It was a long day, and it rained for most of it. Rained, rained and rained some more. Barely cracked 40 degrees. Still, it’s hard to keep a good baseball game down:
Yep, great seats for the Tigers. So that happened.
Just one piece of bloggage today: This piece of shit.
People tell me I should ignore Politico, and I mostly do, but when I read a story that bad, I just get testy. What purports to be a keen examination of Jill Abramson’s tenure as editor-in-chief of the New York Times is such a steaming pile of sexist crapola, I just go ber….serk.
As Billy Jack would say.
Abramson speaks in a slow drawl — “the equivalent of a nasal car honk,” according to Ken Auletta, who profiled her for The New Yorker. It gives her the impression of being distant, almost bored. But the condescension is often noted by others present at meetings. On at least one occasion, sources said, an editor has privately approached Abramson to recommend she apologize to the offended party.
I’ve heard Jill Abramson speak. I didn’t find it condescending. But then, I don’t work for Politico.
I’d rather think about baseball.
Dexter said on April 25, 2013 at 1:42 am
How are the suites heated? Electric element? The TV coverage had a humorous shot. It was really cold by the time Miguel Cabrera was to bat for the last time, and the camera zeroed in on Miggy’s ass sort of half-squatting over the dugout space heater. TV broadcasters Rod Allen and Mario Impemba began chuckling at the cartoonish sight.
This game’s end had me cheering from my La-Z-Boy. For the majority here who don’t know or follow the Detroit Tigers, I’ll set it up: Jose Valverde, known as Papa Grande, was the closer, the pitcher who is paid a huge salary to get the last out. Last year everything went to hell for him. His fierce split-finger pitch refused to break enough to fool the hitters. It was pitiful. He was done. The Tigers kept his rights, but after Papa Grande lost two 2012 post-season games, it really was all but over.
Papa Grande didn’t give up. He returned to the Dominican Republic and worked out his pitching flaws, and word got back to Detroit, and the Tigers sent two top-notch scouts down to the DR to evaluate his pitches. Favorable. The Tigers sent Papa Grande over to Lakeland, Florida, to the minor league complex, where he pitched twice, and boom! He’s back in Detroit.
OK, I lied. I wasn’t cheering from my La-Z-boy, I was tearing up. 1-2-3, and Papa Grande set down those Kansas City Royals and got the save. It was a miracle. Things like this rarely happen so quickly in baseball. I was just so damn happy for Papa Grande.
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130425/OPINION03/304250389/With-Jose-Valverde-back-fold-Tigers-bullpen-finally-taking-shape?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
1652 chars
Dexter said on April 25, 2013 at 1:59 am
I can’t link this, so I am just copying it from kpc newspapers…baldheadeddork’s obit:
Brian Igo
Posted: Thursday, April 25, 2013 12:00 am
BLOOMINGTON — Brian L. Igo, 48, of Bloomington died on the morning of April 20, 2013, of appendiceal cancer. Never heard of it? Imagine his surprise. Upon learning his diagnosis, he was most surprised by the realization that he would not outlive Keith Richards and Biebermania.
Brian was known by all as a kind, thoughtful, and honest man with a passion for enjoying life. His presence alone reassured those around him the promise of a great day. His humor was unavoidable, his laugh infectious, and his smile brightened even the darkest room.
Brian is survived by his wife, Delia, and many close friends and family members.
A Memorial Service will be held at Congregation Beth Shalom in Bloomington on Friday, April 26, at 5 p.m.
Memorial donations may be made to the Rabbi Discretionary Fund of Congregation Beth Shalom of Bloomington.
1006 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 25, 2013 at 6:48 am
Well God bless Brian; that’s a lovely obit that I’d bet a nickel he wrote himself. L’chaim.
91 chars
David C. said on April 25, 2013 at 6:56 am
So that’s why Charlie Pierce calls Politico “Tiger Beat on the Potomac”. Is there a special version of Word for journalists with a harpie woman boss template preloaded?
168 chars
Jolene said on April 25, 2013 at 7:00 am
Hanna Rosin defends Abrahamson.
