REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - The Commentariat -- April 7, 2012

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.

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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

Friday

Apr062012

The Commentariat -- April 7, 2012

Here's my rap on Brooks in NYTX.

President Obama's Weekly Address:

... The transcript is here.

... Stephanie Condon of CBS News: "Amid continued Democratic charges that Republicans are waging a "war against women," President Obama's re-election campaign is zeroing in on Mitt Romney for allying with Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin -- who just repealed an employment discrimination law." The Romney campaign isn't talking to CBS News re: the new Wisconsin law. ...

... Justin Sink of The Hill: "Obama's campaign team said Friday that Walker's move was evidence Republicans are willing to 'undermine not only women's health care, but also their economic security,' and demanded that presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney comment on Walker's move." The Romney camp didn't respond to Obama -- or to The Hill.

Charles Blow on the stark differences between white and black views of the Trayvon Martin killing, and what good might come from reaction to his killing.

Andy Rosenthal decides to skip the Masters golf tournament. CW: glad he's finally getting around to it. The Augusta National club has continued to ban women decades after other all-male clubs dropped their penis requirement.

Not entirely germane to politics, but interesting: Amy Schalet in a New York Times op-ed: "... there is reason to believe that teenage boys are becoming more careful and more romantic about their first sexual experiences." Schalet attributes this partly to young men's new concerns about the consequences of unprotected sex -- a well-documented view -- but she says that it's also a consequence of boys' letting their romantic side rule. CW: Schalet has written a book on teen sexual practices, so maybe she mentions something in the book she doesn't mention here. The "something" is pressure from religious fundamentalists. I have personal knowledge that these believers are still telling men & women in the 20s, even engaged couples, to "wait until marriage." Because this is biologically "unnatural"; that is, we're built to have sex in our teens -- I find this "ideal" ridiculous.

Right Wing World

Gail Collins got hold of the Republican to-do list. Quite funny.

Liar, Liar. Dana Milbank: Mitt Romney is still making up stuff. Milbank reports that a speech, Romney began with “'Good morning,' ... though it was already afternoon. The accuracy of his statements went downhill from there." Milbank details some of what Romney said next, then calls it "Incorrect, wrong, false and fictitious. And that was just a sample from one Romney speech on one day." CW: Milbank, who is probably a moderate Republican, thinks Romney is capable of doing better. That's generous. ...

... Volume XII of Steve Benen's Chronicle of Romney Lies is the longest episode yet. ...

... Benen points to this post by David Corn, who blames the mainstream media for letting Romney get away with his non-stop campaign of lies. He calls it "one of the fundamental problems of American politics."

Andy Rosenthal again on why Mitt Romney's "state-based" "healthcare plan" won't work. CW: I would add to Rosenthal's post that state legislators have known about the healthcare crisis just as long as members of Congress have, & with a few notable exceptions -- including Massachusetts -- they have done little or nothing to abate the problem. Rosenthal argues it's because they can't; I'd say in most cases it's because they won't.

Local News

Sorry, I kept meaning to post this yesterday. I first intended to post it on my own; then intended to post it when contributor Janice reminded me of it; well, here it is: U.S. dictatorships:

News Ledes

AP: Thomas Kinkade, painter of popular schmaltz, died yesterday. He was 54.

Reuters: "The chief executives of General Motors, AIG, and Ally Financial had their 2012 compensation packages frozen for a second year in a row by the Treasury Department after they got 'exceptional' bailout help during the financial crisis. The Treasury said on Friday that all three were making progress at repaying the taxpayer funds given to them to keep them from collapsing during the 2007-2009 financial crisis but their pay practices remain under scrutiny of a 'special master' until they do pay it back."

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I have been following this Michigan dictatorship story for some time now via Rachel, but this latest plus video is incredible. How does something like this go on for so long? Why didn't the democrats rise up and demand recounts straightaway? and this Benton Harbor situation is also mind boggling. Why isn't there a great hue and cry from the people of Michigan? Silly me, thinking we had something resembling a democracy.

April 7, 2012 |

PD Pepe

P.S. We all wanted Marie to take on Brook's latest, but she needs her rest. Luckily, Charles Pierce has taken up the cudgel and it is hilarious!
https://www.nytexaminer.com/2012/04/our-mr-brooks-has-a-date-with-the-others/#comment-352

April 7, 2012 |

PD Pepe

Thank you Marie. I knew you could do it. The breadth of your knowledge makes you the ideal person to deal with twits like Brooks. I wonder if he sneaks down the hall to avoid running into Dr. Krugman. Maybe they never are at the Times at the same time.
David may have a serious inferiority complex, causing his attacks on the President. He probably does not take cash but is staying in line for a right wing "think tank" job if the Times ever gets wise to him.

April 7, 2012 |

Carlyle

As usual, the Republican response to Obama's remark about social Darwinism manages to ignore the truth. (I sometimes get confused, doesn't our Mr. Brooks have access to the internet?) Social Darwinism is the excuse for the rich to claim the rights over all others.
The interesting thing is that this of course comes from Darwin's theory concerning all living things (it's called evolution, in all places except Texas and Tenn.) Survival of the fittest. But I get confused, isn't it the basic concept of a god that humans are special? That because of their god, the rules that apply to other species don't apply to us special folks. Aren't all men created equal? I am sorry but I keep writing posts like this because my brain just keeps doing logic. I just don't know how to stop it.

April 7, 2012 |

Marvin Schwalb

@PD Pepe---The interesting thing about Benton Harbor is that eons
ago one of their citizens left a parcel of parkland bordering on Lake
Michigan to the residents of BH in perpetuity. After the city was
taken over, this very valuable land was sold (given?) to a developer
who built an exclusive golf course and mega-mansions. Did the
voters approve this? Obviously they had no voting rights, since
the city council was put on hold by the state. And now we hear
that a bill just passed giving the state control of all public access
to lakes, rivers, streams and street ends that are now controlled
by the cities. You gotta be a billionaire to enjoy the lakes and
rivers in the future cause sounds like someone higher up in the
government has friends who want all that valuable property.

April 7, 2012 |

forrest morris

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