Weekend link dump for August 8

“In the early 20th century, a famous anti-vaxxer exposed himself to smallpox. What happened next offers a COVID cautionary tale.”

“Every time there is another data breach, we are asked to change our password at the breached entity. But the reality is that in most cases by the time the victim organization discloses an incident publicly the information has already been harvested many times over by profit-seeking cybercriminals. Here’s a closer look at what typically transpires in the weeks or months before an organization notifies its users about a breached database.”

Apparently, a lot of people hate the song “Imagine”. I kind of do, too, and this article goes into why people hate it.

“In my decade-plus of social-policy reporting, I have mostly understood these stories as facts of life. Government programs exist. People have to navigate those programs. That is how it goes. But at some point, I started thinking about these kinds of administrative burdens as the “time tax”—a levy of paperwork, aggravation, and mental effort imposed on citizens in exchange for benefits that putatively exist to help them. This time tax is a public-policy cancer, mediating every American’s relationship with the government and wasting countless precious hours of people’s time.”

“I am angry that the tragic scenes of prior surges are being played out yet again, but now with ICUs primarily filled with patients who have chosen not to be vaccinated. I am angry that it takes me over an hour to explain to an anti-vaxxer full of misinformation that intubation isn’t what “kills patients” and that their wish for chest compressions without intubation in the event of a respiratory arrest makes no sense. I am angry at those who refuse to wear “muzzles” when grocery shopping for half an hour a week, as I have been so-called “muzzled” for much of the past 18 months.”

Poor Rudy. No really, he’s broke and he ain’t getting a dime from Trump. These two deserve each other so much.

“The finding indicates that there’s a very large population of wild animals in North America that could serve as a reservoir for the [SARS-CoV-2] virus, even if we were to get its circulation within the human population under control.”

“Let’s look back at the lesbian pulp explosion and try to uncover its legacy…”

“Just weeks after its launch, the pro-Trump social network GETTR is inundated with terrorist propaganda spread by supporters of Islamic State, according to a POLITICO review of online activity on the fledgling platform.”

“#STILLWATER was “directly inspired by the Amanda Knox saga.” Director Tom McCarthy tells Vanity Fair, “he couldn’t help but imagine how it would feel to be in Knox’s shoes.” …But that didn’t inspire him to ask me how it felt to be in my shoes.”

Maybe this guyrecently flagged government data center hard drives as a promising source of the rare earth elements America needs not just for data storage devices and consumer electronics, but also for energy technologies that are key to fighting climate change.”

“Those exceptional few white evangelicals who were on the right side of the abominable matter of slavery quickly found themselves to be on the wrong side of white evangelicism.”

“During the pandemic, child care was a second full-time job for many moms of young kids.”

“The end result may still be a much needed reform that finally forces America’s bitcoiners, ethereum fans, and doge nuts to pay their taxes. But the last minute rescue by top members of both parties is a vivid demonstration that, in Washington, crypto has some legislative sway.”

“[LSU] has not only abandoned its responsibility to its students and faculty, but also to Baton Rouge and Louisiana as a whole. As Louisiana’s flag-ship university, the administration has failed to set an example for the rest of the state’s public schools, both in terms of integrity and public health policy.”

“Hey, I’m going to take literally a half a second to type in ClevelandGuardians.com, just to see if anyone has it.”

RIP, JR Richard, legendary pitcher for the Houston Astros. I’m just glad that he and the franchise were able to reconcile and that he was inducted into the inaugural Astros Hall of Fame class while he was still with us.

RIP, Richard Trumka, labor leader and President of the AFL-CIO.

“The reality of the Ohio primary is that Nina Turner, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, was the Establishment in this race. She had more money, higher name recognition and tons of celebrity endorsements in her pocket. Her opponent Shontel Brown was a local Cuyahoga County Democratic Party chair, that nobody would’ve been able to pick out of a lineup four months ago. And yet, Turner still lost.”

“Everybody makes mistakes. And holding [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis up as Republican Covid hero was a doozy. Now the press needs to address that failure.”

RIP, Markie Post, actor known for Night Court, The Fall Guy, Hearts Afire, and more.

“The Democrats had 47 or 48 votes to fix the Senate or make a start of it. That wasn’t enough. What they’re on their way to doing is passing close to the entire agenda even with it still being broken. That’s a huge and historic accomplishment in policy terms and no mean feat in legislative handiwork. The aim of passing a big spending bill isn’t to fix the legislative body. It’s to pass the bill.”

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One Response to Weekend link dump for August 8

  1. Bill Daniels says:

    Markie Post was one of my boyhood crushes.

    And in a surprise, I can’t believe I disagree with Kuff about Lennon’s anthem, Imagine.

    I love the song, and even though Lennon was a leftist, when I was in NY years ago, I still made the pilgrimage to the steps of the Dakota apartment building, where he was gunned down. I also remember listening to the radio when his song was simulcasted on virtually every radio station in the country, and many around the world. Powerful stuff.

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