The Ledes

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Weather Channel: “Tropical Storm Milton, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, is expected to become a hurricane late Sunday or early Monday. The storm is expected to pose a major hurricane threat to Florida by midweek, just over a week after Helene pushed through the region. The National Hurricane Center says that 'there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday.'”

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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 -- Sept. 8, 2013

David Cloud of the Los Angeles Times: " The Pentagon is preparing for a longer bombardment of Syria than it originally had planned, with a heavy barrage of missile strikes followed soon after by more attacks on targets that the opening salvos missed or failed to destroy, officials said. The planning for intense attacks over a three-day period reflects the growing belief in the White House and the Pentagon that the United States needs more firepower to inflict even minimal damage on Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, which have been widely dispersed over the last two weeks, the officials said." ...

... Jennifer Epstein of Politico: "President Obama will sit for interviews Monday with six TV networks as he makes his case to the nation for military intervention in Syria." ...

     ... President Obama won't be convincing Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.). ...

... Mike Allen & Jennifer Epstein of Politico: "Retired Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, former CIA director under President Barack Obama, called strongly Saturday for Congress to back the White House on Syria, declaring that military action against the regime is 'necessary' to deter 'Iran, North Korea and other would-be aggressors.'" ...

... ** Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The European Union called Saturday for a 'clear and strong' international response to what it said was 'strong evidence' that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government was responsible for a massive chemical weapons attack two weeks ago near Damascus. But the E.U. statement stopped far short of endorsing a U.S. military strike -- something that U.S. officials acknowledged many of the organization's 28 members do not support. E.U. foreign ministers, after listening to Secretary of State John F. Kerry explain the U.S. position on punishing Syria with a limited strike, also indicated that no action should take place until U.N. chemical weapons inspectors release their report at least two weeks from now. A similar delay was advocated Friday by French President François Hollande, whose government had said until last week that it was 'ready' to participate in a U.S.-led military strike against Syria." ...

... Nicholas Kristof: "So while neither intervention nor paralysis is appealing, that's pretty much the menu. That's why I favor a limited cruise missile strike against Syrian military targets (as well as the arming of moderate rebels). As I see it, there are several benefits: Such a strike may well deter Syria's army from using chemical weapons again, probably can degrade the ability of the army to use chemical munitions and bomb civilian areas, can reinforce the global norm against chemical weapons, and -- a more remote prospect -- may slightly increase the pressure on the Assad regime to work out a peace deal." ...

... CW: The New York Times posts this "news analysis" by Sam Tanenhaus on its front page. Tanenhaus claims that "the presidency itself has ceded much of its power and authority to Congress." I'm not an historian, but I think that's bull. "Strong" presidents were strong because their own party controlled Congress or because they concentrated on foreign affairs where the Constitution grants the executive more power. FDR, perhaps the country's most effective president, had both. Tanehaus seems to be of the impression that Reagan was a super-president. Well, no. He made deep concessions to the Democratic Congress, & has often been noted, he could not even be nominated by the Republican base today, even if he did pander shamelessly to the racist element (as indeed he did). If you know better, I welcome your comments. ...

     ... Andrew Rudalevige, a political scientist who teachers a "presidency course," writes in the Monkey Cage, "The idea that presidents have 'ceded' power and authority to Congress? Surely most of it was Congress's to begin with. Especially since the examples given in the paper -- Newt Gingrich's House, George W. Bush's failure to win passage of his proposals for immigration or Social Security reform -- are examples of legislators making legislative choices. Congress is, um, the legislative branch. It certainly is under no obligation to enact presidential requests into law. Indeed, it has a variety of powers even in national security areas." And so on.

... AND Maureen Dowd is into her usual pop psychoanalysis of "Barry." Seems he has a split personality & that's what is making him cede the presidency to Congressional teabaggers. ...

... PLUS, Ross Douthat piles on: "It is to President Obama's great discredit that he has staked this credibility on a vote whose outcome he failed to game out in advance."

Joseph Menn of Reuters: "Internet security experts are calling for a campaign to rewrite Web security in the wake of disclosures that the U.S. National Security Agency has developed the capability to break encryption protecting millions of sites.... Leading technologists said they felt betrayed that the NSA, which has contributed to some important security standards, was trying to ensure they stayed weak enough that the agency could break them." ...

... Al Jazeera has a useful timeline of the publications of Ed Snowden's leaks.

New York Times Editors: "The Justice Department filed a brief last month in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington against two towns for failing to provide adequate legal assistance for poor defendants. The department's filing ... did not take a position on the merits of the plaintiffs' claim, but it starkly described what Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. has called the 'state of crisis.' in public defender systems nationwide.... Fifty years after the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant a lawyer, the right to effective counsel remains an empty promise in too many parts of the country. The Justice Department's filing in the Washington lawsuit is an encouraging sign that the federal government is beginning to back up that promise with the weight of its authority."

Dana Milbank, no doubt after extensive research, finds an heroic Republican -- Rep. Adam Kinzinger from Illinois. Kinzinger, among other attributes, is not afraid to call out Ted Cruz for his cheap shots at the President.

