Betamax VCR introduced on this date in 1975

Sony introduced the Betamax on this date in 1975. I bought the first Beta Hi-FI VCR for my 30th birthday in 1983. It cost about $750 (which would be $1890.86 in 2018 dollars). Sony had retrofitted an old-style model and it weighed 32 pounds. It had a wireless remote control but you could only program one event. VHS did not introduce HI-FI until 1984. Blade Runner and Apocalypse Now were among the first Beta Hi-Fi tapes released. In 1986, my house was broken into and the burglars took the VCR from the third floor to the first floor and left it there. Beta was already on the way out.

On May 10, 1975, Sony introduced the Betamax video recorder pic.twitter.com/1gKsEDsekz
— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) May 11, 2024

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2020 census update

Analysis | How liberal groups are fighting the census citizenship question https://t.co/oKoVfrmXL4
— Todd Gitlin (@toddgitlin) June 4, 2019

The Justice Department issued a withering rebuke on Monday to assertions that a Republican political operative helped draft the department’s request to place a citizenship question on the 2020 census. “There is no smoking gun here; only smoke and mirrors.” https://t.co/w6C8lH7GaS
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) June 4, 2019

New evidence shows that the Trump administration added the census citizenship question to restrict the political power of Latino communities.

We’re headed into court to argue that the government should be sanctioned for the false testimony it presented. pic.twitter.com/prVqzuOwuk
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 5, 2019

1. Last week we learned that a political operative that specializes in racial gerrymandering concocted the Trump administration's scheme to rig the 2020 census.

Who was paying him?

I followed the money and found the answer: the RNChttps://t.co/97847BzuKK pic.twitter.com/V1vRWovG9z
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) June 5, 2019

Hollywood portrait photographs

There was a great exhibit of these photographs at the Museum of Modern Art in 1980-1981.

More pictures of the exhibit are here.

I also recommend the books by John Kobal.

With the help of the most ingenious photographers in Hollywood, screen goddesses like Greta Garbo & Jean Harlow made the still portrait part of their artistry. Imogen Sara Smith dives deep into the history of these portraits & the stars they immortalized. https://t.co/NdwHlP4FB7
— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) June 4, 2019

Anti-Semitism is on the rise

I blame Trump for a large part of this. His bigotry has inspired white supremacists. Jew understand what a bigot Trump is.

The number of reported murders, rapes and robberies in New York is lower now than it was a year ago, city officials announced. But amid the good news, there was an outlier: Reported hate crimes are up 64 percent. https://t.co/ec7R1Fc0cn
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 5, 2019

The number of hate crimes in New York City jumped by 64 percent this year, officials said Tuesday, fueled by a major spike in attacks on Jews. @Tom_Winter @richschapiro https://t.co/IuZaSMOf0q
— NBC Investigations (@NBCInvestigates) June 4, 2019

Take time to learn about it: https://t.co/ebO3LYVo1S
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 25, 2019

“American Jews aren’t motivated by Israel. They are, however, greatly offended by anti-Semitism, whether it comes from the right or left, and will expect both political parties to drum out anti-Semites.” https://t.co/Qq01I0DA0K
— Mimi Rocah (@Mimirocah1) May 26, 2019

Trump planted stories or fake claims about British royals

New story: We identified five instances where Donald Trump planted stories or spread fake claims about the British royal family joining his properties in order to get publicity.https://t.co/v6xQmgq9xX pic.twitter.com/6Ormn5Pz4Z
— andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) June 5, 2019

Trump’s 258th day as president at one of his properties

Another way to state this: Trump has spent nearly 30 percent of his presidency at a Trump-branded commercial property. https://t.co/6k99PsBVQ0
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) June 5, 2019

The US Secret Service plans to spend almost $100,000 this summer on golf cart rentals in Bedminster, New Jersey. Bedminster is the home of the Trump International Golf Club, where the president has spent at least 58 days since taking office.https://t.co/u6KxUr56WP
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 30, 2019

Trump Spent More Than Three Times the Cost of Robert Mueller’s Russia Investigation Playing Golf at His Own Resortshttps://t.co/glrZP6VRRb
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 26, 2019

The best part might be the response from WY Sen. John Barrasso, who once demanded a GAO review of an Obama golf trip: “I haven’t followed that at all.” https://t.co/pZ8sZyCROg
— Charlie Mahtesian (@PoliticoCharlie) May 22, 2019

Congratulations to the president on now having visited 12 Trump-branded properties since taking office! https://t.co/HVy7tAuSVL
— Philip Bump (@pbump) June 5, 2019

Daniel Dale’s count of Trump’s false claims (which I call lies)

I think Trump lies deliberately every time. He has access to the facts. He chooses to ignore them. The volume of lies has increased as Trump realizes there are no repercussions. People like me can’t hate him more and his cult believe him. More lies don’t change anything. More media outlets are finally calling Trump’s false statements lies. They should have started doing this in 2015 (or even earlier).

