The Ledes

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

New York Times: “Richard L. Garwin, an architect of America’s hydrogen bomb, who shaped defense policies for postwar governments and laid the groundwork for insights into the structure of the universe as well as for medical and computer marvels , died on Tuesday at his home in Scarsdale, N.Y. He was 97.... A polymathic physicist and geopolitical thinker, Dr. Garwin was only 23 when he built the world’s first fusion bomb. He later became a science adviser to many presidents, designed Pentagon weapons and satellite reconnaissance systems, argued for a Soviet-American balance of nuclear terror as the best bet for surviving the Cold War, and championed verifiable nuclear arms control agreements.”

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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.

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.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

Wherein Michael McIntyre explains how Americans adapted English to their needs. With examples:

Beat the Buzzer. Some amazing young athletes:

     ~~~ Here's the WashPo story (March 23).

Back when the Washington Post had an owner/publisher who dared to stand up to a president:

Prime video is carrying the documentary. If you watch it, I suggest watching the Spielberg film "The Post" afterwards. There is currently a free copy (type "the post full movie" in the YouTube search box) on YouTube (or you can rent it on YouTube, on Prime & [I think] on Hulu). Near the end, Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys), says "I was struck in fact by the way President Johnson's reaction to these revelations was [that they were] 'close to treason,' because it reflected to me the sense that what was damaging to the reputation of a particular administration or a particular individual was in itself treason, which is very close to saying, 'I am the state.'" Sound familiar?

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

 

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Saturday
Jul092011

The Commentariat -- July 10

I've posted an Open Thread on Off Times Square.

Our job is to protect bank customers, not banks. -- Sheila Bair

** Joe Nocera profiles outgoing F.D.I.C. chair Sheila Bair, who saw the financial crisis coming & warned Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke & Tim Geithner, who ignored her. Nocera conducted an extended interview of Bair. Here's Bair on why Paulson, Bernanke, Geithner & Co. wouldn't back her push to get banks to modify home mortgages to minimize the impending crisis:

[They] thought maybe I was overstating the problem and that it wasn’t going to be that big a deal.... I think some of it was that they didn’t think borrowers were worth helping. There was some disdain for borrowers. ...

... AND Bair delivers knock-out punches to the powers-that-be in Wall Street & Washington in this Washington Post op-ed. CW: Bair is a Republican, and I don't agree with all of her remedies (oh, she's a "belt-tightener"), but it's lovely to read her so effectively knocking the establishment. Too bad she doesn't come right out & say, "Tim Geithner is a tool":

Wall Street seems all too ready to return to the same untenable business practices that brought it to its knees.... And some in government who claim to be representing Main Street seem all too ready to help. Already we have heard rationalization of the subprime mortgage debacle and denigration of those of us who have advocated long-term, structural changes in the way we regulate the financial industry. Too many industry leaders, as well as some government officials, compare the crisis to a 100-year flood. 'Who, us?' they say. 'We didn’t do anything wrong. Nobody saw this coming.' The truth is, some of us did see this coming.

David Rogers & Jake Sherman of Politico on why Speaker Boehner backed off the Big Deal: Majority Leader Eric Cantor & his conservative caucus won't vote for anything that can be construed as "taxes." CW: Rogers & Sherman call this a win for conservatives, but I see it as a win for progressives, too. The smaller the deal, the less damage Obama & his new BFF will do.

Catherine Rampell of the New York Times on why the unemployed are "invisible."

NEW. Tom Levenson of Balloon Juice does a swell takedown of self-proclaimed economic expert David Brooks. Thanks to reader Bonnie for the link. Levenson concludes with a rule set that works for me:

1.  Remember that David Brooks is always wrong.
2.  If your analysis leads you to conclude David Brooks might be right,
     refer to rule 1.

Joshua Miller of Roll Call: "Elizabeth Warren’s calendar sure looks like the schedule of a woman considering a Senate bid, or at least someone being courted by power players in Massachusetts and the Senate Democrats’ campaign operation in Washington. In recent weeks, Warren has met in person or spoke on the phone with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, David Axelrod, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Massachusetts Democratic Reps. Barney Frank, Stephen Lynch and John Tierney.... The DSCC declined to comment."

The Final Edition's New Fox Times: "White House Chief of Staff William Daley unveiled a new campaign initiative today designed to 'refresh' the President’s image ahead of the 2012 race." You decide:

Now, this really is the Final Edition. Click on the image to link to the paper. CW: I had no idea the News of the World even had an online presence. It appeas that the news in Britain is mostly "Young Women Wear Skimpy Outfits":

CLICK ON IMAGE TO GO TO SITE.... NEW. AND Andy Borowitz reprints a letter from Rupert Murdoch, which begins,

As details of the scandal surrounding my company, News Corporation, have emerged in recent days..., my defense has been consistent: I had no idea what was going on. Now, I’m sure many of you are wondering, how could I, Rupert Murdoch, one of the most powerful men in the world, have no idea what is going on?  The answer, my friends, is simple: I get all of my information from my own newspapers.  If you relied on News of the World, The Sun, and The New York Post for your information, I can assure you that you wouldn’t have a clue what was going on, either.