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/04/jill_abramson_in_politico_what_dylan_byers_got_wrong_about_the_nytimes_executive.html
Abrahamson does have a peculiar way of speaking. I wouldn’t call it condescending, but I find it off-putting, unnatural. I think I’d find it hard to be around her for that reason, not that I’m ever likely to be.
How important is charm in positions like hers? Fairly important I’d argue, but plenty of men seem to get along without it, as Rosin argues.
533 chars
Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on April 25, 2013 at 7:02 am
If I may toss in one more observation from yesterday’s theme (one of them, anyhow), I have an assortment of ill-founded opinions about testing and how it is misused in public education assessment & administration, but I’m actually more disturbed by the impact of 94-95% mandatory attendance & graduation rates. Yes, one of my jobs is to enforce those. No, I’m not quite sure what I’d replace them with. But as you have testing scandals endemic to the high-stakes system we’ve ginned up, we also have — at least in my neck of the woods — much attendance/graduation rate gaming which is erupting in some locations as scandal, and quietly doing damage in many others.
The pressure to resolve attendance problems is putting huge pressure on fallible, decent human beings to *do* something. Our little island of creative problem solving in juvenile court mediation is rapidly being eaten away by administrators who simply want a) threats to parents & children delivered with the possibility of legal action, or b) expedited withdrawal to other options that take that student’s numbers off their books. It’s magnified by a quirk of the law that says medical appointments are “excused absences” for the individual (legal consequences are on the table in Ohio for 5 unexcused days absent in a row, 7 in a month, and 12 in a school year, charges fileable on both juvenile and on the parent in juvenile court for contributing to the truancy or unruliness of a child), so they theoretically are okay if they have a diagnosis letter and most of their absences have doctor notes.
But for the building administrator & district numbers, it’s total absence. Period. So the long-standing “first ten absences can be simply on a parent note, after which is ‘medicals only’ status for excused” is under pressure, and a ludicrous percentage of my last two months’ caseload are referrals for kids with a diagnosis, and a sheaf of doctor notes not in question — but the principal & district insist that I “do something” about all these absences.
Likewise the grad rate game is giving massive incentives to HS principals to shove kids out whenever possible. It’s not that there aren’t places where numbers are just plain being changed, on attendance and graduation (see Columbus OH’s current battle with the State Auditor), but there’s also plenty of legal, within the rules behavior that is not, IMNSHO, in the student’s best interest — with the defense from admins that what they’re doing is to protect the school as a whole from cuts . . . and I ruefully would note that you can tell it usually isn’t simply them butt-covering, but their belief that they have no choice for the good of the general student count.
Anyhow, in all the kerfuffle around the proficiency testing side of NCLB, I think the malign impacts of attendance & graduation mandates has been missed — largely because hey, who would argue with being in school, and with graduation? Well, as we’re doing it now anyhow, I would.
3012 chars
Jolene said on April 25, 2013 at 7:02 am
Whoops! Sorry about that stretched out link. I don’t know why some wrap and some don’t. It works, though.
105 chars
Linda said on April 25, 2013 at 7:05 am
JTTMO, he might have written the first paragraph, but I bet the rest was written by those who knew him. As it happens, I’ve been looking especially for cool obits, because I’m supposed to give a speech on the topic (really) this Saturday.
David C, Tiger Beat about covers it: it breathlessly reports gossip, picks on the unkewl kids, and sucks up to the latest hitmakers, even if they’re not good.
401 chars
Linda said on April 25, 2013 at 7:08 am
Off topic, but how seriously FUBAR’d is this country: http://www.aclu.org/religion-belief/aclu-brief-argues-tulsa-police-officer-cannot-refuse-serve-people-other-faiths
A cop refuses to go to a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day because the people throwing it are Muslims?
273 chars
Prospero said on April 25, 2013 at 7:29 am
Jeff Flake is a shithead. No two ways about it. It’s official.
225 chars
Jolene said on April 25, 2013 at 8:26 am
Flake has been getting a lot of grief over the contradiction between what he said in that note and his vote. A couple night ago, Letterman named him “Stooge of the Night” for that reason.
Not only did he stiff the woman who wrote the note, but he is from Gabby Giffords’ home state and purports to be her friend. Yet he voted against a bill that might have stopped the guy who shot her.
