The Ledes

Monday, June 30, 2025

It's summer in our hemisphere, and people across Guns America have nothing to do but shoot other people.

New York Times: “A gunman deliberately started a wildfire in a rugged mountain area of Idaho and then shot at the firefighters who responded, killing two and injuring another on Sunday afternoon in what the local sheriff described as a 'total ambush.' Law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned, and officials later found the body of the male suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby, Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at a news conference on Sunday night. The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone but did not release any information about his identity or motives.” A KHQ-TV (Spokane) report is here.

New York Times: “The New York City police were investigating a shooting in Manhattan on Sunday night that left two people injured steps from the Stonewall Inn, an icon of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement. The shooting occurred outside a nearby building in Greenwich Village at 10:15 p.m., Sgt. Matthew Forsythe of the New York Police Department said. The New York City Pride March had been held in Manhattan earlier on Sunday, and Mayor Eric Adams said on social media that the shooting happened as Pride celebrations were ending. One victim who was shot in the head was in critical condition on Monday morning, a spokeswoman for the Police Department said. A second victim was in stable condition after being shot in the leg, she said. No suspect had been identified. The police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the Pride march.”

New York Times: “A dangerous heat wave is gripping large swaths of Europe, driving temperatures far above seasonal norms and prompting widespread health and fire alerts. The extreme heat is forecast to persist into next week, with minimal relief expected overnight. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are among the nations experiencing the most severe conditions, as meteorologists warn that Europe can expect more and hotter heat waves in the future because of climate change.”

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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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Wednesday
Nov262014

Thanksgiving Day 2014

Internal links, defunct video & photo removed.

CW: I'm experiencing weather-related brief power outages. So if there's no more Commentariat, blame it on Mother Nature.

Steve Benen: Rich Lowry, the editor of the National Review, told the New York Times, "If I were John Boehner, I'd say to the president:'Send us your State of the Union in writing. You're not welcome in our chamber" "Lowry ... isn't the only one publicly pushing the idea. Politico reported yesterday that congressional Republicans are weighing a variety of tactics to 'address' their disgust over Obama's immigration policy, and 'GOP aides and lawmakers' are considering the idea of 'refusing to invite the president to give his State of the Union address.' Late last week, Breitbart News also ran a piece of its own on the subject: 'Congress should indicate President Obama that his presence is not welcome on Capitol Hill as long as his "executive amnesty" remains in place. The gesture would, no doubt, be perceived as rude, but it is appropriate.'"

Amanda Marcotte in Slate: "Thanksgiving is becoming impossible for low-wage working women."

Gail Collins: "This year, in a break from tradition, I am giving thanks for the House Intelligence Committee's final report on Benghazi."

That Bird Outside Your Window Is Not a Turkey. Nick Wingfield of the New York Times: "As the price of drones has fallen and sales have risen, the machines have emerged as central characters in stunts from the puckish to the criminal. In recent months, drone pilots have tried to smuggle contraband into prisons and disrupt sporting events at stadiums. Animal rights groups have turned to drones to stalk hunters as the hunters stalk wildlife. And in France, more than a dozen illegal flights over nuclear power plants have unnerved the authorities." ...

... Nick Wingfield: "After requests by news organizations..., the Federal Aviation Administration released a report on Wednesday that compiles data on drone incidents reported to it this year through air traffic control facilities around the country. The list isn't comprehensive since some drone incidents are reported to local law enforcement agencies, or not at all." ...

... Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post: "Pilots around the United States have reported a surge in near-collisions and other dangerous encounters with small drones in the past six months at a time when the Federal Aviation Administration is gradually opening the nation's skies to remotely controlled aircraft, according to FAA records."

 

** Judd Legum of Think Progress: Justice Antonin "Scalia explains what was wrong with the Ferguson grand jury.... Scalia, in the 1992 Supreme Court case of United States v. Williams, explained what the role of a grand jury has been for hundreds of years.

It is the grand jury's function not 'to enquire ... upon what foundation [the charge may be] denied,' or otherwise to try the suspect's defenses, but only to examine 'upon what foundation [the charge] is made'; by the prosecutor. Respublica v. Shaffer, 1 Dall. 236 (O. T. Phila. 1788); see also F. Wharton, Criminal Pleading and Practice § 360, pp. 248-249 (8th ed. 1880). As a consequence, neither in this country nor in England has the suspect under investigation by the grand jury ever been thought to have a right to testify or to have exculpatory evidence presented. [Emphasis added.] ...

... Leada Gore of AL.com: "The nation's largest group of African-American attorneys and judges is calling for federal charges to the filed against the police officer cleared in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager. The National Bar Association released a statement questioning the lack of an indictment against Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson. A 12-member grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and some groups are pressing the White House to move forward with a Civil Rights investigation." ...

... Scott Kaufman of the Raw Story: "The National Bar Association released a statement 'questioning how the Grand Jury, considering the evidence before them could reach the conclusion that Darren Wilson should not be indicted and tried for the shooting death of Michael Brown.' 'The National Bar Association also questions the makeup of the gran jury that consisted of nine Whites and only three African-Americans in a town comprised of sixty-seven percent African-Americans,' the group wrote in a related statement." ...

