About Editing and Writing

As New Term Starts, Supreme Court Is Poised to Resume Rightward Push

October 2, 2022

From a New York Times story by Adam Liptak headlined “As New Term Starts, Supreme Court Is Poised to Resume Rightward Push”:

The last Supreme Court term ended with a series of judicial bombshells in June that eliminated the right to abortion, established a right to carry guns outside the home and limited efforts to address climate change. As the justices return to the bench on Monday, there are few signs that the court’s race to the right is slowing.

The new term will feature major disputes on affirmative action, voting, religion, free speech and gay rights. And the court’s six-justice conservative supermajority seems poised to dominate the new term as it did the earlier one.

You Thought the Supreme Court’s Last Term Was Bad—Brace Yourself

October 2, 2022

From a Washington Post column by Ruth Marcus headlined “You thought the Supreme Court’s last term was bad? Brace yourself.”:

The cataclysmic Supreme Court term that included the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion and the end of constitutional protection for abortion would, in the normal ebb and flow, be followed by a period of quiet, to let internal wounds heal and public opinion settle.

Putin Just Told Us What He’s Planning

October 2, 2022

From a New York Times essay by Alexander Baunov headlined “Putin Just Told Us What He’s Planning”:

Vladimir Putin’s speech on Friday, in which he formally proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, was many things: a distorted history lecture, a rather tedious enumeration of supposed Western sins, an airing of grievances and a vaunting of power. For all the rhetorical flourish — accusing Western elites of “Satanism,” for example — it was in many ways a typical address from Mr. Putin.

But it was also something else: a plan. Amid the bluster and veiled threats, the president made three distinct points that, taken together, form a blueprint for war and peace.

On Java Road Is a Book About Adrian Gyle, an English Journalist in Hong Kong

October 2, 2022

From a Wall Street Journal review by Tom Nolan of the book by Lawrence Osborne titled “On Java Road”:

The narrator of Lawrence Osborne’s latest novel, “On Java Road,” is Adrian Gyle, an English journalist who has lived for two decades in Hong Kong. “I’m a dreary person’s dreary person,” he says of himself. But his home base, which until recently felt “as if time had stood still since about 1970,” is suddenly much livelier and dangerous, with violent protests in the streets as the Chinese impose stricter controls over the populace.

The Coming Power Shift on Capitol Hill

October 1, 2022

From a story on axios.com by Josh Kraushaar headlined “The coming power shift”:

Fundamentals still matter in politics: The party out of power almost always gains congressional seats in a midterm. Presidents with underwater job approval ratings typically suffer sizable congressional losses.

Why it matters: Yes, Democrats’ fortunes have improved, but the most likely outcome of the midterm elections is still a shift in power to the Republicans — and bigger headaches for President Biden over the next two years.

There’s no doubt that Democrats have made significant gains over the summer. They’ve been boosted by lower gas prices and are benefiting from outrage over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Former President Jimmy Carter to Celebrate 98th Birthday With Family, Friends, and Baseball

October 1, 2022

From an AP story by Bill Barrow headlined “Jimmy Carter to celebrate 98 with family, friends, baseball”:

Jimmy Carter, already the longest-living U.S. president in history, will celebrate his 98th birthday Saturday with family and friends in Plains, the tiny Georgia town where he and his wife, 95-year-old Rosalynn, were born in the years between World War I and the Great Depression.

The 39th president’s latest milestone comes as The Carter Center, which the Carters established together after their one White House term, marks 40 years of promoting democracy and conflict resolution, monitoring elections, and advancing public health in the developing world.

Five Best Books on Putin and Power

October 1, 2022

From a Wall Street Journal story headlined “Five Best Books on Putin and Power”:

Selected by Mark Geleotti, the author of the forthcoming “Putin’s War: From Chechnya to Ukraine.”

Putin
By Philip Short (2022)

Culinary Innovations of Mexico Nuns Live On in Storied Cuisine

October 1, 2022

From an AP story by Maria Teresa Hernandez headlined “Mexico nuns’ culinary innovations live on in storied cuisine”:

Each September, when Mexico celebrates its independence from Spain, people nationwide delight in chiles en nogada, a seasonal dish of mild poblano peppers stuffed with ground pork and fruit, smothered in a sauce of walnut, parsley and pomegranate seeds. The recipe was invented in 1821 by a nun, whose name has been lost to history.

Audrey Evans: Pioneering Childhood Cancer Researcher and Co-Founder of the First Ronald McDonald House

October 1, 2022

From a Washington Post obit by Margaret Foster headlined “Audrey Evans, pioneering researcher of childhood cancer, dies at 97”:

Until the mid-20th century, doctors could do little for children in cancer wards except try to comfort them. “There wasn’t much else you could do but care,” Audrey Evans recalled of the era when she began studying for a career as a pediatric oncologist.

The British-born doctor arrived in Boston in 1953 on a Fulbright scholarship to work at Boston Children’s Hospital with Sidney Farber, an oncologist who had begun to gain international recognition for his use of chemotherapy treatment. Children in his studies had managed to beat leukemia into remission — the first major victory over what had long been an almost universally fatal disease.

Thomas Friedman: Putin Is Trying to Outcrazy the West

October 1, 2022

From a New York Times column by Thomas L. Friedman headlined “Putin Is Trying to Outcrazy the West”:

With his annexation of parts of Ukraine on Friday, Vladimir Putin has set in motion forces that are turning Russia into a giant North Korea. It will be a paranoid, angry, isolated state, but unlike North Korea, the Russian version will be spread over 11 time zones — from the Arctic Sea to the Black Sea and from the edge of free Europe to the edge of Alaska — with thousands of nuclear warheads.

About Editing and Writing

As New Term Starts, Supreme Court Is Poised to Resume Rightward Push

You Thought the Supreme Court’s Last Term Was Bad—Brace Yourself

Putin Just Told Us What He’s Planning

On Java Road Is a Book About Adrian Gyle, an English Journalist in Hong Kong

The Coming Power Shift on Capitol Hill

Former President Jimmy Carter to Celebrate 98th Birthday With Family, Friends, and Baseball

Five Best Books on Putin and Power

Culinary Innovations of Mexico Nuns Live On in Storied Cuisine

Audrey Evans: Pioneering Childhood Cancer Researcher and Co-Founder of the First Ronald McDonald House

Thomas Friedman: Putin Is Trying to Outcrazy the West

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