389 chars
alex said on April 25, 2013 at 8:33 am
So aptly named. Flake. How cool is that?
40 chars
beb said on April 25, 2013 at 8:48 am
I read a nice blog post about the Jill Abramson article, but I don’t remember where. (Boy, that’s embarrassing.) The upshot of it was that there is a whole litany of situations where what men do is described by one term but by another, demeaning term if done by a woman.
Men are decisive, woman are bossy.
Men are inquisitive, woman are nosey.
Men accept no excuses, woman are unforgiving.
And so on.
I saw this last night and had to mention it here today. Only-in-Michigan:
http://www.eclectablog.com/2013/04/michigan-republicans-stealing-bills-introduced-by-democrats-to-deny-them-legislative-victories.html
The link pretty much summarizes the story. A republican introduced a bill that was word for word exactly what a Democrat had introduced. Man, what chutzpah.
While I think Catherine from yesterday’s comments was a troll, I want to rebut one thing she complained about. California teachers, says she, get tenure after two years, as if this were some horribly bad idea. But, you know, most people are not hired on a year-by-year basis. They get a job and if their survive the first 3 or 6 months they have a reasonable expectation of keeping that job for years to come. They can make decisions about their future based on the expection that they will have that job in the future. Tenure is just a way of assuring teachers that they will have their job the same as any one else.
Catherine also complained about how long it takes to fire a teacher with tenure. That’s not because of tenure that because conflict resolution is a long, slow process. First there are one-on-one discussions between management and the person they want to fire. If matters can’t be resolved there, its off to arbitration, which first involved agreeing on an arbitrator, then finding time on their schedule to hear the case, then the case is presented and the arbitrator announces that they will announce their decision several months later. Then the arbitration verdict is appealed, and the process is repeated. This all happens because most teachers are protected by unions from arbitrary and capricious dismissal. Nobody wants to get fired just because the boss came in all cranky one day and decided to make someone pay for their bad mood.
It’s not tenure and it’s not unions, it’s due process and that always takes time.
Jeff(TMMO) brings up another good point, about school attendance and graduation rates. Again this is all from thinking a school is like a factory. You want graduation rates to be high but schools are collections of people and some of them will never see the advantage of a high school diploma.
2624 chars
adrianne said on April 25, 2013 at 8:52 am
That hatchet job on Jill Abramson made me blow my stack. Here’s Dean Baquet, acting like a jerk – punching a wall, storming out of a meeting with Jill, etc. – but Jill gets hammered by anonymous sources for being “brusque?” Give me a break. A man acting the same way as Jill would barely register a comment from anyone. Sexism is alive and well in the New York Times newsroom and others as well.
395 chars
Mark P said on April 25, 2013 at 9:12 am
Jeff (tmmo), attitudes about student absences seem to be to be tainted by the same thing that taints attitudes about testing: money. At least in Georgia, schools get funding based on average daily attendance, so more absences means less money.
243 chars
nancy said on April 25, 2013 at 9:12 am
Tenure was — is — for college professors, who may write/conduct research in areas some might find objectionable. They need protection from alumni, state legislatures and others who would seek to block inquiry into, for example, sexuality, or any number of other touchy topics.
Extending it to K-12 teachers always seemed odd to me, but a Michigan teacher said it helps you survive other storms — a hostile board, a principal who doesn’t like you, etc. I see her point; we all have to deal with a hostile boss from time to time, but a science teacher has far fewer job options than, say, a salesman. At the same time, tenure can offer protection for goldbrickers. This seems undeniable. Every workplace has them.
It would be nice if good teachers would do more to either nudge lousy ones toward the door, or make them better. I honestly don’t know how that’s done. Some sort of peer review? That’s how tenure works in universities.
941 chars
Dorothy said on April 25, 2013 at 9:19 am
If I were lucky enough to be among the cast of Mad Men, I think I’d react to being recognized on the street just like this, which I found on the Vanity Fair website:
Paré is more excited than her fans. “I’m the bigger nerd about all of it,” she said. “I was recognized on the streets in SoHo a couple weeks ago, and the woman was like, ‘Oh my god, you’re on Mad Men! You’re Megan!’ And I punched her on the shoulder, and I was like, ‘I know!’”
