Friday, January 10, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-10

Man who attacked D.C. pizza parlor in 2016 is killed by police in N.C.: Edgar Maddison Welch believed the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, fired shots inside Comet Ping Pong.

Md. Gov. Moore plans $2 billion in cuts, including climate programs: The state’s ambitious climate goals may be rolled back as officials tackle a budget crisis. Other details will be announced next week.

Trump’s tariffs will be costly, but that’s not the worst part: He has no coherent reason for implementing them, and many Americans will be worse off as a result.

Putin is setting a trap for Trump in Ukraine: The only way to compel Putin to make concessions is to increase the cost of his aggression.

Retired generals warn against giving D.C.’s fighter jets to Maryland: Former D.C. National Guard brass raised national security concerns about quickly transferring an elite fighter jet squadron as part of the RFK Stadium deal.

Toys are a scam Kids keep asking for them.: We keep buying them. And no one is playing with them. - "Every television commercial, every print ad, every retail experience elicits the same request: 'Can I have that?' My response is always the same: 'Put it on your list!' (Reader, there are no lists. Except for a couple of weeks before a birthday or holiday, these kids can’t be bothered. The rest of the year, their yearnings fly off like glitter in the wind.)"

The Story of Brexit is the Story of Empire: Why Did Asian Immigrants Vote to Leave the EU?: The complicated love-hate relationship of immigrants from former colonies with the British Empire cannot be ignored if lessons are to be learned in post-Brexit Britain, says Hardeep Matharu - "Although non-white groups were generally more pro-Remain than white British people, 'ethnic minorities showed a non-negligible level of support for leave, which was twice as high amongst Indians as amongst other minority groups', according to an one report on the matter.

...

"'There was a lining of xenophobia towards eastern Europeans among Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities. There was the perception that people from Europe have got a free pass to come here.'"

Texas lawmaker accuses state GOP chair of ethics violation over threats in House speaker race: Rep. Cody Harris filed a complaint against Texas GOP Chair Abraham George for sending mailers and censuring lawmakers who support Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.

X suspends journalist after debunking theory Elon Musk fan account was Musk himself

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-08

Enough With the Land Acknowledgments

Drilling ban? Trump has bigger oil problems - "That’s because the country is already producing more oil and exporting more natural gas than any other nation. Drilling for more fossil fuels than the world’s markets could absorb would be bad business, leading to potential price dips, economic instability and financial losses for oil producers."

Some Texas business leaders are apprehensive about Trump’s pledged deportations: “We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status. - "The state comptroller’s office did a study in 2006 to find out how the state economy would look without the estimated 1.4 million undocumented immigrants living in Texas in 2005. The study said their absence would cost the state about $17.7 billion in gross state product — a measure of the value of goods and services produced in Texas. The state has not updated the study since; analysis replicated by universities and think tanks have reached similar conclusions that undocumented Texans contribute more to the economy than they cost the state."

How could Trump's proposed tariffs impact the North Carolina economy?: Leaders in the state's agriculture community are concerned about retaliatory actions impacting farmers.

What really undid the Biden presidency: Biden’s confidence in his ability to guide America through a troubled era was part of the problem.

Is your phone listening to you?: Yeah, but probably not to target ads. The specifics of the theory that your phone is eavesdropping probably aren’t true, but the paranoia is justified.

Landlords are accused of colluding to raise rents. See where.

Meta ends fact checking. Here’s how to find the truth on social media.: Facebook, Instagram and Threads will no longer have fact checking in the United States. Here’s what that means for your feeds and how you can avoid falling for misinformation. - "The number one way to avoid falling for posts circulating on social media is to consider how it makes you feel. If it elicits a strong emotional reaction, like anger, anxiety, fear or even glee, that’s a sign it may be untrue. Take a beat and investigate.

"Misinformation has a variety of sources, from deliberate lies spread to influence public opinion to accounts using outrage to go viral and profit. Where a nuanced factual post might not get much engagement, a juicy conspiracy will lead to more clicks, shares and engagement. 

"'Another good sign is that you want to believe it,' says Abbie Richards, a misinformation researcher and content creator. 'When you encounter misinformation, the biggest factor in whether you fall for it is when you want it to be true.'"

Why Is the US Not Vaccinating Poultry Against Bird Flu? - "'The USDA is currently subsidizing chicken companies when they have outbreaks,' deCoriolis said.

"'American taxpayers have spent billions in the last two years bailing out chicken and turkey companies that have had outbreaks. If they don't vaccinate, they keep their export market; if they have a bird flu outbreak, they get a bailout.'"

