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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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.

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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Thursday
Jul142011

The Commentariat -- July 15

President Obama's full press conference:

     ... Here's the Washington Post's post-presser report.

Paul Krugman seems all surprised that most media pundits are just now noticing that Republicans are crazy. ...

     ... I've posted a Krugman page on today's Off Times Square, but if you want to write about something else, go ahead. ...

     ... Driftglass is mighty pleased that Krugman has taken up the mantle that Driftglass has so long worn, as he amply demonstrates in this post.

Maybe the debt ceiling was the wrong place to pick a fight, as it related to trying to get our country's house in order. Maybe that was the wrong place to do it. -- Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) ...

... No kidding. -- Constant Weader

Nobody Wins. Nate Silver on the political ramifications of a debt payment default for Republicans, Democrats and President Obama. "This isn’t a zero-sum game, and although politicians are bad at many things, they are usually fairly perceptive about what will enable them to hold onto power." ...

... Stephen Colbert explains the whole controversy:

... The press seems to have ignored the import of what Jay Carney said in his press briefing yesterday, perhaps because it takes the breathless drama out of their cliffhangeresque prose. Carney said twice that the debt ceiling would be raised and that the negotiations were about what the final deal would be. He appeared to be saying this not as an optimistic prediction but as what the leaders had agreed to. Here's the transcript. Based on that, it seems to be the crisis has already been averted. I just don't think we're going to like the deal. -- Constant Weader

Tim Egan: anarchists like Michele Bachmann form a disturbingly large caucus within the Republican party, and it may be too late for tassel-loafered Republicans like the $350-a-bottle-sipping Paul Ryan to put the stopper on the crazies in time to avert the Great Depression II. ...

... E. J. Dionne: "Republicans are in disarray. They’re divided among those who know Boehner was right, those like McConnell who want to get out of the debt-limit mess altogether, and the troika now running Republican House strategy (Cantor, Ryan and Rep. Kevin McCarthy), which needs something to show for having brought the country to the brink. The best way out of this impasse is, unfortunately, a political nonstarter: to work with the budget crafted by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), which shows you can get a lot of deficit reduction by mixing some spending cuts with higher taxes on the very wealthy. It’s a road Obama might usefully have considered earlier."

Eric Cantor Has Always Been a Dick. The real deal, this high school yearbook photo & citation have not been photoshopped. Thanks to Jefferson Dem at Democratic Underground.... Matt Yglesias: Majority Leader Eric Cantor has "poisoned the atmosphere" of debt ceiling negotiations by repeatedly leaking what Democratic leaders have said they would consider, then encouraging his caucus of radical conservatives to enact those considerations and only those, while making no concessions on their side. "If everyone in the room knows that Cantor has no compunction about misrepresenting every discussion as an agreement, it merely makes it that much harder for people to negotiate in a serious way." ...

... Andrew Leonard of Slate: Eric Cantor has always been a whiney guttersnipe who blames others for everything, including his own failures. Leonard thinks Cantor's latest shenanigans -- in which he has put his own aspirations before the needs of the country & has done so in a dangerous, dishonest way -- will not help his career.

... Are Tax Cuts Really "Jobs Creators"? Ron Brownstein of the National Journal: "In the past three decades, job growth has thrived after tax cuts and after tax increases, and it has stagnated after tax cuts. If there’s a pattern, it’s that tax policy typically isn’t the decisive factor in driving a machine as complex as the U.S. economy."

A Voice Crying in the Wilderness. I only ask ... as Congress looks at the timing and composition of its changes to the budget, that it does take into account that in the very near term the recovery is still rather fragile, and that sharp and excessive cuts in the very short term would be potentially damaging to that recovery. -- Ben Bernanke, to the Senate Banking Committee

Susan Madrak of Crooks & Liars: during a subcommittee hearing, Blue Dog Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) calls out members of Congress for their rude treatment of Elizabeth Warren & for their utter disinterest in accomplishing anything for the American people. Madrak also has the transcript of Cooper's full remarks. Thanks to Bonnie for the link:

I do not want to be part of a committee, at least at the subcommittee level, that treated Miss Warren with more rudeness and disrespect than I have ever seen a committee witness treated. That is not the American way. -- Jim Cooper

NEW. On a Similar Note... Roger Simon: "We don’t have a debt crisis, a tax crisis or a spending crisis in this country. We have a hate crisis, an extremism crisis and a lack of patriotism crisis.... I will accuse most members of Congress of a lack of patriotism because they love power more than they love their country. They love knee-jerk ideology more than they love their country. And they love getting reelected more than they love their country." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.

Kevin Sack of the New York Times: "The White House on Wednesday declined to challenge an account in a new book that suggests that President Obama, in his campaign to overhaul American health care, mischaracterized a central anecdote about his mother’s deathbed dispute with her insurance company."

Right Wing World *

There are departments that can be revamped and some bills that can wait. And, again, it's our president's job, as the leader of the executive branch, to prioritize and administer those dollars that Congress has allocated. And our president obviously isn't capable of doing that, because he has no plan that he can even put forward to say here are my priorities.
-- Sarah Palin, former govenor (R-Alaska)

Palin either has a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue or she purposely is being misleading. -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post fact-checker

"The Story We're Not Talking about." This is pretty hilarious. At about 1:50 into this Webcast of a commercial break during Fox "News"' so-called media criticism show "NewsWatch" the panelists remark they are "not going to touch" by far the biggest news story of the week: the implosion of Fox "News" owner Rupert Murdoch's British media empire. Eric Hananoki of Media Matters comments:

Joshua Green of The Atlantic: "the conservative Lutheran church [Michele Bachmann] belonged to for many years [believes] ... that the Roman Catholic Pope is the Antichrist."