... The original National Bar Association statement is here. ...

... Caroline Bankoff of New York: "In the latest installment of his interview with George Stephanopoulos, Darren Wilson revealed that his wife, fellow cop Barbara Spradling, is pregnant. (That probably explains why the couple decided to marry last month, despite the fact that Wilson was still in hiding and facing the possibility of indictment.)" That portion of the interview is here. ...

... Catherine Thompson of TPM: "Conservative media outlets were outraged that the New York Times published the name of the street where Ferguson, Mo. police Officer Darren Wilson and his new wife live outside of St. Louis. The Times revealed Monday that Wilson quietly married fellow officer Barbara Spradling last month. The story identified the town and the street where Wilson and Spradling own a home, but did not specify an exact address. A photograph of the couple's marriage certificate also appeared in the article.... The Times has not removed the street name from its article (TPM also originally republished the photo of Wilson's marriage license. It has been removed). It did remove the photograph of Wilson's marriage certificate, however, and appended the following editor's note on Tuesday: 'An earlier version of this post included a photograph that contained information that should not have been made public. The image has been removed.'"

Emma Fitzsimmons of the New York Times: "A police officer who shot and killed a 12-year-old boy outside a Cleveland recreation center fired within two seconds after the patrol car he was riding in pulled up next to the boy, a video released on Wednesday by the Cleveland police showed." Includes video.

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: New York City "police said that [in 2005] Leonel Disla, 19, had waved a long kitchen knife at two police officers before he was shot [by police]. A six-person jury in Bronx Supreme Court on Tuesday found the city and Sgt. Robert Barnett liable in Mr. Disla's death, casting doubt on whether the teenager had wielded a knife at all."

Todd Richmond of the AP: "A man who got arrested after he posted Facebook comments calling a southwestern Wisconsin police department racist has filed a federal lawsuit alleging one of the agency's officers violated his constitutional rights." CW: Read the whole report; the reporter appears to have gleaned the facts in his story from the plaintiff's lawsuit, so you should read them in that light. However, it seems unlikely his attorney would have invented the basic events, since there must be a chain of evidence demonstrating that the guy was arrested, jailed, convicted, sentenced & later exonerated (on appeal) on First Amendment grounds. I don't know what the plaintiff actually wrote in his Facebook comment, but unless the language can be construed as threatening, surely he has a First-Amendment right to call public officials racists, whether "true or not.

Emily Atkin of Think Progress: The usual suspects -- business groups & the GOP -- "are freaking out" over the new EPA draft proposal for ground-level ozone pollution rules. "... both industry groups and Republicans have been overestimating the cost of regulations like this since the EPA first began issuing regulation of this kind. In addition, the EPA has historically underestimated the benefits."

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Reader Comments (6)

Mitt and Jeb lead Quinnipiac University poll as top GOP choices for 2016, with Mitt even running ahead of Hillary, 45-44.

Among Repugs, the Mittster garners 19 percent, Jebbie gets 11 percent, Christie and Carson get 8 percent each. No other Republican tops 6 percent; 16 percent are undecided.

Among Dems, Hill’s at 57 percent, Warren’s at 13, Unka Joe’s got 9 percent, Bernie’s at 4 percent, and Webb and O’Malley are well behind at 1 percent each. (One thing that struck me as interesting: Warren is doing better among men than among women.)

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2116

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

Marie and all,
Happy turkey day.
To Marie,
Thank you for doing this site. You weed around in news, blogs- left and right, wingers and crazies.
A hearty thank you and have an easy day tomorrow.
mae finch

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered Commentermae finch

Marie,

I second Mae's wishes. RealityChex and your stellar efforts are high on my "thankful" list. Best wishes to you and the rest of the gang, AK, PD, Ken, MAG, and all the people I enjoy reading the year long.

Jack

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterJack Mahoney

Marie: I think you are out of the running for first lady, even though
we all know you would be the most outstanding (and dare I say,
outspoken?) I just have a feeling in my old bones that Ann is going
to throw Willards' hat in the ring even though he keeps saying "not".
You know, they have only 4 little houses now and living in the big
white one would be tax free. Can't wait to see who she picks to be
Willards' running mate!

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

Back acha Jack, and a fruitful Thanksgiving to one and all, especially our Lady at the head of the table–-cuz she's the one who gives us the bounty day after day.

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone for contributing to this site and Marie for hosting. Love the one you're with and enjoy the holiday!

The GOP is really showing how to put the goober into GOP-per by opposing ozone regulations: ozone destroys carbon bonds and not only kills bacteria but is wicked evil to breathe. Ozone, O3, is not O2 and is like breathing empty air where you feel like you're choking because you are like a fish out of water when you try and breath it. The GOP doesn't even want to secure their own damn health; no wonder they don't care about anyone else's.

November 26, 2014 | Unregistered CommenterCitizen625
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