Showing posts with label homelessness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homelessness. Show all posts

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Reading archive 2026-04-15

Some Contemporary Heresies

The Death of a Superman: An entirely avoidable problem is killing dozens of homeless people across the country. why is it being ignored? - "Death in a bin, a police officer told the Toronto Sun, 'would be painful, and it would not be quick.' Canadians learned that the victim’s terrible end had come after a hard life. Crystal Papineau had been kicked out of school, left home at sixteen, and struggled with addiction. And it’s possible that she crawled into the bin not for clothes but to get out of the cold. It was a freezing night, and the shelters were over capacity."

Oil prices may be starting to come down for a worrisome reason: The largest oil shock in history caused prices to surge. Now they're so high that they may be causing "demand destruction." That would mean slower economic growth.

Trump’s reversal on day care upends a bipartisan push to lower costs: Lawmakers and advocates were gaining momentum until the president backtracked on his campaign promise.

Vance praises Trump, while subtly differentiating himself at Georgia event: At a gathering of conservative college students, the vice president expressed respect for Pope Leo XIV and empathized with concerns about high costs of living.

War powers vote will test Senate’s support for Trump’s war with Iran: Some Republicans have expressed concerns about the war as it approaches the two-month mark, saying the administration must make the case for continuing it.

A New Geopolitical Reality Is Here: America’s adversaries are uniting as its own coalition falls apart. - "The Iran war has laid bare a new geopolitical reality. America's adversaries are becoming more coordinated, sharing resources and capabilities in ways that amplify their power, while America's global alliances, long its greatest asset, are neglected and fragmenting. The United States is, in effect, moving toward a world in which it faces more connected opponents with a less cohesive coalition of its own. This is a major shift with profound implications for U.S. national security-and it's one that the Trump administration shows no sign of recognizing, let alone reversing."

Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted?:  New interviews and closely guarded documents shed light on the persistent doubts about the head of OpenAI. - "Yet most of the people we spoke to shared the judgment of Sutskever and Amodei: Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart. 'He’s unconstrained by truth,' the board member told us. 'He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.'"

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Reading archive 2025-04-14

Ja Morant dares the NBA to punish him, knowing it won’t pull the trigger: The league wants the Grizzlies star to learn a lesson, but its weakness has taught him that the outrage is only pretend.

Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.: Air pollution fell substantially as the city restricted car traffic and made way for parks and bike lanes.

She’s been D.C.’s mayor for a decade. Here’s how her vision changed the city.

Detransition, maybe: A Moroccan influencer announced he was no longer transgender. What did it mean?

The nurse in the NYC subway: As subway assaults rise and calls for safety increase, a psychiatric nurse must decide who is a risk.

How the Caribbean could turn a plague of seaweed into fuel and fertilizer: Sargassum seaweed is a problem throughout the Caribbean. But scientists are exploring the opportunities it may offer.

How the Caribbean could turn a plague of seaweed into fuel and fertilizer: Sargassum seaweed is a problem throughout the Caribbean. But scientists are exploring the opportunities it may offer.

simulacra for bootlickers

‘It’s just not sustainable’: D.C. restaurants pushed to the brink: In the wake of wage hikes and government layoffs, some owners say they can’t keep treading water. - "Full-service restaurants, Greenbaum says, were built on a decades-old model in which diner tips offset part of labor costs. Voters upended that model without understanding how it would affect the restaurants they love.

"'Why is that not understandable how catastrophic that is?' she asks. 'Unless you think that we’re all lying and we make a ton of money.'" [ed. note: WHY AM I DIRECTLY SUBSIDIZING YOUR LABOR COSTS?]

How Much Trouble Are DC Restaurants Really In?: A restaurant association survey found 44 percent of full-service casual restaurants are likely to close this year.

How a trade war becomes a shooting war: Trump and Xi, take note: The United States and China risk falling into a trap over tariffs.

Don’t look at your 401(k), they said. I looked.: The myth of the 401(k) is that we are all in charge of our own destinies. What does that matter now?

Trump charmed Bill Maher. The comedian’s fans don’t find it funny.: After a decade of trading insults, Trump and Maher enjoyed a White House dinner. Liberals continue to wrestle with whether to engage the president as they oppose him.

Trump’s tariffs war is sparking uncertainty for North Carolina farmers: “It’s always been a guessing game here on the farm, but I think it’s more of a guess now than it’s ever been in my lifetime,” one North Carolina farmer said last week.

