The Ledes

Sunday, March 30, 2025

New York Times: “The official death toll of the earthquake that shattered central Myanmar surpassed 1,600 people, the country’s military leaders said on Saturday, as desperate rescue workers raced to find survivors and began grappling with a monumental disaster in a nation already racked by civil war.”

New York Times: “About 300,000 electricity customers in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, were without power early Sunday as a spring storm brought freezing rain and sleet to the Great Lakes region.”

New York Times: “Richard Chamberlain, who rose to fame as the heartthrob star of the television series “Dr. Kildare” in the early 1960s, proved his mettle by becoming a serious stage actor and went on to a new wave of acclaim as the omnipresent leading man of 1980s mini-series, died on Saturday night at his home in Waimanalo, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. He was 90.”

The Wires
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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.

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.

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."

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.”

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."

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Tuesday
Sep142010

CW: Akhilleus' comment on David Brooks' column is so fine & got so buried among the other comments that I felt obliged to post it here. It is an excellent short-course in American history:


Where to begin?

I am so sick of listening to this pap about the innocence and virtue of conservatism being destroyed by big government Democrats.

Since we're talking history, how about this? First the country that Misters Ryan and Brooks (both Brookses I would wager) weep for, that small government, Don't Tread on Me, stay out of my way America, was a small, largely agrarian nation straddling the Atlantic seaboard. The population was relatively small, though growing, industry was sporadic, and in many areas, slavery was a vital support to a system in which only rich, landed, white men had a say. I realize this is still an enormous pipe dream for many right-wingers, a return to the halcyon days of yore but those days are gone.

This little country grew quickly. By the middle of the 19th century industrialization came hard and fast. The rich got richer and the poor led lives of meager hope and soul-killing desperation. The kind of plutocrats STILL supported wholeheartedly by the likes of Ryan and Brooks did all they could to secure enormous wealth and power on the backs of their less well off, less well connected countrymen and women.

At this juncture, the moral imperative became so great, and the dangers of big business overrunning all in their way prompted many politically minded citizens, including a Republican president, Theodore Roosevelt, to stand up and use the power of government to try to strike a balance between overweening greed and the needs of average working class Americans.

This, of course, was considered an outrage by Republicans and their wealthy, robber baron cronies. Years later, after the greed of a later generation of robber barons pushed us into a depression, another president, Mr. Roosevelt's cousin, saw fit to use the power of government to strike back at the forces that were destroying the country. FDR is still reviled by the right for taking their candy away and making them play nice.

The fact is that that little nation that could function with a small government, one not concerned with interstate trade, child labor abuses, uncontrolled and dangerous products being sold, unsafe working conditions, the moral blight of slavery, and citizens who would starve and live horrible existences all because they weren't smart enough to be born, like today's Wall Street Masters of the Universe, into wealth and privilege, is long gone. It lasted perhaps a generation or two. The country, as it grew up, developed problems that required solutions only a strong government could provide.

Who, after all, was going to end slavery or prevent unscrupulous business owners from putting young children to work for a pittance? Who? The predecessors of the plutocrats Ryan and Brooks moan about?

Right.

Sorry, Mr. Brooks, yet another imploding right wing fantasy. As for virtue and innocence, I don't believe either of those fine qualities apply to many on the right today. There is, however, virtue in attempting to make life better for the vast majority of Americans. If that means that Ryan and Brooks and their buddies can only have three vacation homes instead of four or five, well, too bad.


Reposted with permission of the author.