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Friday, October 4, 2024

CNBC: “The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in September, pointing to a vital employment picture as the unemployment rate edged lower, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 for the month, up from a revised 159,000 in August and better than the 150,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage point.”

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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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Mar022013

The Commentariat -- March 3, 2013

The Atlantic: "In 1913, the first major national efforts [to secure women's suffrage] were undertaken, beginning with a massive parade in Washington, D.C., on March 3 -- one day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson. Organized by Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the parade, calling for a constitutional amendment, featured 8,000 marchers, including nine bands, four mounted brigades, 20 floats, and an allegorical performance near the Treasury Building.... Marchers were jostled and ridiculed by many in the crowd. Some were tripped, others assaulted. Policemen appeared to be either indifferent to the struggling paraders, or sympathetic to the mob. Before the day was out, one hundred marchers had been hospitalized." The linked page has terrific photos. ...

... Here's the Library of Congress page on the parade. ...

... Speaking of women's equality, Jill of Brilliant at Breakfast: "this week we've seen a great deal of hue and cry about Yahoo CEO Marissa Meyer, the new poster child for corporate assholery, and her demand that telecommuting employees show up at the office. What's bothersome is that this has become less a debate about the relative merits of telecommuting for employer and employee, and more a debate about child care and 'family-friendly' policies."

New York Times Editors: "A commemoration of the [Bloody Sunday] march  [March 7, 1965] is scheduled to begin Sunday in Selma, led by [Rep. John] Lewis and Vice President Joseph Biden Jr., and will end in Montgomery on Friday. Its urgent purpose is to underscore why the Supreme Court must uphold a central provision of the Voting Rights Act, which is now under challenge in Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder." ...

Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Friday that he was 'absolutely shocked' to hear Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia describe a key piece of the Voting Rights Act, one of the most significant achievements of the civil rights movement, as a 'perpetuation of racial entitlement' earlier this week." Clyburn is the third-ranking Democratic leader in the House. ...

... Chief Justice Roberts Gets It Wrong. Nina Totenberg of NPR: "At the voting rights argument in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Chief Justice JohnRoberts tore into Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, grilling him on his knowledge of voting statistics. The point the chief justice was trying to make was that Massachusetts, which is not covered by the preclearance section of the Voting Rights Act, has a far worse record in black voter registration and turnout than Mississippi, which is covered by Section 5 of the act. But a close look at census statistics indicates the chief justice was wrong, or at least that he did not look at the totality of the numbers.... Census officials say, and it is really not possible to compare states because those with relatively low minority populations have a much higher margin of error."

Scott Wilson & Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Obama ... is taking the most specific steps of his administration in an attempt to ensure the election of a Democratic ­controlled Congress in two years. 'What I can't do is force Congress to do the right thing,' Obama told reporters at the White House on Friday after a fruitless meeting with Republican leaders to avert the country's latest fiscal crisis, known as the sequester. 'The American people may have the capacity to do that.' Obama, fresh off his November reelection, began almost at once executing plans to win back the House in 2014, which he and his advisers believe will be crucial to the outcome of his second term and to his legacy as president."

The NRA Goes from Worse to Worst. Igor Volsky of Think Progress: "The National Rifle Association (NRA) is increasing its outreach to African Americans with a new campaign that links the Civil Rights struggle and nonviolent resistance to gun ownership, arguing that blacks need firearms to protect themselves from the government":

Ilya Shapiro of the libertarian Cato Institute: "... the Cato Institute has joined the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) on an amicus brief [in Hollingsworth v. Perry, now before the Supreme Court,] that focuses on supporting marriage equality under the Equal Protection Clause."

Maureen Dowd interviews Coim Toibin, an Irish writer who pontificates on the ex-pontiff, among other topics. CW: I don't think I've ever noticed before how choppy Dowd's writing is & what a terrible interviewer she is. But some of Toibin's remarks are worth reading & they touch on that sacrifice thing we discussed in the Comments section a few days ago. ...

... AND since it's Sunday & we're doing Roman Catholic stuff, let's here from Brother Douthat, the New York Times' emissary to the Vatican (sorry, MoDo; despite your seniority, that's a job not open to girls), who says that Joe Ratzinger "stabilized" the Church while he had the top job. ...

