REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - The Commentariat -- June 3, 2012

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Tuesday, October 1, 2024

Washington Post: “ John Amos, a running back turned actor who appeared in scores of TV shows — including groundbreaking 1970s programs such as the sitcom 'Good Times' and the epic miniseries 'Roots' — and risked his career to protest demeaning portrayals of Black characters, died Aug. 21 in Los Angeles. He was 84.”

New York Times: “Pete Rose, one of baseball’s greatest players and most confounding characters, who earned glory as the game’s hit king and shame as a gambler and dissembler, died on Monday. He was 83.”

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Public Service Announcement

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."

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."

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.”

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The Commentariat -- June 3, 2012

My column in today's New York Times eXaminer is a three-fer -- Dowd, Friedman AND Douthat. The NYTX front page is here.

Here's the first segment of ABC News' "This Week":

... George Stephanopoulos: "This morning on 'This Week,' New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called Rep. Paul Ryan’s proposed budget plan a 'fraud' as Romney campaign senior advisor Eric Fehrnstrom confirmed his candidate's support for the plan that would trim trillions in federal spending over the next decade."

Michael Linden in Think Progress: "Even with [Friday]'s disappointing and troubling jobs report, private sector job creation under President Obama has far exceeded private sector job creation under President Bush.... But there is one area of job creation where President Bush clearly outshines President Obama: the public sector":

... Floyd Norris of the New York Times: "... the outlook [for economic recovery -- anywhere] is far darker than it seemed to be only a couple of months ago." ...

... Déjà vu All Over Again. Here in the U.S., that might be because we're smack dab in the middle of repeating the mistake of 1937 -- reduced government spending. Krugman has a chart. ...

... Steve Weissman & Frank Browning in Salon: in Europe, Krugman is a rock star.

Tim Arango & Clifford Krauss of the New York Times: "Despite sectarian bombings and political gridlock, Iraq's crude oil production is soaring, providing a singular bright spot for the nation's future and relief for global oil markets as the West tightens sanctions on Iranian exports. The increased flow and vital port improvements have produced a 20 percent jump in exports this year to nearly 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, making Iraq one of the premier producers in OPEC for the first time in decades."

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "The American nuns who were harshly condemned by the Vatican in April as failing to uphold Catholic doctrine finally responded on Friday in their own strong terms, saying the Vatican's assessment was based on 'unsubstantiated accusations' and a 'flawed process,' and has caused scandal, pain and polarization in the Roman Catholic Church."

Frank Bruni has a pretty good post on the viral video I'm just not going to embed. (Bruni has it.) I've read elsewhere that people have recommended that the parents of the toddler singing the hate hymn should be arrested for child abuse; I don't really disagree with that. Or maybe the whole damned congregation can be sent to one of those re-education camps Michele Bachmann claims Obama has planned.

Ed O'Keefe of the Washington Post: A Congressional primary "in northern New Jersey, between Rep. Steven R. Rothman and Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. has exposed old wounds in the Democratic Party dating to the bitter 2008 primary contest between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Obama is backing Rothman, while Bill Clinton is supporting Pascrell. Their reasons are simple: Rothman endorsed Obama in the 2008 primary, and Pascrell endorsed the former first lady."

Presidential Race

Maureen Dowd seems to think President Obama is diddling around in the White House trying to "find himself." CW: I think that's nonsense, but some people like this stuff. Besides, no use looking for Romney. There's no there there. ...

... For another superficial look at the candidates, Mark Leibovich of the New York Times finds that Willard & Barack have a lot in common: they like chicken & Star Trek. CW: how is it possible that two people who like chicken & Star Trek can disagree on policy? I guess we'll have to wait till next week for that insiight.

An Inconvenient Comparison. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "On Thursday, Mitt Romney campaigned at the headquarters of Solyndra -- the first renewable energy company to receive a federal loan under the stimulus — and reiterated his debunked claims that its bankruptcy symbolized the corruption and cronyism of the Obama administration. But just one day later, a solar panel developer 'that landed a state loan from Mitt Romney when he was Massachusetts governor' went belly up, the Boston Herald reports, creating an inconvenient storyline for the GOP presidential nominee.... Konarka is the second Massachusetts solar company ... to receive taxpayer dollars under Romney's tenure and subsequently declare bankruptcy." The Boston Herald story is here & comes down hard on Romney, noting near the top of the story that "Romney personally doled out a $1.5 million renewable energy subsidy" to the failed company.