Friday, October 25, 2024

Reading archive 2024-10-25

D.C. AG sues major construction company, alleging pollution of waterways: Fort Myer Construction operates two asphalt plants in the District and is a preferred contractor with the city, with tens of millions of dollars in contracts over the years.

DC Council Passes Bill That Would Bring Thousands Of New EV Stations To The City

Satellite images show major expansion at Russian site with secret bioweapons past: New construction at a military research site near Moscow reveals a specialized laboratory complex designed to research and handle deadly pathogens, experts say. - "State Department officials have ridiculed Russian allegations that the United States is working on biological weapons, alone or with partners. But U.S. officials and experts say Russian scientists may legitimately believe that the threat exists, and thus feel justified in creating and testing new weapons."

Families sue D.C. for ending housing aid in unprecedented case: The city has sought to remove thousands of families from its rapid rehousing program. Officials have blamed years of extensions for creating an unsustainable financial burden.

Jill Biden has upgraded your next White House tour: ‘They weren’t dynamic,’ the first lady says of the old tours. So she helped reimagine the ritual.

Opinion On political endorsement A note from the publisher: [ed. note: "We are returning to our roots, which is to not endorse candidates, except when we do, which is whenever we want, which is not now, because I, William Lewis, am a Rupert Murdoch crony and wide-spectrum dirtbag."]

The Washington Post says it will not endorse a candidate for president Publisher William Lewis explained the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots. - "The decision not to publish was made by The Post’s owner — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — according to the same sources." [ed. note: bracing gutlessness from a billionaire afraid of what a Trump win could do to his fortunes]

Jill Biden has upgraded your next White House tour: ‘They weren’t dynamic,’ the first lady says of the old tours. So she helped reimagine the ritual.

Poop statue appears on the National Mall to ‘honor’ Jan. 6 rioters: Visitors swarmed the controversial installation, which will be on the Mall until Oct. 30.

Does Ghost-Hunting Gear Work? We Tested Some in a Haunted Place to Find Out.

Why Fleetwood Mac is forever: “Dreams,” by Mark Blake, delves into Fleetwood Mac’s storied past and the enduring appeal of the band’s music.

Finally, a fresh argument against ‘wokeness’: In “We Have Never Been Woke,” Musa al-Gharbi argues that claims to support marginalized people are often little more than elite status competitions.

Meet Ukraine’s top fighting unit — at least that’s what its ad says: Ukraine’s brigades can recruit their own soldiers, and they compete with one another to craft the best advertising campaigns to sell the war.

Canada alleges much wider campaign by Modi government against Sikhs: Canada on Monday ordered six Indian diplomats to leave the country, including India’s top diplomat in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, officials said.

In D.C. election, Initiative 83 push for voting changes is biggest wild card: I-83 would allow independents to vote in primaries and change D.C.’s voting method to ranked-choice. The D.C. Democratic Party has emerged as a chief opponent.

Opinion By electing Trump, America would break its closest allies’ hearts: Anxiety levels in Europe over the U.S. election are very high. - "Jørn Brøndal, chair of USD’s Center for American Studies, offered a view that turns 'America First' rhetoric on its head. 'I always saw Trump as an import from Europe,' Brøndal said. 'He’s outside the American mainstream and comes from a right-wing populist tradition in Europe that shows some of the same tendencies.' Brøndal said this before Trump, in the style of 1930s autocrats, spoke of immigrants bringing 'a lot of bad genes in our country right now.'"

North Carolina authorities arrest armed man after threats against FEMA workers: Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office confirms it made the arrest Saturday after learning of threat to Federal Emergency Management Agency employees working on hurricane relief.

Opinion Why Harris’s pitch to Muslim and Arab American voters is failing: Caught in the bind of the Gaza war, the VP failed to cement herself as the choice for this bloc. - "There’s a tendency in liberal circles to accuse these voters of betraying their own interests by supporting Trump or voting third-party. But Muslim and Arab voters aren’t abandoning Harris because they don’t understand what’s at stake. They’re abandoning her because they do." [lol let's see how that goes]

The Most Opinionated Man in America: Mike Solana, a Peter Thiel protégé, has made his Pirate Wires newsletter a must-read among the anti-woke investor class—and a window into what the most powerful people in tech really think.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Reading archive 2024-09-16

Bowser‘s ‘Bait and Switch’ on a Key Homelessness Program Leaves Advocates, Councilmembers Fuming: Bowser’s Department of Human Services is angling to push 1,000 families out of its rapid rehousing program before matching them with other newly allocated resources.

