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.” ~~~

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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.

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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.

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

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The Commentariat -- September 24

President Obama's weekly address on strengthening the American education system:

     ... The transcript is here. Reuters: "Young people in the United States are falling behind their overseas peers in reading, math and science, President Barack Obama said on Saturday, calling education reform an essential part of economic recovery."

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

** Profs. Theodore Marmor & Jerry Mashaw in a New York Times op-ed: "Where politicians once drew on a morally resonant language of people, family and shared social concern, they now deploy the cold technical idiom of budgetary accounting.... The language of sociology and common culture has been replaced by the language of economics and individualism. ...

... BUT this ad, which Ben Smith says the DNC is actually airing heavily & is not just dropping on the YouTubes in hopes bloggers & other unimportant media outlets will pick it up, somewhat belies the professors' contention (or maybe Obama is finally getting it):

... Via Steve Benen, more evidence the Obama administration is serious about jobs:

... Jonathan Cohn of The New Republic asks a couple of political scientists -- & Guy Molyneux & John Sides -- why Americans love the elements of Obama's jobs plan but don't love Obama so much. CW: I'd add, ... and Republicans are superb at vilifying Obama & ridiculing his policies.

Aaron Pressman of Reuters: "The Federal Reserve's 'Operation Twist' to bring down bond yields and stimulate the economy is likely to cause pain for the nation's largest pension funds.... Hit both by falling stock prices and falling bond yields, the 100 largest pension plans of public U.S. companies have assets covering only 79 percent of their liabilities as of the end of August, down from 86 percent at the end of 2010...."

Anna Palmer of Politico: "Congress may be leading the government toward a shutdown, but that isn’t stopping lawmakers from leaving town to raise money. Before a vote Monday to keep the government open beyond Sept. 30 and FEMA funded, Republicans and Democrats have plans outside of Washington to host fundraisers and other party committee events."

Charlie Cook of the National Journal on how Republicans could defeat healthcare legislation. Presume "Obamacare" makes it through the courts more-or-less intact. Now presume the Republican presidential candidate wins in 2012. Then presume Republicans retain control of the House, but with a smaller majority. Next presume Republicans take control of the Senate, even by one senator, &/or get fake Democratic senators to vote with them. The House could repeal Obamacare, the Senate could pass it via reconciliation -- as a budgetary bill that does not allow for a filibuster (which requires 60 votes) & President G. O. Poop could sign the repeal. CW: All of Cook's scenarios are plausible, BTW. And they would work for any policies that are primarily budgetary in nature. Don't think it will happen? Vote Republican & you'll find out.

Olga Pierce, et al., of ProPublica: So-called (& so-named) "independent" redistricting advocacy groups "are being quietly bankrolled by corporations, unions and other special interests. Their main interest in the once-a-decade political fight over redistricting is not to help voters in the communities they claim to represent but mainly to improve the prospects of their political allies or to harm their enemies. The number of these purportedly independent redistricting groups is rising, but their ties remain murky. Contributions to such groups are not limited by campaign finance laws, and most states allow them to take unlimited amounts of money without disclosing the source."

Matthew Lee of the AP: "The Obama administration has managed to buy time and may have staved off an embarrassing and politically awkward showdown over Palestinian statehood at the United Nations. It may also have maneuvered itself into a corner. The U.S. and the rest of the international diplomatic Quartet of Mideast peacemakers endorsed specific timelines for restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday.... Committing to those detailed deadlines raises potentially unrealistic hopes...."

Chris Bowers of Daily Kos: "Scared by [Elizabeth] Warren's rapid rise [as a candidate for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts], the forces of Wall Street have suddenly made her a top target." The Politico "charges" against Warren, which Bowers cites, are beyond ridiculous. CW: She's getting the Obama treatment. Read the whole article.

Right Wing World *

"Yikes." Juana Summers of Politico: "The conservative commentariat spoke with near-unanimity Friday on Rick Perry’s debate performance: The Texas governor didn’t just lose, he bombed.... His second consecutive weak outing set off alarm bells on the right, where too many cringeworthy moments raised questions about Perry’s durability, his seriousness and ability to compete on a stage with Barack Obama.... Perry’s nationally televised face-plant revived dormant talk — and hopes — about the possibility of new candidates entering the race. With almost no one willing to defend a performance marked by meandering or inaccurate answers, botched canned lines and the damaging adoption of the left’s critique of conservatives on immigration, it’s hard to imagine how things could have gone much worse for Perry.... Bill Kristol, the Weekly Standard editor, summed it up with one word: 'yikes.'” ...

... New York Times Editors: "Thursday night’s Republican debate was a particular cacophony of illogic as all of the candidates pandered to a base that is frighteningly unrepresentative of most Americans who want their elected officials to work for the greater good." Later in the editorial, the writers equate Rick Perry with Dr. Strangelove. ...