Local News

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "While the [Wisconsin] candidates were on the trail, their campaign organizations were maneuvering armies of volunteers to man phone banks and fan out across neighborhoods. With few if any undecided voters remaining, Democrats and Republicans are relying on turnout operations to get their voters to the polls and decide races for governor, lieutenant governor and four state Senate seats."

Dara Kam of the Palm Beach Post: "Florida elections supervisors said Friday they will discontinue a state-directed effort to remove names from county voter rolls because they believe the state data is flawed and because the U.S. Department of Justice has said the process violates federal voting laws."

News Ledes

Celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee continued with a Thames River flotilla:

... There's more footage from the BBC here.

Orlando Sentinel: "George Zimmerman returned to the Seminole County jail today. He will remain without bond until a judge decides whether he should be free before his second-degree murder trial."

Reuters: "Egyptian pro-democracy campaigners called for a new uprising on Sunday, enraged that a court had spared former leader Hosni Mubarak his life over the killing of protesters during the street revolt that ended his three-decade rule. In the first judicial reckoning of a leader toppled in last year's Arab spring uprisings, Mubarak was handed a life prison sentence. His sons were found innocent of corruption charges and senior policemen were acquitted.Thousands took to the streets for protests that went on through the night in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in other cities...."

AFP: "Police in China beat and detained political activists marking the 23rd anniversary of the brutal crackdown on the Tiananmen Square democracy protests on Sunday, rights campaigners said. Officers used violence against activists in the southeast province of Fujian and detained them, while more than 30 people who came to Beijing "to petition" were held and forced to return to their home province, the activists reported."

AP: "Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday that his country is facing a 'real war,' warning that he will not be lenient with the terrorists he says are behind the country's uprising."

AP: "Vice President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley married a Pennsylvania doctor [Howard Krein] at a ceremony in Delaware, the vice president's office announced late Saturday."

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Natterly, natterly. How MoDo carries on. She truly has missed the point. Yeah, Barry is a wuss and somewhat OCD. He is also decent, respectful, bright and able to learn. AND--he will appoint perhaps 3 Supremes in his next term.

Think about who Mitt RawMoney would put on the Court--a coupla more Scalias, Alitos, Roberts and Thomases. Gag me with a spoon! And if that is not enough, he would repeal the Affordable Health Care Act and give more power back to the greedy Insurance fellas. Please don't arc a bean, but he has said he would appoint JOHN BOLTON (probly) as Secretary of State. Gimme a break. There really is no choice here. Obama is flawed and still somewhat immature, I agree. But he will make excellent appointments to the Supremes--albeit not as progressive as many of us would wish. And he will not take orders from Israel to invade Iran. With Romney--it is a done deal.

If you are not yet scared of Romney, here is reason to be:

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/05/is-the-constitution-mormon.html

June 3, 2012 |

Kate Madison

Atta girl, Maureen, write another snarky column depicting Obama as some kind of lost soul searching, searching, arms outstretched like Judy Garland in "A Star is Born" who climbs to the top only to find it pretty darn lonely and difficult. And then, of course, we have the usual diverse comments: "He's (Obama) an empty suit," "Nah, he isn't!" etcetera, etcetera. And what's with bringing in Clinton and Rendell, both screwed up their own runs a bit, but now speak out against Obama at this time hurting, I would think, the democratic party just a tad. I mean, Maureen, what did you think you were accomplishing here? Have we ever––ever! had a president that wasn't roasted over the coals? No. So to play this game of dissecting Obama as though we know his inner ins and outs at this stage in his presidency is silly. Let's talk about what he has accomplished, what he's been up against, what we think about the drone attacks, for instance. How does he stack up against Romney––some contrast and compare would be fun to do, wouldn't it? But if you don't want to go there, how about talking about character––that would be something you could do pretty well, since you've discovered your church of popes and priests appear to be lacking thereof. So far this president has displayed what I would call fine character, something also lacking in many of his predecessors. But, hey, your column got a lot of folks in a tizzy; in this country we love to worship gods and heroes, and sadly they always let us down. Such high expectations, such low turnouts, like so many human endeavors.