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-07

Drilling could resume where a 1969 oil spill inspired Earth Day: A plan by Sable Offshore to restart an oil pipeline that burst in 2015 has outraged Santa Barbara environmentalists.

Dems picked the wrong senator for Senate Judiciary leadership: They need a fighter on the committee, not a go-alonger. [ed. note: basically, Dick Durbin is a punk bitch]

These common medications could be releasing ‘forever chemicals’ into the environment: Researchers found that chemicals, including PFAS, from pharmaceuticals are entering into wastewater — which can be used as drinking water during times of drought.

Man escapes into storm drain after Beltway hit-and-run, police say: The man fled across the inner and outer loops in Fairfax County, state police said.

Accused of trespassing, Metro cuts some Maryland bus stops: Dispute over damaged roads will create longer walks for elderly and disabled residents nearby.

Amazon to release Melania Trump documentary: The film, scheduled to be released later this year, will give viewers an “unprecedented behind-the-scenes look” at the incoming first lady’s life, Amazon said. [ed. note: how embarrassing]

Cannon temporarily blocks report on Trump classified-documents probe: Two Trump employees charged alongside him in the classified documents case separately asked Judge Aileen Cannon to block the release.

Indians slam MAGA ‘war’ over H-1B skilled-worker visas as ‘racist’: As the top recipients of H-1Bs, Indians have been incensed by MAGA criticism of the program. - "Thakur said the visa system harms both American tech workers, who lose out on jobs, and Indian H-1B visa holders, who remain stuck in a relatively low-wage trap for years as they cling to the hope of obtaining lawful permanent resident status, or green cards. He accused the mainstream Indian news media, which used to be vocal about the brain drain until the late 2000s, of failing to get to the bottom of the issue because of its nationalist stance. 

"'Everything in the big newspapers and television channels on H-1B is largely about the image of India’s IT prowess because it is the biggest story from the last few decades that we like to tell ourselves,' Thakur said. 'But like many stories, it is mired in self-deception.'"

Meta ends fact checks as it prepares for Trump era CEO: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook, Instagram and Threads will prioritize “free expression,” citing a “cultural tipping point.”

America needs a major culture shift on alcohol: Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy was right to highlight alcohol’s cancer risk.

Trump declines to rule out ‘military or economic’ force to expand U.S.: In a 70-minute, meandering news conference, the president-elect previewed his plans to disrupt the U.S. justice system — and global affairs.

Trump takes ‘America First’ to its expansionist endpoint: The Manifest Destiny of MAGA.

The legacy of Bidenomics: Maybe not much at all: Biden struggled to implement economic policies that will endure past his presidency.

‘Murdered In His Own Home’: Kentucky Cops Raid Wrong Home and Kill Innocent Man Over Alleged Stolen Weed Eater Despite Receiving the Correct Address At Least Five Times

The Curious Case of Lindy Li: How did a “Blue MAGA” influencer and fundraiser turn on Democrats so fast?

Monday, January 6, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-06

Emilia Pérez is a regressive movie that thinks it’s woke. It will probably win an Oscar.: Could a movie musical about a trans Mexican drug lord be this awards season’s Crash? - "Still, Emilia Pérez’s presence in the Oscars race isn’t exactly a shock, given that it falls neatly into a category of movies the white Hollywood establishment loves to celebrate: mawkish stories about people on society’s margins that allow viewers to feel socially aware through their consumption, without challenging of any of the stereotypes and political messaging presented in them. Could Emilia Pérez become this year’s Crash?"

For this group of Virginia deer hunters, it’s not only about the meat: For Town Hill — a small band of Black men and their sons — the weeks of rifle hunting at year’s end and the spring gobbler turkey hunts aren’t to be missed.

Trump aides ready ‘universal’ tariff plans — with one key change: President-elect’s aides look at universal import duties, but only on certain sectors, among first big moves of presidency.

Most supplements aren’t worth your money. This one is.: Studies have consistently shown that psyllium may lower cholesterol, dampen glucose spikes, help us stay full longer, and even aid in treating diarrhea and constipation.

Joe Biden: What Americans should remember about Jan.: 6 Four years ago, our democracy was put to the test — and prevailed.

Here’s the solution to Trump World’s ‘civil war’ over H-1B visas: Getting rid of the lottery for high-tech visas could satisfy both MAGA constituencies.

After a last visit from Biden’s team, India readies itself for Trump: U.S.-India relations grew under President Joe Biden, and New Delhi hopes they will blossom with the new Trump administration. But numerous differences exist under the surface.