... WAIT, WAIT, There's More -- most via Steve Benen's "This Week in God":

Tim Murphy of Mother Jones: "In 1859, the Italian village of Isola found itself under attack. Two dozen soldiers occupied the village and ... set about torching, raping, and generally terrorizing. Then [Gabriel Possenti,] a twentysomething student at a nearby Catholic seminary, pulled out two knockoff Colt Navy Model .36 caliber revolvers and ended the hostilities ... by sizing up a lizard 20 paces away and blasting it to bits. The invaders fled. At least, that's how John Snyder tells it. Snyder, 73, is the founder of the Saint Gabriel Possenti Society, an organization dedicated to getting Possenti, who was canonized in 1920, officially certified as the 'patron saint of handgunners.' Wednesday is St. Gabriel Possenti Day -- an annual event that this year coincides with the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on assault weapons. The problem, according to Catholic authorities: ... the entire incident never even happened." ...

... Mark Oppenheimer of the New York Times: "... in 2007, Texas passed a law requiring school districts to pay attention in their curriculums to religious literature, including the Bible, and its 'impact on the history and literature of Western Civilization.' ... Since 2006, public schools in four other states -- Arizona, Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee -- have passed laws similar to the one in Texas, and North Carolina is considering such a bill." Many schools have ministers teaching their, um, Bible literature & history classes. Surprise! There's proselytising going on there. CW: Most of the "teaching" would be unconstitutional, of course -- if we had a different Supreme Court.

... MEANWHILE, in EvangelicalLand, friend-of-Pat-Robertson-&-Jack-Abramoff Ralph Reed is upset that Congress is helping to foot the bill for repairs to the earthquake-damaged National Cathedral. Reed's problem? Oh, noes. The National Cathedral performs same-sex marriages! Rob Boston of Wall of Separation: "There is one thing that could have stopped taxpayer aid from propping up the National Cathedral -- the separation of church and state. Reed has spent nearly his entire professional life laboring to undermine that principle. Thanks in part to his nefarious schemes, tax money is now flowing to a church that has policies with which he disapproves." ...

... When Woolite Won't Do. Reed's old friend Pat Robertson has advice for how you can get rid of any demons that have attached themselves to the sweaters you bought at the GoodWill.

Congressional Race

Josh Israel of Think Progress: "Massachusetts State Rep. Dan Winslow (R), one of three candidates for his party's nomination in the upcoming special election to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's Senate seat, won a GOP straw poll Saturday.... After giving his speech to the party faithfuls, Wilson tried to disassociate himself from the event's location, the Danversport Yacht Club.... 'They gave us three minutes to speak today; three minutes is longer than I ever wanted to spend in a yacht club,' Winslow said.... [Never mind that] he served on the board of directors for the Pamet Harbor Yacht & Tennis Club. Both Danversport and Pamet Harbor could well benefit from HD1965, Winslow's proposed bill to repeal the sales tax on the sale of boats built or rebuilt in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Joseph Frank, whose magisterial, five-volume life of Fyodor Dostoevsky was frequently cited among the greatest of 20th-century literary biographies, alongside Richard Ellmann's of James Joyce, Walter Jackson Bates's of John Keats and Leon Edel's of Henry James, died on Wednesday in Palo Alto, Calif. He was 94 and lived in Palo Alto."

AP: "A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection. There's no guarantee the child will remain healthy, although sophisticated testing uncovered just traces of the virus' genetic material still lingering. If so, it would mark only the world's second reported cure."

AP: "U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday rewarded Egypt for President Mohammed Morsi's pledges of political and economic reforms by releasing $250 million in American aid to support the country's 'future as a democracy.' Yet Kerry also served notice that the Obama administration will keep close watch on how Morsi, who came to power in June as Egypt's first freely elected president, honors his commitment and that additional U.S. assistance would depend on it."

Guardian: Britain Queen Elizabeth "has been taken to hospital for the first time in 10 years after symptoms of gastroenteritis led her to cancel a visit to Rome this week. She is expected to remain in the King Edward VII hospital, central London, for assessment after being admitted on Sunday afternoon."