June 3, 2012 |

PD Pepe

And since it's Sunday, a little something from another Constant Weader––:

Vita Sackville-West on the subject of the herbaceous peony.( I remembered this as I was sweeping up the velvet petals on the floor from my own peonies this morning)

Larger than any rose, it has something of the cabbage rose’s voluminous quality; and when it finally sheds its vast petticoats with a bump on the table, all in an intact heap, much as a rose will suddenly fall, making us look up from our book or conversation, to notice for one moment the death of what had still appeared to be a living beauty.

June 3, 2012 |

PD Pepe

PD Pepe: I was considering writing a comment of my own about Dowd's little hit piece, but you said it so well. I would add, Dowd's column was pretty typical of her "snarky" - to use your apt term - pieces on the President. She evidently decides to focus on the negatives, or what she perceives as negatives, and culls writings of others for eye-popping tid-bits. Even the very title is overblown and sensational: "Dreaming of a Superhero" - and too clever by half. Dowd especially goes for the pop-psychology angle. This is the easy way to get readers to click on a column, in fact, it is almost tabloid in approach. Instead of doing any research or analysis into the sum and context of the President's actions or comparing him to is opponent, she just strings together some juicy comments to paint a vague picture of someone stumbling around in the dark. I have no idea what Dowd's motives are, but I suspect nothing more complicated than the cynical desire to rise to the top of the Times' "Most Popular" list.
To borrow a page from Maureen, very junior high.

June 3, 2012 |

Victoria D.

It seems that Dowd has arrived at a point in her career where she too often substitutes flip glibness sauteed in what Victoria refers to, quite rightly, as high school level pop psychology. I think I've complained to Marie several times in the past that this propensity on MoDo's part for a quicky "gotcha" is evidence of a diminuendo in the seriousness that should attend such a lofty perch offered by the NYT opinion pages. This abrogation has led to serial derogation. She should spend less time schmoozing and more time considering how she might best serve her readers. It's okay to be a smart ass if this is in service of a higher goal (nod to Taibbi, Maher, Colbert, et al), but if it's just to be the coolest smartass in the class, then there really IS no point other than self-aggrandizement.

Grow up Maureen. We're in the middle of a FUCKING FIGHT FOR THE LIFE OF THE COUNTRY. Scoring points is way, way down the damned list of what's important. Save that shit for cocktail parties.

June 3, 2012 |

akhilleus

Oh my god, I just noticed that Marie has posted the Monty World Forum clip.

Can you imagine Karl Rove giving the answer to the winner of the European song contest in 1959?

"Sing Little Birdie?"

That would be even funnier than Mao Tse Tung.

June 3, 2012 |

akhilleus

Sorry. In my rush I forgot to finish my first sentence. Serves me right for not editing my own post before shoving it out of the cyberspace nest.

I meant to say something along the lines of...

It seems that Dowd has arrived at a point in her career where she too often substitutes flip glibness sauteed in what Victoria refers to, quite rightly, as high school level pop psychology for a sober, thoughtful, deliberate examination of the president's understanding of and approach to the vicissitudes of the previous three years.

I don't suggest that she can't have fun with it (vide: those commentators mentioned, ibid), merely that she replace snark with substance.

June 3, 2012 |

akhilleus

Yes, Akilleus, I can indeed imagine Karl Rove giving that answer since, as we all know, Karl is loaded with trivia up to his glass-covered eyes. He would probably even be able to sing it or swing to it as he did at that occasion at a White House fun fest where he did a little wiggle and wobble. And since his pet name from Bush was Turdblossom, I once again quote Vita Sackville West: ...[the blossom] will suddenly fall, making us look up from our book or conversation, to notice for one moment the death of what had still appeared to be a living [body]. We so hope.

June 3, 2012 |

PD Pepe

Re: Ms Dowd; she's a gossip columnist, don't look in the shallow end of the pool for deep thoughts.
Re: Marie's NYTE column. Jez, Marie, call a guy "Ernest" and of course he's going to spend the rest of his life killing off endangered species to compensate. Manly men doing manly things; the American way.

June 3, 2012 |

JJG

The problem, of course--MoDo's snarkiness aside--is that she's essentially correct. Obama, at heart, is basically a twit.

June 3, 2012 |

James Singer

The other shoe: He is no way worth the time, money, effort we spent to get him elected. And now we're in the uncomfortable position of having to support the twit lest we elect a closet fascist.

June 3, 2012 |

James Singer

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