"Will the Last Child out Please Leave on the Lights?" Dan Berman & Darius Dixon of Politico: "A Republican congresswoman wants the Energy Department to stop promoting energy efficiency to kids. Rep. Sandy Adams (R-Fla.) has introduced an amendment to the Energy and Water spending bill that would limit funds for any DOE website 'which disseminates information regarding energy efficiency and educational programs to children or adolescents.'” Apparently Energy Secretary Steven Chu is not sufficiently cooperating with Adams' noble ignorance initiative. Thanks to reader Doug R. for the link.

* Where the Devil lurks around every corner. So you'd better leave the lights on.

News Ledes

Buh-Bye. New York Times: "Les Hinton, the chairman of Dow Jones, announced his resignation on Friday, joining Rebekah Brooks, the embattled chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper operations, in the exodus of top officials from Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Mr. Hinton, a long-time confidant of Mr. Murdoch, ran News International, the British publishing subsidiary of Mr. Murdoch’s News Corporation, from 1997 to 2005, during the time when the phone hacking that touched off the scandal took place." As chair of Dow Jones, Hinton was the publisher of the Wall Street Journal. ...

     ... The Wall Street Journal story, here, is good, straight reporting.

Fairly Happy Ending. New York Times: "A former spy agency official accused of leaking classified information to a newspaper walked out of court a free man on Friday, sentenced to a year’s probation and community service.... Judge Richard D. Bennett of the Federal District Court praised the former National Security Agency official, Thomas A. Drake, for his exemplary record of public service before giving him a mild scolding for improperly providing information on alleged agency mismanagement to The Baltimore Sun. But Judge Bennett reserved his strongest condemnation for the Justice Department...." ...

     ... Baltimore Sun story here. Video in July 16 Commentariat.

AP: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration has decided to formally recognize Libya's main opposition group as the country's legitimate government. The move gives foes of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi a major financial and credibility boost. Clinton announced Friday that Washington accepts the Transitional National Council as the legitimate governing authority of the Libyan people."

Al Jazeera: "As many as 19 protesters have been killed across Syria after security forces reportedly shot at protesters, hundreds of thousands of whom took to the streets in the biggest protests so far against Bashar al-Assad's rule." With video. Al Jazeera has a liveblog here.

Washington Post: "Obama administration officials have been privately exploring with major banks and foreign investors whether the government could devise a way to avoid a severe disruption in financial markets if the federal debt ceiling is not raised.... But the message back from the market has been discouraging: The failure to pay any significant obligations would scare away investors and undermine the financial system." ...

... Washington Post: "President Obama prepared Thursday to bring bipartisan talks over the debt to a close, as Senate leaders worked across party lines to craft an alternative strategy to raise the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt limit and avert a government default.... A breakthrough in the White House talks looked unlikely, however, leaving the Senate framework as the chief option for raising the debt limit before Aug. 2...." The AP story is here. ...

... Reuters: "Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned there is a one-in-two chance it could cut the United States' prized AAA credit rating if a deal on raising the government's debt ceiling is not agreed soon. Putting the U.S. on negative watch, S&P warned that it could cut the rating as soon as this month...." ...

... "Worst Idea in Washington" Advances. AP: "Right in the middle of their brawl with President Barack Obama over extending the debt ceiling and hacking trillions from projected deficits, GOP leaders are forcing House and Senate debates next week over similar amendments requiring the budget to be balanced, starting no sooner than five years from now. Reflecting tea party clout, both measures would also sharply curb Congress' ability to raise taxes and spending."

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "After weeks of crippling political deadlock, DFL Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders emerged in the darkened Capitol on Thursday to announce they had brokered a budget deal to end the longest state government shutdown in U.S. history." With video. ...

     ... AP: "Minnesota's leaders made a deal that will probably end the nation's longest state government shutdown in a decade, but they didn't really solve their budget problem. Instead, they just shuffled it down the road to be faced another day."

Reuters: "Italy's parliament was set on Friday to approve a 48 billion euro austerity package aimed at averting a full scale financial crisis but there were growing questions about the government's capacity for further reforms. After what business daily Il Sole 24 Ore called an "absolute first," government and opposition parties have set aside differences to pass the austerity measures in a matter of days."

Guardian: "Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief executive, has resigned after 11 days of mounting political pressure over the phone-hacking scandal. Brooks announced her decision to News International staff in Wapping just before 10am on Friday, saying her resignation had been accepted by Rupert Murdoch and James Murdoch. She said she no longer wanted to be a 'focal point of the debate' surrounding the company's future and reputation." Here's her resignation letter. ...

... Los Angeles Times: "In a letter Wednesday to FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, had cited reports that News of the World journalists 'attempted to obtain phone records of victims of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th through bribery and unauthorized wiretapping.' King also cited reports that the reporters had solicited a New York police officer 'to gain access to the content of private phone records' of the Sept. 11 victims."

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