The Ledes

Monday, June 30, 2025

It's summer in our hemisphere, and people across Guns America have nothing to do but shoot other people.

New York Times: “A gunman deliberately started a wildfire in a rugged mountain area of Idaho and then shot at the firefighters who responded, killing two and injuring another on Sunday afternoon in what the local sheriff described as a 'total ambush.' Law enforcement officers exchanged fire with the gunman while the wildfire burned, and officials later found the body of the male suspect on the mountain with a firearm nearby, Sheriff Robert Norris of Kootenai County said at a news conference on Sunday night. The authorities said they believed the suspect had acted alone but did not release any information about his identity or motives.” A KHQ-TV (Spokane) report is here.

New York Times: “The New York City police were investigating a shooting in Manhattan on Sunday night that left two people injured steps from the Stonewall Inn, an icon of the L.G.B.T.Q. rights movement. The shooting occurred outside a nearby building in Greenwich Village at 10:15 p.m., Sgt. Matthew Forsythe of the New York Police Department said. The New York City Pride March had been held in Manhattan earlier on Sunday, and Mayor Eric Adams said on social media that the shooting happened as Pride celebrations were ending. One victim who was shot in the head was in critical condition on Monday morning, a spokeswoman for the Police Department said. A second victim was in stable condition after being shot in the leg, she said. No suspect had been identified. The police said it was unclear if the shooting was connected to the Pride march.”

New York Times: “A dangerous heat wave is gripping large swaths of Europe, driving temperatures far above seasonal norms and prompting widespread health and fire alerts. The extreme heat is forecast to persist into next week, with minimal relief expected overnight. France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece are among the nations experiencing the most severe conditions, as meteorologists warn that Europe can expect more and hotter heat waves in the future because of climate change.”

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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.

 

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.

 

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Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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The Commentariat -- March 22, 2015

Internal links & defunct photo removed.

Sam Stein of the Huffington Post: "President Barack Obama is operating under the assumption that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not support the creation of a Palestinian state, despite the Israeli leader's post-election efforts to recast himself as amenable to a two-state solution":

... Video & a transcript of the full interview is here.

Dickensian Dreams. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon: "The GOP's House and Senate majorities have unveiled their budget proposals, a fantastical and mendacious set of documents worthy of Mr. Bumble, the comic villain and font of incoherent conventional wisdom in Dickens' 'Oliver Twist.' Most people will ignore these proposals, for the sensible reason that they will not be enacted. But behind the patriotic-imperial posturing and foreign-policy bluster that have grabbed headlines lately, these imaginary budgets provide a glimpse of the rapacious utopia envisioned by the Koch brothers and their Tea Party-infused ideological mouthpieces, including Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz and Scott Walker foremost among them." ...

... Bill Curry in Salon on the House & Senate's "budgets": "After all these years of bombardment by Republican 'tax and spend' rhetoric [Democrats] still don't know how to counterattack. The answer isn't sound bites or catchphrases but concreteness and specificity.... Getting Hillary Clinton to address an issue is like trying to get Miss Havisham ["Great Expectations"] to open a curtain and let in the sun. Presented with the gift of her seclusion, any would-be opponents can't even get in the race. In Congress, overly scripted Democrats hurl stale talking points at a budget they could tear to shreds with logic, evidence, specificity and just a tiny bit of boldness.... The Republican budget is a fiscal, economic and moral monstrosity. If Democrats can't unmask it they don't deserve the support of the millions who still rely on them to act as their tribunes."...

Cannibalism! The Orange Man Dines on Red Meat. Scott Wong & Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Conservatives are seething after an outside group aligned with Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) spent hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting a trio of Republican lawmakers over threats to shut down the Department of Homeland Security. Tea Party Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) equated the attack ads to GOP 'cannibalism,' while his conservative colleague Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) called them a 'stupid' tactic that would backfire. American Action Network, a nonprofit whose board includes former Boehner chief of staff Barry Jackson, launched the $300,000 ad campaign earlier this month with TV spots depicting terrorists and accusing GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio), Tim Huelskamp (Kansas) and Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.) of putting 'our security at risk.' The campaign also included national ads on conservative talk radio, including shows hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and on digital ads in the district of nine other House Republicans." ...

Here is what I don't understand, I don't understand how Jews in America can be Democrats first and Jewish second and support Israel along the line of just following their President. -- Rep. Steve King (RTP-Iowa)

A congressional representative of a party which fetishizes the flag is saying that some citizens are being traitors by following their president' instead of supporting the leader of a foreign country. Indeed, he's really saying that Republicans support this foreign country over their own president. Now that's exceptional. -- Digby

Lydia DePillis of the Washington Post: A class-action lawsuit could change the U.S.'s exploitative au pair program.

Sean McElwee of Salon gathers up studies that identify "racial resentment" as a deciding factor in public policy; there is plenty of statistical evidence that white people who resent "blah" people oppose social safety net programs.

