;)
The Conversation -- September 20, 2023
Farnoush Amiri & Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "House Republicans clashed with Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday, accusing him and the Justice Department of the 'weaponization' of the department's work in favor of President Joe Biden's son Hunter.... Republicans on the committee -- led by chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio -- set the tone with accusations that the Justice Department is favoring the Biden family while targeting his likely 2024 opponent, [Donald] Trump.... Questioning in the Republicans' arsenal focused on allegations that the Justice Department interfered in the yearslong case into Hunter Biden and that the prosecutor in charge of that case [-- whom Trump appointed --] did not have the full authority he needed to bring necessary charges." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I listened to about a half-hour of the hearing until I couldn't stand it anymore. Jordan, as usual, was outrageous in his disrespect for Garland and his refusal to let Garland answer the "questions" (okay, accusations) he raised.
Karoun Demirjian & Kayla Guo of the New York Times: "The Senate was expected on Wednesday to confirm three generals to serve on the president's top military advisory council, steering around a monthslong blockade of military promotions by Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, who has held up hundreds of nominees in protest of a Pentagon abortion access policy. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, moved on Wednesday to force votes on confirming Gen. Eric Smith of the Marine Corps and Gen. Randy George of the Army as the chiefs of staff for their respective services, and Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. of the Air Force as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But the move left hundreds more military promotions in limbo, still stymied by Mr. Tuberville's objections. Mr. Schumer had been reluctant to force votes on individual nominees for fear of being seen as capitulating to Mr. Tuberville."
Dareh Gregorian & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., on Wednesday offered to 'save democracy by wearing a suit on the Senate floor next week' if House Republicans 'stop trying to shut our government down.' Fetterman issued the statement poking at congressional Republicans -- or as he put it, 'those jagoffs in the House' -- as he was presiding over the Senate in shorts, a short-sleeve button-down shirt, and no tie. His relaxed attire while presiding comes just days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., quietly changed the Senate's informal dress code to allow lawmakers to casual attire on the floor.... The loosened dress code has been ridiculed by Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who joked that she planned to wear a bikini instead."
Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Federal Reserve officials left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, a decision that gives policymakers more time to assess whether they have raised interest rates enough over the past 18 months to fully wrestle inflation under control. But policymakers also released a fresh set of economic projections suggesting that they still expect to make another rate increase before the end of 2023 -- and that borrowing costs are likely to remain higher than officials had previously expected in 2024. In all, the Fed's decision and its outlook suggested that a resilient economy is keeping central bankers both optimistic about growth and firmly in inflation-fighting mode." The AP's report is here.
Amy Gardner & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "Lawyers for three [Georgia] electors who were charged in a sweeping indictment along with [Donald] Trump and 15 others made their first appearance in court Wednesday with ... [this] argument: that the electors were acting as federal officers, empowered by the U.S. Constitution and federal law -- and therefore immune from state-level prosecution. At the very least, the lawyers argued, the three are entitled to prosecution in federal, not state, court.... A key element of their defense Wednesday was that federal law -- as well as the Constitution -- expressly allows states to send more than one slate of electors in the event of a contested election. When they convened, voted and signed electoral certificates that were then sent to Washington, they were acting within the law to preserve Trump's legal remedies while a lawsuit contesting the Georgia election made its way through court, their lawyers said." An NBC News story is here.
Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Pro-Donald Trump lawyer Lin Wood is a 'witness for the state' in the Georgia election subversion case, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis revealed Wednesday. The reference to Wood was buried in a new court filing by the DA's office that raised potential conflicts of interest for six defense attorneys because they previously represented witnesses or other defendants in related proceedings. Wood was previously subpoenaed by prosecutors in the Georgia probe but his status as a witness for the state was not previously known."
Eewww! Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Cassidy Hutchinson, the former Trump aide turned crucial January 6 witness, says in a new book she was groped by Rudy Giuliani, who was 'like a wolf closing in on its prey', on the day of the attack on the Capitol. Describing meeting with Giuliani backstage at Donald Trump's speech near the White House before his supporters marched on Congress in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election, Hutchinson says the former New York mayor turned Trump lawyer put his hand 'under my blazer, then my skirt'."
