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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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

Page Links
Saturday
Dec232017

The Commentariat -- December 24, 2017

Afternoon Update:

Michael Kranish, et al., of the Washington Post: "For months, efforts to discredit special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign flickered at the fringes of political debate. Now, the allegation that FBI and Justice Department officials are part of a broad conspiracy against President Trump is suddenly center stage, amplified by conservative activists, GOP lawmakers, right-leaning media and the president himself. The clamor has become a sustained backdrop to the special counsel investigation, with congressional committees grilling a parade of law enforcement officials in recent days.... The partisan atmosphere is a sharp departure from the near-universal support that greeted Mueller's selection as special counsel in May -- and threatens to shadow his investigation's eventual findings. Trump, while vowing to cooperate with the special counsel, has also encouraged attacks on Mueller's credibility, tweeting that the investigation is 'the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history.'"

Julia Manchester of the Hill: "A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesman late Saturday labeled a string of shootings in Harrisburg, Pa. targeting police officers a terror attack and used the incident to criticize chain migration. Tyler Houlton said in a tweet that DHS confirmed that the suspect, 51-year-old Ahmed Amin El-Mofty, benefited from extended family chain migration, which takes place when immigrants in the U.S. sponsor other family members for visas.... [Ahmed] El-Mofty allegedly opened fire on police officers in three different locations in the state's capital on Friday. The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were reportedly investigating whether the shootings could be considered an act of terror."

*****

Michael Shear & Julie Davis of the New York Times: In a June meeting, President Trump disparaged immigrants to the U.S. who are from majority non-white countries. Trump & aide Stephen Miller lashed out at Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for letting them into the U.S. "Haiti had sent 15,000 people. They 'all have AIDS,' he grumbled.... Forty thousand had come from Nigeria, Mr. Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never 'go back to their huts,' [Trump said.]... Tempers flared and [chief of staff John] Kelly asked that the room be cleared of staff members. But even after the door to the Oval Office was closed, aides could still hear the president berating his most senior advisers. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... denied on Saturday morning that Mr. Trump had made derogatory statements about immigrants during the meeting.... Mr. Trump entered office with an agenda of symbolic but incompletely thought-out goals, the product not of rigorous policy debate but of emotionally charged personal interactions and an instinct for tapping into the nativist views of white working-class Americans. Like many of his initiatives, his effort to change American immigration policy has been executed through a disorderly and dysfunctional process.... [But] his efforts to remake decades of immigration policy have gained increasing momentum as the White House became more disciplined and adept at either ignoring or undercutting the entrenched opposition of many parts of the government." This is a long piece. ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Trump's mother & paternal grandfather were immigrants to the U.S. So were two of his wives. It isn't immigration he opposes; it's people of color. ...

... digby: "What this story shows is that Trump wants to cut off immigration for anyone Trump doesn't like. Which means anyone who isn't white and/or rich. Trump, like his voters, wants an America that only looks like him." ...

... David Atkins in the Washington Monthly: "Every piece of Trump's supposed economic populism has been stripped away in a wave of pro-corporate policies benefiting the very rich and hurting the middle class. All that is left is the ugliest of racist and sexist vitriol. Those who continue ... to support this regime now have made very clear who they are, and it's antithetical to everything this nation of immigrants stands for." ...

... Benjamin Hart of New York: "As the [NYT] article notes, fear and disgust of outsiders has animated Trump for decades; unlike, say, his position on abortion, bigotry has been one of his consistent traits since he entered public life. Among many, many other examples, Trump has demanded the death penalty for the Central Park Five and failed to change his opinion even when they were proven innocent; called Mexicans rapists on the first day of his presidential campaign; defended neo-Nazis; and, of course, advanced a conspiracy theory about the first black president for years. So even if the comments reported on Saturday go one step beyond what Trump might say in public (and it's a small step), they certainly feel like a plausible representation of the man 63 million Americans voted for -- the man whose xenophobia has made America more closed off to the world than it has been in generations." ...

... For Some Reason, People Don't Believe Mrs. Huckleberry. Eugune Scott of the Washington Post: "The challenge the White House currently faces -- especially among those groups with which Trump is highly unpopular -- is that most people trust the press more than they trust the president. According to a Quinnipiac poll, more than half -- 52 percent -- trust the media more than Trump to tell the truth about important issues. And for many voters, topics related to immigration and race are among the most important.

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has partially blocked an order ... Donald Trump issued in October suspending admission of refugees from 11 countries, most of which are majority Muslim. U.S. District Court Judge James Robart issued a nationwide preliminary injunction Saturday afternoon that prevents the administration from halting or diverting resources from refugee applications brought on behalf of family members of immigrants already in the U.S. The injunction does not provide relief for refugees who lack a 'bona fide relationship' with individuals, businesses or schools in the U.S. The Seattle-based judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, said Trump's October order violated provisions in immigration laws ... governing criteria and procedures for admission of refugees." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Time for another Twitter bombardment of the judiciary. ...

