The Ledes

Sunday, March 30, 2025

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

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

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

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To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

OR you can always just block, copy and paste to your comment the URL (Web address) of the page you want to link.

Note for Readers. It is not possible for commenters to "throw" their highlighted links to another window. But you can do that yourself. Right-click on the link and a drop-down box will give you choices as to where you want to open the link: in a new tab, new window or new private window.

Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

Marie: Sorry, my countdown clock was unreliable; then it became completely unreliable. I can't keep up with it. Maybe I'll try another one later.

 

Public Service Announcement

Zoë Schlanger in the Atlantic: "Throw out your black plastic spatula. In a world of plastic consumer goods, avoiding the material entirely requires the fervor of a religious conversion. But getting rid of black plastic kitchen utensils is a low-stakes move, and worth it. Cooking with any plastic is a dubious enterprise, because heat encourages potentially harmful plastic compounds to migrate out of the polymers and potentially into the food. But, as Andrew Turner, a biochemist at the University of Plymouth recently told me, black plastic is particularly crucial to avoid." This is a gift link from laura h.

Mashable: "Following the 2024 presidential election results and [Elon] Musk's support for ... Donald Trump, users have been deactivating en masse. And this time, it appears most everyone has settled on one particular X alternative: Bluesky.... Bluesky has gained more than 100,000 new sign ups per day since the U.S. election on Nov. 5. It now has over 15 million users. It's enjoyed a prolonged stay on the very top of Apple's App Store charts as well. Ready to join? Here's how to get started on Bluesky[.]"

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Wherein Michael McIntyre explains how Americans adapted English to their needs. With examples:

Beat the Buzzer. Some amazing young athletes:

     ~~~ Here's the WashPo story (March 23).

Back when the Washington Post had an owner/publisher who dared to stand up to a president:

Prime video is carrying the documentary. If you watch it, I suggest watching the Spielberg film "The Post" afterwards. There is currently a free copy (type "the post full movie" in the YouTube search box) on YouTube (or you can rent it on YouTube, on Prime & [I think] on Hulu). Near the end, Daniel Ellsberg (played by Matthew Rhys), says "I was struck in fact by the way President Johnson's reaction to these revelations was [that they were] 'close to treason,' because it reflected to me the sense that what was damaging to the reputation of a particular administration or a particular individual was in itself treason, which is very close to saying, 'I am the state.'" Sound familiar?

Out with the Black. In with the White. New York Times: “Lester Holt, the veteran NBC newscaster and anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News' over the last decade, announced on Monday that he will step down from the flagship evening newscast in the coming months. Mr. Holt told colleagues that he would remain at NBC, expanding his duties at 'Dateline,' where he serves as the show’s anchor.... He said that he would continue anchoring the evening news until 'the start of summer.' The network did not immediately name a successor.” ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “MSNBC said on Monday that Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary who has become one of the most prominent hosts at the network, would anchor a nightly weekday show in prime time. Ms. Psaki, 46, will host a show at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, replacing Alex Wagner, a longtime political journalist who has anchored that hour since 2022, according to a memo to staff from Rebecca Kutler, MSNBC’s president. Ms. Wagner will remain at MSNBC as an on-air correspondent. Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s biggest star, has been anchoring the 9 p.m. hour on weeknights for the early days of ... [Donald] Trump’s administration but will return to hosting one night a week at the end of April.”

New York Times: “Joy Reid’s evening news show on MSNBC is being canceled, part of a far-reaching programming overhaul orchestrated by Rebecca Kutler, the network’s new president, two people familiar with the changes said. The final episode of Ms. Reid’s 7 p.m. show, 'The ReidOut,' is planned for sometime this week, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. The show, which features in-depth interviews with politicians and other newsmakers, has been a fixture of MSNBC’s lineup for the past five years. MSNBC is planning to replace Ms. Reid’s program with a show led by a trio of anchors: Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former Democratic strategist; Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee; and Alicia Menendez, the TV journalist, the people said. They currently co-host 'The Weekend,' which airs Saturday and Sunday mornings.” MB: In case you've never seen “The Weekend,” let me assure you it's pretty awful. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: "Joy Reid is leaving MSNBC, the network’s new president announced in a memo to staff on Monday, marking an end to the political analyst and anchor’s prime time news show."

Y! Entertainment: "Meanwhile, [Alex] Wagner will also be removed from her 9 pm weeknight slot. Wagner has already been working as a correspondent after Rachel Maddow took over hosting duties during ... Trump’s first 100 days in office. It’s now expected that Wagner will not return as host, but is expected to stay on as a contributor. Jen Psaki, President Biden’s former White House press secretary, is a likely replacement for Wagner, though a decision has not been finalized." MB: In fairness to Psaki, she is really too boring to watch. On the other hand, she is White. ~~~

     ~~~ RAS: "So MSNBC is getting rid of both of their minority evening hosts. Both women of color who are not afraid to call out the truth. Outspoken minorities don't have a long shelf life in the world of our corporate news media."

