The Ledes

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Washington Post: “Rescue teams raced to submerged homes, scoured collapsed buildings and steered thousands from overflowing dams as Helene carved a destructive path Friday, knocking out power and flooding a vast arc of communities across the southeastern United States. At least 40 people were confirmed killed in five states since the storm made landfall late Thursday as a Category 4 behemoth, unleashing record-breaking storm surge and tree-snapping gusts. 4 million homes and businesses have lost electricity across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, prompting concerns that outages could drag on for weeks. Mudslides closed highways. Water swept over roofs and snapped phone lines. Houses vanished from their foundations. Tornadoes added to the chaos. The mayor of hard-hit Canton, N.C., called the scene 'apocalyptic.'” An AP report is here.

The Wires
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The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

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.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Saturday
May252019

The Commentariat -- May 26, 2019

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dr. Marvin Schwalb passed away on April 10, 2019 in Livingston. Dr. Schwalb was a professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry - New Jersey Medical School for over 45 years and served as the Associate Director of the Institute of Genomic Medicine before retiring. Marvin is survived by Karen, his wife of 56 years, his daughters, Robin, Heidi and Abby, and his sister Karen. He was predeceased by his brother, Bruce. He was an avid painter, hobbyist, collector and traveler." -- Levine Memorial Chapel

Dr. Schwalb was a valued commentator here on Reality Chex, and we have missed him. Thank you to Akhilleus for informing us of his death.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is only Sunday, but contributor Patrick has already found the headline of the week (see commentary below):