Akhilleus is right: This is a super translation, and I'm sure the subtitles are 100% accurate:
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Tyler Pager, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden outlined his vision for tackling global challenges in his annual address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, seeking to use the marquee speech to bolster cooperation from allies and partners amid signs of shifts and strains in the world's alliances. 'The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people because we know our future is bound to yours,' Biden said. 'And no nation can meet the challenges of today alone.'... Biden tried to catalyze world opinion behind continuing to supply Ukraine with arms and other aid. 'If we abandon the core principles of the [U.N. Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?' he said. 'If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I'd respectfully suggest the answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.'... Beyond Ukraine, Biden focused on a wide range of global development issues, such as climate change and infrastructure, that are particularly important to less-wealthy nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America, regions that are often referred to as the Global South." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
For decades, it would have been unthinkable for an American president to stand in Hanoi alongside a Vietnamese leader and announce a mutual commitment to the highest level of countries partnership. But it's a powerful reminder that our history need not dictate our future. -- President Joe Biden, speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Sept. 19
~~~ A transcript of the President's speech, as delivered, is here (via the White House). Lawrence O'Donnell cited the section on Vietnam -- which begins the remarks -- as a sign we should not give up hope.
~~~ Richard Pérez-Peña, et al., of the New York Times: "The entire world has a vested interest in helping defeat the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, casting his appeal for more allies and aid as a matter of security -- even survival -- for many other nations. Delivering one of the most anticipated speeches of the annual gathering of world leaders, Mr. Zelensky painted Russia as a habitual aggressor, citing Moscow's military interventions in Moldova, Georgia and Syria, its increased control over Belarus and its threats against the Baltic States. 'The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources, into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order,' he said." ~~~
~~~ Wolf Blitzer of CNN interviewed President Zelensky yesterday. This was my favorite part: ~~~
Blitzer: ... former President Trump ... [said] -- if he were elected president again -- he would get you and Putin together and make what he called a fair deal. He said something could have been negotiated with Crimea and other parts of the country. What's your reaction....?
Zelensky: ... If he's got some smart ideas, he could share it with us, of course.... He can publicly share his idea now. Not waste time. Not to lose people.... Otherwise, he is not, I mean, presenting a global idea of peace. So the idea is how to take the part of our territory and to give Putin? That is not the peace formula.
Blitzer: So you're not ready to negotiate a territorial compromise with Putin?
Zelensky: We're not ready. But the question is to Trump..., what [is the] United States really ready to give to Putin from your territories?
Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland &-- a prime target for House Republicans seeking to push unproven claims that the Justice Department is protecting President Biden and his son Hunter Biden -- is set to defend himself at a high-stakes, high-volume hearing on Wednesday. Mr. Garland will appear before the House Judiciary Committee for a routine oversight hearing that, in years past, would center on policy, crime, law enforcement initiatives and civil rights. These days, it is a forum for lawmakers to air their grievances and to bolster an impeachment inquiry against the president grounded, thus far, in inconclusive evidence. 'I am not the president's lawyer,' Mr. Garland is expected to say, according to excerpts from his opening remarks released hours ahead of his testimony. 'I will also add that I am not Congress's prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people.'" CNN's report is here.
Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Hardline conservatives in the House sank a procedural vote on a Pentagon funding bill Tuesday, a significant setback for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Five Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the rule for the appropriations bill, bringing the final vote to 212-214 -- short of the majority support needed." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Melanie Zanona, et al., of CNN: "Tensions are flaring inside the House Republican conference as it barrels toward a government shutdown, with the infighting spilling out into public view and growing increasingly nasty.... At the center of much of the drama: Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, attacking Speaker Kevin McCarthy in personal terms. But he's also engaged in social media spats with fellow hardline conservatives who helped broker a House GOP plan to fund the government first revealed on Sunday evening.... [Meanwhile,] moderate Republicans are privately discussing teaming up with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown if the House GOP plan to temporarily fund the government fails on the floor this week, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "The Republican Party's war on itself has turned its inoperative House majority into a 'clown show' and a 'dysfunction caucus' and is handing wins to the Chinese Communist Party -- and that's just what some of its own members say about it. Days of recriminations between far-right hardliners, moderates, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his nihilistic tormentors reached a new peak on Tuesday in extraordinary scenes of inter-party infighting on the south side of the US Capitol.... In a sign that Democrats are considering their options, their leader Hakeem Jeffries will meet the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus on Wednesday. The group has a bipartisan plan to fund the government by temporarily extending current spending levels and include aid for recent domestic national disasters, Ukraine funding and some border security provisions.... Weighing on Republican moderates will be the risk they could cost the speaker his job. A bill that passed the House with Democratic votes could be the final straw for McCarthy's enemies and cause a vote to unseat him." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Hey, here's something that would work: a half-dozen or so GOP House members who represent districts Biden won could switch parties, then vote with the new Majority Leader Jeffries. A win for everybody -- oh, except My Kevin, MTG, Matt Gaetz, et al.
Impeachment. Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Annie Grayer & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "New testimony from a number of FBI and Internal Revenue Service officials casts doubt on key claims from an IRS whistleblower who alleges there was political interference in the federal criminal investigation of Hunter Biden's taxes. According to transcripts provided to CNN, several FBI and IRS officials brought in for closed-door testimony by House Republicans in recent days said they don't remember US Attorney David Weiss saying that he lacked the authority to decide whether to bring charges against the president's son, or that Weiss said he had been denied a request for special counsel status. Those twin claims, made by IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, form the basis of Republican accusations that the Justice Department's investigation into Biden's taxes was tainted by political influence and that Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland tried to protect Hunter Biden in the investigation. The new testimony comes as House Republicans begin an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and his family, potentially undercutting one element of that effort." Shapely testified that Weiss made the comment in a meeting which five other agents attendants. Three of the five have testified now, and all three disputed Shapely's claim. Weiss, too, previously pushed back on Shapley's claim. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: IOW, House Republicans think it's a good idea to impeach Joe Biden based on a claim about the Hunter Biden case that four other officials have testified is false. But, undeterred ~~~
~~~ Spencer Kimball of CNBC: "The House Oversight Committee will hold the first hearing on the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Sept. 28, a committee spokesperson said Tuesday. 'The hearing will focus on constitutional and legal questions surrounding the President's involvement in corruption and abuse of public office,' the spokesperson said in a statement." (Also linked yesterday.)
Is It "Chutzpah" or "Hutzpah"? Al Weaver of the Hill: "Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told senators that he will attempt to force a one-off vote Wednesday to confirm Gen. Eric Smith to become the new commandant for the Marine Corps, while he maintains his blockade on more than 300 other military promotions. Tuberville told Senate Republicans on Tuesday during their weekly conference lunch that he will go to the floor and attempt to bring Smith's nomination up for consideration, which would tee up a cloture vote unless Senate Democrats object to his effort."