476 chars
Charlotte said on April 25, 2013 at 11:05 am
Oh Dorothy, that is completely adorable!
Ground is broken on my sunporch/greenhouse! I guess I’ll have to resurrect my moribund blog and post some photos. It’s going to be very cool, and I found an online calculator to figure out how much roof overhang so we don’t all burn up in the summer.
294 chars
brian stouder said on April 25, 2013 at 11:20 am
That is a beautiful photo, and I especially like the full moon hanging above the scoreboard.
I keep hearing this squawking about ‘teacher tenure’, and I think it has become an all-purpose scare-word.
Here in Fort Wayne, the teachers have a union (cue ominous music) – but so what?
Our schools are scrutinized every which-way, every day, every week, and every month; and when changes are implemented – as they CONSTANTLY are – the teachers are ALWAYS an integral part of the prcoess.
For example, just these past few weeks the school where our two daughters go – Towles Montessori – announced major changes to their Middle School (6-8th grade), which put many of the parents into an uproar.
They’re keeping the Montessori approach in the lower grades, but shifting to New Tech for the Middle School grades….and all the teachers have to re-apply for their jobs, if they wish to stay there. And if they re-apply, they are also committing to STAY at that school for three years, or else get stuck with the (not small) bill for their re-training.
Previously, this process was executed at the high school where our son goes, and in a word, the teaching staff found the whole thing to be quite stressful (and many simply washed out).
By way of saying, I think FWCS has a superb Superintendent – and she never fails to take guff for her salary, and she does a job I would NOT want, and she is succeeding in keeping our schools vibrant and successful.
She’s (Dr Wendy Robinson) fond of saying that the state and the Feds CAN tell us WHAT to teach, but not HOW.
And she’s been dauntless in her pursuit of the best “how” solutions.
PS – our oldest daughter begins her high school career next year at our fairly new New Tech high school (at Wayne), and we just attended a parent orientation meeting there a day ago. In a word – impressive.
1868 chars
LAMary said on April 25, 2013 at 1:24 pm
One in five women in Korea have plastic surgery. Check out these photos of the Miss Korea entrants:
http://jezebel.com/plastic-surgery-means-many-beauty-queens-but-only-one-480929886
185 chars
Judybusy said on April 25, 2013 at 1:58 pm
LAMary and others, did you scroll down the comments to see the pic of the contestants without make-up? If that’s accurate, the make-up is really homogenizing.
158 chars
JWfromNJ said on April 25, 2013 at 2:17 pm
I had to look up appendiceal cancer after reading Brian’s excellent obit. He even delivered laughs from the great beyond. It turns out that’s what Audrey Hepburn died from. And that the odds of getting it are a staggering .12 out of 1,000,000.
243 chars
Prospero said on April 25, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Happy Albert King’s birthday. A wizard guitar player:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKY8KIt9kqc
How does anybody die of cancer affecting an organ with no known function? I mean, it’s a useless appendage from our evolutionary pasts. Nothing whatsoever changes when it’s removed. It’s basically like a human caudal tale.
Alex@12: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFvtoJrK1Zg
Those pictures of Korean beauty queens has made me extremely sad.
450 chars
LAMary said on April 25, 2013 at 3:04 pm
JudyBusy, those aren’t the same women. Those are the contestants for Miss Seoul and the first set of photos are for Miss Korea.
127 chars
Mark P said on April 25, 2013 at 3:12 pm
I’m guessing that the problem with appendiceal cancer is that it is usually not diagnosed in the early stages because of lack of symptoms and difficulty in actually seeing the tumors in diagnostic scans, and by the time symptoms show up, it has metastasized.
258 chars
Judybusy said on April 25, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Thanks, Mary, I was pretty doubtful that make-up could make such a huge difference!
