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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."

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.”

New York Times: “Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said. The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, 'The ReidOut,' is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years. MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host 'The Weekend,' which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.” MB: In case you've never seen “The Weekend,” let me assure you it's pretty awful. ~~~

~~~ AP Update: "Joy Reid is leaving MSNBC, the network’s new president announced in a memo to staff on Monday, marking an end to the political analyst and anchor’s prime time news show."

Y! Entertainment: "Meanwhile, [Alex] Wagner will also be removed from her 9 pm weeknight slot. Wagner has already been working as a correspondent after Rachel Maddow took over hosting duties during ... Trump’s first 100 days in office. It’s now expected that Wagner will not return as host, but is expected to stay on as a contributor. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary, is a likely replacement for Wagner, though a decision has not been finalized." MB: In fairness to Psaki, she is really too boring to watch. On the other hand, she is White. ~~~

~~~ RAS: "So MSNBC is getting rid of both of their minority evening hosts. Both women of color who are not afraid to call out the truth. Outspoken minorities don't have a long shelf life in the world of our corporate news media."

Page Links

Sunday

Nov142010

Constant Weader -- I get a lot of supportive letters from readers, and some hilarious pans, too, but this post in the Democratic Underground is really something:

Marie Burns has built a cult following and a blog based on her trenchant comments on New York Times op-ed pieces. Today she adds another dimension to Paul Krugman's piece, "The World As He Finds It."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/opinion/15krugman.htm...

Marie's take:

-edit-

"... we were in trouble not because we had been governed by people with the wrong ideas, but because partisan divisions and politics as usual had prevented men and women of good will from coming together to solve our problems."

This of course the pose that made Obama famous in his 2004 convention speech: "... there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America...." I'm not much of an historian, so I'm not sure any other single speech has ever created a President, but it could be argued that this one did. Even though I live in Republicanland, the day after the 2004 election, when I was totally down in the dumps, a car passed me by sporting a bumper sticker that read "Obama 2008." Cheered me right up.

We all want to believe the sentiments of the 2004 speech. But adults with clear views of the political landscape know better. I expect Obama, who has borne the brunt of the untruthiness of his inspiring fantasy, knows better, too. But. But. It is the pose that made him, and he seems incapable of escaping it. In fact, even a casual observer can now see Obama has no interest in trying to escape the illusion of kumbaya America.

However, we err in believing Obama "just doesn't get it"; that his waffling and repeated capitulations to Republicans, to China, to whatever counterforce he meets -- are the result of his naivete or inexperience or lack of a skill set. I think Obama knows just what he is doing. He believes in the correctness of the elite establishment. He is a David Brooks dream President. "The world as he finds it" is messy, and this is a guy who picks up his socks. He prefers the neat platitudes of the ruling class he has been invited to join. He admires those "smart businessmen" on Wall Street who financed his campaign. He likes to chat with "respectable" establishment newsmen like John Harwood & Steve Kroft (how many interviews has Obama given "60 Minutes"?). He enjoys the company of long-time lobbyists like Tom Daschle. The President of the United States likes smooth operators. It is his intention to be one of them.

The smooth operators are not inclined to cede any of their power to the riffraff that is the rest of us. They have, once again, a friend in the White House, and they're happy with that. If Mitch McConnell & John Boehner are not exactly la creme de la creme, they too do the bidding for the elite. They do it for the cash, if not for the cachet.

The President returned to Washington from Japan yesterday, and today his ostensible friends & foes in the Congress will be back to bicker. Obama may have missed the kabuki theater in Japan, but he'll be right at home in Washington where he will star once again in a very familiar kabuki dance. We in the hinterlands are the captive audience of this stylized drama, a form of theater that holds few surprises and inevitably ends tragically for us. (All emphases D/U.)

For a better comment on Krugman's column, check out Karen Garcia's (#10) masterpiece. And recommend it!

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