Marie: The other day I linked an ABC New report that said, "Sources said that after [Donald] Trump heard the FBI wanted to interview [aide Molly] Michael last year, Trump allegedly told her, 'You don't know anything about the boxes.' It's unclear exactly what he meant by that." This pretense of ignorance irritated me because it's perfectly clear that Trump was instructing Michael to lie to federal investigators. "t turns out that even the Gray Lady is familiar with mobspeak: ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "A former assistant to Donald J. Trump has informed investigators that the former president told her to say she did not know anything about the boxes containing classified documents that he had stashed at his private club in Florida after leaving the White House, according to a person briefed on her comments. The assistant, Molly Michael, who worked for Mr. Trump in the area outside the Oval Office and then in his post-presidential office, told the investigators about Mr. Trump's comments when she was interviewed as part of the inquiry into his handling of sensitive government documents. 'You don't know anything about the boxes,' Mr. Trump told Ms. Michael when he learned that federal officials wanted to talk to her in the case." MB: Michael knew plenty about the boxes, and was one of the people who took photographs of the boxes being stored around Mar-a-Lago. ~~~
~~~ Marie: There's another piece of the Haberman-Swan report that is of interest, and they drop the ball here. When the NYT reporters contacted Trump for a statement about their impending report, they got this: "'These illegal leaks are coming from sources which totally lack proper context and relevant information,' said Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump. 'The Department of Justice should investigate the criminal leaking, instead of perpetrating their baseless witch hunts.'" As Andrew Weissmann noted on-air on MSNBC, the report from Michael or someone associated with her is not a "leak," much less an "illegal leak" that warrants DOJ investigation. Under the law, witnesses are allowed to tell the public what their testimony was. ~~~
... Donald Trump told [Molly Michael] straight up, "You are to lie to investigators. You are to tell them you know nothing about boxes or documents," which was untrue.... That is textbook obstruction of justice. That is textbook witness tampering. Potentially, really devastating evidence [against Trump] here. -- Elie Honig, CNN legal analyst ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm not sure it's completely clear from either the ABC News report or NYT report precisely what Trump was doing with the classified documents Trump handed her. "... Molly Michael told investigators that -- more than once -- she received requests or taskings from [Donald] Trump that were written on the back of notecards, and she later recognized those notecards as sensitive White House materials -- with visible classification markings," ABC News reported. IOW, Trump was so cavalier with classified documents that he was jotting down to-do lists for his secretary on the backs of some classified docs that one supposes he didn't want to save to show off to various people who visited him. He must be too cheap to buy note paper.
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Ray Epps, a Jan. 6 participant whose removal from the FBI's Capitol Violence webpage sparked conspiracy theories that he was a federal informant, was charged in connection with the Capitol attack on Tuesday. Epps is charged with one misdemeanor count, disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds. He was charged by information, suggesting that he plans to enter a plea deal. Not long after he was charged, a virtual plea agreement hearing was set for Wednesday, Sept. 20 before Chief Judge James Boasberg." (Also linked yesterday.)
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) speaks (hypothetically!) on the Senate floor about "creepy billionaires" buying Supreme Court justices:
Kara Scannell of CNN: "President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, plans to plead not guilty to federal gun charges, he said in a court filing Tuesday. He is also asking for his initial court appearance to be held remotely. In a letter to Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke, attorney Abbe Lowell said Hunter Biden will plead not guilty to the three felony gun charges relating his possession of a revolver in 2018 whether the appearance is held over video or in person. 'Mr. Biden is not seeking any special treatment in making this request. He has attended and will attend any proceedings in which his physical appearance is required,' Lowell wrote Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.)
Larry Neumeister of the AP: "A former U.S. congressman from Indiana was sentenced Tuesday to 22 months in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information while working as a consultant and lobbyist after he left office. Former U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, 64, a House Republican from 1993 to 2011, was also ordered to forfeit $354,027, representing the amount of illegal gains, and to pay a $10,000 fine. Buyer, a lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran, once chaired the House Veterans' Affairs committee and was a House prosecutor at ex-President Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment trial." MB: I don't recall Buyer at all, but I'll bet he was in high dudgeon over Bill Clinton's misdeeds. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jennifer Hansler of CNN: "Five Americans freed from Iranian detention this week returned to US soil early Tuesday following an initial stop in Doha, Qatar, two US officials told CNN. Emad Shargi, Morad Tahbaz and Siamak Namazi, along with two Americans who have not been publicly named arrived at Fort Belvoir's Davison Army Airfield for an emotional reunion with their family members. The freed Americans, who were released Monday as part of a wider deal that includes the US unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian funds, will have the option to participate in a Department of Defense program known as PISA (Post Isolation Support Activities) to help them acclimate back to normal life now that they are back in the United States." (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2024. Brian Slodysko, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Monday told a packed Broadway theater full o big-name stars hosting a fundraiser in his honor that he was running for reelection because Donald Trump was determined to destroy the nation. Democracy is at stake, he told the audience at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater. Hate groups have been emboldened, he said. Books are being banned. Children go to school fearing shootings. 'Let there be no question, Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy,' he said...."