How grieving military families became a pro-Trump force with GOP operative’s help: As some who lost loved ones during the evacuation of Afghanistan became active in the presidential campaign, others had concerns about politicization - "As Trump seeks to pin the tragedy on Harris, she has fought back by noting that Trump oversaw the negotiation of a deal with Taliban militants in February 2020 that undercut the Afghan government and called for the exit of all U.S. troops and the release of 5,000 Taliban members from Afghan prisons.

...

"Throughout the tearful news conference, multiple family members said they did not want to be political — while explicitly urging Americans to vote for Trump over Harris."

Opinion Harris can end the Trump-Vance culture wars. Here’s how.: For starters, show what it means to champion the American family.

The Insurrectionists Next Door: Ashli Babbitt’s mother and the wife of a notorious January 6 rioter are at the center of a new mythology on the right. They are also my neighbors.

JD Vance explains the political utility of anti-immigrant hostility: The Ohio senator’s effort Sunday to defend his virulent, racist rhetoric about immigrants eating pets was remarkably dishonest.

Md. parents ask Supreme Court to allow opt-outs of LGBTQ+ storybooks: In a filing this week, Montgomery parents asked the Supreme Court to hear a request to temporarily exempt their children from storybooks with LGBTQ+ characters.

Before D.C. police killed Justin Robinson, he worked to stop violence: The 25-year-old understood the city’s crime problem better than most, because he had been on both sides of it.

Monday, July 29, 2024

Reading archive 2024-07-29

The picture of early-human origins in Africa grows more complex: Researchers say multiple groups of early modern humans intermingled and spread across Africa, not just in small areas in the east and south, before moving to Europe and Asia. 

With Vance’s rocky debut, Republicans ask if Trump’s VP bet will pay off: Sen. JD Vance has had a challenging start as the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee, leaving the Trump campaign to try to clean up his controversial past comments.

How Kamala Harris took control of the Democratic Party: Party officials and campaign aides raced to flip an entire brand from fading hope to salute emojis.

Sanctions crushed Syria’s elite. So they built a zombie economy fueled by drugs.

How India’s warm embrace of Kamala Harris grew chilly: India was excited about Kamala Harris in 2020. Four years later, the reaction to her presidential bid is more complicated.

Maduro declared winner of disputed Venezuelan election: The opposition, which had warned of the potential for fraud, was expected to challenge the result.

How Elon Musk came to endorse Donald Trump: The world’s richest man favored Biden in 2020, but he has since become a vocal Trump supporter.

With Biden out and Harris in, down-ballot Democrats plot 2024 gains: “The additional enthusiasm that the Democrats have shown will obviously help down-ballot races,” GOP political consultant Whit Ayres said. “Whether that will be enough to overcome the other negatives and challenges remains to be seen.”

For Ukrainian diver, 10 meters from water, 1,500 miles from father at war: Oleksii Sereda, 18, is at his second Olympics, but the first since Russian invasion.

They have jobs, but no homes. Inside America’s unseen homelessness crisis.: Homelessness, already at a record high last year, appears to be worsening among people with jobs. - "Many who spoke with The Washington Post said they’re trapped in an impossible position — making too much money to qualify for food stamps and other types of government assistance, but not enough to secure housing."

Inside the powerful Peter Thiel network that anointed JD Vance: A small influential network of right-wing techies orchestrated Vance’s rise in Silicon Valley — and then the GOP. Now the industry stands to gain if he wins the White House.

Justice Dept. settles with ex-FBI officials over leak of anti-Trump texts: Fired FBI agent Peter Strzok will receive $1.2 million, and former bureau lawyer Lisa Page will receive $800,000 to resolve their claims that the Trump administration’s Justice Department violated the Privacy Act.

He finally met his son — then killed the mom and grandmother, a jury found.: Prosecutors argued that Keanan Turner killed Ebony Wright and her mother after Wright filed for custody and child support to help care for their son.

For some District ANC commissioners, a difficult decision to run again: Data from the D.C. Board of Elections shows that as of Friday, 117 out of 345 commissioner seats did not have a single interested candidate.

Amtrak just took over Union Station. What does it mean for riders?: After years in court, Amtrak gained control of Union Station on Monday. Here’s how it’ll affect the station experience.