83 chars
Mark H said on April 25, 2013 at 7:47 pm
I know we have a lot of writers here, and probably more than a few Larry McMurtry fans (like me). Here’s a really interesting visit with him where he shares a bit about his life, love of books and how he writes. I have read that a number of writers write a specific amount of pages or in a specific time frame each day, then stop and go about other things. As opposed to marathon non-stop churning of pages. Interesting that he does five to ten pages a day and that’s it. On a manual typewriter. Also he lets us know which of the screen treatments of his novels he likes and does not like.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/24/larry-mcmurtry-how-i-write.html
673 chars
Sherri said on April 25, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Peggy Orenstein has a great piece about breast cancer awareness and fear mongering and mammography, but it misses one part of the picture.
She talks about the evidence that mammography is only indicated every other year for women 50-74, and how the pink hordes rise in indignation any time this is promoted. What she doesn’t mention is that at least some of the clinics and hospitals who own mammography equipment don’t really want to see those recommendations promoted either. The breast clinic where I get my mammogram sends me a letter every year to remind me it’s time for another one, and then if the letter doesn’t result in an appointment, they start calling me. It’s one thing for activists invested in a particular story (“early detection saves lives!”) to resist evidence to the contrary; it’s something else when medical providers do in order to keep the money flowing.
Best health care in the world, you know.
1042 chars
MarkH said on April 25, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Hey, Nance – I posted a comment about an hour ago that I think went into moderation. (??)
89 chars
Brandon said on April 26, 2013 at 1:36 am
Speaking of sports, the NFL Draft was held Thursday (it’s Thursday night as I type this) and Manti Te`o was not chosen in the first draft. There’ll be more on the ten o`clock news.
180 chars
Brandon said on April 26, 2013 at 4:17 am
I should’ve said the first round of the draft was held Thursday. It’s 10:15 p.m. Hawaii time and the news (see link below) led off with the story of Manti not getting picked in the first round. He might be an early pick in the second round, and there’s speculation Manti will go to Detroit.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/22083892/hawaiis-manti-teo-not-drafted-in-first-round-of-nfl-draft
395 chars
David C. said on April 26, 2013 at 6:32 am
Sherri, you are so right. There are so many other procedures we are conned into thinking we absolutely need. The every 6 month dental cleaning with annual dental x-ray bugs me. I brush and floss and I haven’t had a cavity in 10 years. I’ve never had a anything diagnosed by a dental x-ray. So I rather passive aggressively cancel appointments (the dentist insists you don’t get out of the office without making the next 6 month appointment) and only go once a year. It’s a fight, but I only let them take an x-ray every 2 years.
528 chars
coozledad said on April 26, 2013 at 8:18 am
Might Charles Pierce be talking about Ron Fournier here?
The coverage of the opening of this vast temple to prevarication and ruin is not about bricks and mortar. It’s about an attempt by the courtier press to absolve itself of a dereliction of duty that rivaled even that of the president in question while New Orleans drowned, and while the economy was bubbling toward disaster. (That dereliction of duty, it should be noted, now and forever, began with the coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign, and the disgraceful performance of the elite political press corps towards Al Gore.) It’s about their efforts to help the country absolve itself from the immense damage it brought upon itself by electing, and then re-electing, a half-bright dry drunk who wrecked nearly everything he touched, and who now is trying to rehabilitate himself by explaining that he hasn’t ruined anything else since he left office, and doesn’t that make him a swell fella. The elite press is dedicating an entire day of coverage to the perpetuation of a monstrous public lie. Electing George W. Bush twice was a monumental act of democratic self-destruction from which the country has yet to recover. Celebrating him celebrating himself is simply to pour battery acid into the still-open wounds. I will take theories about dinosaurs in ancient China over the notion that George W. Bush was a good man confronted by insurmountable problems dropped on him by an implacable universe of chance. He was a career fk-up, from start to finish, and he finally found himself in a job where Daddy’s money and Daddy’s lawyers couldn’t bail him out.
No, he doesn’t deserve the day. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans and Iraqis who don’t get today.
Read more: George Bush Library Opening – The George Bush Manure Locker Is Now Open – Esquire http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/george-bush-library-opening-042513#ixzz2RZTGYcgK
1922 chars
brian stouder said on April 26, 2013 at 8:26 am
I thought momma Bush made the same point (more or less) in her little TV interview.
(and the concept of the ‘courtier press’ was crystalized by her NBC grand daughter’s clench-faced reaction!)
195 chars