Marie: Over the weekend, I linked a story which quoted a wacky portion of a speech by Donald Trump. In it, he talked about "people doubles." I thought maybe he was talking about "body doubles," though that didn't seem to make sense in context, if the random words surrounding "people doubles" qualify as context. Contributor Patrick, however, closely examined the text and decided -- correctly, I think -- that what Trump meant by "people doubles" was "using the same derogatory sobriquet for two different people," as in "crooked Hillary" and "crooked Biden." Well, now, thanks to Chris Hayes, I learn that a great swath of the GOP believes in "body doubles" conspiracies. During Trump's presidency, for instance, there was a popular conspiracy theory that a body double replaced Melania Trump for many or all appearances. Now, the right has popularized a theory that Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) uses a body double when he has to speak because he could not have so thoroughly recovered his speech and comprehension faculties after suffering a debilitating stroke last year: ~~~
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North Carolina. This Week's Winner of the Dumbest Criminal Prize. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "A North Carolina man charged with rape came up with what he thought was the perfect plan, reported The Daily Beast: fake his own death, then disappear with the authorities none the wiser. The only problem? He forgot he was still wearing an ankle monitor. Melvin Emde, age 41, was due in court in Brunswick County to answer charges of statutory rape of a child on August 7, when his son called deputies in Louisiana and told them his father had been lost overboard in a kayaking accident on the Mississippi River. Police, however, were still tracking his ankle monitor, and could tell he was at a Walmart buying two prepaid phones. Police decided to pretend to fall for the ruse to catch him off guard.... Meanwhile, Emde tried to cross the Georgia state line on a motorcycle with no plate, leading a Georgia state trooper on a chase that ended when he crashed the bike. He gave authorities a false name, but his fingerprints identified him."
Pennsylvania. David Chen of the New York Times: "Democrats kept control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Tuesday after winning an open seat in a special election in the Pittsburgh area. The state's lower chamber had been split 101-101 between Democrats and Republicans since July, when former Representative Sara Innamorato, a Democrat, stepped down from her seat representing the 21st House District to run for Allegheny County executive. And while Republicans had hoped for an upset in Ms. Innamorato's former district, which includes part of Pittsburgh and its northern suburbs, that did not happen: Lindsay Powell, a Democrat who has strong ties to party leaders in Washington -- including Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader -- easily defeated Erin Connolly Autenreith, a Republican who is the chairwoman of a local party committee. With 95 percent of the vote counted, Ms. Powell had 65 percent, and Ms. Autenreith 34 percent." An NBC News story is here.
Pennsylvania. Marisa Iati of the Washington Post: "Pennsylvania announced Tuesday that it has implemented automatic voter registration to ease the process of casting a ballot, joining 23 other states and the District of Columbia. Residents who are eligible to vote and who obtain or renew a driver's license or identification card at Pennsylvania's Department of Motor Vehicles now will be guided through the voter registration process by default. If they don't want to be added to the voter rolls, they have to actively opt out. The change fulfills a campaign promise for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), whose state is likely to be crucial to the 2024 presidential race. He promoted the new system Tuesday as a 'common sense' step to make elections more secure and less costly for taxpayers." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gee whiz. Democratic-led states keep getting better as Republican-dominated states get worse.
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Reader Comments (9)
I wanted to follow up on a post from the other day regarding a link I included to an exceptional example (perhaps the best) of the graphical representation of information, Charles Minard’s map of Napoleon’s disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812-13.
I first came across this map in a book by Yale professor of political science, statistics, and computer science, Edward Tufte. His work I’ve always found fascinating and useful because of my own varied careers in art, graphic design, public service, and media.
Tufte’s books and articles on the subject of information graphics, their use and abuse, offer a deep dive into the history of how we communicate data both today and in the past, something that should be of interest to anyone with a television and/or computer, given the frequency with which we are bombarded with graphical representations of the world through lies, damned lies, and statistics (sometimes all at once).