Trump, Republicans prep ambitious but fraught plan for tax cuts and more: The GOP will attempt to pass one massive legislative package including tax cuts, border security and other priorities, putting lawmakers up against a high-stakes deadline.

Sunday, January 5, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-05

Recycling Doesn’t Work—and the Plastics Industry Knew It: The industry knew decades ago that recycling was never viable in the long term, and now we’re all being poisoned by its product.

Trees are spreading across the Great Plains. They're actually making climate change worse - "Trees darken the ground. So a place that otherwise would reflect more sunlight and send some of its heat straight back into outer space instead soaks up that heat. In some regions, this outweighs the trees’ potential carbon storage."

Opinion: Habitat for all — how housing and biodiversity can coexist even in a crowded future

In the colossus of beef, Argentines are increasingly turning to pork: Grill-obsessed Argentines, facing inflation and economic shock therapy, consumed less beef per capita in 2024 than at any point in the past century.

Why South Korean protesters are using U.S. flags and a pro-Trump slogan: Both supporters and critics of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are using American symbolism, from the “Stop the Steal” slogan to the Virginia state flag.

Liberals Warned Me About MAGA’s Racism. I Didn’t Believe Them—Until Now.: My grandfather voted for Trump three times. Now, part of that movement is calling immigrants like him ‘filthy.’

‘Perfect storm’ of factors hits Washington apple farmers, driving bankruptcies, consolidation

Friday, January 3, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-03

Black MAGA ends 2024 among the year's biggest losers: Despite efforts to curry favor with Trump this year, Black MAGA figures were snubbed or dropped altogether - "The new critique of politicians of color like Donalds, Scott and Robinson should be, Smith argued, 'are these people performing like minstrels?' Or 'are these people actually political negotiators who are putting themselves at the table of power at whatever means necessary in order to deliver some results, some critical results, to Black America?'"

Trump Voters Are in for a Rude Awakening: He sold them countless, often conflicting fantasies. In 2025, he’ll face political reality.

In blow to Democrats, federal appeals court strikes down net neutrality: The Biden administration’s FCC had considered its reinstatement of the rules on internet service providers a signature accomplishment. - "Andrew Jay Schwartzman, senior counsel at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said Title II authority would allow the FCC to revoke authorizations of certain foreign-owned internet service providers deemed national security risks; to mandate cybersecurity standards for broadband providers; to prohibit interconnection between broadband providers and data centers controlled by non-U.S. owners where a national security threat is found; and to better address outage reporting."

The countries of Southeast Asia work together to quash dissent: The countries of Southeast Asia are helping each other intimidate and extradite exiled government critics, according to a Post analysis of cases in the region.

Memo to Musk: Overhauling government isn’t rocket science. It’s harder.: The Elon Musk-headed ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ offers two fibs in four words. [ed. note: the whole thing is gold]

How an antacid for the ocean could cool the Earth: A new technology promises to remove carbon from the atmosphere and prevent ocean acidification.

Trayon White, facing bribery charge, apologizes to D.C. as he is sworn in: Leaving the stage after the ceremony ended, White did not respond to reporters who asked him to be specific about what he was apologizing for.

Brazil eliminated daylight saving time. It’s having second thoughts.: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, promised a “permanent” end to clock confusion. Climate change could scupper that plan.

Who is Tommy Robinson, and why does Elon Musk want him freed?: Elon Musk’s interventions in European politics continued this week with his calls for the release of jailed British far-right extremist Tommy Robinson.

One Kind of American Dream: The Year in Hawk Tuah and Crypto Memecoin: Haliey Welch helped define the year in culture, for better or worse. But it remains to be seen what the future holds for her—and celebrity cryptocurrency ventures in general—now that she’s embroiled in a memecoin scandal.

The Hawk Tuah Memecoin Rug Pull Is The Apotheosis Of Bag Culture - "The structure of the Haliey Welch Media Ouroboros is typical of the large-scale economics of bleeding-edge social media, and I'd argue that she could only have successfully pivoted into a position where she has a lot of money and a chance at permanent fame in 2024 because of A) the rapid decay of traditional media (and even new media, thanks to Elon Musk buying and hollowing out Twitter), and B) the relatively modern phenomenon of the wide acceptance and praise of bag-chasing nihilism."

Hawk Tuah and the Zynternet: Plus, for some reason, some thoughts about the debate - "Over the last ten years or so, a broad community of fratty, horndog, boorishly provocative 20- and sometimes (embarrassingly) 30-somethings--mostly but by no means entirely male--has emerged to form a newly prominent online subculture. This network is adjacent to the “sports internet” of 40something dads and the “hustle internet” of Miami crypto bullshit and the “reactionary internet” of trad influencers, but is its own distinct community with its own distinct cultural referents--college sports, gambling, light domestic beers, Zyn nicotine pouches--and influential personalities and media outlets, among them Dave Portnoy, Pat McAfee, Antonio Brown, and Call Her Daddy, in addition to dozens of minor podcasters and hey-fellow-kids content creators who nearly all work for sports-betting concerns."

