a Homberg was being worn backwards). Don't worry, no one will think you're nuts in that get-up. Trust me.

Marie

November 24, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Marie,

How about bib overalls backwards and a Homburg sideways?
I'll bet not even Paul Ryan could top that.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

Is it just me or does every day look like Ground Hog Day of late? Same lies, same "news."

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

@Barbarossa: I have the sense the news is getting worse. We already know Donald Trump & many of his fellow candidates up their rhetoric almost daily. Congress is threatening another government shutdown over refugees, & they'll threaten another over something else, say, Planned Parenthood, whatever. And now Turkey -- a NATO ally -- shoots down a Russian place. Seems too much like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of Austria-Hungary.

Marie

November 24, 2015 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

D.C.,

How 'bout camo lederhosen? And you could drive a John Deere gator with a Mercedes hood ornament attached to the front with duct tape.

Guten tag, y'all.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

We all try to be ’nice’ and not intentionally insult others, yet it appears inadvertently we do….

Just last week (the 17th) Jonathan Chait wrote an article that speaks to Political Correctness…as he has at other times.
This time, the President speaks. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/11/obama-on-pc-a-recipe-for-dogmatism.html Interesting, follow-up comments.

It made me think. About how I do & say things, and how others do as well.

I wasn’t a ’Star Wars’ watcher, but sort of remember some characters. When Marie apologetically alluded to Rubio’s ‘Dr. Spock ears’—I knew exactly what she meant. You did, too! And, he does kinda have’em! Yet not PC to say so! Is it?

We decry those who aren’t carefully PC, yet it happens even among the ’nicest’ of us! …who doesn’t think or hasn’t said Mitch McConnell looks like a turtle. Not part of those PC
guidelines either.

We all tippy-toe around certain things, statements, what we think, and how about those people saying, “Well Donald Trump is only saying out loud what people really think!” (Not Pour MOI! Certainment!)

BUT, Political correctness is putting us all on edge! Think Princeton and Wilson and all similar stories that have been reported. When I read more, Wilson was indeed a racist prick, yet he had other visions that showed another side. Students protested against speakers such as Condi Rice and Christine Lagarde. The college administrators reacted and dis-invited. Do we listen to enough other views other than those that mesh with ours? We say we want a dialogue, but then shut it down before it starts.

Political correctness something I struggle with…certainly never intentionally wanting to insult others re their ethnicity,
their religion, or their views (UNLESS you are a David Brooks, Ross Douthat, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Kristol and of that ilk).

Yet, why shouldn’t I be able to open a dialogue with someone, “…so where are you from?” I’m not looking for judgment, only common ground. Maybe I’ve been to their home country, or would like to visit it, or I have…and I can learn from that
person more about a place I’ve visited and enjoyed and add their knowledge of it. It gets harder to know that what one thinks or says is inappropriate or not.

Recently, HuffPost had a feature on Hallowe’en costumes that are a NO NO. Well, the pictures they showed were certainly as insulting to me as they were tasteless costumes no matter who or what country depicted. Who among us didn’t play Cowboys and Indians…and reverse the roles in childhood. We weren’t trying to be insulting, it was innocence and fun. It was fun to dress up as an Arab princess, a gypsy, a Swiss or Austrian in lederhosen, but today, no? What is the term? Inappropriate cultural assumption?

Some months ago when the Washington Redskins name issue arose, I was perplexed (still am somewhat). Recall I wrote on RC something to the effect of not seeing it as an insult. No one wrote a comment, such as ‘are you nuts?’ back to me. Yet, I thought about it many times in the following months…and it did dawn on me that, yes, the name had a connotation that began as a put-down—yet, as my ‘argument’ at the time went, no team or organization picks a name to be insulting. Warriors, Braves, Redskins…looked at as strong names for sports teams. Still nuts?

We all try to be ’nice’ and not intentionally insult others, yet it it happens in spite of our best efforts….

Straighten me out, y'all, anyone….
I'm braced for it.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

D.C.

To complete your ensemble you might consider ditching the Homburg. Instead, find yourself a WWII German helmet and strap a dildo on top for the neo-Prussian look.

Then you'd bear a striking similarity to Ryan.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterUnwashed

I've been thinking for a while about the poll situation for Confederate candidates, nicely addressed by Nate Silver in the link above.

Yes, it's easy to freak out about poll numbers that put serial liar, braggart, and racist Trumpy the Trumpet at the head of the pack ("Oh my. What is to become of us?"), but that only represents a relatively small number of actual voters and a much smaller number of potential voters. Although unlike in physics, potential voters (energy) rarely, if ever, matches kinetic voters (energy), ie, those who actually do work to get to the polls, one reason so many insane people now inhabit congress.

