Weekend link dump for February 21

The Recommended English Names for Fungi 2014 also serves as an excellent band name generator. I’m claiming “Blushing Rosette” while I still can. (Hat tip.)

“Around 50,000 years ago, anatomically modern humans shacked up with some Neanderthals—and the genetic consequences are still doing a walk of shame through our generations.”

“In fact, nearly every female Jeopardy! contestant that I spoke to talked about receiving one form of unwelcome sexual attention or another, which most of them hadn’t expected when appearing on a show they’d loved since childhood.”

A tip of the hat to the San Antonio Express News for how they broke the Scalia story.

A variety of views on what Justice Scalia’s death and the fight to replace him may mean.

And some people have justifiably mixed emotions about the whole thing.

“It is to Obama’s credit that, under his watch, the EPA has embraced rather than evaded its legal responsibilities. Nevertheless, it’s important to recognize that those legal responsibilities were not created by the current president. Instead, they are the product of five decades of legislative and regulatory efforts by prior administrations of both parties.”

If you read Playboy for the cartoons, you now have a reason to cancel your subscription, too.

RIP, Buckner Fanning, longtime Baptist pastor and interfaith leader from San Antonio.

“We don’t need Ted Cruz or his supporters to be relevant. If you think we should be grateful because dude used our music or you’ve never heard of us, that says more about your inadequacy than it does about our importance.”

RIP, Vanity, a/k/a Denise Matthews, singer and collaborator with Prince.

“What [Mitch] McConnell would say about blocking a Scalia replacement if he were brutally honest”.

“If [Senate Republicans] give Obama’s nominee the same treatment that the Democrats gave Bork, we’ll have a full debate and an up-or-down vote.”

An interview with John Oliver, for those of you that are into that kind of thing.

RIP, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary general.

“Yes, opposition to same-sex marriage ought to be dead, but it’s nevertheless stalking U.S. politics again, frightening — well, no one in particular, because marriage equality is the law of the land, and it’s not going away any time soon and it’s certainly not frightening the little children, who by and large lack their parents’ and grandparents’ prejudices.”

This is what happens when you take Ayn Rand seriously”.

What then-Sen. Obama said about the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court in 2006.

The Pope and Donald Trump are not exactly BFFs.

“Had UT put proper procedures in place after Naughright’s initial complaint to address the sexism and harassment that permeated the program, then perhaps there would not be a civil suit today from five women who allege they were raped by Vols athletes and then mistreated by the university.”

RIP, Harper Lee, possibly the most famous single-book (sort of) author ever.

Whether the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act applies in your home state depends on what state it is.

RIP, Umberto Eco, Italian novelist who wrote “The Name Of The Rose”.

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2 Responses to Weekend link dump for February 21

  1. Gary Bennett says:

    I’m left a bit uneasy by the implication that genes that may trace back to modern human / Neanderthal interbreeding might have been bad for the species. This kind of thinking echoes the old eugenics concept, long discredited, that eliminating defective genes strengthens the human race and allowing the genetically inferior to reproduce weakens it. This reasoning is based on concepts from human breeding of animals — which produces results that are useful to humans but not necessarily to the survivability of the animal species in question. In reality one of the secrets of human success has been its capacity to store a wide genetic variety, and what is a weakness in one set of circumstances may be the key to survival in another.

  2. Steve Houston says:

    Gary, I’m in agreement, when the idea first popped up back in the 60’s and 70’s, it was touted as a case of “hybrid vigor” that probably added survivability traits to the human race.

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