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The Ledes

Friday, May 17, 2024

AP: “Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area.”

The Wires
powered by Surfing Waves
The Ledes

Thursday, May 16, 2024

CBS News: “A barge has collided with the Pelican Island Causeway in Galveston, Texas, damaging the bridge, closing the roadway to all vehicular traffic and causing an oil spill. The collision occurred at around 10 a.m. local time. Galveston officials said in a news release that there had been no reported injuries. Video footage obtained by CBS affiliate KHOU appears to show that part of the train trestle that runs along the bridge has collapsed. The ship broke loose from its tow and drifted into the bridge, according to Richard Freed, the vice president of Martin Midstream Partners L.P.'s marine division.”

Public Service Announcement

The Washington Post offers tips on how to keep your EV battery running in frigid temperatures. The link at the end of this graf is supposed to be a "gift link" (from me, Marie Burns, the giftor!), meaning that non-subscribers can read the article. Hope it works: https://wapo.st/3u8Z705

Marie: BTW, if you think our government sucks, I invite you to watch the PBS special "The Real story of Mr Bates vs the Post Office," about how the British post office falsely accused hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of subpostmasters of theft and fraud, succeeded in obtaining convictions and jail time, and essentially stole tens of thousands of pounds from some of them. Oh, and lied about it all. A dramatization of the story appeared as a four-part "Masterpiece Theater," which you still may be able to pick it up on your local PBS station. Otherwise, you can catch it here (for now). Just hope this does give our own Postmaster General Extraordinaire Louis DeJoy any ideas.

The Mysterious Roman Dodecahedron. Washington Post: A “group of amateur archaeologists sift[ing] through ... an ancient Roman pit in eastern England [found] ... a Roman dodecahedron, likely to have been placed there 1,700 years earlier.... Each of its pentagon-shaped faces is punctuated by a hole, varying in size, and each of its 20 corners is accented by a semi-spherical knob.” Archaeologists don't know what the Romans used these small dodecahedrons for but the best guess is that they have some religious significance.

"Countless studies have shown that people who spend less time in nature die younger and suffer higher rates of mental and physical ailments." So this Washington Post page allows you to check your own area to see how good your access to nature is.

Marie: If you don't like birthing stories, don't watch this video. But I thought it was pretty sweet -- and funny:

If you like Larry David, you may find this interview enjoyable:


Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Allison Hope comments in a CNN opinion piece:

~~~ Here's Chapman singing "Fast Car" at the Oakland Coliseum in December 1988. ~~~

~~~ Here's the full 2024 Grammy winner's list, via CBS.

He Shot the Messenger. Washington Post: “The Messenger is shutting down immediately, the news site’s founder told employees in an email Wednesday, marking the abrupt demise of one of the stranger and more expensive recent experiments in digital media. In his email, Jimmy Finkelstein said he was 'personally devastated' to announce that he had failed in a last-ditch effort to raise more money for the site, saying that he had been fundraising as recently as the night before. Finkelstein said the site, which launched last year with outsize ambitions and a mammoth $50 million budget, would close 'effective immediately.' The New York Times first reported the site’s closure late Wednesday afternoon, appearing to catch many staffers off-guard, including editor in chief Dan Wakeford. As employees read the news story, the internal work chat service Slack erupted in what one employee called 'pandemonium.'... Minutes later, as staffers read Finkelstein’s email, its message was underscored as they were forcibly logged out of their Slack accounts. Former Messenger reporter Jim LaPorta posted on social media that employees would not receive health care or severance.”

Contact Marie

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Sunday
Jun192016

The Commentariat -- June 19, 2016

Whenever the riffraff of humanity -- e.g., most Republicans -- begins to get me down, along comes some kid like Jack Aiello to remind me that we still have the possibility of a bright future. Thank you, Jack. If you didn't see the clip of his graduation speech, do yourself a favor & watch it. Humor, & even more so, optimism, gives us the space to be better people. -- Constant Weader ...

... AND now, on to today's not-so-uplifting news.

Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "Barack Obama warned on Saturday that climate change could ravage many of America's vaunted national parks, criticizing political opponents who 'pay lip service' to areas of natural beauty while opposing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." -- CW

Words from His Father. Rachel Swarns of the New York Times: The Schomburg Center for Research on Black Culture has a small trove of letters written by Barack Obama, Sr. which the President has never seen. Includes some letters. -- CW

Jayme Deerwester of USA Today: "Chelsea Clinton ... announced the arrival of son Aidan Clinton Mezvinsky late Saturday morning on Twitter. Baby Aidan joins big sister Charlotte, who turns 2 on Sept. 26." -- CW

Presidential Race

Sean Sullivan & Jackie Valley of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump voiced annoyance Saturday at continued resistance to his presumptive presidential nomination from some Republicans as he accused former Florida governor Jeb Bush of trying to undermine his candidacy and appeared to take aim at Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.)." -- CW ...