And it might be comforting to say to oneself that, well, extreme candidates like Trump and Carson are front runners early on because most of their support comes from highly motivated Republicans who likely throw their weight to these guys as a way of protestiing the whole damn system; voters will calm down as the primary season gets underway and more reasonable candidates will come to the fore. But that's the problem. There ARE no reasonable candidates. Liarina? Crazy Cruz? Rubio the Weasel? Christie the Fearful, Jeb! (my brother was right!) Bush?? Santorum? Jindal?

There's not even a Rombot in the pack. Romney told a boatload of lies during his run(s) for the White House but I doubt he believed the stupidest of them. He saw lying as a way of getting ahead. He was a sleazy, unethical businessman, and he had no problem dispensing with ethics to claw his way to the presidency. He was liar and a weirdo but he wasn't insane.

So even if (when?) Trumpy and Bildungsroman Ben fade, it's not as if the crazy will be seriously diminished. The real danger of Trump's candidacy is how far to the right and how far into Confederate Cloud Cuckoo Land he drags all the others and their running-dog ankle biters in the media.

As for the memory issue, my feeling is that Trump is agnostic about the truth. Like O'Reilly, he says whatever makes him look good at the time, and because he's never wrong, he will never back down from even the most embarrassingly transparent lie. As someone pointed out, Trump's supporters are some of the lowest of low information voters. If he says thousands of Arabs were throwing a ticker tape parade after the fall of the towers, they believe him. Why? Mostly because they want it to be true. Same with his suggestion that over 80% of whites who die in homicides are killed by black thugs. They WANT to believe this shit. They need it to be true. It validates their fury and their own racial animus. Trump has drilled into a rich source of hatred and he's gonna keep mining that ore until the vein is tapped out.

The question will be whether Republican voters as of yet unconvinced that he can win in the general, and equally unsure that they want him to be the face of the Republican brand, will cotton to such baldfaced racism and easily disproved mendacity.

Like Marie, I too have fallen victim to odd, phantom memories that I've been absolutely sure of, although I've never believed I've seen such astonishing sights as Trump claims to have witnessed.

But you have to give the guy points for chutzpah. Demanding you are owed an apology from millions of people simply because racist lunatics on Twitter agree with you is the absolute height of fucking roguery.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Best headline of the day:

"'Them ... Niggers Gotta Learn How to Read.' Good Intentions Gone Ever So Slightly Awry"...the "good intentions" part, not the other one.

The whole thing is unfortunate on so many levels. First the "them niggers gotta learn how to read" declaration is included as the kicker in an e-mail looking for funds to support literacy!

Them guys hasta learn to read good, know whatamean?

But Burke's justification for his colorfully racist exhortation is that that's "...just the way it is here in our area." Oh well, I didn't know he had a good excuse.

And over and above it all, it's not like this guy Burke is the local Joe Shit the Ragman, he's the new POLICE CHIEF! What is this, 1933? Brigadoon in western Pennsylvania?

Wonder who Chief Burke will be voting for? That is, if he can read the ballot.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

I'm watching Presidents Obama and Hollande at their joint press conference. In listening to Obama's thoughtful, articulate responses to questions I am - not for the first time - thankful to the deities that he is our president. And finding the thought of any of the Republican candidates succeeding him unimaginably frightening.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterVictoria D.

MAG:

Another thoughtful contribution. Thanks.

My own complicated take on PC.

PC has two parts, and we pay more attention to one than to the other because it's easier to do so.

The political part takes prominence because as differing ethnicities and interests rub up against one another in greater numbers, not always pleasantly, and those meeting points are more widely reported, we have necessarily become more sensitive to others' feelings.

So far, so good. Unfortunately, because various groups and individuals differ in the degree and nature of their sensitivities, it's impossible to name in advance all of those things we should not say or do, and even if we could develop such a list, it would smack of censorship and we would would run into that whole free speech thing, which has very few limits and is so dear our American hearts.

A brief story: I used to police what kids said to one another in a multi-ethnic school. Occasionally, some did say offensive things to students of another race and when they were called on it, they often took refuge in the claim that they were "just joking." I would tell them that humor's success is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, and that hurtful "humor" is not funny; it is just mean. I stopped before I termed it what I really thought when they hid behind the claim of humor, just plain chicken-shit. I policed that kind of language not because it was PC to do so, but because using in a social situation, a school, where all were expected to get along, it detracted from our educational mission, which was both social and academic, and was therefore wrong.

