The Ledes

Monday, February 24, 2025

New York Times: “Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who leaped onto President John F. Kennedy’s limousine as it came under fire in Dallas and prevented a scrambling Jacqueline Kennedy from falling to the ground, died on Friday at his home in Belvedere, Calif. Mr. Hill, hailed for his bravery but long tormented by his inability to save the president’s life, was 93.”

New York Times: “Roberta Flack, the magnetic singer and pianist whose intimate blend of soul, jazz and folk made her one of the most popular artists of the 1970s, died on Monday in Manhattan. She was 88.”

New York Times: “Pope Francis is suffering from 'initial, mild kidney failure' in addition to the serious respiratory illness that has left the 88-year-old pontiff in critical condition in a Rome hospital, the Vatican said on Sunday. Describing a 'complex' clinical picture, the Vatican said that the kidney ailment was 'at present under control,' and that there had been no repeat of the respiratory crisis that the pope had experienced on Saturday. The pope was 'alert and well oriented,' the Vatican said, and he attended Mass in his suite along with the medical staff caring for him.”

The Wires
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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.

Link Code:   <a href="URL">text</a>

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."

Democrats' Weekly Address

Marie (Feb 23): As far as I can tell, there isn't any. I hope I'm wrong, but it looks like Democrats are so screwed up, they can't even put together a couple of minutes of video to tell us how screwed we are.

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."

As we watch in horror the rapid destruction of our democratic form of government, it is comforting to remember there is life outside politics. I took a break a while ago to enjoy a brief lesson in the history of the moonwalk: ~~~

But it may go back even further:

And this chronological account is helpful:

New York Times: “Chuck Todd, the former 'Meet the Press' moderator and a longtime fixture of NBC’s political coverage, told colleagues on Friday that he was leaving the network. A nearly two-decade veteran of NBC, Mr. Todd said that Friday would be his last day at NBC.... Mr. Todd, 52, is the latest TV news star to step aside at a moment when salaries are being scrutinized — and slashed — by major media companies. Hoda Kotb exited NBC’s 'Today' show this month, and Neil Cavuto of Fox News and CNN’s Chris Wallace departed their cable news homes late last year.”

CNBC: “ CNN plans to lay off hundreds of employees Thursday [Jan. 23] as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience.... The layoffs come as CNN is rearranging its linear TV lineup and building out digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. Certain shows that are produced in New York or Washington may move to Atlanta, where production can be done more cheaply, said the people. For the most part, the job cuts won’t affect CNN’s most recognizable names, who are under contract, said the people. CNN has about 3,500 employees worldwide.... NBC News is also planning cuts later this week, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic changes. While the exact number couldn’t be determined, the job losses will be well under 50....”

 

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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns

I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.

Monday
Dec092024

The Conversation -- December 9, 2024

Marie: Still no computer, still no heat. But I'm half-sure I'll get my heat back today and, well, hopeful I'll get my computer.

Excellent comments in yesterday's thread about Assad's flight and Trump's, er, NBC "interview."

How the Dictatorship Will Begin, According to Trump. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump outlined an aggressive plan for opening his second term in an interview [with Kristen Welker of NBC News] that aired on Sunday, vowing to move immediately to crack down on immigration and pardon his most violent supporters while threatening to lock up political foes like Liz Cheney. In his first sit-down broadcast network interview since being re-elected, Mr. Trump said that on Day 1 of his new administration next month, he would extend clemency to the hundreds of his backers who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and try to bar automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to immigrant parents. Without giving a time frame, Mr. Trump also indicated that he would fire the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, out of personal pique because 'he invaded my home' and was insufficiently certain at first whether Mr. Trump's wound during an assassination attempt this year was caused by a bullet or shrapnel. And he said members of Congress who investigated his role in the Jan. 6 attack should be thrown behind bars....

"At the same time, Mr. Trump seemed to signal that he would not appoint a special counsel to investigate President Biden and his family, as he once vowed. And he signaled that he would not take the most assertive position on several other issues, saying that he would not seek to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve or restrict the availability of abortion pills." Here's the AP's story on the interview. The NBC News report is here.

The full transcript of the "interview," via NBC News, is here. ~~~

~~~ Dumb & Dumber Rule! Allan Smith and Aria Bendix of NBC News: "... Donald Trump suggested that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his pick to run Health and Human Services, will investigate supposed links between autism and childhood vaccines, a discredited connection that has eroded trust in the lifesaving inoculations. 'I think somebody has to find out,' Trump said in an ... interview with 'Meet the Press' moderator Kristen Welker. Welker noted in a back-and-forth that studies have shown childhood vaccines prevent about 4 million deaths worldwide every year, have found no connection between vaccines and autism, and that rises in autism diagnoses are attributable to increased screening and awareness. 'If you go back 25 years ago,' Trump claimed, 'you had very little autism. Now you have it.' '"Something is going on,' Trump added. 'I don't know if it's vaccines. Maybe it's chlorine in the water, right? You know, people are looking at a lot of different things.' It was unclear whether Trump was referring to opposition by Kennedy and others to fluoride being added to drinking water."

