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
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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.

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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.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

INAUGURATION 2029

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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Saturday
Apr272013

The Commentariat -- April 28, 2013

Unstable People. Both the Washington Post, here, and the New York Times, here, have long pieces examining the lives of the Tsarnaevs. Bottom line: things weren't working out all that well for them, even though they got a lot of public help, so they decided to bomb the place. I'm liking the crazy mother as a co-conspirator.

C-SPAN has live coverage of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night, beginning at 6:15 pm ET, at which time everyone has the opportunity to see Mr. & Mrs. David Gregory waltz down the red carpet. Sadly, Tom & Mrs. Tom Brokaw will be no-shows. ...

     ... Update. President Obama's full remarks:

... If you don't watch Obama's entire remarks, at least watch this behind-the-scenes trailer for "Obama," the movie, wherein Steven Spielberg proves the old adage that a good director can get a fine performance out of any actor:

... Joel Achenbach & Amy Argetsinger of the Washington Post: "Washington, New York and Hollywood held their annual schmoozefest Saturday night, and the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (#nerdprom on Twitter) showed new evidence of being completely overrun by red-carpet-posing actors, singers, sports superstars, models and other outsiders who couldn't possibly name the ranking Democrat of the House Ways and Means Committee, much less its chairman." *

Paul Krugman on why George W. Bush was a terrible president: he uses words like "lies," "fraud" and "con man." CW: I suspect he'd find worse words if he weren't writing in the New York Times. ...

... Wherein Maureen Dowd accidentally says something nice about President Obama: "For the first time, [Barbara Bush,] the 87-year-old former first lady acknowledged, in essence, that W. had worn out the family's welcome in the White House. W. and other Bush officials continue to say they could not possibly have known that Saddam had no W.M.D. But I'm now told that Saddam sent word through the Saudis to the Bushies over and over that he had no W.M.D. and was only blustering to keep his nemesis in the neighborhood, Iran, at bay. Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld weren't looking for the truth, and they weren't hitting the pause button the way President Obama is with Syria right now, sensitive to the quicksand nature of the region.

Sorry, Nino, Sir Thomas More was smarter than you are. And he still lost his head.Prof. Gary May in a Washington Post op-ed: Antonin "Scalia is woefully ignorant of the [1965 Voting Rights Act]'s history.... The act protects all voters, especially in the states and districts covered by Section 5, from any obstacles that might be put in their way. That was true in 1966 and remains true today as efforts to suppress the minority vote continue. Scalia needs to do his homework before the court determines the act’s future."

Will Weissert of the AP: "Gov. Rick Perry is expressing 'disgust and disappointment' at a cartoon in a California newspaper that depicts him boasting about business booming in Texas just before a major explosion.... In a letter to the Bee's editor Friday, Perry said he wouldn't stand for 'someone mocking this tragedy.' He demanded an immediate apology for the newspaper's 'detestable attempt at satire.'" See yesterday's Commentariat for context. I stand with the cartoonist Jack Ohman. Ohman wasn't "mocking the tragedy"; he was mocking a clueless governor who has been lobbying on the very laissez-faire policies that allowed the owner of the fertilizer plant to operate in a highly-unsafe and careless manner. ...

... Here's Perry's letter, published in the Bee, and an apt response from editorial page editor Stuart Leavenworth.

Sometimes even Paul Ryan is right -- as when he blamed the Romney-Ryan loss on "the urban vote." Hope Yen of the AP: "America's blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time.... Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press." Thank you, urban people. Keep up the good work. The vote suppressors, busy as they were in 2012, will try harder next time.

* Sander Levin (D-Mich.); Dave Camp (R-Mich.) CW: yeah, I hadda look it up.

Congressional Race

Kim Severson of the New York Times tries to get past the sleaze & find the candidates' positions on the issues in South Carolina's special Congressional race between Mark Sanford & Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Right Wing World *

John Avlon of Newsweek: "... conservative state legislators and even congressmen [are] entertaining conspiracy theories that are creepy and unseemly coming from average citizen, but a sign of civic rot when they start getting parroted by elected officials.... [Last week] Republicans Jim Jordan of Ohio and Jason Chaffetz of Utah held a hearing 'to examine the procurement of ammunition by the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.' Despite the innocuous language, the hearing represented a capitulation, if not an outright endorsement, of conspiracy theories ... that the Homeland Security Department is stockpiling ammunition to use against Americans in a massive imposition of martial law.... Perhaps the highest profile impact of conspiracy theories to date on national policy was the defeat of the universal background check bill -- specifically the widespread claims threat that closing existing loopholes would be a first step toward a national gun registry that would in turn bring Hitler-style confiscation to America." ...

