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The Ledes

Saturday, March 8, 2025

New York Times: “Officials said [actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa] died of natural causes, he of heart disease and she of a rare viral infection. But it was Ms. Arakawa — the caregiver, lover, protector — who died first, perhaps on Feb. 11, leaving Mr. Hackman, 95 years old with advanced Alzheimer’s, alone in the house for days. He is believed to have died a week later, on Feb. 18. Their decomposing bodies were not discovered for yet another eight days, when a maintenance worker called a security guard to the house after no one came to the door.... Ms. Arakawa died of hantarivus, which is contracted through exposure to excrement from rodents, often the deer mouse in New Mexico.”

The Wires

The Ledes

Friday, March 7, 2025

CNBC: “Job growth was weaker than expected in February as the Trump administration began to slash the federal workforce. Nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 151,000 on the month, better than the downwardly revised 125,000 in January but less than the 170,000 consensus forecast from Dow Jones, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.1%.”

Help!

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.

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."

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....”

Page Links

Saturday

Apr162011

Whoops! Big Whoops!

In today's New York Times, Charles Blow blasts the House Republican/ Ryan/Tea Party budget: "More tax cuts would be gluttony in a time of starvation. That is not America. That is a nation about to be plundered, and a people laid to waste."

I wrote a comment to Blow's column, later published at #2. Reader Helen F. found a teensy-weensy problem with it, though. Check out that last sentence. On my honor, I am not a closet Republican shilling for Paul Ryan. I really, really, really meant "Progressive" there. Here's my comment, complete with any and all typos, including the error in the offensive last paragraph:

So if you're looking for an alternative budget plan that will help not only the poor but also the middle class, look no further than the Congress of the United States, where the Congressional Progressive Caucus has proposed a budget that moves toward balancing the budget at the same time it encourages job creation, clean energy and education, and it continues entitlement programs in full force.

Of course the rich, the super-rich and corporations will have to start paying their fair share of taxes to bring the CPC budget into balance, and we might have to quit fighting no-win wars around the globe, but are those caveats so bad? I don't think so.

With only four defectors from the Republican party, and not a single Democratic vote, the House passed the Ryan/Republican Tea Party budget today (Friday) that ends Medicare as we know it and reduces investment in social programs like Medicare and food stamps. The bill will go nowhere in the Senate (unless the Democratic leadership wants to get some of those Republican Senators on record voting for this anti-American bill). Even if the bill should pass the Senate, President Obama has promised to veto it.

With the House Republican bill dead in the water, we need to turn our attention toward a budget that will work for the American people. I say that budget is the Congressional Republican* Caucus budget. Let's stop talking about the bad guys long enough to focus on what the good guys have proposed.

* Uh, that should be "Progressive."

My comment on Gail Collins' column is still sitting in the holding pattern, so I'll post that, too. Collins noted, with some disappointment, that Mitt Romney failed to include in any of his books the story of his family trip to Canada during which he kept his dog strapped on the hood of the car. My comment:

Thanks for the laughs, Gail. Only you could find humor in ex-Governor Mitt.

Of course the biggest joke of all is that Mitt Romney is probably the best candidate Republicans can field this year. Since Mitt has been running for President since at least 2007 (what is he exploring again?), Republicans are already pretty tired of him. They're looking around longingly for somebody great like another Bush brother or Gov. Whatzhizname from Indiana who beat Wisconsin Gov. Walker to the punch on stripping those elitist union members of their collective bargaining rights. (He did it by executive order! He's bold! He did it on his first day in office! He's decisive!)

I'm not among that huge core of liberals who fell back in love with President Obama after his American Values Budget speech (it was a good speech), but Obama sure looks good when you hold him up next to Paperback Romney. I wonder if Mitt noticed Barack (or ghostwriter Bill Ayers) wrote a children's book last year. If Mitt noticed, let's hope we'll get a children's book from him, too. I'd suggest he base it on that glaring omission from his No Apology tome. A family trip to Canada with an Irish setter strapped to the roof of the car sounds like great fare for the kids. There's probably a moral for them in there somewhere, too.

P.S. After having had literally hundreds of my comments axed or held back by Times moderators and after hearing the same stories from many other Times would-be commenters, I've decided to start some kind of Alternate Times Comments page for those of us who get whacked from the Times comments pages. Stay tuned. I'm not 100 percent sure I'll be able to manage it, but I will give it a try.

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