Thursday, January 2, 2025

Reading archive 2025-01-02

How much protein do you really need?: And other questions about protein, answered.

The 6 grossest spots in your home, and how to clean them: Pro tips for combating E. coli, dust, pink slime and other nasties around your house.

The chief justice takes a swipe at JD Vance: The vice president-elect has repeatedly suggested that government officials may defy court orders.

Cybertruck explodes in front of Las Vegas Trump hotel, killing driver: The FBI said it is working to determine whether the explosion of the Tesla Cybertruck, which was filled with large firework mortars and gas canisters, was an act of terrorism.

More children are getting kidney stones. Experts think it’s their diet.: It’s a diagnosis more commonly associated with older adults.

10 policies Republicans could use to pay for new tax cuts: Extending the expiring 2017 tax cuts could add $5 trillion to the national debt; Trump and GOP lawmakers are considering these policies to offset that cost.

Mother stabbed while holding toddler dies of injuries weeks later: Iman Gaye, 26, died at a hospital Monday morning of injuries she sustained earlier in December, police said.

Va. man had largest homemade bomb stockpile in FBI history, prosecutors say: An informant said Brad K. Spafford used photographs of President Joe Biden for target practice.

New laws in DMV bring changes to health care, speeding fines, construction: Laws passed in 2024 also deal with electric vehicle charging stations, opioid addiction treatment and reducing bird hazards on newly constructed buildings.

Sheriff says Tesla Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas was probably a suicide: The man inside the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday was believed to be an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army.

This new diet could help save the planet and your health. Here’s how it works.: You can eat healthier and shrink your carbon footprint with these recipes and dietary guidelines, which don’t require you to ditch meat or sacrifice flavor.

Static stretching is unlikely to improve strength and performance: It may, however, increase range of motion, which is key for many athletes.

The Case for Finding Common Ground With RFK: A pro-vaccine doctor argues that the left should engage with Americans skeptical of public-health rules. - "And what I think is really important to recognize is: Really until the pandemic, a lot of what Kennedy talks about—the idea that government and Big Pharma are in cahoots with one another, and that we’re overprescribing medications to ourselves, especially to our kids; the idea that we’re poisoning the environment with toxins; the idea that food companies are tempting kids with high-sugar, high-fructose, dyed products that then are contributing to a childhood-obesity epidemic—all of those things, I think, coded as liberal critiques of the medical establishment until very recently.

...

"So I don’t think the Democrats should be doing anything different at the mandate level. And that’s a place where I really differ from, say, Jared Polis, the governor of Colorado, who’s been tweeting in support of RFK with this kind of, like, bizarre zeal and who I think has sort of overstepped where he maybe wants to be. I think he wants to sort of express some understanding of where the folks of Colorado are, where there’s a really growing, pervasive anti-vax sentiment. That’s actually not—it’s bad public policy. It’s a recipe for disease outbreak.

...

"There’s, you know, sort of famously: In 2021, there was a really controversial, high-profile case of approval for a drug for Alzheimer’s that had just been shown not to work, basically. And Alzheimer’s—very common disease, incredibly devastating to families. People are desperate to believe that there is something that they can do for folks. We don’t really have good treatments right now. This was the sort of treatment that had received a lot of hype in advance.

"The data was just not supportive of the idea that it was effective. And, in fact, it did obviously cause harm in some small number of patients. It got pushed through the FDA approval process anyway, largely, in part, due to pressure from the Alzheimer’s Association, which was receiving money from the drug company. That is a perfect-storm setup for an RFK-type critique. And it’s true. And at the time, I wrote an op-ed criticizing that process. So that’s a place where he and I totally agree.

...

"So I think one of the major millennial failures is the invention and then rollout of small plates to, like, every yuppie restaurant in every city in the country—which is like: You go. You sit down. There’s, like, this menu of items that are all very expensive and very tiny, and they’re supposed to be for sharing, but they’re not big enough to share. And then the waiter comes and, like, does this whole explanation, like, Have you ever been here before? Let me explain to you how the menu works. Things at the top are small, and things at the bottom are bigger. And then the menu proceeds from, like, $18 for four anchovies to, like, eventually you get to, like, a whole fish. You know what I mean?"