I read through Senator Dianne Feinstein’s opening remarks on ACB’s confirmation hearings hoping to get more t-shirt ideas, but what I found instead was: I’m worried the healthcare law I passed is unconstitutional, and people will die as a result. I differ from Senator Feinstein in this worry, because I am a user of our post-ACA medical system and can attest: It’s still broken. My concern, therefore, is not whether a failed attempt at reform will stand up to court scrutiny,... Read more
There are different definitions of what “systemic” can mean, and what it can mean specifically in terms of “systemic” racism. I don’t think it is necessary for ordinary people to sign off on every possible meaning of those terms in order to acknowledge that, in some form or another, there appears to be a disparity in outcomes that (a) creates obvious divides on racial lines and (b) is not so much about individual acts of discrimination as it is some... Read more
A series of three tweets caught my attention this morning, from Mandie Landry (@votelandry), a Catholic lawyer and representative of Louisiana’s District 91. In the first tweet, she establishes her Catholic credentials and that she is pro-choice. #Prochoice is also in her Twitter bio, so this is clearly an issue she campaigns on, or at least strongly identifies with. In the second tweet, which is a reply to the first so we can infer that one thought leads to the... Read more
At The Atlantic: “The Supply of Disinformation Will Soon Be Infinite” explains the advances in machine-generated propaganda. How can we trust anything we read? Guys. The solution requires just two steps, one easy and one slightly more difficult, and both of which have been part of the human toolbox since before the dawn of language — if lying monkeys are to be believed. #1 Learn How to Think Currently circulating among my internet friends (I know!) is an astonishingly badly written... Read more
Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub has an educational quizlet online, testing whether you can tell the difference between foreign trolls and ordinary American citizens spouting their preferred propaganda: spotthetroll.org. The quiz takes you through screenshots of a series of real social media profiles that have been investigated by law enforcement or verified by the university’s research team. The goal of the quiz is to help you learn the difference between the features of a foreign-made fake user profile and that of... Read more
I want to follow up on my post in favor of not outlawing trick-or-treating with some thoughts on how to make a pretty-safe activity into a more-safe activity. Some ideas: #1 You don’t have to do this. In terms of exposure to a respiratory virus, I think standard trick-or-treating is similar to going the grocery store. Early on in the history of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was concern that touching shared surfaces could be a major vector of transmission; over... Read more
There’s a pandemic on, and it can be tough to find ways to let kids get out and have fun in a safe manner, especially if you want to do something that brings the whole community together in, say, a traditional cultural celebration. So here’s an idea: Think up a theme for your event that makes it easy to include masks in a fun, playful way. Perhaps something involving costumes? Create a “drive by” (walk-by) type event, where rather than... Read more
Full disclosure before we begin . . . I’ll be getting in line at my local polling place this November (I anticipate no problems, it’s a well-run precinct) to cast my three-for-the-price-of-one vote, if my critics are to be believed: One vote for a third-party candidate TBD, and therefore, I’m informed, that also means I’ll be casting one vote each for Trump and Biden. Okay, that’s fine. Let’s talk about why. This afternoon I commented to the SuperHusband that the... Read more
Today I was alarmed to find myself needing write this. So let me explain something, again, about Southern culture: We honor the dead. To my knowledge there is one, single, possibly-valid argument for maintaining Confederate memorials, and it is that regardless of their sins, it is good to remember our forebears and honor their virtues. If you are an old-school Republican governor of one the reddest of the red-states, a state so certain to swing for Trump that MAGA hats just are... Read more
From the Archdiocese of Atlanta, emphasis mine: Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., encourages those who are healthy and are not burdened with the fear of being exposed to the virus to begin returning to Mass and receive the grace of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. There are two ways to read this, and the more charitable reading is that the archbishop is graciously acknowledging the suffering of persons with phobias. That’s super, I approve, and for more ideas about providing... Read more
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