Senatorial Race

Contributor P. D. Pepe links to this New Republic essay by Noam Scheiber: "Outside the context of a local politician struggling to fund his agenda, [Newark Mayor & U.S. Senate candidate Cory] Booker's worldview -- the mild suspicion of government initiative, the trivialization of paying taxes as a way to bring about change, the sanctification of corporate do-gooding -- is a few ticks to the right of a Clinton-era New Democrat. Really more like enlightened Paul Ryan-ism. There are definitely worse philosophies. But it's not exactly progressive." CW: contributor Diane's comment on Booker, in yesterday's thread, which inspired Pepe's link, is IMHO, exactly right. And it agrees perfectly with Scheiber's extended observations.

Local News

Chris Smith interviews NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg for New York magazine. The bit other news outlets are picking up: Bloomberg says leading mayoral candidate Bill De Blasio is running a "class-warfare and racist" campaign. ...

... Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed: "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg set off a firestorm Saturday when he called mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio's campaign 'racist' in a New York Magazine interview. Bloomberg made the case that de Blasio's campaign was 'racist' for using his family to gain support in the black community equating it to him pointing out that he was Jewish to attract the Jewish vote. In previous mayoral campaigns that's exactly what Bloomberg did." Kaczyski lists some examples of Bloomberg's going Hebrew even though he is, according to Kaczynski, "not observant." Via Steve M., who has more.

News Ledes

USA Today: "The man who has become the face of the NAACP ... is resigning effective Dec. 31. In an interview with USA Today, Benjamin Todd Jealous said the constant travel as president and CEO of the nation's largest civil rights organization has kept him away too much from his wife, civil rights lawyer Lia Epperson, and children.... He said he plans to make a formal announcement to his staff Monday morning."

AFP: "Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle on Sunday announced a new technical problem with one of its Boeing 787 'Dreamliners', as the plane was grounded due to a flaw in its electrical system."

Los Angeles Times: "After years of largely bad news, crowds in Tokyo roared in excitement as they watched the announcement, streamed live here, that their city has been selected as the host of the 2020 Summer Olympics."

Comments Off

Reader Comments (14)

I am not a historian by a long shot. However, this is total hogwash, from Tanenhaus "In personal terms, there is Mr. Obama’s inability to charm adversaries as Ronald Reagan did." Such a statement ignores the obvious fact of Obama's race, the population's changing demographics, emerging global powers and constant universally accessible information. Although there is less than 30 years between Obama and Reagan, it reads more like a century in terms of major change.

I sincerely doubt that Reagan had many original thoughts. I believe he was fed not only speeches but policy. He was a product of his 3rd tier monkey movies and the totally ridiculous Ozzie and Harriet post war ideal, specifically a white ideal. Reagan was adept at keeping people of color and the poor out of the conversation. He made sure their voices had a negative value (welfare queens and their Cadillacs).

In brief, he had minimal critical thinking skills to begin with then he just got plain addled. From the beginning he was a manufactured store dummy for popular consumption. Once in awhile he roused and decided to reenact some bad scene from a war movie -i.e Iran Contra, taking a stand for God and country or something. Reagan's legacy is nothing if not the antecedent to the current Republican racist, anti-intelligence and misogynist platforms.

Obviously, my hair is on fire when I read gopher slobber like the above Tanenhaus quote. It is amazing how a half wit with too much Brylcreem and a resume of really embarrassing movies is still fooling so many people.

September 7, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterDiane

@Diane-

I find it amazing that Ron Reagan, Jr. is a progressive Democrat, unafraid to put himself "out there" in support of progressive players and programs! How did this happen?

I can only guess that Ron, Jr. (as well as his sister, Patti) sensed the hypocrisy of his parents' lives and values, and the same with their "friends" and political allies--hello, Ed Meese! He is obviously a bright and sensitive man who decided to take the "road less traveled" in his family of origin. On this, I can relate to him.

Interestingly, Ronald Reagan, Sr. had an adopted son, Michael, who has turned out to be a Tea Party type--bigoted, small minded and sometimes just plain mean. How could it be that his biological son and daughter rejected his political values, while his (apparently, so I have read) neglected adopted son has adopted them big time? I have some theories, but they are psychological and would probably turn off the readers of Reality Chex.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison

Kate––please, go ahead. Given the flavor of our R.C. gang I think your theories would be right up our alleys.

I do remember Ron Jr. revealing that he could have a perfectly chummy conversation with "dad" but feel that when the conversation ended somehow the closeness was ephemeral––he had the distinct feeling of it being "not real."