Minard’s map is low tech by today’s computer driven standards, but his hand drawn graphic conveys amazingly useful information in an easily digestible and understandable format.
What about less useful
representations?
How about PowerPoint? Tufte, in a Wired article titled “PowerPoint is Evil” (Ed don’t mess around), describes most of what PowerPoint presentations offer as “chart junk”…”useless, non-informative, or information-obscuring elements of quantitative information displays.”
So, class…a show of hands. How many of youse guys have been subjected to stunningly soporific hour long PowerPoint presentations, ten minutes into which you’re thinking “Man, those Japanese had a good idea with that seppuku stuff”?
And that brings us to Desert Storm and the graphics employed by TV “news” operations to gin up that war. Talk about “information obscuring”…
Back in the late 80’s, television graphics entered a period of computer based revolution. Companies like Silicon Graphics unleashed powerful tools for the creation of compelling eye candy.
By the time Poppy Bush decided to invade Iraq (the first invasion), media outlets like CNN and Faux had graphics software like Maya and Flame, high end packages that could deliver flashy 3D TV graphics and animation, and Desert Storm, the six week (or so) First Bush Initiated Iraq War was just what producers were looking for to show off their cool new toys.
I’m sure we all remember the gigantic SHOCK and AWE graphics that signified IMPORTANT SHIT! And thus began the takeover of video screens by waves of stupefying eye candy, animated crawls, flashy lower thirds, and yowza OTS images (those over the shoulder boxes that accompany every newscast and all the other “newscasts”).
As cool as it was (and still is), my sense has always been that this stuff is the video version of empty calories. Shiny gewgaws that impress but rarely inform. But they are just the thing needed by propaganda outlets to provide their bullshit with the faux patina of authenticity.
Not to get too deeply into the semiotics of television news graphics, but these ubiquitous graphic elements floating around, over and under the talent, the “news” readers, do what damned lies cannot, at least not easily. They give the impression of statistical verity.
And let’s leave aside for a moment the Fox crawls and lower thirds that have offered eye-popping lies. Most of the crawls are simple reminders of the brainwashing going on. If you’re a Fox regular, you’ll likely see ten different “Biden Crime Family” crawls every hour. More tautology.
In other applications, it’s just too much and not enough. Just watch any televised sports event. Intensely complicated statistics are thrown up one after another but only just long enough for the viewer to see “Kelce Travis’s YAC up 13.5% in night games after the bye week!”
Ummm…what? So you see it, but it’s not long enough for you to register its full meaning or even why it’s up there because 5 seconds later it’s “Chiefs win percentage against NFC teams whose starting QB was injured the previous week…”
More empty calories.
As a species, we’ve been creating information graphics for tens of thousands of years. Those wall paintings in the Lascaux Caves could be seen as the nightly bison report. “Ugg, our intrepid, club wielding field reporter was out and about yesterday and here’s what he saw…” Good stuff, right?
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel paintings offered graphical representation of the latest in approved Christian theology, along with pictures of demons with the faces of guys he didn’t like (a bit of insider editorializing by Mike).
Dr. John Snow’s map of the cholera outbreaks in London in the 19th C was the information graphic that allowed him—and by extension, members of parliament who believed the epidemics were caused by bad air—to identify the source of a health crisis and led to an awareness of the importance of public health projects (something current Republicans hate—maybe a little cholera with their Kool-Aid would help).
Information graphics should do exactly that: convey information graphically. Hopefully it’s information that is both true and useful. The problem today is that just the mere presence of those graphics too often says “Hey! I’m on TV! I look cool. I must be true.”
But really, it’s likely just more chart junk.
Ask Professor Tufte.
No…THIS is chutzpah. Or maybe chumpspah…
So you guys have heard/read about Fatty demanding that Judge Chutkan recuse herself from his case in DC (there are so many now) involving attempted election thievery because she’s not one of his rubber stamp Nazi judges.