CW: Don't know how I keep missing Frank Rich, but his comments on this & that were delightful, as usual (March 19): "But first Aaron Schock must apologize to Julian Fellowes and the production team at Downton Abbey. That notorious Capitol Hill office -- created by an Illinois decorating firm appropriately named Euro Trash -- didn't remotely evoke Edwardian England. With its blood-red walls and busts of Republican presidents, it was nothing if not a Warren Harding -- era bordello out of Boardwalk Empire."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. "High Broderism." Scott Lemieux had in mind to teach a lesson on "how to be a hack." Luckily, he had just the model: "[Saturday], the editorial board of the Washington Post honors the memory of David Broder with a pitch-perfect parody of Both Sides Doitism. The thesis: the Republicans holding the nomination of Loretta Lynch hostage to try to leverage Democrats into accepting restrictions on abortion in an anti-sex trafficking bill shows that Democrats are the obstructionist party now." Lemieux goes on to dissect & discredit the paper's tricky language & "reasoning": "As always, the central premise is that Democrats can't possibly have any principled reason for defending hysterical women and their silly reproductive rights.... Yes, if you really care about women who have been coerced into sex work, one way of demonstrating that is being indifferent about restrictions intended to make it more difficult for them to end unwanted pregnancies that have a high likelihood of being the result of sex they did not consent to."

Presidential Race

Theodore Schleifer of the Houston Chronicle: "Sen. Ted Cruz plans to announce Monday that he will run for president of the United States, according to his senior advisers, accelerating his already rapid three-year rise from a tea party insurgent in Texas into a divisive political force in Washington. Cruz, scheduled to speak Monday at a convocation ceremony at Liberty University in Virginia, will not form an exploratory committee but rather launch a presidential bid outright...." ...

... CW: Cruz's choice of venue for his announcement is all you need to know about the type of campaign he will run.

Jeb Bush Has a "Vast" Plan to Fix Florida Presidential Elections Again. Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "The political apparatus surrounding former Gov. Jeb Bush, determined to avoid embarrassment in a state that has vexed his party and family in national elections, is plotting a vast operation aimed at turning Florida into a bulwark for his presidential campaign, according to dozens of interviews. The plan, code-named 'Homeland Security,' seeks to try to neutralize two potentially grave but homegrown threats to Mr. Bush's long-anticipated run for president: the likely challenge from a charismatic young Republican senator from Miami, Marco Rubio, who is expected to seek the Republican nomination himself, and a demographic drift within Florida that could doom Mr. Bush there in a fall campaign against a Democrat."...

... Karen Tumulty & Mary Jordan of the Washington Post write a generous profile of Columba Bush, Jeb's wife.

Marco Rubio, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee & bills his knowledge of foreign policy as a raison de vote for him for president, didn't know -- until John Kerry told him -- that Iran & the U.S. are both fighting ISIS. (Of course, Marco may not know it yet, as listening & understanding are way hard for him.) Now it falls on Jonathan Chait to explain to Marco that "Obama Isn't Nicer to Iran Than to Israel." ...

... CW: I wonder if, like Mitt Romney, Marco thinks "Syria is ... Iran's path to the sea." It wouldn't surprise me, because in Right Wing World, gut feelings best geography & feelings top facts every time, as Marco demonstrated on the Senate floor this past week. ...

... Steve M. thinks he's figured out the reason Rubio isn't topping the GOP presidential polls: "He's got nothing."

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times: "Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a leading aspirant for the Republican nomination for president, made his state the 25th 'right-to-work' state in the nation on March 9.... He may soon get another crack at a worker-unfriendly law: Legislators have introduced a bill to abolish employees' legal right to at least one day off per week.... Walker hasn't said he would sign the bill, but he hasn't spoken out against it either.... Since Walker took office, Wisconsin's economic performance has ranked a dismal 35th in Bloomberg's economic index of states.... [The state] fell to 38th in the nation in job growth for the year ended Sept. 30, 2014.... Under Walker, Wisconsinites seem to be facing a double-whammy -- lousy performance at the state level, and a continuing assault on their household income."

Jonathan Easley of the Hill: "As many as 20 Republicans are taking a serious look at running for the White House in 2016. A handful of candidates have moved aggressively into the field, and others are expected to ramp up in the coming weeks, with several announcements expected in April." ...

... CW: Oh, it's a deep, deep "bench" of super-qualified candidates, like snakeoil pitchman Mike Huckabee & long-time-ago Sen. Rick Santorum, a man incapable of standing up to a voter who claimed President Obama tried to nuke Charleston, South Carolina. ...

... MEANWHILE, over on the other side, there is Lonesome O'Malley. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley stepped up his critique of Wall Street excesses [in Davenport, Iowa,] Friday as he began his first swing through Iowa this year with a populist speech to an enthusiastic crowd of close to 300 people attending a Democratic dinner."

Beyond the Beltway

Prince of Wales, Liberal Icon, Goes to Mitch McConnell's Hometown to Attack Everything Mitch Stands for. James Bruggers & Jere Downs of the Louisville Courier-Journal: "Prince Charles breezed through Louisville on Friday and called for urgent restructuring of local and global economies to save humanity from itself. During a speech before a full house of several hundred people at the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Prince of Wales said that 'if we wish to maintain our civilization, we must look after the Earth (and) and keep it in harmony.'... [Charles] cited climate change, soil depletion and exploitation of the oceans and other natural resources as a serious threat.... 'You know we have come a long way when the future king of England comes to America to call for a revolution,' said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council...." ...