... Steve Coll of the New Yorker: "Since the nineteen-seventies, Gallup has been polling Americans annually about their confidence in their country's institutions.... Over all, the project describes a collapse in trust over time, even though the surveys started amid the disillusionment of Watergate and the failed war in Vietnam.... The country's disillusionment with institutions enabled Donald Trump's election.... [Trump's unrelenting attacks on American institutions] suggests the need for a certain realism and vigilance about the rising volume of attacks by Trump and his allies on Robert Mueller ... and on the F.B.I., whose agents carry out much of the investigative work."

The Biggest Liar. Carlos Lozado of the Washington Post reviews books about three past presidential scandals. "Trump appears Nixonian in his disregard for democratic norms, Clintonian in his personal recklessness and beyond Reaganesque in his distance from the details of policy. But where the parallels and parables of past scandals fall apart is with Trump's well-documented disregard for truth. In Watergate, Iran-contra and the Clinton impeachment, views of the president's honesty played a significant role for the public, for administration officials and for lawmakers torn over how to proceed.... [Trump's] His tweets are his Nixon tapes; the 'Access Hollywood' recording his Starr report; his heedlessness for checks, balances and the rule of law his Iran-contra affair.... The expectation of integrity has given way to a cynical acceptance of deceit. As much as anything Mueller uncovers, this is the scandal of our time."

Nick Tabor, in New York, lists 55 specific ways Trump wrecked changed the U.S. this year.


Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "The F.B.I.'s embattled deputy director, Andrew G. McCabe, an unlikely lightning rod who has been attacked repeatedly by President Trump and congressional Republicans, is expected to retire after he becomes eligible for his pension early next year, according to people familiar with his decision. While Mr. McCabe's plans to leave aren't unexpected, his decision should take some of the pressure off Christopher A. Wray, who was confirmed as F.B.I. director in August. Mr. Trump has complained to confidantes that Mr. Wray has not moved fast enough to replace the senior leadership that he inherited from his predecessor, James B. Comey, whom Mr. Trump summarily dismissed in May.... On Saturday, Mr. Trump went after Mr. McCabe and Mr. Comey again in a fusillade on Twitter.... The president crowed on Saturday that James A. Baker, the F.B.I. general counsel, who was seen as an ally of Mr. Comey's, would soon step down from that post, although he will remain at the bureau." ...

... Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Federal prosecutors are scrutinizing a $285 million loan from Deutsche Bank to Jared Kushner's family real-estate company, The Wall Street Journal reports. The loan was issued in October 2016, one month before the presidential election. Kushner was chief executive office of the Kushner Company at the time and was also advising the [Trump campaign]...."


Todd Frankel of the Washington Post: "Many U.S. charities are worried the tax overhaul bill signed by President Trump on Friday could spur a landmark shift in philanthropy, speeding along the decline of middle-class donors and transforming charitable gift-giving into a pursuit largely left to the wealthy. The source of concern is how the tax bill is expected to sharply reduce the number of taxpayers who qualify for the charitable tax deduction -- a big driver of gifts to nonprofits. One study predicts that donations will fall by at least $13 billion, about 4.5 percent, next year.... That could create new winners and losers in philanthropy. Nonprofits have long noticed that the wealthy are more likely to cut big checks to support museums and universities, while smaller donors tend to give to social-service agencies and religious organizations."

John Cassidy of the New Yorker (Dec. 22): "... for sheer bizarreness, it's hard to think of anything that matched the scene on Wednesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House, where Republican leaders, celebrating the passage of their terrible tax bill, lavished praise on Donald Trump in the manner of Communist functionaries addressing Mao or Stalin.... The sight of the G.O.P. celebrating its first big legislative success of the Trump era in such a degrading fashion [should] also remind everybody ... about what's at stake...: the future of democracy in this country."

Carol Morello & David Filipov of the Washington Post: "Russian officials said Saturday that the U.S. decision to supply Ukraine with lethal weapons to combat Russian-backed separatists will cause new bloodshed, as long-standing tensions between Washington and Moscow escalated over the four-year-old conflict. Moscow's admonition came shortly after the State Department announced Friday evening that the United States will provide heavy armaments to Ukraine for the first time, a step up from the support equipment and training offered so far.... On Wednesday, Washington said it had approved an export license allowing the sale of light weapons and small arms to Ukraine from commercial U.S. manufacturers. The U.S. decision to provide lethal weapons brought a predictably sharp rebuke from Moscow, which has tacitly backed the separatists in eastern Ukraine while denying that it actively supports them." ...

... Jeet Heer: "... the decision on arming Ukraine illustrates ... [that] the United States has two wildly divergent foreign policies toward Russia. Trump is pursuing a policy of conciliation, while the national security establishment, including Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have pursued a policy of aggressive containment. Trump sees Russia as a potential ally, while many in his cabinet and in Congress consider Russia a rival that is actively threatening American democracy. This contradictory policy could send mixed signals, leading to war.... If a crisis erupts, there's no clarity as to which of these two policies will govern.... On Monday, the Trump administration released its national security strategy, which portrayed Russia and China as rival superpowers.... And yet, in a speech introducing this document, Trump veered off of his prepared remarks and spoke about the need to 'build a great partnership' with Russia and China. Trump also described a friendly conversation he had with Putin...." ...

... Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "The Marine Corps commandant told about 300 Marines in Norway this week that they should be prepared for a 'bigass fight' to come. 'I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming,' Gen. Robert Neller told the Marines on Thursday, according to Military.com.... As the Marines' top general, Neller is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.... In particular, Neller predicted the Pacific and Russia to be the focus of any conflict in the future outside of the Middle East, Military.com reported.... It is unclear to what extent his comments were indicative of an actual war to come or merely meant as a pep talk for troops stationed far from home over the Christmas holiday."

Niraj Chokshi & Joumana Khatib of the New York Times: "Three executives of the Miss America Organization resigned on Saturday after reports that the pageant's leadership had attacked and derided former pageant winners in emails. Dan Meyers, a spokesman for Miss America, said the organization ha accepted the resignations of Sam Haskell, the chief executive; Josh Randle, the president; and Lynn Weidner, the chairwoman.... The emails, published by HuffPost on Thursday, showed that Mr. Haskell had made comments about former pageant winners that were disrespectful and misogynistic, with support, in some cases, from other members of the organization.... In a letter, reported by HuffPost on Friday, 49 former pageant winners said the behavior of Mr. Haskell and several other top leaders was 'despicable' and called for their resignation. The signatories included winners of pageants from 1948 to 2017."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (7)

Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat

Please to put a penny in an old man’s hat,

If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do,

If you haven’t got a ha’penny, good fortune to you!

This season, after a year of terrible troubles and tribulations,
I’m thinking of all those edged off from commerce and the world
Who work for joy instead of gain.

And I’m thinking of those that sacrifice for others so
those others can survive.

O would that I could gather them this Yuletide
and shower them with coins of gold and love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enjoy your holidays, all you wonderful people, I wish you well!

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

The perfect quote from the POTUS for today:

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

On the Pretender's Immigration Fantasy:

If all immigrants were limited to the rich rich and the white, who would be left for the Repugnants to pick on?

Merry Holidays, All!

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

PD's typically kind, humanist thoughts (thank you, PD) call to mind how far from such qualities is the Party of Ebenezer Trump.

For a party and a president* that wrap themselves in Jesus and the flag, they demonstrate an appalling lack of mercy, grace, kindness, and love, and are equally bereft of the preeminent qualities that demarcate the American experiment from survival of the richest, from Trump nepotism and oligarchical jungle law: justice and freedom and equality for all, fair treatment under the law, and a true democracy in which every citizen is guaranteed a right to vote.

For the Confederates, it's fuck you, Charlie, we got ours, and you ain't gettin' none of it. And we'll have you arrested if you try, and any other things we don't cotton to, we'll have our buds on the Supreme Court declare unconstitutional. As for Jesus, Jesus is only for rich, white, Confederates. We let the poor Confederates (the schmoes who vote us into office--losers--pray to him, just for a chuckle, but fuck them too).

I was thinking of holiday movies recently, especially ones that have Christmas scenes but aren't specifically about Christmas, and one, "Meet John Doe" has this scene (an Oscar worthy turn by one of the great Hollywood character actors, James Gleason), in which a wealthy anti-American schemer very much like Trump is discussed as the type who wants to put the screws to democracy, and to extinguish the thoughts of such as Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln, "lighthouses in a foggy world".

What Trump, and Ryan and McConnell and the Kochs all desire is less light, more fog, and a far more fetid swamp.

They're working hard at it.

But for the rest of us, peace, light, joy, humanism, and....DEMOCRACY!

As Marvin says, Happy Holidays to us all.

Or as Tiny Tim once said, "Go' bless us, every one".

You get my drift.

Enjoy, kids.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Thank you, thank you muchas gracias for this site. I don't know
what we chexers would do without your labors. Don't know how
you keep up with all this stuff. I've only had a computer for a short
while, bought to make reservations, etc for Italy trip. How did I
find this site? It's a mystery. Could be from NYT. Don't know.
Anyway, Happy Holiday of your choice to one and all.
My choice is home alone with my husband of 9 months with a
fire and some great wine.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris

@forrest morris: I don't think I knew you got married. I recall years ago -- before Obergefell v. Hodges was decided, I presume -- that state law made it pretty much impossible -- and that that had made me angry.

At any rate, congratulations to you & your husband. You're still newlyweds! Your holiday plans sound perfect. I'm so happy for you both.

Marie

December 24, 2017 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie, (also, my mothers name) thank you for the congrats.
Brought tears to my eyes. And straights in the hood thru a big
party for us since we had been together for 35 years and had
watched their children grow up, and then the grandchildren,
which one was named after my husband, Theo. This don't happen
in Alabama and, etc.

December 24, 2017 | Unregistered Commenterforrest morris
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