The Ledes

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

New York Times: “The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, who emerged from the backwoods of Louisiana to become a television evangelist with global reach, preaching about an eternal struggle between good and evil and warning of the temptations of the flesh, a theme that played out in his own life in a sex scandal, died on July 1. He was 90.” ~~~

     ~~~ For another sort of obituary, see Akhilleus' commentary near the end of yesterday's thread.

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Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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Monday
Nov052012

Congressional, Gubernatorial Races

Congressional Races

By State, in Alpha Order

NBC projects that Democrats retain control of the Senate. At noon Wednesday, Democrats now have 52 seats in the Senate. The North Dakota Senate seat, where Democrat Heidi Heitkamp is leading, is the only Senate contest that the networks or the AP haven't called.

     ... Update: the AP has called the North Dakota race for Heidi Heitkamp, bringing the total number of Democratic Senators to 53, with two Independents, one of whom is Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who causes with the Democrats; the other is Senator-Elect Angus King of Maine, who has been cagey about his plans.

NBC projects that Republicans will retain the House. As of noon Wednesday, Democrats have picked up 5 seats. Currently AP-confirmed totals are Republicans 232, Democrats 191.

Arizona Senate: Rep. Jeff Flake (R) defeats Democrat Dr. Richard Carmona to fill the seat vacated by Sen. John Kyl (R). Another shame.

California Senate: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) retains her seat.

Connecticut Senate: NBC calls the race for Rep. Chris Murphy (D) in what was expected to be a close race against the self-funded Wrestling Lady Linda McMahon (R).

Delaware Senate: Sen. Tom Carper (D) retains his seat.

Florida Senate: Miami Herald: "Democrat Bill Nelson strolled easily into reelection for a third term Tuesday, demolishing Republican challenger Connie Mack IV by a wide margin in a bitterly fought and expensive contest. Nelson, 70, will return to Washington as the only Democrat in statewide office in Florida...."


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/06/3085076/nelson-appears-headed-to-easy.html#storylink=cpy

Florida House: Orlando Sentinel: "Look out, Congress. Alan Grayson is coming back. The fiery Orlando Democrat won a double-digit victory on Tuesday night, besting Republican Todd Long in Florida's newly created 9th Congressional District... His victory was all but assured once the Aug. 14 primary was over. The 9th Congressional District, which includes Osceola County and parts of Orange and Polk, is heavily Democratic, and Grayson raised $3.5 million in campaign funds to Long's $91,000.... Grayson also drew one of the weaker candidates in the Republican field — in part because he spent more than $110,000 in the GOP primary to help sink John Quiñones, the Hispanic chair of the Osceola County Commission."

Florida House: Newsweek: "One of Congress's top Islamophobes, Republican Rep. Allen West, lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy early this morning. With 100 percent of votes in from South Florida's 18th District, Murphy edged out the Tea Party freshman West by less than 2,500 votes, despite lopsided fundraising. West spent more than $17 million to Murphy's $3.6 million, and both candidates poured money into ads that made the race one of the country's nastiest." ...

     ... Dan Amira of New York: "With 100 percent of precincts reporting, but with some provisional and absentee ballots yet to be counted, West trails political newcomer Patrick Murphy by .74 percent, or 2,456 votes. Murphy's campaign has declared victory, while West has yet to concede and is demanding a recount in one county which he claims has shown 'hostility and demonstrated incompetence.' However, in Florida, recounts are triggered when the winning margin is .5 percent or less, not when a candidate wants one really bad." (CW Note: West ran in a nice, new GOP-friendly district. During redistricting, the Florida Republican legislature attempted to make West's district Republican-safe.)

Hawaii Senate: Rep. Mazie Hirono (D) defeats former Gov. Linda Lingle (R).

Illinois House: the wonderful Tammy Duckworth (D) defeats the hideous Joe Walsh (RTP).

Indiana Senate: Indianapolis Star: "Democrat Joe Donnelly used a message of bipartisanship to earn an unlikely victory amid a Republican tide Tuesday night -- a win also aided by campaign comments by his opponent, Richard Mourdock, that troubled some voters. Donnelly now must try to ... hold onto a seat that Republicans will be eager to take back in six years. His win helped Democrats retain their majority Tuesday might, and he received a congratulatory call from former President Bill Clinton."