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

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The Commentariat -- September 12

No, this is not a war zone. It's San Bruno, California after the gas explosion that killed at least four & injured dozens of others. AP photo. CLICK TO SEE LARGER IMAGE.... The Huffington Post has more photos here. The San Francisco Chronicle lists aid groups you can contact.

What if [Obama] is so outside our comprehension, that only if you understand Kenyan, anti-colonial behavior, can you begin to piece together [his actions]? -- Newt Gingrich, proving he will tell any lie, spew any slur that he thinks will advance his agenda ...

... Gingrich ... is not a reasonable man.... He's just like the rest of them, with a worldview shaped by the most radical and fringe elements of the Republican Party, which are more dominant with each passing day. -- Hari Sevugan, DNC Press Secretary

Susan Saulny in the New York Times: Mayor Richard M. "Daley inherited a Chicago on a gritty decline, and he helped make it economically viable. He led an effort to resuscitate downtown.... He built new parks and refurbished old ones.... He gave incentives to developers who emphasized landscaping, art and environmentally friendly buildings. He was a stickler about trash.... But he was not always transparent in his decision-making. And critics say that downtown’s renaissance came at the expense of poor, far-flung neighborhoods. ...

... Chicago News Cooperative on the Daley legacy. "He is quick to anger, surprising, emotional; exceedingly loyal to some and ruthlessly business-like to others; parochial, yet overly sensitive when criticized for it. While he was in office, great strides were made."

Legal Corruption. Eric Lipton of the New York Times: House Minority Leader John Boehner "maintains especially tight ties with a circle of lobbyists and former aides representing some of the nation’s biggest businesses, including Goldman Sachs, Google, Citigroup, R. J. Reynolds, MillerCoors and UPS. They have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaigns, provided him with rides on their corporate jets, socialized with him at luxury golf resorts and waterfront bashes and are now leading fund-raising efforts for his Boehner for Speaker campaign, which is soliciting checks of up to $37,800 each, the maximum allowed."

Michael Luo of the New York Times: "... from 2007 through 2009, the number of families in homeless shelters — households with at least one adult and one minor child — leapt to 170,000 from 131,000.... With long-term unemployment ballooning, those numbers could easily climb this year." ...

... Stephanie Armour of USA Today: "Anthony and April Soper of Lake Stevens, Wash., went on a trial plan that cut their monthly payment. But they didn't get a permanent modification, and they say they don't know why. Now, they're suing Bank of America, their mortgage servicer. BofA is seeking a dismissal of the case." CW: some of these cases are being rolled into a class action suit; at the very least, HUD should join as a plaintiff against the bank, but Secretary Donovan has been asleep at the wheel ever since he got the job, so be surprised if he suddenly wakes up. ...

... Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times: big reason for all the foreclosures -- the powers-that-be in Washington were more interested in saving the banks than in saving the homeowners. (Think "TARP.") CW: evidently, they still are because nobody has stood up for homeowners. Nobody.

Rod Nordland of the New York Times: "Even as more American troops flow into the country, Afghanistan is more dangerous than it has ever been during this war, with security deteriorating in recent months, according to international organizations and humanitarian groups. Large parts of the country that were once completely safe, like most of the northern provinces, now have a substantial Taliban presence — even in areas where there are few Pashtuns, who previously were the Taliban’s only supporters." ...

... David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Amid the warlords, ex-mujahideen fighters, hard-line clerics and shady businessmen running for a seat in the Afghan parliament, Robina Jalali, a 25-year-old candidate from Kabul, offers a more inspiring biography."

Glenn Greenwald points to another absurd example of U.S. double standards -- we don't allow (alleged) victims of U.S. torture to have their day in court under any circumstances, but we obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in "compensation" for Americans for alleged abuses by Saddam Hussein. CW: of course what this is really about is abuse of power; we do it because we can.

The Fuck Obama Xtravaganza (FOX) gives a sterling example of how to cover up breaking news AND simultaneously diss the President & First Lady. Neil Cavuto used the opportunity of Michelle Obama's Shanksville speech to, well, shut her up & remind the viewers where "that young lady... and her husband" were on September 11, 2001: "he was a nobody and she was married to a guy who wasn't that well-known." Video via Jeff Neumann at Gawker:

In the Washington Post, Wray Herbert reviews Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine. Fine details the way scientists, including the best-credentialed scientists, just "make stuff up" to suggest that men & women are "wired differently." Fine IDs what she calls "blobology" & "brain scams" & other phony science. ...

... "The Bad Science of Brain Sexism." In Salon, Thomas Rogers interviews Fine.

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