Washington Post: "Well-known political opposition figures stayed away from meetings with visiting Secretary of State John F. Kerry on Saturday.... Kerry encouraged Egypt's Islamist-led government to take politically difficult economic steps that are crucial to securing international loans and outside investment. President Mohamed Morsi, whom Kerry will see Sunday, has been unable to marshal support for such economic measures. His opponents accuse him of reneging on pledges of political and religious openness." ...

... Washington Post: 'Concerned about Egypt's political instability and the U.S. budget crunch, a growing number of American lawmakers are challenging the wisdom of providing $1.3 billion a year in military aid to Cairo, arguing that the policy is overdue for a wholesale review. Lawmakers say that Washington's largess, which includes large fleets of M1A1 tanks and F-16 fighter jets, could backfire, given the unpredictability of Egypt’s Islamist-led government and its fraught relationship with Israel." CW: leading the "concerned lawmakers" is Jim Inhofe, while John McCain "has taken a more moderate view," so I'd view their "concerns" with some skepticism. ...

... AP: "Egypt's ousted President Hosni Mubarak will face a new trial beginning April 13 on charges related to the killings of protesters during the uprising against him, a court ruled Sunday. Mubarak and his former interior minister were sentenced to life in prison in June for failing to prevent the killing of protesters during the 18-day revolution in 2011 that ended his 29-year rule. In January, an appeals court overturned the sentences and ordered a retrial."

New York Times: "The Las Vegas Sands Corporation, an international gambling empire controlled by the billionaire Sheldon G. Adelson, has informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it likely violated a federal law against bribing foreign officials." CW: gee, I wonder if Willard, the Newt, et al., will return the millions in filthy lucre they got from Sheldon. Imagine the kind of uproar we'd be hearing if Sheldon had contributed to Democrats.

New York Times: "Chad's military said Saturday that its soldiers in Mali had killed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the mastermind of the January seizure of an Algerian gas plant that left at least 37 foreign hostages dead."

AP: "A privately owned Dragon capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering a ton of supplies with high-flying finesse after a shaky start to the mission. The Dragon's arrival was one day late...."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (9)

Re: Leapin' Lizards; that was Jim Morrison you nearly blasted with your 45! I like Louie the Lizard, I take them away from Squeekie the Kitty when she catches them in the backyard. Lots of times Louie makes a break for it by giving up his tail and Squeek ends up with nothing but scale tail.
Ms. Dowd is nudge, nudge; wink, wink us, right? The small "p" pope has to share his boy toy with the big "P' Pope? How's that going to work out? Geogie, be home early tonight...yea, sure little "p".
I'm going to drink some holy water with just a splash of Irish whiskey or maybe the other way around.

March 2, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJJG

Well, I guess Hitler "stabilized" Germany that is until he decided to invade Russia. Maybe Ratzinger's time in the HitlerJugend was well spent.

I'll leave it to the Catholic commenters here to weigh in further on Brother Douthat's column.

March 2, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

How about a very former Catholic, Barbarossa?

Before loading Reality Chex, just sent this to the NYTimes on Douthat's column:

""Stabilization" sounds much like "pacification" when I think about it.

Rooting out the heretics and building walls around the village we say we saved. The Church's problems, much like the anti-communist Vietnam it had a large hand in destroying, are the common problems that stem from the Right's penchant for denial, an inability or unwillingness to recognize historical trends and adjust to them.

One of those trends, often given lip-service by the Right, is democracy. The hierarchical, male-dominated, RCC, though, is antithetical to democracy both institutionally and intellectually, and that is one reason it will eventually die.

To say the Church is open to inquiry, science and honest intellection is just not true. Its core beliefs are faith-, not inquiry-based; and while cracking open the door to the language of science, at base it is fundamentally anti-scientific.

Nothing the now-former pope did changed any of this. That is why Ratzinger may have "stabilized" some aspects of the RCC during his tenure, but his legacy is little more than a Potemkin village that will not stand the tests of close observation or of time."

March 2, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

The PBS fans on this site got me watching Downton Abbey (thank you)—but today, another friend just sent me this link to a marvelous bit of satire from the New Yorker—a preview of next season, perhaps!!