Far-right in uproar after Israel detains reservists over Gaza detainee abuse: Far-right demonstrators broke into Israel’s Sde Teiman base to protest the detentions of guards.

Paris Olympics organizers sorry for Last Supper at Opening Ceremonies: The tableau included a woman in the role of Jesus and drag queens and gay icons as disciples. It was crashed by a man in blue as Dionysus, the Greek god of revelry.

Biden endorses Supreme Court reforms, amendment to limit immunity: For Biden, who has long resisted calls for Supreme Court reform, the call marks a major shift in his posture toward one of the three branches of government.

Walking the Line: Chinese migration surge tests President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping - "Republican lawmakers say the concerns are more than justified. They point to media reports of at least 100 incidents in recent years in which Chinese nationals were caught or suspected of trying to gain access or information about U.S. military installations.

...

"Likely part of Beijing’s concern, analysts and lawyers say, is the potential for politicized Chinese migrants to become part of dissident communities abroad. 

"'The [Chinese] police told my parents, tell your son not to speak any more or do any protests,' said Zhou Zheng, a recent migrant living in Los Angeles who joined groups that protested Xi’s November visit to San Francisco. He’d made the decision to walk the line after he was detained during protests in China.

"While the number of Chinese migrants is relatively tiny in terms of the country’s population, its impact is significant for a government that has sought to advertise its political system abroad. 

"'It’s never looks good when people are willing to trek through the Darien Gap to get out of your country,' said Meredith Oyen, associate professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, referring to the dangerous jungle crossing between Panama and Colombia."

How the "Working Class Republican" Scam Works: A brief description of how this is all gonna go.

How to Jujitsu the Culture Wars: It’s time to make Republicans regret that they ever posed as anti-elites.

Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children): Hannah Neeleman, known to her nine million followers as Ballerina Farm, milks cows, gives birth without pain relief and breastfeeds at beauty pageants. Is this an empowering new model of womanhood — or a hammer blow for feminism? - "That is the biggest paradox: in selling the life of a stay-at-home mother, Neeleman and the other trad wives have created high-earning jobs. They are being paid to act out a fantasy. 'So for me to have the label of a traditional woman,' she continues cautiously, 'I’m kinda like, I don’t know if I identify with that.'

...

"One day she mentioned to Daniel that she was getting the five-hour flight from Salt Lake City to New York, back to Juilliard. She didn’t realise his dad owned the airline. 'So Daniel was, like, 'I’m on that same flight!' ' she says. 'I remember checking in and them saying, 'You’re 5A and you’re 5B.' I just thought, no way, that’s crazy!' Daniel smiles: 'I made a call.' He had pulled strings at JetBlue. And so began their first date." [ed. note: this piece is vicious]

My day with the trad wife queen and what it taught me: An interview published last weekend with internet star Hannah Neeleman at her Utah home, Ballerina Farm, has sparked a global social media debate. Our writer, Megan Agnew, revisits her time with the mother of eight - "But it was also a life of contradictions. Children not allowed screens, but who are reality TV characters online for millions. A stay-at-home mother who has made a career out of being so. An analogue, old-fashioned farm, only working because it is underwritten by social media cash. A choice — modern in her ability to have one — to do something so very traditional.

..

"Women who work in a paid job feel terrified that by promoting the seeming peace and harmony of a traditional home life, Neeleman is threatening their ability to choose otherwise. They fear they are going to experience guilt or resistance if other women do choose otherwise. 

"Women who look after their children full-time feel judged or patronised for doing so by the women who haven’t, their choices seeming threatened, too. And so, out of fear comes anger, like a bloke punching a wall when his wife leaves him."

I lived as a trad wife for a week. It was awful: Modern women are falling for traditional wife influencers. There’s a darker side, says Harriet Walker

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Reading archvie 2024-05-18

Johnson says personal attacks at committee meeting ‘not a good look’: A House Oversight Committee meeting devolved into a partisan shouting match between members, filled with personal attacks about intelligence and appearance.

Riders give Metro high marks in poll but still worry about crime: Metro riders give the system its highest ratings in the past decade, including for reliability and value, though many remain wary of crime on the rail service. - "But more than a third of Metrorail riders rate the system negatively for safety from crime — about the same as a year ago. Metro riders under 50 years old, as well as Black and Hispanic riders, are more concerned about crime on Metro than riders who are older or White.

...