Daniel Dale has done a great job for the Toronto Star and will soon join CNN.

Donald Trump has passed 5,000 false claims as president. As of Sunday: 5,276. Mega-update from the last six weeks, featuring 351 false claims: https://t.co/VQjIDtsA7B
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 5, 2019

After holding back, more news organizations are now using a new word for Trump's "falsehoods:" Lies. Something I wrote: https://t.co/JG6XC37zQH
— Paul Farhi (@farhip) June 5, 2019

For the fourth time in a month, Trump falsely claimed today that North Korea hasn’t tested any missiles. It conducted two short-range missile tests in May alone. His national security adviser and acting defense secretary have acknowledged that they were missile tests. pic.twitter.com/n5P3WH3gIp
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 5, 2019

Is it even news anymore when the president lies? "It is. Of course it is." https://t.co/i8AZ2hO1tF
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 5, 2019

New #FactChecker –> Trump says he has the ‘all-time record’ for approval among Republicans. He ranks sixth. https://t.co/O1dKW8fW4e
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 5, 2019

Guess what — the Obama administration approved this facility in 2014 (though Trump keeps falsely saying he did). https://t.co/TAlds2Bvk0
— Glenn Kessler (@GlennKesslerWP) June 3, 2019

In mid-May, Trump gave a speech at a liquefied natural gas export facility that got its approvals from the Obama administration…and began saying that he gave it its approvals and no other administration would have. pic.twitter.com/hJNmxKj2Qy
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) June 2, 2019

Income inequality is increasing

Trump's economy is booming, but so is inequality | Analysis by CNN's Zachary B. Wolf https://t.co/q5TSrTR4oN pic.twitter.com/uQwqqwSGAH
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 1, 2019

When we talk about growing regional inequality in the US, we often focus on winner take all cities on the coasts. But this nifty feature in the weekend FT is a reminder that gaps are also growing between regional winner cities & struggling cousins nearby. https://t.co/PL1R8UheHd
— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) June 3, 2019

This is extremely bad and not at all good. https://t.co/ej9M3I0n3L
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) May 28, 2019

It’s called theft https://t.co/HbTOAJK62E
— Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) May 7, 2019

5 reasons why income inequality has become a major political issue (@JOHNJHARWOOD) https://t.co/stvLurtl8L pic.twitter.com/tcC6aPXpBl
— OpinionToday.com (@OpinionToday) June 5, 2019

Trump administration is trying to roll back 84 environmental rules

How many environmental rules is the Trump administration trying to roll back? We just updated the list: 84.https://t.co/M7dJHG6t9i
— NYT Climate (@nytclimate) June 4, 2019

Most Americans oppose fetal “heartbeat bills’

That won’t stop Republican states and I doubt it will stop the Supreme Court from drastically limiting abortion rights.

Most Americans are opposed to fetal ‘heartbeat bills’ and closing abortion clinics, exclusive poll shows https://t.co/2FHgzQITv7
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) June 3, 2019

Abortion is still legal in the United States, but for women in vast swaths of the country it’s a right in name onlyhttps://t.co/PGYpApZwp0
— POLITICO (@politico) May 31, 2019

States Passing Abortion Bans
1. Alabama
2. Arkansas
3. Georgia
4. Kentucky
5. Louisiana
6. Mississippi
7. Missouri
8. Ohio
9. Utah

States with Highest Infant Mortality Rates
1. Mississippi
2. Arkansas
5. Alabama
8. Georgia
9. Ohio
10. Louisiana
15. Kentucky
18. Missouri
26. Utah
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) May 30, 2019

States passing abortion bans:
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Ohio
Utah

States that haven't ratified the Equal Rights Amendment:
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Kentucky (ratified, but attempted to rescind in 1978)
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Utah
— Kate *Abortion is healthcare* Kelly (@Kate_Kelly_Esq) May 30, 2019

A judicious and helpful piece by ⁦@kim_wehle⁩ on Alabama’s abortion law and why it’s not likely to lead to a showdown in the Supreme Court. https://t.co/CbxwTstYUP
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 28, 2019

Strong support from most white women, especially those who identify as evangelical Christians, has helped Republicans dominate local government in the states passing the most restrictive measures on abortion. https://t.co/N97nqzC9ni
— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) May 23, 2019