REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - The Commentariat -- June 20, 2021

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The Ledes

Monday, November 18, 2024

New York Times: “One person has died and 39 people have become ill in an E. coli outbreak linked to organic carrots, federal regulators said on Sunday. The infections were tied to multiple brands of recalled organic whole bagged carrots and baby carrots sold by Grimmway Farms, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Fifteen people have been hospitalized, according to the agency. Carrots currently on store shelves are unlikely to be affected by the recall but those in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers may be, the authorities said.”

Public Service Announcement

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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."

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New York Times: “Chris Wallace, a veteran TV anchor who left Fox News for CNN three years ago, announced on Monday that he was leaving his post to venture into the streaming or podcasting worlds.... He said his decision to leave CNN at the end of his three-year contract did not come from discontent. 'I have nothing but positive things to say. CNN was very good to me,' he said.”

New York Times: In a collection of memorabilia filed at New York City's Morgan Library, curator Robinson McClellan discovered the manuscript of a previously unknown waltz by Frédéric Chopin. Jeffrey Kallberg, a Chopin scholar at the University of Pennsylvania as well as other experts authenticated the manuscript. Includes video of Lang Lang performing the short waltz. ~~~

~~~ Marie: The Times article goes into some of Chopin's life in Paris at the time he wrote the waltz, but it doesn't mention that he helped make ends meet by giving piano lessons. I know this because my great grandmother was one of his students. If her musical talent were anything like mine, those particular lessons would have been painful hours for Chopin.

New York Times: “Improbably, [the political/celebrity magazine] George[, originally a project by John F. Kennedy, Jr.] is back, with the same logo and the same catchy slogan: 'Not just politics as usual.' This time, though, a QAnon conspiracy theorist and passionate Trump fan is its editor in chief.... It is a reanimation story bizarre enough for a zombie movie, made possible by the fact that the original George trademark lapsed, only to be secured by a little-known conservative lawyer named Thomas D. Foster.”

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

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."

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The Commentariat -- June 20, 2021

Afternoon Update:

One Place Not to Celebrate the First National Juneteenth: at You Super-Toney All-White Beach Club. GoLocalProv: "U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D] continues to defend his family's membership in the all-white private Bailey's Beach Club in Newport. GoLocal interviewed Whitehouse on Friday in Pawtucket and when asked if the private club had admitted any minorities since GoLocal first raised the issue in 2017, Whitehouse said, 'I think the people who are running the place are still working on that and I'm sorry it hasn't happened yet.' Both Whitehouse and his wife Sandra as well as their families have been members of the club for decades. Whitehouse did transfer his shares in the club to his wife years ago, and she is now one of the largest shareholders in the all-white club. The club's membership is a who's who Newport, Palm Beach, and New York wealth.... The interview took place on the eve of the new national holiday Juneteenth National Independence Day."

Lindsey Calls Equal Access to Ballot a "Power Grab." Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday that a sweeping Democratic-backed election reform bill was 'the biggest power grab in the history of the country.' 'In my view, S.R. 1 is the biggest power grab in the history of the country. It mandates ballot harvesting, no voter ID. It does away with the states being able to redistrict when you have population shifts. It's just a bad idea, and it's a problem that most Republicans are not going to sign -- they're trying to fix a problem most Republicans have a different view of,' Graham said on 'Fox News Sunday.'" MB: Lindsey is right: When you never had your fair share of the pie, then you take your fair share, technically you've "grabbed power." What Lindsey is saying he objects to is equality. And we knew that.

Tom Perriello, in a New York Times op-ed: "... the persistent efforts by conservative [U.S.] bishops to arbitrate who among the faithful receives communion, while failing to practice the confession and penance they demand of others, reinforces why the American bishops so often stand alone.... I was always struck by the U.S. bishops' myopic focus. But my experiences with them during my brief time in Congress shocked me. As a representative, I saw them cherry-pick theology to promote partisan ends, favoring a future Supreme Court over their congregations struggling to afford care. At a time when the Church could model moral accountability for its decades of criminality and corruption, they opt instead for the partisan agenda of their largest donors and the misogyny inherent in their structure.... I pray this week that the American bishops reflection Pope Francis's message that communion 'is not the reward of saints, but the bread of sinners.'"

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times publishes scenes from Juneteenth. (The photographs currently [10 pm ET Saturday] appear on the NYT front page, but the text does not.) ~~~

~~~ Here's One of Those Scenes to Enjoy. Sarah Al-Arshani of Business Insider, republished in Yahoo! News: "Sen. Ron Johnson was booed at an event celebrating Juneteenth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday, WDJT reported. A bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday unanimously passed in the Senate on Tuesday, but only made it through after Johnson, a Republican from Wisconsin ended his efforts to block it. Johnson said it would be too costly to give federal employees another day off, but conceded on Tuesday and said few of his colleagues wanted to debate the idea." MB: It takes chutzpah to show up for an event you tried to block. Add to that Johnson's "reason" for blocking the holiday: paying workers is too expensive. Isn't that what the slaveholders figured? Studies have found that when people get a day off, the work they would have done that day gets done at another time.