... CW: Oddly enough, the story doesn't mention Mitch. But you can bet Charles purposely saved that speech for Mitch's home turf (such as it is). Thanks to Unwashed for reminding us of this:

The Bundy Family Nullification Party. Jon Ralston: "Mark your calendars for March 31, when an Assembly committee will hear a bill sponsored by Cliven Bundy's biggest supporter, [Michael] Fiore, and 14 other members of the GOP Ass. Caucus to essentially prohibit the federal government from owning land in Nevada (where it owns 85 percent) unless the state says so.(Yes, it's as crazy as it sounds.) The measure ... is a direct outgrowth of Bundy's refusal to pay grazing fees for decades and the confrontation almost exactly a year ago that drew militia members and others, including Fiore, to the ranch near Las Vegas and became a cause celebre for FOX News until Bundy began his disquisition on the history 'of the Negro.' Now the gang is getting back together for the hearing and planning to swarm Carson City. Ammon Bundy, who has defended his father, sent out an alert Friday, asking folks to come to the capital for the hearing. What could go wrong?"

KXAN (Austin, Texas) News: "An Austin lawyer is claiming responsibility for several stickers placed on East Austin businesses that claimed they were 'exclusively for white people.' Adam Reposa posted the video on YouTube and made a statement on Facebook saying he was trying promote the issue of gentrification in East Austin."

News Lede

ABC News: "The military is warning about 100 service members about an online threat by a group purportedly affiliated with ISIS that has posted their alleged personal details and called on sympathizers to take violent action against them. U.S. officials say the military services are notifying the families of the individuals named on the list. On Saturday, a previously unknown group identifying itself as the 'Islamic State Hacking Division' posted on a website the names, photos and home addresses of 100 American service members it said were involved in the U.S. airstrike campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (8)

Hmmm. Jordan has been mentioned by the vandals as a possible candidate to replace Boehner in a palace coup. Interesting that Boehner's Raiders target him, don't you think. Maybe the weather's about to get nasty.

March 21, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

No Digby, Republicans support this foreign country over their own COUNTRY. Now that's exceptional.

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterMarvin Schwalb

God loves money. In fact, when God has lots of money he is tickled pink and when God is tickled pink it puts him in a good mood which makes it much easier on all the angels who have to deal with his swings of moodiness. "What!, they say, "No rice pudding again?" God is known for his take-away policies when he gets grumpy. But back to money: When the U.S. bestowed his name on our currency God was elated––a seal of approval forever and ever––no trust but verify, just plain old ordinary trust, trust that God would always be on our side and maybe give us some of that money. God, however, likes to squirrel it away in hidden places and give guys like Paul Marcinkus (see link below for more information) who ran the Vatican Bank from 1971-1989 and played high stakes shell games while spying for US during Reagan's reign (Ronnie was one of God's favorite presidents). So since it's Sunday––God's special day, I give you something to chew on other than that yummy brunch you might be preparing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/books/review/gods-bankers-by-gerald-posner.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Really enjoyed reading Scott Lemieux's piece picking apart the Washington Post's "both sides do it" editorial. A word, placed in such a way, can sway and give away the true meaning of the message. We need more scouts like Scott.

So Ted is announcing his run––what fun! Imagining him as President gives me the collywobbles but look forward to his trying. The show of shows during the Republican debates should be great theatre––all that bellicose hyperbole along with lots of snarling and bickering will be fine entertainment. But let's not laugh too loudly here––Democrats need to turn in their wobbly rhetoric for some strong, forceful, back-at-ya messages that will reverberate loud and clear throughout the thick clouds of calumny –––with this crowd and the likes of the Kochs, Popes and Adelsons sitting in the front row seats, we need to gin up our game big time.

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Re Dickensian Dreams. Andrew O'Hehir.

Excellent article we should hold as a constant reminder of what's being done to this country and its people, while we sit back and let them do it.

Thanks, Marie.

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterNancy

re "Jeb Bush Has a "Vast" Plan to Fix Florida Presidential Elections Again. Michael Barbaro of the New York Times: "
I moved to Cape Coral in the 80's,
In order to get a driver's license, I had to register to vote- all at once.
I left the state in 1984.
Still, I often wonder if my name is still on the voting rolls.
<Naw I am a Dem>
Jebby could start with separating those two items.
mae finch

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered Commentermae finch

The venerable Mr. Nader can be dead clear:

https://blog.nader.org/2015/03/19/going-along-with-the-donkey-as-long-as-the-elephants-are-worse/

So sorry he has become a voice crying out in the wilderness.

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterWhyte Owen

@Nancy: Want to thank you for mentioning the Andrew O'Hehir piece that I forgot to go back and read. He's such an excellent writer (does film critiques for Salon) and thought the article was top notch and a pleasure to read.

March 22, 2015 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe
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