"The poll finds 68 percent of D.C. residents support increasing enforcement of fare rules, including majorities across all demographic groups and parts of the city. Support is slightly lower among D.C. residents under 40, with 56 percent in support and 38 percent opposed."

D.C. clears major homeless encampment, but critical housing problems linger More than 60 people living in tents and other shelters in the Foggy Bottom area were forcibly evicted by the city and the National Park Service. - "Shelley Byars, 46, has lived in the Foggy Bottom encampment since last summer and was previously pushed out from half a dozen sites despite having been approved for a housing subsidy in 2022. As the morning sun shone through the blue-and-green tent in which she has lived for the past several months, Byars unzipped the nylon flap and stepped outside, wiping sleep from her eyes. She was already packed."

A water war is brewing between the U.S. and Mexico. Here’s why.: In south Texas, a water shortage killed the sugar industry and could slow growth in booming border towns.

What Israel’s strategic corridor in Gaza reveals about its postwar plans: Analysts say the buildup of the Netzarim Corridor is part of a large-scale project by the Israeli military to reshape Gaza and entrench its presence there.

Thursday, May 9, 2024

Reading archive 2024-05-08

Student who raised $400K for D.C. homeless man refunds money to donor:s In a series of TikTok videos, Sanai Graden says she lost touch with Alonzo Douglas Hebron, who became evasive and stopped returning her calls.

A TikToker raised $400K for an unhoused man. Then things got messy.: A viral fundraiser has become tangled in a crossfire of internet backlash and questions about who deserves help - "'No progress has been made, and that’s because of GoFundMe,' she said. 'I feel as though I am being targeted because I am African American and he’s African American, as well, and his criminal history,' she said."

Life boomed on Earth half a billion years ago. You can thank magnets.: The near collapse of Earth’s magnetic field coincided with a spike in oxygen levels and a boom in biodiversity, according to a new study.

How to avoid a contractor nightmare when electrifying your home: Seven steps to cut your energy bill, upgrade your home and bid farewell to fossil fuels.

Trump’s classified documents trial blown apart by Cannon: Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee in charge of the Florida prosecution, has repeatedly given Trump’s team exactly what it wants. His fans have noticed.

Opinion  In court, Stormy Daniels pulled a Trump on Trump: As Stormy Daniels testified in the hush money case, Trump’s angry response was unmistakable.

Opinion  GOP talking points are out of date. Border crossings have plummeted.: As it turns out, having good relationships with allies matters for immigration control.

Biden to tout Microsoft AI center on site of Trump’s failed Foxconn deal: The investment is expected to create 2,000 permanent jobs and 2,300 temporary union construction jobs.

In Arizona, election workers trained with deepfakes to prepare for 2024 “By the end of the second day, you’re like: Trust no one,” said one county recorder who completed the training.

D.C. Council overrides Mayor Bowser’s veto over housing program rules: The issue was another example of the power clashes between the lawmakers and executive that tend to surface in debates over housing.

Saturday, May 4, 2024

Reading archive 2024-05-04

5 Reasons for Environmentalists to Stop Blaming "Doom & Gloom" Narratives

Why We Have Lawns

In year of budget cuts, Mayor Muriel Bowser bets big on downtown D.C.: Bowser says reviving downtown will ultimately pay dividends to all D.C. — returning the city to a period of growth that shaped the early years of her tenure. - "Bowser’s pledge that the downtown investments will uplift all neighborhoods largely stems from the fact that the city’s core has long been its economic engine. Economic activity downtown brings about $2.3 billion to the District’s coffers each year, comprising about one-fourth of D.C.’s annual local fund revenue, according to the Downtown Action Plan released by her administration and downtown business leaders in February."

He was almost off probation in a murder case. Then a judge saw his videos.: Citing social media posts in which a teenager rapped about drugs and violence, a Maryland judge declined to end his juvenile court supervision

U.S. tells Qatar to evict Hamas if it obstructs Israeli hostage deal: Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the message to Qatar’s prime minister, a U.S. official said, signaling Washington’s impatience as cease-fire talks have languished.

Toddler fatally shot in Southeast, D.C. police say: Preliminary information indicated the girl may have been accidentally struck in an exchange of gunfire, police said.

A 3-year-old is shot to death, and D.C. reels again: ‘Everyone loved her’: Ty’ah Settles was riding in a car that got caught in the crossfire of a gun battle, police said. She was the city’s youngest homicide victim this year.