Leonard Pitts of the Miami Herald: "In her new book, 'The Second,' Emory University history professor Carol Anderson ... argues that the Second Amendment -- which supposedly came about solely as a hedge against tyranny -- had at its heart a much less noble concern: Southern states demanded the right to bear arms because they feared rebellions by enslaved Africans.... She makes a compelling case that, for all the noble rhetoric, [the Second Amendment] was created mainly to oppress. And that it is still working as designed." MB: Although Anderson's premise is not original, some reputable American historians disagree with her central principle.

New York Times Editors:"... the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, a bill championed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand..., is currently sitting in the Senate Armed Services Committee, whose chairman, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, is impeding its progress -- with an assist from the ranking Republican, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.... While sexual assault is the focus of the reform push, supporters of Ms. Gillibrand's proposal say that reforming the military justice system more broadly will make it fairer and less prone to bias -- and help address existing racial disparities in prosecutions and convictions. They warn that singling out sexual assault would establish a 'pink court,' effectively creating a two-tiered justice system and further stigmatizing victims." The bill has more than enough support to clear the filibuster, but so far it can't get past Reed & Inhofe.

Jon Swaine & Emma Brown of the Washington Post: Two organizations that were the major sources for the "Italygate" false conspiracy theory that Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows tried to sell to the Justice Department "are led by Michele Roosevelt Edwards, according to state corporate filings...." The registered HQ for one of the organizations is a 22-room mansion in Warrenton, Virginia, which Edwards claims to own. Not only does Edwards not own the house, she seems to have broken into it last year to appear in an Icelandic TV interview. Upon seeing some of the TV footage, the widow of the property's former owner exclaimed, "She's in my house. How is she in my house?" The story goes on to identify some of the other advocates for "Italygate," the theory that an the Italian defense contractor, with help from the CIA, "used military satellites to switch votes from Trump to Joe Biden and swing the result of the election." MB: The common thread that ties together most of these characters is that the truth is anathema to them; the corollary is that don't care at all when they get caught lying.

This Happens When You Don't Render Unto Caesar Every Time. Tal Axelrod of the Hill:"Former Vice President Mike Pence was heckled with calls of 'traitor' at a conservative conference Friday as he continues to draw criticism from members of the Republican base for his role in Congress's certification of President Biden's Electoral College victory. 'It is great to be back with so many patriots dedicated to faith and freedom and the road to the majority,' Pence said to applause at the Faith & Freedom Coalition summit before the heckling began. 'I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,' Pence continued, as the hecklers in the audience began to grow louder, yelling 'traitor.' Some of the hecklers were reportedly removed from the event as Pence went on with his speech." MB: Not very Christian of them, was it? I just don't think Jesus would heckle mikey for doing his Constitutional duty. (Also linked yesterday.)

Missouri. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "A Missouri man pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges that he had threatened to lynch a Black congressman the day after the Jan. 6 siege at the U.S. Capitol and a Jewish congressman in 2019, court records show. The man, Kenneth R. Hubert, 63, Marionville, Mo., was arrested in March after, prosecutors said, he had directed the threats at Representatives Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Steve Cohen of Tennessee, both Democrats." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Marie: I know I should have paid attention to the New York City mayoral election. The city, after all, has a larger population than do most U.S. states (and some countries), so it deserves at least as much attention as I give Nebraska and Kansas (close to none). One thing is certain: whoever wins the election, s/he will be a disappointment. I don't know why anyone would even run for "Most Disappointing Person in North America." So let us turn our attention to another NYC election which matters even less: ~~~

~~~ Jon Levine of the New York Post: "Jack Weiner, 26, a City Council candidate running in Manhattan, has found his campaign tied up after video of him enjoying a sadomasochism session found its way onto Twitter.... The footage -- flagged to The Post by Weiner's own campaign manager -- shows a gagged Weiner, unable to speak, subjecting himself to various abuses by a leather-bound woman who pours wax on him and clips his nipples with clothespins. The footage was filmed at Parthenon studio in Midtown -- which is known for its high-quality BDSM dungeons. In a call with The Post, Weiner confirmed it was him in the video.... Weiner has a professional background in film production and is the co-founder of Stag Pictures, an independent film production company. Zack's father, Eric Weiner, is a co-creator of the popular children's television show 'Dora The Explorer.'"

Texas. Cassandra Pollock of the Texas Tribune: "Gov. Greg Abbott followed through Friday on a threat to veto a section of the state budget that funds the Texas Legislature, its staffers and legislative agencies. The governor's move targeting lawmaker pay comes after House Democrats walked out in the final days of the regular legislative session, breaking quorum, to block passage of Senate Bill 7, Abbott's priority elections bill that would have overhauled voting rights in the state. The move also killed bail legislation that Abbott had earmarked as a priority."

Way Beyond

Iran. Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "Iran's announcement Saturday of a resounding election victory by Ebrahim Raisi, the ultraconservative judiciary chief, signaled a stunning consolidation of power, handing the elected leadership back to hard-liners and sidelining reformists who negotiated a nuclear deal with global powers and advocated greater engagement with the West. The victory by Raisi also showed the determination of Iran's conservative establishment, including its security and intelligence agencies, to eliminate any political challenge at a critical moment, analysts said." ~~~