... Tyler Hansen of Media Matters: "The [Jordan-Chaffetz] hearing ... inspired new legislation that's now before Congress. On April 26, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) introduced bills in both chambers of Congress in order to limit federal agencies from stockpiling ammunition."

* The only thing we have is fear itself.

News Ledes

Reuters: "Gunmen surrounded Libya's foreign ministry on Sunday to push demands that officials who had worked for deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi's regime be banned from senior positions in the new administration. At least 20 pick-up trucks loaded with anti-aircraft guns blocked the roads while men armed with AK-47 and sniper rifles directed the traffic away from the building, witnesses said." Al Jazeera story here.

Reuters: "The owner of a factory building that collapsed in Bangladesh killing hundreds of garment workers was arrested on Sunday trying to flee to India, police said, as fears grew that the death toll could rise sharply with as many as 900 still missing. Mohammed Sohel Rana, a leader of the ruling Awami League's youth front, was arrested ... in the Bangladesh border town of Benapole...."

Al Jazeera: "The Taliban has claimed re[s]ponsibility for two bomb blasts have killed nine supporters of two Pakistani politicians at their campaign offices in the country's northwest, the latest violence ahead of polls next month. Violence has marred the campaign for the landmark May 11 general election, with more than 50 people dead in blasts and suicide attacks since April 11, according to a tally by the AFP press agency, including more than 20 in the past three days."

The New York Times has more on the 2011 phone calls between Tamerlan & Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, which the Russians intercepted. (The original AP story is linked in yesterday's Ledes.) ...

... Boston Globe: "U.S. officials say investigators have found no evidence that a conservative Muslim friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev ... known to the family as Misha ... had any connection to the Boston Marathon bombing.... Two U.S. officials close to the investigation say the FBI has identified an individual believed to be Misha. The officials would not say whether the FBI has spoken to him but say they've found no ties to the attack or terrorism in general." ...

... AP: " The father of the two Boston bombing suspects says he is postponing a trip to the United States because of poor health. Anzor Tsarnaev told The Associated Press on Sunday that he is 'really sick' and his blood pressure had spiked."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (5)

With all eyes on Wisconson and Ohio, Kansas stayed in the shadows. Empowered with and radical republican legislature Sam Brownback has enacted an extreme far right experiment. NPR story here . Probst’s editorial is here. Just another example of the damage inflicted by the Supreme’s.

April 27, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterDaveS

About every year at this time I begin to get depressed. The monkeys in our national legislature tire of throwing their feces at one another and at us, and so depart to fertilize their home grounds.

To overcome this sadness, I take a page from Charles Bukowski’s book. I quit reading what Charlie Pierce calls “the courtier press” and start reading the Daily Racing Form. There’s great comfort in divorcing one’s self from the syupidity of Kansas and trying to figure out which four-legged 3-year-old will win the Derby… even if you’re finally proved wrong. And if you’re right, you get to smile until Congress is back in session.

April 27, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

Thanks to you, Marie, for referring tonight to Krugman's blog about Dubya, "The Great Degrader." It is devastating, and I would not have read it had you not mentioned it. I do not think PK has ever written anything more damning, hopeless or forthright. This
probably would not have made it past the editors as an NYT op-ed, but the blogs are less visible. And do read the comments. )-:

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/27/the-great-degrader/

April 28, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison

Some companion reading to my previous post on the 6th anniversary of "Mission Accomplished!" Eeerk! This depressing piece by Greg Mitchell was published yesterday in Common Dreams. So much for our librul media. I am still incensed by how they rooted for the invasion of Iraq, and "celebrated" Mission Accomplished! Asswipes all. Yes, that includes you, MoDo!

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/05/01-13

April 28, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison

Just imagine "What If the Tsarnaevs Had Been the 'Boston Shooters'?"

As John Cassidy (The New Yorker) pointed out the other day: "...numerically speaking, terrorism, especially homegrown terrorism, is a minor threat to public safety and public health. It pales in comparison to gun violence."

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/

April 28, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMAG
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