Confident of victory over Ukraine, Russia exhibits Western war trophies: The exhibition comes just ahead of a May 9 Victory Day celebration that is very different from last year’s, when Russia was facing battlefield setbacks.

University endowments show few signs of direct Israel, defense holdings: School investments are targets of Pro-Palestinian groups calling for “divestment,” even if the ties aren’t always clear.

Survivors of Oct. 7 attack sue pro-Palestinian groups in U.S.: They allege that American Muslims for Palestine and National Students for Justice in Palestine spread terrorist propaganda from Hamas at U.S. colleges.

Young mothers at risk of homelessness after D.C. program is denied funding: Program leaders have until July 1 to raise enough money to keep the homes open, or else five mothers and their babies will be displaced. - "A program is ranked by how often it is used, the rate at which people leave it for permanent housing, and how often those who leave return to another program within two years, said Tom Fredericksen, the chief of policy and programs at the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which coordinates the local Continuum of Care program on behalf of the city. Olaiya’s Cradle was ranked 41 out of 43 projects, documents show."

Opinion  The New York Times, alone in its outrage over access to Biden: The White House is helping set a new norm, and a dubious one at that.

Opinion  To the Gaza protesters helping to elect Trump: Give it a rest: You must have been doing for the past eight years what Trump has been doing in court the past three weeks: napping.

The children who remember their past lives: What happens when your toddler is haunted by memories that aren’t hers?

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Reading archive 2024-04-24

Yellowstone’s Wolves: A Debate Over Their Role in the Park’s Ecosystem: New research questions the long-held theory that reintroduction of such a predator caused a trophic cascade, spawning renewal of vegetation and spurring biodiversity. - "Yes, stands of aspen and willows are thriving again — in some places. But decades of damage from elk herds’ grazing and trampling so thoroughly changed the landscape that large areas remain scarred and may not recover for a long time, if ever.

...

"Richard Keigley, who was a research ecologist for the federal Geological Survey in the 1990s, has become an outspoken critic of the park’s bison management. 

"'They have created this juggernaut where we’ve got thousands of bison and the public believes this is the way things always were,' he said. 'The bison that are there now have destroyed and degraded their primary ranges. People have to realize there’s something wrong in Yellowstone.'"

These 150-foot-high sails could help solve shipping’s climate problem: Harnessing the power of wind could both reduce emissions from cargo ships and extend the life of these vessels

The robots are coming ... for your wedding: Congratulations. Your gift is a blast of cold fog to the face.

Opinion  So, 112 ignoble, infantile Republicans voted to endanger civilization - "Today’s Moscow-Beijing-Tehran axis is, as the 1930s Axis was, watching."

The debate about Sonia Sotomayor is not about sexism. It’s more dire.: Some want the Supreme Court justice to retire so that President Biden can name a replacement before... before what happens, exactly?

A homeless woman got an apartment. Then came conflicts with neighbors.

Arizona House votes to repeal abortion ban, advancing issue to state Senate

A global study just revealed the world’s biggest known plastic polluters: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo came in at the top of a global audit of plastic waste

Opinion  We have a radical democracy. Will Trump voters destroy it?

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Reading archive 2023-11-07

Joe Lieberman will not leave his fellow Democrats alone: With No Labels, the Democratic maverick is still trying to foil liberals and challenge the party — even if that means threatening to throw a wrench into the 2024 campaign - "When Lieberman endorsed Republican John McCain in 2008, Connecticut Democrats had stuffed his portrait into a closet at party headquarters. For his final act, he helped kill the public option in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, closing the door on government-provided insurance." [ed. note: he says the party has moved too far left but fails to cite specifics because he's a self-important POS who simply craves limelight]

Speaker Johnson on GOP plan to avert government shutdown: ‘Trust us’: House Republicans have not decided on a strategy to keep the government funded with 11 days until federal funds lapse

These Miami-Dade voters want Ron DeSantis as governor, but not president - "As for DeSantis, he said the governor supported his campaign for city council and has been very involved in helping Hialeah prosper. But he said he felt a DeSantis win would divide the country more, whereas Trump could unite more people." [ed. note: these people are terminally stupid]

Trump as Jesus? Why he casts himself as a martyr, and why fans go along.: The former president has been saying for decades that he’s a victim and portrayed himself as a martyr. But Trump’s messianic rhetoric is mainly about feeling sorry for himself, analysts say.