... Kristen East of Politico: "Donald Trump says he isn't worried about delegates organizing against him at the Republican National Convention next month -- but he spent a large part of his rally in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon insisting that it won't happen. The presumptive Republican nominee, speaking from the Treasure Island hotel and casino, insisted that the story 'is all made up by the press. It's a hoax.'" -- CW

Matt Canham of the Salt Lake Tribune: "Concerned with polls showing Hillary Clinton has a chance to win in one of the most conservative states in the nation, Utah Republican Party Chairman James Evans huddled with Donald Trump in Las Vegas on Saturday. They talked for half an hour shortly before Trump held a packed rally at the Treasure Island casino, and he vowed to campaign in Utah after the national convention in Cleveland in July. 'He's definitely coming back out,' said Evans in an interview after the conversation organized by Trump's son, Don Jr." -- CW

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times: Donald Trump initiated to two lawsuits directly related to his campaign: two restaurateurs pulled out of the Trump organization's Washington, D.C., Old Post Office project after Trump opened his campaign by denigrating Mexicans. -- CW

Judging Donald. Peter Stone of the Guardian: "Republican and Democratic legal critics tell the Guardian that Trump on several occasions has seemed woefully ignorant of the law, and dismissive of American social conventions. 'My concern is that he lacks respect for basic norms,' said Robert Smith, a former associate judge on the New York court of appeals who was appointed by ex-governor George Pataki, a Republican. 'He's a totally irresponsible egomaniac, and it should be no surprise he pays no attention to the law and other basic social norms.'" -- CW

Tony Romm of Politico: "Apple has told Republican leaders it will not provide funding or other support for the party's 2016 presidential convention, as it's done in the past, citing Donald Trump's controversial comments about women, immigrants and minorities." -- CW

Hope Springs Eternal. Even Maureen Dowd has discovered, at long last, that "Trump's own behavior is casting serious doubt on whether he's qualified to be president." -- CW

Beyond the Beltway

Arelis Hernandez of the Washington Post: "About 200 people blocked the main street in downtown Orlando to form a human chain to counteract the demonstrators from Westboro Baptist Church. A handful of the church's members raised their now iconic anti-gay signs across the street from St. James Catholic Cathedral, while more two dozen police officers stood between them and the rainbow-adorned assembly." -- CW

News Lede

AP: "A jury has convicted a former Vanderbilt football player on all counts after finding that he encouraged his teammates to rape an unconscious woman he had been dating. It took jurors a little more than four hours of deliberation Saturday before finding Brandon Vandenburg guilty on five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. In addition, he was convicted of one count of unlawful photography." -- CW

Comments Off

Reader Comments (5)

Nothing remains unpoliticized. Here's a WaPo story on contrasting attitudes between Republican and Democratic dads, on how they are doing the dad job:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/16/republican-dads-think-theyre-great-fathers-democrats-have-less-self-confidence/?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

I read the bottom line as: GOP dads generally feel they are doing a good dad-job, Democratic dads don't feel as good about how they are doing. GOP dads tend to let moms do most of the parenting, Democratic dads share more of the parent workload.

So ... "hire" a good mom and let her raise the kids, and then feel that you did a good job!!

Happy Fathers Day.

June 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPatrick

One of my favorite poems about fathers is Robert Hayden's, "Those Winter Sundays" in which he describes how his father would get up early in the blue- black cold and with cracked hands that ached from labor stoke the fires that gave the family warmth in a household that bore the heat of chronic angers. Here is the last stanza:

"...Speaking indifferently to him
who had driven out the cold
and polished my good shoes as well.
What did I know, what did I know
of love's austere and lonely offices?

Here's to all you fathers whose children, I hope, are grateful for your love and continue to tell you so.

June 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

@PD Pepe: Thank you. The full poem, only three stanzas, is here.

Marie

June 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMarie Burns

Stepping back for the endless Trump coverage, all-Trump, all the time one finds there are other far more awful things happening in the world. " Venezuelans Ransack Stores " And they showed that even in a country with the largest oil reserves in the world, it is possible for people to riot because there is not enough food.

Mishandling of resources, ignoring the needs of its people—a story that is becoming more common around the globe. We see this happening with people fleeing their homelands because of: war, religious persecution, famine, water shortages, no jobs, climate change, and this list grows. As populations increase, so will the desperation. Yet, somehow there are those who will make money off of this and be able to gloat inside their walled and guarded compounds.

Geez, I'm beginning to sound like a Socialist. No, simply saddened and frustrated that practical solutions aren't being sought by those in control/power—those who turn away because it's not happening here (wherever that here is)...or isn't it? Hmmm, perhaps read Nick Kristof's column " I Was Wrong About Poverty " from his road trip to Oklahoma. He could have taken that road trip to many other states and found a similar story of people without jobs, on drugs, without hope.


OK. Like Akhilleus, I hate to conclude by writing more about DJT, but in today's Sunday Review, Kevin Baker's piece on " Donald Trump’s Place " fillets the Presumptuous Pretender. (Tip: skip MoDo).

June 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

PD.

Thanks for the poem. Wasn't familiar with it. Liked it and sent it on to my sons.

Now I'm sitting here waiting for those sons to arrive. Make that one son; the other is 60 miles distant, being a father himself, taking care of his own small children while his wife is away.

But according to the statistics, if they were both here I could expect each of them to present me with around $120 of largesse, the average amount each consumer spends on his or her father on Fathers' Day.

I'm girding myself to be disappointed, but not so saddened as I'm sure the boys' mother would have been last month had she known the figure for mothers is a whopping $165. Ignorance, as they say...

Makes me wonder, though, about the relative esteem in which we in our culture hold mothers and fathers. Seems the numbers bear out what most already know. For most, motherhood does forge the stronger attachment, looks like about a third greater than that for fathers.

Many implications here, some obvious in the legal and political realms, some that would take more time to tease out.

But it's Fathers' Day and instead of thinking too much or envying my wife for the greater affection she surely deserves from her children or being disappointed when the loot I'm told I should expect doesn't arrive, today I choose quiet contentment with finishing second in a long and rewarding race.

June 19, 2016 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes
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