I scanned the ledes and thought “Yeah, yeah, yeah…what else is new?”
Then I read the complaint.
Wow. This is some balls.:
“‘The core value at issue here is whether the public will accept these proceedings as legitimate; or instead view them as a politically motivated effort by the incumbent administration to take out its most significant political opponent in a presidential campaign—the opponent who, by the way, is not only free, but has a strong lead in the polls,’ Trump’s team wrote. Public confidence ‘is not an insignificant consideration, it is the consideration,” they continued. “No system of justice can survive if its citizens lose faith in it.’”
Didja get that? This miserable fuck who spends every waking hour tearing down public confidence in our system of Justice sez…blah, blah, blah public confidence in Justice is vital!
But you just know the droolers are out there going “Yeah! Justice! Rule of law! And if we don’t get it, we’re gonna take over and slap all you lib’rul commies in jail!”
Wow.
I agree that charts and graphs can be deceiving, and some -- like the ones generals dreamed up (link is to NYT article titled "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is PowerPoint") to "inform" the public about one or other of our various wars -- are effectively meaningless, except maybe to the generals. I have read this and that over the years about why Napoleon lost the war with Russia, but that Minard chart, along with some explanations as to what happened when, really drives the points home in the way an explanatory essay does not.
Still, I was not aware, as you lay out, that the Little Emperor fired the naysayers and replace them with lackeys who egged him onto the disastrous campaign. Apparently that's what dictators do. Makes all those Hitler "translation" parodies look sort of instructive.
AK: Interesting post–--perhaps I should send it on to the two granddaughters in Germany who are studying graphic design although the 22 year old is thinking of going into medicine, specifically gynecology.
Biden's speech at the U.N. I thought so very good. When one realizes how much we need his voice and vision at this time in our lives those that want to put him out to pasture better shut the fuck up! We have a lot of countries that are NOT democracies but we need them on our side.
I overheard trump talking to Putin about his plan to solve the
Ukraine/Russia standoff.
Trump will buy Ukraine and then sell it to Putin at a discount.
Says trump to Putin, load up 10 suitcases with American cash and
send them to Mar-a-Lago.
I'll buy Ukraine with 5 suitcases of cash and then sell it to you for
5 more suitcases full of American cash.
But first I have to convince Zelensky. It should only take a couple of
days.
But, whatever, I'll be a billionaire like I always claimed to be.
Yours truly, DJT.
Marie,
Also, Napoleon himself wasn’t exactly sure of what the goal was, other than “Conquer Russia”. Okay. Great. What then? Where do we stay? How do we resupply? It’s gonna be cold. How about that? It’s almost like leaders who invade the wrong place with no real goal other than knocking down a statue, and with no exit strategy. I mean, what idiots would do that?
Also, the strategies that allowed him to move and strike quickly in Europe, specifically his scorched earth policy, pillaging and stealing food from the locals which allowed him to move without waiting for long and often slow supply lines. On the way into Russia, he tried this trick, but there wasn’t much there to steal, and on the way back, there was nothing because, as you can tell from Minard’s map, he came back along pretty much the same route.
Although it’s not exactly a history book, Tolstoy, in “War and Peace” recounts how locals, when they heard that Napoleon was on the way, burned or his their own supplies rather than let him get anything.
All in all, a cluster fuck.
Death, Taxes, and Rand Paul. Kentucky's junior senator has posted on "X" that he will block any spending bill that includes aid to Ukraine.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4213732-paul-will-hold-up-any-spending-stopgap-that-includes-ukraine-funding/
The nuts don't fall far from the tree and I'm sure Papa Paul is so proud of his little Randy senator.
BTW, I love those “Hitler finds out” videos.
Hitler finds out that Trump lost
Hitler finds out about changes at United Airlines
(First they took away the free food, and now no pillows and blankets???)
Hitler finds out Seahawks lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl
(They’re on the one yard line and they throw a pass???)
Hahaha.
Good stuff.
In his epilogue to War and Piece, Tolstoy dealt with the performance of the lackeys.