... Gail Collins feels sorry for Republicans because their field of presidential candidates is so lousy and their frontrunner, Rick Perry, is seriously not ready for primetime. ...

... More Bad News for Perry. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Thursday’s Google/Fox News debate in Florida was the most watched Republican event so far, according to Nielsen." ...

... Peter Catapano covers the field of reactions to the crowd's booing a gay soldier serving in Iraq & to Rick Santorum's answer to the soldier's question, an answer I would call a good demonstration of how Santorum got its well-earned definition. ...

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

... BUT the major Republican candidates (along with the minor ones, excepting those above -- Huntsman, Santorum & Johnson), who had nothing to say on Thursday, are still remarkably tongue-tied. Via Emily Friedman of ABC News:

No response. -- Mitt Romney

No response. -- Rick Perry

No response. -- Ron Paul

There was booing and cheering throughout the debate – Michele didn’t comment on any of it. -- Michele Bachmann's spokeswoman

If you don’t have time to explain your whole position on that, you can very easily be taken out of context so I don’t even want to comment on that. -- Herman Cain

Decline to comment. -- Newt Gingrich

      Update: via Steve Benen: yesterday on Fox "News," Rick Santorum condemned the booing of an American soldier, tho he maintains he never heard it.

* Where even Republicans may not want another uninformed, inarticulate Texas governor to lead their party. Oh, and they don't wanna talk about teh gays.

News Ledes

President Obama spoke at a Congressional Black Caucus function this evening.

Miami Herald: "... businessman Herman Cain won a surprise victory at the Republican Party of Florida’s nationally watched presidential straw poll Saturday in a sign that frontrunner Rick Perry is in deep trouble. Cain’s landslide victory, with 37 percent of the vote, exceeded the combined total for Perry and Mitt Romney, who only garnered 15 percent and 14 percent, respectively."

New York Times: "A day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to this battered country calling for a cease-fire, his forces escalated attacks on the opposition on Saturday, leaving more than 40 people dead across the capital."

New York Times: "President Obama on Saturday broke with his usual practice of golfing with three junior aides and for the first time teed up with former President Bill Clinton, who has written a new book on the government’s role in the 21st-century economy."

New York Times: "The public assault by the Obama administration on the Pakistani intelligence agency as a facilitator of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan has been met with scorn in Pakistan, a signal that the country has little intention of changing its ways, even perhaps at the price of the crumpled alliance."

AP: "UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel has resigned over a $2.3 billion rogue trading loss.... The move ends days of speculation about whether Gruebel could retain his position following the latest scandal to hit Switzerland's biggest bank."

AP: "Finance ministers and central bankers are pushing for bold action by the Group of 20 nations to get the global economy back on track, while wavering over helping Greece avoid a destabilizing default." The G-20 is meeting for three days in Washington, D.C.

AP: "NASA's dead six-ton satellite fell to Earth early Saturday morning, starting its fiery death plunge somewhere over the vast Pacific Ocean. Details were still sketchy, but the U.S. Air Force's Joint Space Operations Center and NASA say that the bus-sized satellite first penetrated Earth's atmosphere somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. That doesn't necessarily mean it all fell into the sea. NASA's calculations had predicted that the former climate research satellite would fall over a 500-mile swath."

AP: "Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday proposed Vladimir Putin as presidential candidate for 2012, almost certainly guaranteeing Putin's return to the office four years after he was legally forced to step aside.... Putin, who currently serves as prime minister..., [during a speech that followed Medvedev's endorsement, made] a surprising suggestion that Russia's wealthy should pay higher taxes than average citizens."

AP: "Facing discontent within his German flock, Pope Benedict XVI made a gesture of meeting with victims of clerical sex abuse as he called for Roman Catholics in the former communist East to rediscover their faith. The pontiff celebrated Mass with some 30,000 people early Saturday, unhindered by an incident on the edge of the security zone in which a man fired an air gun at a security guard about an hour before the service, Vatican and local officials said."

Daily Beast: "While publicly pressuring Israel to make deeper concessions to the Palestinians, President Obama has secretly authorized significant new aid to the Israeli military that includes the sale of 55 deep-penetrating bombs known as bunker busters, Newsweek has learned.... The GBU-28 Hard Target Penetrators — potentially useful in any future military strike against Iranian nuclear sites — were delivered to Israel in 2009, just several months after Obama took office."

New York Times: "Stony-faced, the chief executive and chief financial officer of Solyndra, the bankrupt solar company, took the Fifth Amendment on Friday before a House subcommittee as they were verbally pummeled by committee members until Democrats complained that the badgering was becoming unseemly."

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