Some Democrats worry Biden’s team is ignoring political warning signs: A series of recent polls shows Trump running even or ahead of Biden. His team says they don’t mean much a year before the election.

Opinion  What’s up with Speaker Johnson not reporting a bank account?

Why you should buy clothes to last (almost) forever

Police arrest man carrying long gun near Capitol

Can we solve homelessness? A program at Union Station is a huge step.: The Amtrak police chief and a program for homelessness are teaming up to help the unhoused at Union Station

The hidden power of China’s pandas — and why the U.S. is losing them all: The pandas’ imminent departure after more than 50 years in D.C. has diplomats and zoo-going children asking when — if ever — America will get them back

D.C. students will no longer need to vaccinate against coronavirus: The vote ends a long-running debate over whether students need to get shots or be barred from school

A month into devastating Gaza war, Israel’s endgame is no clearer

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Reading archive 2023-08-25

Overland Park kicks out farmers market vendor over brazenly antisemitic posts

Plan for West End D.C. homeless shelter faces mounting opposition: Shelter opponents have secured the backing of high-powered law firms as the city seeks to open the building as soon as this fall - "'The purpose of this [letter] was to put D.C. on notice of the problems they may face going forward. And if they aren’t addressed, then this would be the prelude to litigation,' he added. 'I don’t know anybody involved in this that is against the homeless shelter. The issue is not whether it’s necessary; the issue is simply where is the best location for that. And the District hasn’t done its job in identifying more appropriate locations for the shelter.'" [ed. note lol this NIMBY bullshit]

D.C. has long struggled with 911 calls. Then 10 dogs died in a flood. - "Last year alone, employees at the Office of Unified Communications sent D.C. firefighters to the wrong address for a report of a newborn in cardiac arrest, canceled a call for service about a child pulled unconscious from a hot car, and mistakenly treated a call about a man who had collapsed as low priority. Though the effect of the delays remains unclear, all three of those people died."

Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Reading archive 2023-08-08

Patients grapple with side effects of popular weight-loss drugs

What we know about the Montgomery Riverfront brawl

Opinion  Look at a moth — and find a wonder that’s been waiting all along

The future of East Coast wind power could ride on this Jersey beach town: Many in Ocean City, N.J., oppose a major wind farm to be built off its shores, and they hope to create a template for blocking similar projects on the East Coast - "But in linking East Coast whale deaths to wind project surveys, these groups contradict what leading marine mammal scientists have concluded. 'At this point, there is no scientific evidence that noise resulting from offshore wind site characterization surveys could potentially cause mortality of whales,' the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement."

Is it cheaper to refuel your EV battery or gas tank? We did the math in all 50 states.

In D.C.-paid housing, he tried to stay sober as drug dealers took hold: The city let buildings fill with people grappling with mental illness and addiction, leaving the landlord and neighbors to figure it out

D.C. Democrats sue to block ranked-choice voting ballot measure

American University president to step down after the coming school year: Sylvia M. Burwell came to AU in 2017 after serving in the Obama administration

Friday, May 19, 2023

Reading archive 2023-05-19

Florida teacher investigated for showing Disney movie with gay main character

US signals to allies it won’t block their export of F-16 jets to Ukraine

The unexpected downside of raising bees in your backyard - "'The honeybee has been promoted as the symbol of helping the environment and biodiversity, and really it’s not that,' says Gail MacInnis, a former postdoctoral researcher at Concordia University in Montreal and the study’s lead author. 'You would never start keeping chickens to help save wild bird species.'"

Zelensky, on surprise Saudi visit, seeks Arab League support in war

Opinion  Marjorie Taylor Greene’s impeachment stunt wrecks a big MAGA myth - "The idea that our border is under perpetual siege isn’t intended as an empirical declaration about a concrete challenge facing the country. Rather, it’s a kind of animating myth, one manufactured to mobilize political energy. In this, it’s essential to MAGA’s identity."

D.C. police officer arrested, accused of leaking info to Proud Boys leader: Lt. Shane Lamond told Henry “Enrique” Tarrio that police had a warrant out for him in advance of his arrest in the burning of a Black Lives Matter flag, prosecutors say

The short life of Baby Milo - "The state’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks of gestation has an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities. But as long as their baby’s heart kept beating, the Dorberts say, doctors would not honor their request to terminate the pregnancy. The doctors would not say how they reached their decision, but the new law carries severe penalties, including prison time, for medical practitioners who run afoul of it. The hospital system declined to discuss the case. ...

