REALITYCHEX.COM - Constant Comments - The Commentariat -- June 15

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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."

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."

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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Jun142011

The Commentariat -- June 15

"The President's Speech" -- the Movie. So nearly three million people watched this video before I got around to it. Fortunately, a reader's octogenarian cousin is hipper than I am, & the reader clued me in. Thanks to both of them:

I've got another Open Thread on Off Times Square today, the last few have been so terrific. If you've been away, read Monday & Tuesdays' comments to catch up. The exchange has been a pleasure and has lots of followers.

** Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: French cognitive social scientists have developed an "argumentative theory of evolution" which concludes that the purpose of reasoning is not to help "us to get better beliefs and make better decisions." Instead, “It was a purely social phenomenon. It evolved to help us convince others and to be careful when others try to convince us,” says Hugo Mercier, one of the French scholars. "Truth and accuracy were beside the point." CW: this really helps explain how Republicans, especially, but politicians in general, persuade with lies. The article is fascinating, and helps explain why we can't "win" our discussions with our conservative friends.

Tom Friedman highlights the teaching of Michael Sandel, a political philosopher who uses the Socratic method to teach his course & lead other discussions. Friedman says he & Sandel are close friends, which of course is a strike against Sandel, but I'm keeping an open mind. PBS has videos of Sandel's course online, & I'll give them a whirl when I get a chance -- like late next week.

"So No One's Responsible?" New York Times Editors: "With Justice Clarence Thomas writing for a 5-to-4 majority, the Supreme Court has made it much harder for private lawsuits to succeed against mutual fund malefactors, even when they have admitted to lying and cheating."

"Down the Memory Hole." Jared Bernstein: "Listening to the Republican debate..., I was once again struck by the extent to which these folks are stuck in a tattered old box when it comes to economic policy. Deregulation, supply-side tax cuts, turn the entitlements over to the market, etc.... the very agenda that got us into this mess."

Mark Bittman has more on farmworker slavery in Southwest Florida. This is not just a local story, as Bittman reveals, because major grocery chains all around the U.S. are refusing to give farmworkers a penny a pound more for their back-breaking labor, even tho Wal-Mart & some of the fast-food chains have acquiesced. Bittman doesn't tell the whole story, of course. Here's one tidbit he didn't include: even after McDonald's & Burger King, et al., agreed to the penny a pound, they refused to pay the workers till enough other corporations agreed to the deal. Instead, they put their penny a pound in escrow. How to you think a farmworker spends a penny that's in escrow? Then the corporate creeps, who were still not releasing the money to farmworkers, put up signs in their "restaurants" saying they had to raise their prices because they had to pay so much more for tomatoes as a result of farmworker pressure!

Karen Garcia: Save the Desert Tortoise! ... Website! ... from Joe Biden!

Right Wing World *

Oh, if you live in the Tampa-St. Pete area, you could send the kids to Tea Party summer camp. Warning: they promise they are not "politically correct."

Tea Leaves. David Drucker of Roll Call: Republicans in Congress ponder the effects -- on themselves, of course -- of the sudden rise of Michele Bachmann's star after her good showing in Monday's Republican debate. They can't decide whether to cheer because she's not around to cause problems or worry because her popularity will shine a light on the Tea Party's failure to bring down the government.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post does a pretty good job of debunking a Republican argument you're going to hear throughout campaign season, and which both Romney & to a worser (a good enough word, as applied here) extent, Bachmann used in Monday's debate. Romney: "Obamacare takes $500 billion out of Medicare and funds Obamacare." Kessler's answer is complicated, but here's a two-part shorthand answer you can use to counter Republican parrots: (1) The savings come from cutting payments to healthcare providers, not from cutting Medicare benefits -- that is, they don't cut Medicare benefits; they just make Medicare cheaper. (2) All but four Republican House members & most Republican Senators voted FOR the $500 billion Medicare savings because it's part of the Ryan/Republican Tea Party budget. If the way Obamacare cuts down on Medicare costs is so bad, why did all the Republicans vote for it?

* Where facts never intrude.

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The Obama administration argued Wednesday that its nearly three-month-old military involvement in Libya does not require congressional approval because of the supporting role most U.S. forces are playing there, a position that puts it at odds with some Republican leaders and the antiwar wing of its own party. The White House reasoning, included in a 32-page report to Congress, is the administration’s first detailed response to complaints from lawmakers of both parties, who say President Obama has exceeded his authority as commander in chief by waging war in Libya without congressional authorization." You can read the White House rationale here.

Politico: "More than a quarter of the Senate is calling on President Barack Obama to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan beginning with the planned initial troop reduction next month as part of a 'sizeable and sustained' effort to end the Afghan war. In a letter sent Wednesday, 26 Democrats, one independent, and two Republicans – Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky – ask the president to approve the withdrawal of a significant number of troops in July. Lee and Democrats Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Tom Udall of New Mexico were the lead authors of the letter." The Washington Post has a draft copy of the letter with a partial list of the signers.

New York Times: "In the latest sign that the economic recovery may have lost whatever modest oomph it had, more small businesses say that they are planning to shrink their payrolls than say they want to expand them. That is according to a new report released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group that regularly surveys its membership of small businesses across America."

Reuters: "Worried that Congress will not act in time to raise the country's borrowing cap, the Obama administration is enlisting the business community to persuade lawmakers that a default will have dire consequences. Outgoing White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee is set to talk to a slew of business representatives this week...." Also, see Fed Chair Ben Bernanke's remarks below. ...

... Politico: "Robust, strongly felt exchanges marked White House budget talks Tuesday as the focus turned back onto discretionary spending and the huge divide still between House Republicans and the Obama administration’s domestic agenda. 'We’re down to the real tough stuff right now, everybody is in the room… everybody’s still in the game,' Vice President Joe Biden told reporters as he left the Capitol after the more than two hour meeting."

ABC News: "The White House responded Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner's warning that President Obama will soon be in violation of the War Powers Resolution – three months after the president informed Congress of the start of the mission in Libya – because the White House has failed to answer ;fundamental questions regarding the Libya mission.'" In a statement, Tommy Vietor, NSC spokesman said the White House was "preparing extensive information for the House and Senate that will address a whole host of issues about our ongoing efforts in Libya...."

San Francisco Chronicle: "The Senate refused Tuesday to end $6 billion in ethanol subsidies, defeating an amendment by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that crystallized a larger ideological split within the GOP over whether removing tax subsidies is a tax increase or is a legitimate way to trim the $1.5 trillion federal deficit.... The 40-59 vote split the GOP." CW: but stay tuned. Majority Leader Harry Reid promises another vote soon. It appears many of the Democratic nay votes were motivated by procedural nonsense.

Reuters: "Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share $55 million in a deal that also accuses a global drywall maker of lying about the product's safety, according to court documents."

Ben Bernanke, speaking on Tuesday about the necessity to raise the debt ceiling:

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