"Owners of Noah's Ark replica suing insurer over flood damage"

~~~~~~~~~~

Trump: I Trust Little Kim Before I Trust Bolton, Japan. Daniel Politi of Slate: “... Donald Trump seemed to contradict his national security adviser Saturday, claiming he was unbothered by North Korea’s recent missile tests essentially because he trusts dictator Kim Jong Un. In a tweet while he was in Japan, Trump also espoused a view that is at odds with his host country. 'North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me.'... Japan had said that North Korea's recent test of short range missiles amounted to a violation of United Nations resolutions. And Trump's own national security adviser John Bolton agreed with that assessment, telling reporters on Saturday there was 'no doubt' that the missile test violated Security Council resolutions."

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Alexandra Hutzler of Newsweek: "Donald Trump has given Attorney General William Barr permission to declassify intelligence information about the origins of the Russia investigation, a move legal experts say is a gross abuse of power. 'In a corrupt act of political retribution, our president has ordered his utterly compliant attorney general to root out Deep State demons that exist only in the unhinged mind of our nation's leader,' Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek." ...

... Sonan Sheth of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump's decision to grant vast authority to Attorney General William Barr to declassify intelligence as he investigates the origins of the Russia investigation stunned national-security veterans and has the Justice Department hurtling toward a clash with the US intelligence community.... Current and former officials say Trump's order represents a direct threat to the lives and safety of US intelligence sources abroad." ...

This is a president who will lash out and destroy anything if he believes it will suit his interests. And he now has a capable lieutenant in the attorney general to help him do just that. -- Rep. Adam Schiff, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee ...

... Michael Schmidt & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "President Trump tried somewhat clumsily last year to revoke the security clearance of the former C.I.A. director who played a role in opening the Russia investigation. He then wanted to release classified documents to prove he was the target of a 'witch hunt.' Both attempts petered out, hampered by aides who slow-rolled the president and by Justice Department officials who fought Mr. Trump, warning he was jeopardizing national security. But this week, Attorney General William P. Barr engineered a new approach. At Mr. Barr's urging, Mr. Trump granted him new authorities to examine the start of the Russia investigation, demonstrating a new level of sophistication for an old line of attack. Unlike Mr. Trump's hollow threats and name-calling, Mr. Barr's examination of how the intelligence community investigated the Trump campaign could offer a more effective blueprint for the president to take aim at his perceived political enemies.... Mr. Trump's latest action is a drastic escalation of his yearslong assault on the intelligence community." Emphasis added -- Mrs. McC: As I suspected, it was Barr's idea to give himself unprecedented power over intelligence leaders. ...

... ** Jonathan Chait: "In combination with Barr's latest counter-investigation, Trump has succeeded in reshaping the legal incentives under which law enforcement operates. The message is clear: If you investigate Trump or his allies, you will yourself be hounded and scrutinized for evidence of any wrongdoing.... And if you carry out Trump's agenda or goals, you will be rewarded with legal immunity for any crimes, however cruel or brutal. Just as Trump has put his presidency at the disposal of his never-ending campaign, he is likewise demanding that the federal security apparatus put aside its ethos of civil-service neutrality and follow his whims." Read the whole post.

Normalizing the Abhorrent. Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate: "On Thursday in the Oval Office, an NBC reporter noted to Trump that treason is punishable by death and then asked him who he felt, specifically, had committed treason in the course of the Russia investigation. The president responded by naming four FBI officials -- former director James Comey, former deputy director Andrew McCabe, and former agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page -- who'd been involved in the case. And that was it! Twitter was briefly incredulous, a few articles were posted, but for the most part it was not considered really newsworthy that the POTUS had casually tossed out the idea of executing the FBI's previous leadership team."

Scott Wong & Olivia Beavers of the Hill: "There is growing daylight between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) over the best strategy for combating a Trump administration that is flouting a flurry of congressional subpoenas at nearly every turn. The pair of powerful Democrats clashed in recent days over whether to launch impeachment proceedings against President Trump and how soon to hold a contempt vote against Attorney General William Barr. Nadler, spurred by frustrated Judiciary Committee members, has been privately pushing leadership for both an impeachment inquiry and a contempt vote immediately after lawmakers return from their weeklong Memorial Day recess. Pelosi is still urging a go-slow approach, concerned that Democrats have not yet swayed public opinion about why such aggressive tactics are necessary."

Cristina Alesci of CNN: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump have reached an agreement with the House Intelligence and Financial Services committees to hold off for now on enforcing the subpoenas for Trump's financial records from Deutsche Bank and Capital One, according to a court document and a source familiar with the agreement. Similar to a deal reached earlier this week with the House Oversight committee the agreement allows for an expedited appeal schedule."

