Reading archive 2024-02-22

How everything became a ‘psyop’ for conservative media: It’s not just Taylor Swift. Right-wing pundits are branding everything from climate change to the Hunter Biden case a ‘psyop,’ though the conspiracy-tinged phrase is losing grip on an actual definition

Recall effort targets D.C. Council member Brianne Nadeau over crime surge: Like a separate effort to recall council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), the effort to recall Nadeau centers on public safety concerns.

Mike Lindell must pay man $5M in ‘Prove Mike Wrong’ challenge, judge says - "Robert Zeidman, a computer forensics expert who voted for Trump twice, did just that, a federal judge in Minnesota determined Wednesday, upholding a previous ruling from a private arbitration panel. Zeidman is owed the $5 million payout plus interest, Judge John Tunheim wrote in his Wednesday ruling. The decision is the latest development in a years-long effort to claim the prize, after Zeidman found that the data was not related to the 2020 election."

What the Pentagon has learned from two years of war in Ukraine: With hundreds of thousands dead or wounded and still no end in sight, the conflict has revealed that U.S. battlefield calculations must evolve - "Taylor told the story of an Apache helicopter pilot who successfully avoided air defense systems during a simulated attack. Personnel portraying the enemy forces were unable to determine the path the helicopter took, but after examining commercially available cellphone data, they were able to map the journey of a device traveling across the desert at 120 miles per hour. It revealed where the Apache flew to evade the defenses."

The American citizens fighting and dying for Israel in the Gaza war - "The Washington Post talked to three families of U.S. citizens killed while fighting for Israel. They were united in their fierce commitment to the Jewish state, having found in their adoptive country an identity that largely transcended their American passport."

What might happen after another inauguration of Donald Trump

Why Viagra has been linked with better brain health

Another GOP Biden ‘informant.’ Another indictment and link to Russia.: It’s been the story of many of those from whom Republicans have sought information

Biden’s dog bit Secret Service agents about 24 times, new records show: One biting incident involving Commander, the presidential dog, briefly shut down White House tours due to blood on the floor

Tiny homes meant for displaced Maui fire survivors are sitting empty

Leaked files from Chinese firm show vast international hacking effort

They committed crimes when they were young. Do we owe them a second chance? A film examining three cases in D.C. makes the argument for mercy - "'These guys, we went to prison, we did multiple decades and came home,' said Downing, now 42. 'Now that you see how we are, are you telling me that we had to do multiple decades in prison to come home?'" [ed. note: he and three accomplices kidnapped a woman, put her in the trunk of her own car, used her ATM card, took her to the woods, and shot her to death when she ran. I bet they were going to rape her. So, yeah.]