Maine Senate: NBC calls it for Angus King, an independent who will probably caucus with the Democrats & favors ObamaCare.

Maryland Senate: the AP calls the race for Sen. Ben Cardin (D).

Massachusetts Senate: Boston Globe: "Elizabeth Ann Warren, a fierce consumer advocate who galvanized liberals across the nation, won a decisive victory over Senator Scott Brown Tuesday, avenging the Democratic Party’s bitter loss ­at the hands of Brown in 2010, an upset that jolted the national political landscape. Buoyed by a strong showing in urban strongholds and liberal suburbs, Warren made history: She will become the first woman to represent Massachusetts in the US Senate.... With 91 percent of the precincts reporting, Warren led Brown by 8 percentage points, 54 percent to 46 percent."

Michigan Senate: Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) retains her seat.

Minnesota House: Bummer. Washington Post: "Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), founder of the Tea Party Caucus and an unsuccessful candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, hung on to her House seat by narrowly defeating challenger Jim Graves."

Minnesota Senate: Sen. Amy Kobuchar (D) retains her seat.

Mississippi Senate: Sen. Roger Wicker (R) retains his seat.

Missouri Senate: Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) beats Rep. Todd Akin (RTP) & retains her seat.

NEW. Montana Senate: Sen. Jon Tester (D) retains his seat.

Nebraska Senate: Republican Deb Fischer bests former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey (D). This is a pick-up for Republicans; the seat is currently held by ConservaDem Ben Nelson.

New Hampshire: All of the leadership in New Hampshire -- Governor, U.S. Senators, Congressmembers -- are women. Gov.-Elect Hassan is the only female governor in the country now. I believe in 2008, the New Hampshire state senate became majority women. There's something great about New Hampshire.

New Jersey Senate: Sen. Bob Menendez (D) retains his seat.

New Mexico Senate: Rep. Martin Heirich (D) wins seat to replace Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingamin.

New York Senate: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) retains her seat.

NEW. North Dakota Senate: on Wednesday afternoon, the AP finally called North Dakota for Heidi Heitkamp, the Democrat.

Ohio Senate: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) retains his seat. Whew!

Oregon Senate: Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) retains her seat.

Pennsylvania Senate: NBC projects Sen. Bob Casey (D) as the winner.

Rhode Island Senate: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D) retains his seat.

Tennessee Senate: NBC calls the race for Sen. Bob Corker (R).

Texas Senate: Republican Tea Partier Ted Cruz is the projected winner.

Utah Senate: Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch retains his seat.

Vermont Senate: the AP has called the Vermont Senate race for Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. CW: I'm awfully happy Bernie is the first Senate call of the night.

Virginia Senate: Washington Post: "Timothy M. Kaine defeated George Allen in Virginia’s Senate race Tuesday night, the climax of an intensely watched matchup that cost more than $80 million."

West Virginia Senate: NBC has called the WVA Senate race for Sen. Joe Manchin, a so-called Democrat who often votes with Republicans.

Wisconsin Senate: Wisconsin State Journal: "U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, became the first openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate late Tuesday. Baldwin beat longtime former Republican Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson after a bruising campaign that included tens of millions of dollars in negative ads. Baldwin also is the first woman elected to the Senate from Wisconsin."

Wyoming Senate: Sen. John Barrasso (R) retains his seat.

 

Governors' Races

By State, in Alpha Order

Indiana: horrible Rep. Mike Pence (RTP) takes the governorship. Bad choice, Hoosiers.

New Hampshire: Concord Monitor: "Maggie Hassan will become the 81st governor of New Hampshire after defeating Republican Ovide Lamontagne yesterday, keeping the corner office in Democratic hands as Gov. John Lynch steps down after an unprecedented four terms."

North Carolina: Republican Pat McCrory wins an open seat, vacated by Democrat Beverly Purdue.

North Dakota: Gov. John Dalyrymple (R) retains his seat.

Vermont: Peter Shumlin (D) wins governorship.

Utah: Gov. Gary Herbert (R) retains his seat.

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