REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - Presidential Election Results

The Ledes

Thursday, July 3, 2025

CNBC: “Job growth proved better than expected in June, as the labor market showed surprising resilience and likely taking a July interest rate cut off the table. Nonfarm payrolls increased a seasonally adjusted 147,000 for the month, higher than the estimate for 110,000 and just above the upwardly revised 144,000 in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. April’s tally also saw a small upward revision, now at 158,000 following an 11,000 increase.... Though the jobless rates fell [to 4.1%], it was due largely to a decrease in those working or looking for jobs.”

Washington Post: “A warehouse storing fireworks in Northern California exploded on Tuesday, leaving seven people missing and two injured as explosions continued into Wednesday evening, officials said. Dramatic video footage captured by KCRA 3 News, a Sacramento broadcaster, showed smoke pouring from the building’s roof before a massive explosion created a fireball that seemed to engulf much of the warehouse, accompanied by an echoing boom. Hundreds of fireworks appeared to be going off and were sparkling within the smoke. Photos of the aftermath showed multiple destroyed buildings and a large area covered in gray ash.” ~~~

The Wires

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.

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code: <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

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.”

Page Links

Tuesday

Nov082016

Presidential Election Results

CW: So far (9 pm ET), we're looking at a nightmare. The NYT is now (at 9:45 pm ET) giving Trump a 58% chance of winning the presidency. At 10:10 pm ET, the Times gives Trump a 73% chance of winning. At 10:45 pm ET, the NYT is giving Trump a 93% chance of winning. At 11:15 pm ET, the Times gives Trump a 95% chance of winning.

Dow Jones futures dropped 800 points, NBC reports at 12:50 pm ET.

*BTW, CNN has called Nebraska for Trump, but NBC has called on 4 Electoral College votes for Trump there, as the state splits its EC vote, and Omaha could still go either way. CNN has now called 4 electoral votes for Trump.

If you're interested in election results, CNN is better than NBC.

North Carolina is extending voting time in Durham County for from 20-60 minutes.

Senate Races

At 5:15 am ET, Republicans remain in control of the Senate, with 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats and 2 races undecided.

At 10:10 pm ET, the New York Times give Republicans a 93% chance of maintaining control of the Senate.

States are listed in alpha order.

Alabama: Richard Shelby (R) retains his seat.

Alaska: Lisa Murkowski (R) retains her seat.

Arizona: John McCain (R) retains his seat.

Arkansas: John Boozman (R) retains his seat.

California: Kamala Harris (D) won the election.

Colorado: Michael Bennet (D) won re-election.

Connecticut: Dick Blumenthal (D) retains his seat.

Florida: Marco Rubio (R) is the projected winner.

Georgia: Johnny Isakson (R) won re-election.

Hawaii: Brian Schatz (D) retains his seat.

** Illinois: Tammy Duckworth (D) beats incumbent Mark Kirk (R). This is the first Democratic pick-up.

Indiana: Todd Young (R) bests Evan Bayh (D).

Iowa: Chuck Grassley (R) retains his seat.

Kansas: Jerry Moran (R) retains his seat.

Kentucky: Rand Paul (R) will retain his seat.

Louisiana: No candidate won; runoff election December 10.

Maryland: Chris Van Hollen (D) takes open Democratic seat.

Missouri: Roy Blunt (R) won re-election.

** Nevada: Cortez Masto (D) becomes first Latina Senator.

New Hampshire: Not decided; leaning Ayotte (R) Hassan (D).

Oklahoma: James Lankford (R) retains his seat.

Pennsylvania: Pat Toomey (R) retains his seat.

North Dakota: John Hoeven (R) retains his seat.

New York: Chuck Schumer (D) retains his seat.

North Carolina: Richard Burr (R) retains his seat.

Ohio: Rob Portman (R) retains his seat.

South Carolina: Tim Scott (R) will retain his seat.

South Dakota: John Thune (R) retains his seat.

Utah: Mike Lee (R) retains his seat.

Vermont: Pat Leahy (D) will retain his seat.

Washington: Patty Murray (D) retains her seat.

Wisconsin: Ron Johnson (R) has bested Russ Feingold (D).

See also Tuesday's Afternoon Update, which is extensive.

Comments Off

Permalink

Email Article

Reader Comments (5)

The Con/Koch concentration on States has paid off. They have delivered voter ID laws and other forms of voter suppression and disenfranchisement, gun rights/intimidation, gutted education and social programs, limited healthcare and bankrupted states, blaming the President. Who pulled the US kicking and screaming out of the bush recession, improving the DoJ and delivered 30 million jobs and as much as he could with both hands tied behind his back. And now this. Shrink the government so that you can drown it in the bath, and blame the other guy. Especially when the other guy is the "other" guy. People said of bush that it wouldn't be so bad, but the world is paying the price for his misbegotten presidency, and will for decades to come, M.E. instability, wars and 65 million refugees aren't going away. And then, SCOTUS. A generation of extremist activism from the bench. I reckon that many of the people who voted trump will not suffer many consequences, although their 401K's might take a hit. They are often older, will not be affected by reduced healthcare or increased costs, unless Ryan scuttles Medicare. They aren't going to serve in the military, they aren't educating their kids anymore, they are often rural so don't give a hoot about the cities. I doubt whether they will even care when he doesn't "build that wall", or "lock her up". There will be some excuse as to why the jobs aren't brought back. They won't even notice if press freedom is curtailed, their alt-right sites will flourish. I have always felt that the Dems have not had their eyes on the ball with State Legislatures. Those Con Governors have laid the groundwork that have made this possible.

November 9, 2016 |

Gloria

I know we are all sick at heart! What stuns me most is that I truly did not realize the immense size of the "basket of deplorables" in our sick little country! And I really did think that almost all white women, (and, of course, all black and Latinas), would vote for Hillary. All of this, despite my knowing that most American voters are incapable of critical thinking. I guess in that sense I can admit that we got the President we deserve. BOO-FUCKIN'-HOO!

I am going to have a marijuana edible (maybe two) and pile into bed. My sympathies to all of us!

P.S. Perhaps the worst blow I have felt is Russ Feingold's loss to that crazy teapartier, Ron Johnson, in Wisconsin. I am so angry at Wisconsin right now that I do not want to admit it is my native state!

November 9, 2016 |

Kate Madison

What a disaster!

Much can be blamed on Vote Your Conscience, the Nader Effect of the Libertarians/Greens vote tallies, and those who did not vote for either of the two—but abstained or wrote in someone inconsequential. Such courageous people of honor! hah! I'm looking at you Gov. Baker of Massachusetts, Laura & George Bush, et al.

November 9, 2016 |

MAG

So the dog that has been chasing the car all these years has caught it. Now republicans will have to govern. Fasten your seatbelts while you still have them...

November 9, 2016 |

NiskyGuy

At this moment I am not sure if I am more ashamed for my beloved country or ashamed of her.

November 9, 2016 |

BobbyLee

Comments for this entry have been disabled. Additional comments may not be added to this entry at this time.