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/shouts/2013/02/a-working-draft-for-the-first-episode-of-downton-abbey-season-4.html?intcid=obnetwork

March 3, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

There's some hope for us when a 19 year old student from Rice U., Zack Kopplin, takes on Bobby Jindal's teaching of creationism law in public schools especially those in the voucher system. He has since waged a national campaign in defense of science education and has gotten the backing of a slew of scientists. He was a guest on Bill Moyers' program.

My father, a lapsed Catholic, was chummy with quite a few of the priests in our town because they were patients of his. I learned by eavesdropping that one of the priests had a lover who masqueraded as his housekeeper; another priest was an alcoholic who prided himself on being able to conduct Mass drunk without once spilling the wine. My father never talked about why he no longer went to church except that he said he had had enough of all that–– whatever all that meant I never knew. Yet he continued to pay his pew dues and on his death a priest gave him the late rites. Many years later my husband and I visited the small town in Wisconsin where my father had grown up and where the family burial plot was located. When we entered the church I was shocked to discover that two, very large, beautiful stained glass windows had been donated by William and Mary Doyle, my father's parents. These were not wealthy people and for them to have saved the money for these windows told me why my father had left the Church. I only wish he and I could have had a conversation about his discovery once he left for the wider world that all he had been taught was full of myth and mirrors not to mention all that smoke. Maybe he knew that early on and was afraid to disappoint his parents. I'll never know.

March 3, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@MAG: thanks for the link, but I'm sorry you've let us in on the next episode. It won't be as much fun to watch now.

There will have to change the storyline, tho, as I read that the actor who plays O'Brien has quit & she's to be written out, too. But substitute Anna for O'Brien (both types of potato dishes, so it should work) & all's well that ends well. In a manner of speaking.

Marie

P.S. Plus, I definitely think we should have learned in an epilogue that Lord Crawley's distant cousin Creepy, as the boys at Eton called him, had inherited the estate. mmb

March 3, 2013 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@P.D.Pepe. As usual, I appreciate your family retrospectives. I hope your father was not actually disappointed by your grandparents' gift to the church. I should look at the windows as a memorial to your grandparents & one that many more will see & enjoy than will see a fancy headstone in a cemetery.

Church art is an acquired taste, I guess. It took me a while to figure out why my husband was always dragging me to cathedrals & churches in Europe since he is no more religious than I am. It gradually dawned on me that those churches are full of beautiful stuff -- and the churches & cathedrals themselves are works of art, too. I learned to look past the superstition that inspired most of them & was able to appreciate the expertise & devotion that went into them.

I can understand why modern artists eschew the sentimentality of church art & bucolic scenery & seascapes, etc., but that doesn't diminish my appreciation for the windows at Chartres.

Marie

March 3, 2013 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

@Marie: I have no idea how my father felt about the windows since he never mentioned them, therefore, as I said, it was a shock to discover them. But I imagine he must have been proud as I'm sure his five sisters, one of them a nun, surely were. I love the religious treasures and am in awe of the great cathedrals and art work. I am reminded of an interview by NYT's Deborah Solomon (who for my money asks some pretty dumb questions) when interviewing the atheist philosopher and author, Daniel Dennett: At the end of her interview she said, "I take it you are not a churchgoer." He said, "Not really. Sometimes I go to church for the music." (Here I thought how I loved to sing all those hymns only because I love to sing.) But then she said, "Yes, the church gave us Bach, in addition to some fairly spectacular architecture and painting," and Dennett replies, "Churches have given us great treasures. Whether that pays for the harm they have done is another matter." And I guess it comes down to that doesn't it? Yet––as an old Italian once told me, "Missy, you gonna take the good with the bad!" So be it with or without the singing of hymns.

March 3, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

Her Ladyship Romney in the interview with Chris Wallace:

"I mourn the fact that he’s not [in the White House]," said Ann, who admitted that she still sometimes cries about the loss. "You know, the great Princess Bride line, 'mostly dead?' I’m mostly over it, but not completely. . You have moments where you, you know, go back and feel the sorrow of the loss. And so, yes, I think we’re not mostly dead yet."

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/03/romney-still-wishes-he-lived-in-the-white-house.html

I was flabbergasted that her reference would be to the film: Princess Bride! It's that old thinking 'we're royalty.'..huh? Letting go is so hard to do, mostly! (sob)

March 3, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMAG
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