"The day before Milo was born, the Dorberts sat down with their son Kaiden to explain that the baby’s body had stopped working and that he would not come home. Instead, someday, they told Kaiden, they would all meet as angels. The 4-year-old burst into tears, telling them that he did not want to be an angel. ...

"He never cried or tried to nurse or even opened his eyes, investing every ounce of energy in intermittent gasps for air. “That was the beginning of the end,” Rogell said, recalling the persistent gulps that he thought at first were hiccups but turned out to be his grandson’s labored efforts to inhale."

Fox News Stoked Outrage Over Migrants Displacing Homeless Vets. It Was a Hoax.: Fox News and the rest of right-wing media went wild for a week over a now-debunked story about New York hotels booting homeless vets to accommodate asylum seekers. - "The manager of the hotel also told Mid-Hudson News that no veterans were ever at the hotel, let alone kicked out of Crossroads. No other guests had been displaced either, as the hotel had not been booked to capacity despite housing a group of migrants. ...

"The story got even wilder on Friday, however, when Mid-Hudson News further reported that Toney-Finch had recruited a group of homeless men from a nearby shelter to pretend they were the military veterans that had been displaced by migrants."

Homeless men recruited for veteran hotel scam

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Reading archive 2023-02-16

Police arrest man after dismembered body found in yard in Brookland: The body was found by someone doing yard work in the backyard of the home in Northeast Washington

Spring is awakening weeks early in the D.C. area. This could be a problem.: Already, the buds on Washington’s famed cherry trees at the Tidal Basin are starting to develop

Why So Many States Want to Ban China From Owning Farmland

D.C. overpays landlords millions to house the city’s poorest: Paying above-market rents means fewer people are helped by the troubled housing authority - "Arthur Simpson, 73, lives on the third floor of an apartment building in Northeast Washington. The elevator doesn’t work, so he climbs the stairs. He has no electricity, so he sees by the light of the street at night. The hallway outside reeks of musty carpet and cigarettes, so he shoves a towel against the door crack to block the stench. 

"The D.C. Housing Authority pays $2,467 in monthly rent for Simpson to live there, but his apartment at the Havana was never worth that, even when new. One real estate consulting firm recently put the median market rent for one-bedrooms in the area at $1,613. 

"DCHA agreed to the amount anyway, because it doesn’t check to ensure rents it pays on behalf of low-income voucher holders are in line with market prices, as required by local and federal regulations. As a result, the agency overpays landlords by millions of dollars every year, a Washington Post investigation found. ...

"Slover again pressed Donald about the failure to check lease payments against the market. This time, then-board chair Dionne Bussey-Reeder, whom Bowser had appointed to replace Albert, shut Slover down. She instructed Donald not to answer any more of his questions. 

"Two weeks later, HUD issued its report, which squarely backed Slover’s assessments."

Elon Musk reinvents Twitter for the benefit of a power user: Himself: Musk has rolled out major changes -- many of which have targeted his own experience, but not that of millions of regular users of the site

The clever trick that turns ChatGPT into its evil twin: Reddit users are pushing the popular AI chatbot’s limits -- and finding revealing ways around its safeguards.

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Reading archive 2022-05-03

Roberts directs investigation into leaked draft of abortion opinion: The document is authentic but not final, the chief justice said in a news release Tuesday

Collins and Murkowski are put on defensive after leaked Roe draft

Opinion  How Russia’s grim demographics could thwart Putin’s global ambitions

Mass flight of tech workers turns Russian IT into another casualty of war: About 10 percent of the tech workforce is projected to leave Russia before the end of May

Hacking Russia was off-limits. The Ukraine war made it a free-for-all.: Experts anticipated a Moscow-led cyber-assault; instead, unprecedented attacks by hacktivists and criminals have wreaked havoc in Russia

In the capital of Blue State America, a new ferment over homelessness - "But there is something happening here where two major California rivers converge, currents placing Democrats of various shades of blue against each other. One approach is being promoted by the state and local governments, which want to focus more resources on the mentally ill, the most visible and defining characteristic of the crisis. 

"Another is being advocated by business leaders, neighborhood groups and angry voters, who have watched the expanding homeless population fill in the city’s public spaces and now want local officials to force people to accept housing, getting them off the streets. Those who decline an offer of an available bed, of which there are none now, would no longer be allowed to live on the street. The proposal, highly popular with the public, will come before voters in November."