~~~ David McAfee of the Raw Story: "Donald Trump lied about a variety of subjects in his latest NBC interview, according to a report from Rolling Stone.... 'Donald Trump gave his first network interview since the election and spread falsehoods about immigrants, the Affordable Care Act and -- of course -- the 2020 election,' the report states.... The article goes on to call out the moment Trump claimed that the U.S. had '13,099 murderers released into our country over the last three years' who were undocumented immigrants.'... Read the full report here (subscription required)." MB: Without reading the transcript, I can't tell how much Welker fact-checked Trump, but the suggestion from McAfee's account is "not much."

Mark Berman, et al., of the Washington Post: "A coalition of former prison officials, relatives of homicide victims, civil rights advocates and religious leaders are urging President Joe Biden to empty federal death row before he cedes the White House to ... Donald Trump, who staunchly supports capital punishment. Letters to Biden that are slated to be made public Monday ask him to commute all federal death sentences to life without parole, invoking the president's Catholic faith and public opposition to capital punishment, and criticizing the death penalty as arbitrary, unfair and biased."

Here are the New York Times' updates on developments Monday in Syria: "The rebels who ended the Assad family's brutal, decades-long rule of Syria began trying on Monday to bring stability, taking up positions outside banks and public buildings and directing traffic in the capital, Damascus, as enormous questions loomed over the future of the country. The stunning rebel offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad and forced him into exile in Russia ended a 13-year civil war and drove out a regime that had used terror and chemical weapons on its own citizens. On Monday, New York Times reporters entering Syria on a highway from Lebanon saw abandoned Syrian military tanks, empty checkpoints and ripped-up posters of Mr. al-Assad littering the road to Damascus." ~~~

~~~ Andrew Osborn & Maxine Rodionov of Reuters: "Syria's former President Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow with his family after Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds, a Kremlin source told Russian news agencies on Sunday, and a deal has been done to ensure the safety of Russian military bases. Russia's Foreign Ministry said earlier that Assad had left Syria and given orders for a peaceful transfer of power, after rebel fighters raced into Damascus unopposed on Sunday, ending nearly six decades of his family's iron-fisted rule." ~~~

~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times on the fall of Assad and what's next (maybe). David Ignatius of the Washington Post on the same.

~~~ Eve Sampson of the New York Times: "The Turkish military fired on U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria this weekend, a war monitoring group and a spokesman for the Kurdish group said on Sunday, illuminating the tangle of competing interests and alliances in Syria in the wake of the government's collapse. Fighting erupted on Saturday in Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city near Syrias border with Turkey, between rebel groups, one backed by the United States and the other by Turkey. At least 22 members of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces were killed in and around Manbij, and 40 others were wounded, according to the Kurdish group. The clashes preceded a call on Sunday between Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and his Turkish counterpart, Defense Minister Yasar Guler."

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Sunday
Dec082024

The Conversation -- December 8, 2024

Marie: Okay, a few more days in Reality Chex limbo. However, it's quite a decent limbo, as contributors have linked to some very good articles in the Comments section yesterday and the day before. The result is sort of what I originally envisioned for Reality Chex when I started it in 2008 -- that is, that there would be only about five or six articles we should all read every day to know what was going on. What happened, however, was that the right wing went really crazy really fast in 2009, so that government-as-usual, both of the federal and local levels, became crazy enough to gain attention. The result was that often I couldn't keep up with the news, because the right was sending up dangerous flares everywhere. Millions of Americans still don't get it (RAS found one good reason why in yesterday's links), but those warnings of what could happen were real. Some of the dangers have come to pass, and a much bleaker future seems imminent.

⭐AP: "The Syrian government collapsed early Sunday, falling to a lightning rebel offensive that seized control of the capital of Damascus and sent crowds into the streets to celebrate the end of the Assad family's 50 years of iron rule. Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been set free."

AP: "As the search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's killer goes on, investigators are reckoning with a tantalizing dichotomy: They have troves of evidence, but the shooter remains an enigma. Police don't know who he is, where he is, or why he did it, though they are confident it was a targeted attack instead of a random act."

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Saturday
Dec072024

The Conversation -- December 7, 2024

Marie: I do have an appointment with the Geek Squad this afternoon. I don't expect them to fix my computer on the spot, but maybe I'll have to buy a new one, in which case there's a vague possibility I'll have something for you by Sunday. In the meantime, this is the best I can do. Do check the Comments, though, as yesterday several people found some very useful reports & opinion pieces to link. Many thanks to them for the help. And don't be shy about adding your own suggestions.

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