My own take on the children and it may concur with yours, is that Patti and Ron were privy to the actual family dynamics and once they reached the age of reason reacted strongly to all that "stuff" while Michael, always feeling like the left shoe has taken the Right's position––if you can't have father's love and attention you can at least embrace his mindset.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

There is a film, "Gideon's Trumpet" starring Henry Fonda, based on Anthony Lewis' book of the same title and tells the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, a penniless drifter, convicted without a lawyer for breaking into a vending machine.He wrote a letter by hand to the Supreme Court (at the time the wonderful Warren Court) explaining that he thought he was entitled to a lawyer. The Court treated it as a formal petition for review, granted it and appointed a lawyer, none other than Abe Fortas, to represent Gideon and Gideon v. Wainwright, (1963). The Court ruled in Gideon's favor and the case became a landmark: It guaranteed the right to a lawyer paid for by the state to all indigent defendants in serious criminal trials.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

I shudder to think what it would have been like if the Reagan cabal had controlled Congress. As it was, St Ronald of Reagan was just an empty Oxxford suit trotted out to snooker us with a prepared script once in awhile. He had the majority fooled, too. We didn't see the corruption that Akhelius has covered in detail, and corruption it was. Ronnie sold his soul to GE and the corporations. He lost me with El Salvador and the ridiculous story about commies coming up to get us. Murder, rape, and pillage was the order of the day for the Contras and that scum Ollie North. I knew a former Army sergeant who was in Central America at the time. In his opinion, there was no way a lieutenant colonel like North could have controlled supplying the Contras on his own. Higher ups had to know and approve.

I enjoy listening to Ron Jr. At least he and his sister saw the light.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

@Kate, I agree with PD Pepe: please, please give us your theories.

St. Ronald lived in the dark illusion of a bad Hollywood movie scripted to fool the audience (by using superb marketing techniques) into thinking it (the dark illusion) was light filled. Ron, Jr. has walked out of the dark and bravely shown us that the light does, indeed, eventually win.

And, lest we forget, can we say: "The Air Traffic Controllers?"

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterMushiba

Diane: perfect analysis of Reagan. And the Greedy Old Party still wants to use him as a poster boy.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered Commentercitizen625

Re: Trouble with a capital "T". Ronald Reagan sold "all-electric homes" in So-Cal when I was a kid. Aside from the simple facts that he could not sing, could not dance, he always reminded me of Professor Harold Hill, salesman of musical instruments. Unfortunately for us town folk Marium the librarian turned out to be Nancy. So instead of Ronnie living his life out tooting his kazoo in Indiana he ended up in the White House blowing the MIC.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJJG

We had a discussion of allies not being permanent. Here's Juan Cole on Syria.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

Html failed. http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/syria-least-helpful.html

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterBarbarossa

Reading and thinking about Syria makes my head hurt. Low flying black info-choppers dumping conflicting shit into the public pool by the hour. Cholera if you dip a toe in; vaccinations and autism if you don’t. To bomb or not to bomb… aye, that’s the question; that’s always the fucking question, and it has no geographic boundaries. So let’s go back to talking about St Ronald, Arms Dealer to Iran and Liberator of Grenada. He’d make a great B bio-pic movie, right? I could watch it and not have a headache. Maybe.

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterJames Singer

PD, I read the Lewis book some time ago and my memory is not so reliable, but I recall that that letter to the court took a lot of doing. There were all kinds of obscure criteria that had to be met and he had to make a very careful and thoughtful appeal. The book gave me a greater understanding of why the court is reluctant to allow defendants to represent themselves. The law is no Jimmy Stewart movie (even when they give the part to Henry Fonda).

September 8, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterHaley Simon

Rather late in the day to be posting on RR and his family; however, I have been ensconced in the Serena Williams/Viki Azerenka match today. Hooray Serena! She is awesome. Interesting that she is 31 years old and on her way to winning world breaking Slam records. Roger Federer is 32 years old and losing all major tournaments. The MSM comments constantly on Fed being 32 years old and "past his prime." I have heard nothing about Serena being 31 years old and kicking butt. Wonder why?

Back to Reagan. I think @ PD Pepe and Diane have it exactly right! I really have nothing of significance to add--except to say that I have always thought of Ronnie and Nancy R. as being what in psychology is called "as if" personalities. They, in a sense, made themselves up--and had no sound grounding in reality or an identity based on what they had actually accomplished. Ronnie was in war movies, so he considered him self a "veteran." Nancy was an actress who often played a "perfect wife," so she became a perfect wife. Neither had much reality testing--which is entirely understandable, given their backgrounds, on which I will not comment.

They obviously gave their biological children a great deal of psychological space in which to see their own reality--a good thing--but probably not in their awareness. Ron, Jr. and Patti clearly saw their parents' hypocrisy and, in different ways, rejected it. Michael, as the "outsider" and the child of RR's 1st marriage to Jane Wyman never really had a chance. Nancy tried hard to have Jane deleted from RR's life--because she obviously could not tolerate the idea that he had a romantic history prior to her. Hmm....more than a bit narcissistic, but not all that uncommon in second marriages.

Beyond that, I hesitate to speculate--although I often have. Bottom line: you all are a savvy, sophisticated group, of which I am happy to be a part.

September 9, 2013 | Unregistered CommenterKate Madison
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