David Graham of the Atlantic: Last week, the Washington Post reported "about how Trump has repeatedly pressured the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Homeland Security to award a contract for building a wall at the southern U.S. border to a North Dakota company headed by a leading Republican donor [and frequent Fox 'News' guest]. The story demonstrates the shortcomings of Trump's attempt to bring private-sector techniques into government. It shows his tendency toward cronyism, his failures as a negotiator, and the ease with which a fairly primitive attention campaign can sway him. At heart, though, what it really exemplifies is Trump's insistence on placing performative gestures over actual efficacy. And it is a concrete example -- almost literally -- of how the president's violations of norms weaken the country and waste taxpayer money." Graham neatly ties Trump's advocacy of the donor's company to Trump's many failings as a businessman & president*.


Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "President Trump on Saturday slammed a Friday court ruling that blocked some construction of his border wall as 'in favor of crime, drugs and human trafficking.' Trump also said that the government would ask for an expedited appeal. 'Another activist Obama appointed judge has just ruled against us on a section of the Southern Wall that is already under construction,' he tweeted. 'This is a ruling against Border Security and in favor of crime, drugs and human trafficking. We are asking for an expedited appeal!'... Federal Judge Haywood Gilliam, an Obama appointee, on Friday issued a preliminary injunction that would temporarily prevent the Trump administration from constructing additional border fencing in specific areas and using about $1 billion in reallocated Defense Department funds for border wall construction."

Beyond the Beltway

Utah. Tauren Dyson of UPI: "The Utah Supreme Court suspended a judge for six months without pay after he consistently criticized ... Donald Trump online and during proceedings. The court ruled that Judge Michael Kwan, who served for 20 years in Taylorsville, violated Utah's judicial code of conduct, according to court documents."

News Lede

New York Times: "Bart Starr, the earnest and determined leader of the great Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s who became one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in history -- the in-the-huddle incarnation of their fierce and masterly coach, Vince Lombardi -- died on Sunday in Birmingham, Ala. He was 85."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (6)

Maureen Dowd = pitch perfect:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/25/opinion/sunday/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi.html

May 26, 2019 | Unregistered CommenterNJC

Trump’s authoritarian-dictatorial yearnings are getting more scary by the day. Now he’s siccing the full force of the government’s legal apparatus on a true witch hunt, the end result of which, as he has declared, is the imprisonment and execution of those he sees in his vicious, vindictive little lizard brain as his enemies. Those investigating his traitorous connections with an antagonistic foreign power, which ultimately put him in the White House, are guilty of treason against the king and deserving of death.

While all this is going on, the Party of Traitors sits by, mouths tightly closed, looking on as the country they claim to love is being unraveled by a dangerous lunatic, the bedrock of this nation’s beliefs and the structures of freedom put in place by the founders gleefully jackhammered by a vile slug and his slithering serpents.

They are no different than so-called right to life Christians who lustily cheer for the death penalty. It’s not just a philosophical inconsistency, it’s hypocrisy that fatally undermines the entire system they claim as their support in acting as they do.

Every day that goes by with McConnell and Graham and company sitting by as Trump juts out his Mussolini jaw and demands that his sycophants and lackeys sieg heil when he walks by is another ineradicable testament to the complete falsity of their claims to be patriotic Americans.

They are boot licking dogs, dogs without honor, without morality, without a country.

May 26, 2019 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

In broad daylight, Trump is constructing his own Stasi, a Trumpian state security apparatus the sole goal of which is to protect him from any and all legal challenges, in other words, to perpetuate his power, and to persecute his enemies—to the point of death. In Barr, he has his very own Heinrich Himmler.

May 26, 2019 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

Thanks to NJC for the tip on the Dowd column. I’d pretty much given up reading her as I have Our Miss Brooks and Blow Up Doll Boy Douthat. The Times has not been much of a help in staving off the traitors but at least some commenters are not confused about who the bad guys are. One comment to Dowd’s piece puts things in a way we might have gotten from out very own Marvin Schwalb, who long ago pegged Trump for the dangerous narcissist he is.

This commenter pointed out that it’s always possible to identify a family beset by a malignant narcissist. He or she is perfectly fine, suffering no difficulties as they spread their venom and chaos. It’s all the OTHER family members who are exhausted and in therapy, trying to make sense of things. Sounds familiar.

By the way, speaking of our friend Marvin, I’ve wondered about him since we haven’t heard from him in a while and that his posts had become shorter and fewer over the past few months. Sadly, he passed away last month. He was a valued and trusted voice in our little RC world and he is missed.

Thanks for everything, Dr. Schwalb!

https://levinememorialchapel.com/tribute/details/3756/Marvin-Schwalb/obituary.html

May 26, 2019 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@Akhilleus: Thanks to Bill Barr, now Trump constantly reminds me that he's just a crude, comic version of George H.W. Bush. (I don't recall that Bush specifically "investigated the investigators," but he did worse by effectively invalidating the work of the independent counsel Lawrence Walsh by pardoning all of the men indicted as a result of Walsh's investigation. Good thing, too, as Walsh was ready to implicate Bush himself in the Iran-Contra scheme.)

May 26, 2019 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

The story in the NY post is "meh", but the headline is great:

"Owners of Noah’s Ark replica suing insurer over flood damage"

https://nypost.com/2019/05/25/owners-of-noahs-ark-replica-suing-insurer-over-flood-damage/

May 26, 2019 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick
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