“Bolton’s Chances for Approval Brighten,” says AP story, citing Republicans’ returning to the fold on the issue, while in Wall Street Journal former UN official and head of World Food Program Catherine Bertini says he’s OK in her book, based on years of working with him.

 I’ve known him for 30 years, and I know that he expresses his views in a forthright manner so that everyone knows where he stands. But John listens with as much intensity as he speaks. He hears others’ views, and will change his own if a counterargument proves convincing. I have seen him do this many times, and have been on both the “winning” and “losing” sides of discussions with him. It is difficult to participate in one of these discussions without developing a healthy respect for the logic of his conclusions — whether one agrees with him or not. [Italics added]

That’s as to the character issue.  As to what’s good for us, she says:

 John had a strong commitment to supporting U.S. leadership within the U.N., and of the importance of the U.N. to the U.S. He made significant efforts to improve the workings of the U.N., plunging into matters where he thought the U.S. could enhance U.N. operations, but was wise enough to try to fix only what was practicable. But the instinct was to fix: Shouldn’t we have a U.N. ambassador like that? [Italics added]

All in all, he’s her man, because he’s “a forceful player, alive to U.S. interests” and will promote “steps necessary to strengthen the U.N.”

Embedded in such a mentality is the shape-up-or-ship-out philosophy required for change, it seems to me.

Ill. Gov. Blagojevich says a pharmacist is “in no position to decide who might or might not be someone you sell [contraceptives] to.”  He was responding to Cardinal George calling for him to rescind his directive that they must sell “contraceptives, including the morning-after pill,” as the Springfield State Journal-Register put it, “even if the sale goes against their personal beliefs.”

But does Gov. Blago think the issue is the customer, not the product?  And as to the product, the morning-after pill is not a contraceptive but an abortifacient.  It does not prevent conception but aborts it, dislodging the fertilized egg so it can’t get nowhere on its otherwise inevitable way towards becoming a little baby.

Lots of people don’t buy that formula, but shouldn’t newspapers take responsibility here, being fair and balanced and letting readers decide?

Wait.  Sun-Times also terms the morning-after pill something that “prevents” conception, which it aborts, else why after the fact?  Thus this mainstream media outlet ignores and obfuscates the key difference here, what puts this pill in an entirely new category.

The Sun-Times man, Ben Fischer, has apparently given the matter some thought, calling “the medication essentially an ultra-dose of standard birth control chemicals taken after sex.”  Ultra-dose?  What would that be?  Lots more of what prevents conception, thus locking the barn door after the cows are stolen?

Chi Trib took a pass on this matter.

Lifted from Blithe Spirit is this:

* How to read a newspaper: Always 2 or 3 days late.  You get so-called breaking (broken?) news by Internet and cable and talk radio.  Go to the paper for a palimpsest of local stories — crimes, accidents, school board fights, etc., above all sports!  It’s to prevent yourself from being too much impressed by story placement, headline, photos, etc.  More later: this is a very pregnant topic.

Here’s more, new to this blog: You want to remain untouched by the hype that inevitably attaches to The Selling of a Story, which is endemic to newspaperdom.  Newspapers are competing for your attention and they mean to grab it any which way.  This is not dishonorable.  Au contraire, it’s in the line of duty for them.  But so is it in the line of duty for readers (potential buyers of the story) to beware.  Caveat emptor and all that. 

In this case beware the headline, pix, story placement, etc.  As I say above, more, more, more later on this.

. . . for its amazing double boo-boo, running two pix in a row of supposed gangsters and getting it wrong, wrong, wrong both times! The one guy is suing; that was the first one.  The other guy is just complaining at this point, but give him a day or so.  WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON IN THE PHOTO LAB AND AMONG PHOTO EDITORS??!!

Dawn T. Trice is not bad today with a shot at ghetto culture seeking respectability.

Carol Marin discussed “Daley’s tight-lipped legacy” in a Sun-Times 4/22 column, deftly limning puffery surrounding golden-anniversary celebration of Richard J. Daley’s accession to the mayoralty.  Ex-Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, who paid for his sins with federal time thanks greatly to Sun-Times reporting some years back, bemoaned media’s lack of progressivism — were “not progressive enough,” he told a high-profile audience.  He also recounted the day in 1966 when Daley urged LBJ to get out of Viet Nam — beyond closed doors from which he emerged to pledge support for LBJ’s policies.  Rosty meant to praise that duplicity and apparently was applauded for doing so. 

Marin recalled instances of unresponsiveness to inadequately progressive media under Richard J., as in stiffing inquiries about lead-paint-related deaths, and brought us up to date with reference to similar unresponsiveness by the son Richard M., as regards hiring of a major Hired Truck scandal character — by whom in City Hall, that is.

It was a nicely honed and reported nay-saying at a time of reverence for the Great Man’s memory.

Coffee at $1.60 with complimentary slice of brioche makes Bread Kitchen the premiere stop du jour, especially since the coffee is far superior to Einstein’s and Panera. 

Found back of Panera today.  No one here.  Had spotted ex-Longfellow-principal Mardi B. with friends in usual place, next to fire place, and Lance T., lawyer, actor, and supporter of youth theatrics on my way to rear of restaurant.  Raining.  April showering today.  Have secreted home-toasted half jelly sandwich, intend to dip it into my paid-for Panera coffee.  This is partly why I ensconce myself back here: I don’t want to be ejected for bringing my own food into the eatery ball park.

The other reason is the remoteness of it: I am far from the mad crowd, which is not bad by Friday rush-hour standards but still would be distracting as I think and scribble.  As it is, I sit at a small round table for one, with no one in sight or even earshot.  All I hear is delicate mood music, slightly classical, and distant patches of comment.  Outside the traffic in the rain: Lake Street, River Forest, a few blocks west of Harlem

Here’s a suggestion for newspaper writers and editors: No more “well” in the middle of a sentence to indicate a sort of chuckling hesitation to say what some may think shouldn’t be said but one is going to say anyway, because, shucks, it ought to be said, as in this from Andrew Martin of Chi Trib Wash. bureau, p. one, 4/20:

After four years of preparation that cost $2.4 million, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday unveiled its highly anticipated replacement for the food pyramid, and it is, well, another pyramid.