... Jack Shafer of Slate has a really good post on Rupert Murdoch's influence on British politicians & why it is unwarranted. "The revolving door between Rupert Murdoch's house of crime and 10 Downing Street tells us all we need to know about giving the government additional oversight of the press." It was the press, after all -- specifically, the Guardian -- that uncovered the News of the World scandal, while the police & the government did squat.

CW: I missed this post by Dahlia Lithwick, but it's well worth a read: In three cases decided this term, the Roberts Court gave corporations guidelines on "how to screw over [their] customers and employees without breaking the law."

Guardian Editors: "The spectre of the old Murdoch, whose demise was signalled last week – voracious and threatening – must not rise again from the ashes of the News of the World." CW: the editorial presents a pretty good summary of what's happened so far.

Right Wing World *

Sandhya Somashekhar of the Washington Post: "A socially conservative group has apologized for including a passage about slavery in a pledge it asked the Republican candidates to sign as a prerequisite for the group’s endorsement in the presidential race. Rep. Michele Bachmann had been the first GOP hopeful to sign 'The Marriage Vow,' which included in the introduction a section that lamented that 'the Institution of Marriage in America is in great crisis.'” Bachmann now claims she only signed part of the pledge, not the part at the top about slavery being so great for marriage. Rick Santorum signed on, too.

* Where white folks think slavery is better than homosexuality, but they're not going to say so anymore.

Local News

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "... Wisconsin lawmakers unveil[ed] a draft congressional map that boosts three House GOP incumbents including House Budget chief Paul Ryan. The proposal, released Friday afternoon by GOP leaders in the state Assembly and Senate, makes modest changes to the state’s eight districts but provides support to GOP Reps. Ryan, Sean Duffy and Tom Petri — crafting for each a new seat that is slightly more GOP friendly."

News Ledes

New York Times: "President Obama tried on Sunday to revive the chances for a sweeping budget agreement to reduce the nation’s deficit and repair its perilous finances, but Congressional Republicans continued to balk, insisting on a more modest deal to avert a default on the national debt.... The meeting [today among Obama & leaders from both parties] ended after an hour and 15 minutes with little progress, but the two sides agreed to resume talking Monday, and every day after that, until a deal is done." Washington Post story here.

New York Times: "The $12 billion bid by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to take over Britain’s most lucrative satellite broadcast company, British Sky Broadcasting, ran into fresh trouble on Sunday when the opposition Labour Party promised to take the battle against the takeover to a vote in the House of Commons — a step that, if successful, could deal a fatal blow to the bid." Guardian story here. ...

... Guardian: "Les Hinton [who now runs the Wall Street Journal], Rupert Murdoch's lifelong lieutenant and closest adviser, faces questions over whether he saw a 2007 internal News International report, which found evidence that phone hacking was more widespread than admitted by the company, before he testified to a parliamentary committee that the practice was limited to a single reporter."

New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said Sunday that President Obamawould continue to press for the largest deficit reduction possible in negotiations with Congressional leaders over raising the government’s debt ceiling, adding that 'it’s not clear that it’s easier trying to do less.'”

New York Times: "Reporters leaving the newsroom of The News of the World for the final time on Saturday night were told by the police to leave their desks, including their notebooks, untouched. They were allowed to keep only their cellphones. With that, the 168-year-old News of the World came to an end, brought down by a scandal over the interception of voicemail messages that is rocking Britain’s media, its police force and government, and threatens the empire of a previously unassailable mogul [Rupert Murdoch]. The final edition included an apology to readers for the newspaper losing its way."

Think Progress: "Sixteen senators led by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) submitted a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week asking him to examine whether the Voting Rights Act’s prohibitions on laws preventing minorities from voting invalidate so-called 'voter ID' laws, which effectively disenfranchise thousands of elderly, disabled, and low-income voters."

Reuters: "Reports in the New York Times criticizing the Pakistan army and the powerful intelligence agency is a 'direct attack' on Pakistan's security, the army spokesman said on Saturday. Major General Athar Abbas, the Pakistan army's chief spokesman, repeatedly criticized the Times' reporting and said it was part of a calculated plan by 'unnamed officials' to 'weaken the state.'" CW: The Times report, also linked in yesterday's Ledes, is here.

Guardian: Rupert Murdoch flies to Britain to manage damage control efforts as senior News of the World management, including his son James & News International CEO Rebekah Brooks may become subjects of criminal investigations.

Yahoo! News: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a court challenge to language on a ballot measure in Missouri. In November 2012, Missouri voters will decide whether or not the Voter Protection Act becomes law. The General Assembly's ballot language is misleading, according to the ACLU.... The [so-called] Voter Protection Act would place stricter standards on voter identification at the polls. If passed, voters would need to show a Missouri photo ID at polling places in order to vote in elections. The IDs require a state-approved birth certificate, which some citizens don't have due to their age. They also cost money."

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