Here’s more evidence that the Israeli government is trying to find a face-saving way to declare victory and end the war in Gaza, i.e. they’re now reportedly offering Hamas leader Yahya Sinar safe passage out of Gaza in a bid to end the conflict. … As previously mentioned, Israel’s declared goal of destroying Hamas was never realistic. That’s why they’ve unofficially set a new goal of simply getting rid of Sinar, one way or the other.

At the Atlantic, Harvard economist David Deming takes on “insular and status-obsessed’ economists within his profession, arguing they’re increasingly out of touch with regular people and writing too many “mathematically sophisticated papers that get them tenure but have little effect on the real world.” …

And, oh, he cites a recent economic paper by economists showing how award-winning economists tend to be concentrated at just eight elite universities. 

This is just a great business story. … There’s something about free shrimp, or super-cheap shrimp, that brings out the worst in people, btw.

Update – And here’s another good business story, via the BBJ, on the closing of Boston’s Motif FoodWorks, after the Ginkgo Bioworks spinout raised $226 million in funding. That’s a lot of money to lose on a start-up.

The reviews are in: T12 failed in his debut yesterday as a Fox NFL game analyst. But I’d argue he failed even before he failed. The ridiculous $375 million contract he got from Fox was bad enough, a figure so over the top that it alienated fans and raised legit questions about whether anyone deserved so much for so little. But all the pre-game hype about how much he practiced and studied tapes before his debut blah, blah, generated the impression that he wasn’t a natural, that it was all contrived and studio-tested. That was more damaging to his debut than the contract, if you ask me. 

You’ve heard of “sane-washing,” i.e. when a news outlet reports seriously on one thing that Donald Trump says without mentioning the other crazy things he says in a speech, thus making him look more sane than he really is. Well, here’s the opposite sane-washing, courtesy of Universal Hub’s Adam Gaffin, who covers the conviction of a former Faulkner Hospital doc who got in a whole bunch of trouble for participating in the Jan. 6 mayhem at the U.S. Capitol. … The story starts off slowly, but picks up steam as her defense attorney’s arguments pick up steam in their absurdity. No sane-washing in Adam’s coverage. …

And fear not. I’ll be zeroing in on future, though not quite as absurd, “sane-washing” issues tied to the left. I got a minor start on this front the other day (see below for my prior ‘Are we really going to have wall-to-wall coverage of campus protests again?’).

I’ve been sensing the same thing. … It’s not just the Times/Siena poll. Other surveys show the race has become what we all knew it would become: damn close.

This isn’t capitalism. It’s criminal neglect. From the Globe: “The Spotlight Team identified at least 15 instances in which Steward patients died after failing to receive professionally accepted standards of care due to equipment issues or staffing shortages. This total omits deaths due to individual lapses in judgment or medical errors in order to focus on the real, systemic Steward scandal, the one driven by radical under-investment by management in hospitals that mainly serve patients on the lower end of the economic spectrum — often those most in need of care.’

The team cites staff shortages in critical areas, surgeries canceled due to stiffed vendors not delivering vital equipment, medical tests delayed, hospital personnel scrounging for basic supplies (including toilet paper), etc. etc. All while its CEO and investors played shell games to reap huge “profits” from the formerly non-profit hospitals. 

Another impressive BC win (and almost too impressive). … From Bob Ryan: “It’s time to climb aboard the Boston College football bandwagon.”

Jerusalem Demsas at The Atlantic defends national Dems’ embrace of YIMBY goals, despite concerns of some pro-housing advocates that it might politically polarize the goal of building more homes. … Demsas makes good points. But if we know anything about today’s polarized politics, it’s that anything can be polarized. …Christian Britschgi at Reason thinks national Dems aren’t as committed to YIMBY as it might appear.

I don’t think I can take it. I.e. , renewed over-the-top media coverage of pro-Palestinian student protests around the country. The latest sign the media is eagerly preparing for campus protests to resume this fall, after a summer lull: The Globe had three (count ‘em – three) reporters covering yesterday’s “inaugural” protest of the school year at Harvard. … Sigh. … Next to come: The first “inaugural” media references to Vietnam War-era protests.

Update — Protesters demand to be taken seriously. But their actions are not treated seriously. Rita Koganzon explains at the NYT.