~~~ Vivian Yee of the New York Times: "Iran's ultraconservative judiciary chief, Ebrahim Raisi, has been elected president after a vote that many Iranians skipped, seeing it as rigged in his favor. The Interior Ministry announced the final results on Saturday, saying Mr. Raisi had won with nearly 18 million of 28.9 million ballots cast in the voting a day earlier. Turnout was 48.8 percent -- a significant decline from the last presidential election, in 2017.... Mr. Raisi, 60, is a hard-line cleric favored by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and has been seen as his possible successor. He has a record of grave human rights abuses, including accusations of playing a role in the mass execution of political opponents in 1988, and is currently under United States sanctions. His background appears unlikely to hinder the renewed negotiations between the United States and Iran over restoring a 2015 agreement to limit Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs in exchange for lifting American economic sanctions. Mr. Raisi has said he will remain committed to the deal and do all he can to remove sanctions." An AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Juan Cole's "Informed Comment" on the election & its results is, not surprisingly, informative.

News Ledes

AP: "Eight children in a van from a youth home for abused or neglected children were killed in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on a wet interstate that also killed a man and his baby in another vehicle, the most devastating blow from a tropical depression that claimed 13 lives in Alabama as it caused flash floods and spurred tornadoes that destroyed dozens of homes. The crash happened Saturday about 35 miles (55 kilometers) south of Montgomery on Interstate 65 after vehicles likely hydroplaned on wet roads, said Butler County Coroner Wayne Garlock. The van, containing children ages 4 to 17, belonged to the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch, a youth home operated by the Alabama Sheriffs Association."

AP: "Bicyclist Tony Quinones ... [described an incident] in an Arizona mountain town when a truck sped into a crowd of bike riders. Suddenly, Quinones said in an interview Sunday, he was 'watching bodies going on top of the hood, bodies going to the left, bodies going to the right' about six minutes after the race had started. The sounds of breaking and smashing as the truck plowed through the cyclists on Saturday was quickly replaced by their groans of pain.... Authorities in the small city of Show Low said the unidentified 35-year-old male suspect fled the crash scene in the pickup and was shot and wounded by officers a short time later. Of the seven cyclists hospitalized, six were in critical condition, and one was in stable condition on Sunday, police said in a statement. The suspect, described as a local resident, was in stable condition, police said."

** Hill: "Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Mayor Dean Trantalis (D) said that an incident on Saturday in which a pickup truck ran into a crowd at a Pride parade, leaving one person dead, was a 'terrorist attack against the LGBT community.' A white pickup truck ran over two people, killing one, in Wilton Manors, Fla., just outside of Fort Lauderdale. The vehicle reportedly barely missed Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), who was riding in a convertible at the parade. 'This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,' Trantalis, who was in attendance at the parade, told local station WPLG. '... Hardly an accident. It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person. Luckily they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.'... WPLG reported that witnesses said the driver could be heard telling police that it was an accident, however. The man appeared to be wearing a Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus shirt." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I didn't link a story about this incident yesterday because reports are it was an accident. I still think it mostly likely was an accident. But the mayor's accusation is worth addressing. ~~~

~~~ AP Update: "A member of a men's chorus group unintentionally slammed into fellow chorists at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, killing one member of the group and seriously injuring another, the group's director said Sunday, correcting initial speculation that it was a hate crime directed at the gay community. Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Paul Rolli and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said the early investigation shows it was an accident. The 77-year-old driver was taken into custody, but police said no charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing."

CNN: "The Bidens announced Saturday that Champ, their 'beloved' German Shepherd who had been with their family since 2008, has died. Champ passed away at the Biden family home in Wilmington, Delaware, a White House official told CNN."

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FDA UNDER THE GUN:

I have been very interested in the controversy re: the new Alzheimer's drug that the FDA, according to many, has pushed out indiscriminately plus its cost is untenable. You may recall my frustration and fury re: that scam Prevegen product –-although not under a FDA purview since it markets as a supplement only. Since many of us here are in those "golden years" or have had experience with loved ones who had/have Alzheimers you may find this long piece informative.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fda-aduhelm-alzheimer-drug-price-should-worry_n_60c84f9ee4b02df18f7fed84

"You're going to get a whole bunch of ineffective, "me-too" drugs that aren't going to improve the lives of our patients."
Joseph Ross, Yale professor of Medicine & public health.

June 20, 2021 |

PD Pepe

Interesting bit about the new Alzheimers drug. Here is something from the EU and the European Medicines Agency: https://www.labiotech.eu/trends-news/biogen-aducanumab-alzheimers-approval/. It should be interesting to see what our European neighbors have to say. I often compare FDA and EFSA on food issues. P.S. I think it's great you're wading into this wonky stuff as it shows a mind at work. Cheers!

June 20, 2021 |

citizen625

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