Interestingly, we were "The Braves," with an Indian head painted prominently at the center of our gym floor. Now and again I would get letters from the state department of education, questioning me about our mascot's propriety. Each time out, I would poll the tribe we served and each time I did, support for keeping the name (which the school still has) predominated. I would communicate the results to the state officials and go on with our business of offering the best education we could to all our students. Another eye of the beholder thing.

It seems to me the same standards can be used to judge PC's appropriate application on a much wider scale, in communities, in universities, in society at large. What is the mission of each and how does the language we use or the decisions we make affect our ability to carry it out?

I know I've opened the door to a much longer discussion with that last paragraph than I have time for, but I want to say something about the "C" before signing off.

We are victimized by self-styled PC "victims" when we allow them to abuse us about things we might have said that are, in fact, absolutely "C," that is correct. Sometimes, even when it is not meanly stated, a truth which does rattle someone's world can hurt.

Certainly the Right often expresses outrage and victimhood often enough when all someone has told is the truth.

So when we assess PC we have issues of manner and matter. If something is deliberatelyill-mannered and hurtful, if the remark or action does not advance the purpose of the community in which it occurs, it is likely wrong.

If what is said is true, a matter of objective fact, we need to think about it before rushing to judgment. It's too easy to get the P and the C confused.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Unwashed gets my vote for today's Laugh-Out-Loud prize.

Next step would be to PhotoShop a pickelhaube onto Le Donald -- wouldn't look any sillier than his hair.

Oh dear, that's not very PC, commenting on someone's appearance. Does it count if the silliness is self-inflicted?

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterD.C.Clark

Barbarossa,

I'm so glad to hear from you. You've been quiet too long and we worry.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon

Barbarossa

Ditto @Haley Simon.

Cilliza's comment about Obama "telling the story". Supposedly, Obama's interpretation of American history is, "America overcoming the evil in itself". I think Cilliza has always been a lazy thinker. His comments characterizes a good vs evil dichotomy that is likely closer to his own world view. Obama is far from a shallow thinker. I listened to Obama this morning and it was reinforced that he has, has always had, a deeply held belief in the American character as positive, compassionate and humane, capable of enormous accomplishment for the greater good. His charisma is based on his ability to engage us in his vision. "Hope"

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

Barbarossa,
I'm so grateful that you commented today. I've been thinking of you these last few days and, to be honest, worried. Thank you for coming on line today.
Again, have a Happy Thanksgiving.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterDede C

Barbarossa,

Let me second Dede's sentiment.

Good to have you back, brother. Hope your holiday week goes well.

We miss your comments and insights.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

"Them ... Niggers Gotta Learn How To Read" reminds me of my favorite Brother Mouzone line from The Wire:
"What does the white man fear the most, Lamar? A nigger with a library card ..."

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterRockygirl

Such a thoughtful discussion by MAG and Ken re: the P. C. conundrum. Last night I caught some of the Mark Twain prize series which was honoring Eddie Murphy who gave a hilarious rendition of Bill Cosby going on about his drugging women and having his way with them. The audience laughed, but I sensed an uncomfortable wave wafting through the auditorium. Our comedians have always been the ones who break the barriers––the ones who say what we can't and make it funny or so they hope. Watching Joan Rivers insult various and sundry made me cringe–-there seemed to be a meanness there. I recall some celebrity saying that once you put your face "out there" you better be prepared for the sling of pies thrown at it." And yet we have limits, don't we? And how to tell when we have reached them? I think when the slings and arrows become nasty and disdainful aimed at a particular group––"God hates fags"––as an example.

Just the fact that we are thinking seriously about this says a lot–-- and a lot more could be said about this, but thanks to MAG for introducing it.

And yes, Bob, you old scallywag––-so good to hear from you! We miss you.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Back from a day of home (someone else's) repair and would add one more thought about PC.

Don't know where the term originated, but it smacks of, stinks of one might say, Rush Limbaughese. It's a "frame" in both senses of that word and when we use it, we're already giving away half of the game.

If we want to talk sensibly about offensive language and actions maybe we should avoid the term entirely, because it implies that we would not say or do something only because it would be impolitic to do so, that are constrained to act the way we do only because of our ideology.

I would rather we henceforth substituted Humanely Correct (HC) or something along those lines or RC (in this case, Really Correct, as in factual) and PC altogether. I think I'll try it.

And, Barbarossa, as many others have said, it was wonderful to hear from you. I trust there is more to come.

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Grrr. "....and ESCHEW PC..."

That "Preview Post" is there for a reason..

November 24, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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