Thursday, August 3, 2017
I Love Her!
Trump asked what Blacks had to lose. It was apparently healthcare, housing, college admission, & freedom after Sessions locks everyone up— Maxine Waters (@MaxineWaters) August 2, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Joking? Really?
An excerpt from the New Yorker -
Donald Trump Is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality
By Jelani Cobb
In Trump’s world, toughness is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. When Trump invokes Chicago as the exemplar of what is wrong with American law enforcement, the irony is that the city’s crime problem was made worse by its anything-goes ethic of policing. The city where police ran a black site for torturing suspects, attempted to cover up the circumstances in which the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed, and regularly paid out millions in police-brutality settlements is the same city where seventy per cent of residents do not believe that police can be trusted to treat all residents fairly. The idea that community trust is more valuable to a police department than “toughness”—really a Trumpian euphemism for brutality—might seem quaint, but Chicago’s experience would point to the contrary. When Trump says police need not be concerned if suspects suffer head injuries in their custody, it’s not simply a wink and a nod at the old days of unrestrained policing. It’s a foreshadowing of a world he’s actively attempting to resurrect.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(194)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODE2ODQxS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
Donald Trump Is Serious When He “Jokes” About Police Brutality
By Jelani Cobb
In Trump’s world, toughness is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. When Trump invokes Chicago as the exemplar of what is wrong with American law enforcement, the irony is that the city’s crime problem was made worse by its anything-goes ethic of policing. The city where police ran a black site for torturing suspects, attempted to cover up the circumstances in which the seventeen-year-old Laquan McDonald was killed, and regularly paid out millions in police-brutality settlements is the same city where seventy per cent of residents do not believe that police can be trusted to treat all residents fairly. The idea that community trust is more valuable to a police department than “toughness”—really a Trumpian euphemism for brutality—might seem quaint, but Chicago’s experience would point to the contrary. When Trump says police need not be concerned if suspects suffer head injuries in their custody, it’s not simply a wink and a nod at the old days of unrestrained policing. It’s a foreshadowing of a world he’s actively attempting to resurrect.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-serious-when-he-jokes-about-police-brutality?mbid=nl_TNY%20Template%20-%20With%20Photo%20(194)&CNDID=27124505&spMailingID=11612091&spUserID=MTMzMTgyODE2ODQxS0&spJobID=1220182297&spReportId=MTIyMDE4MjI5NwS2
Supersized Inequality
An excerpt from the New Republic -
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
How Fast Food Chains Supersized Inequality
Fast food did not just find its way to low-income neighborhoods. It was brought there by the federal government.
BY MAX HOLLERAN
Supersizing Urban America, a new book by the historian of public health, Chin Jou, shows that fast food did not just find its way to low-income urban areas: It was brought there by the federal government. In the wake of the 1968 riots, Nixon’s law-and-order presidency began programs that doled out federal funds to fast food franchises. The administration asserted that black-owned businesses serving fast food would help to cure urban unrest by promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in poor communities. The federal subsidization of McDonald’s and other chains to enter urban markets previously considered too poor or dangerous was meant to promote “black capitalism.” It did make a select group of black entrepreneurs wealthy, but it was mostly a boon to fast food giants searching for new market demographics.
Like “ethnic” advertising in the alcohol and cigarette industries, fast food companies sold a dream of middle class affluence to communities of color that were nonetheless still excluded from the housing and education that would make those aspirations a reality. Jou’s book shows conclusively that obesity and diet in America have little to do with personal responsibility, and everything to do with public policy.
https://newrepublic.com/article/144168/fast-food-chains-supersized-inequality
Dear GOP
An excerpt from the Boston Globe -
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
Dear Republicans: You know you can shut this mess down, right?
By Renée Graham
Hey GOP: Y’all know you can shut this mess down, right?
Instead you slump onto news talk shows lamenting the dismal state of affairs engulfing this bewildered nation. You’ve been there every step of the way since Jan. 20, as we’ve all been forced to understand such difficult things as collusion, emoluments, the 25th Amendment, and Jared Kushner’s voice.
Yet you behave like you’ve suddenly awakened to find President Trump looming over you, golf club in hand, ready to strike. You are even more responsible for this reign of incompetence and potential criminality masquerading as a presidency than those who voted for Trump. Still, you act as if you can simply tsk-tsk and finger-wag your way through every inflammatory tweet, statement, and action, as if the president is nothing more than a naughty puppy that has soiled the carpet.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2017/08/01/dear-gop-get-backbone/dibR5yES6PjxeUaXHYh6BJ/story.html
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Reclaiming My Time -Gospel Mix
http://www.elle.com/culture/music/news/a47043/reclaiming-my-time-now-has-a-gospel-remix/
Another GOLD!
From the Huffington Post -
Simone Manuel Sets New Record And Takes Home The Gold AGAIN
Black girl magic FTW.
By Taryn Finley
Simone Manuel hasn’t slowed down since her history-making victory at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
On Friday, Manuel scored gold over world record holder Sarah Sjöström in the world 100m freestyle in Budapest for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. Manuel beat out Sjöström by mere milliseconds ― 52.27 seconds to the Swedish’s 52.31 seconds ― setting a new American record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/simone-manuel-sets-new-record-wins-gold-again_us_597f5a43e4b02a8434b8173e?section=us_black-voices
Simone Manuel Sets New Record And Takes Home The Gold AGAIN
Black girl magic FTW.
By Taryn Finley
 | ||
Simone Manuel hasn’t slowed down since her history-making victory at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
On Friday, Manuel scored gold over world record holder Sarah Sjöström in the world 100m freestyle in Budapest for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. Manuel beat out Sjöström by mere milliseconds ― 52.27 seconds to the Swedish’s 52.31 seconds ― setting a new American record.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/simone-manuel-sets-new-record-wins-gold-again_us_597f5a43e4b02a8434b8173e?section=us_black-voices
A New Cosmetics Line
An excerpt from Essence -
Mented Cosmetics Is The Black-Owned Brand Making Nude Lipstick Anything But Basic
Two Harvard Business School graduates talk about the realities of starting a cosmetics business created for and by Black women.
By Deena Campbell
KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson knew they wanted to work together after graduating Harvard Business School, but they didn’t have any idea on the type of business to launch. Finally, after many months of meeting up to discuss life hacks, the duo realized the beauty industry needed cosmetics for women of color. They grabbed a few hot plates, a glass of pinot and began mixing shades in their kitchen. Six shades later, Mented Cosmetics was born.
http://www.essence.com/lifestyle/entrepreneurship/mented-cosmetics-interview?iid=sr-link2
http://www.essence.com/beauty/makeup/lips/black-owned-mented-cosmetics-nude-lipstick?iid=sr-link1
Hi there! I want you to try Mented Cosmetics, a new line of nude lipsticks for women of all hues. Use my link to get 15% off your first purchase! Check it out: http://mentedcosmetics.refr.cc/rhildaf
Mented Cosmetics Is The Black-Owned Brand Making Nude Lipstick Anything But Basic
Two Harvard Business School graduates talk about the realities of starting a cosmetics business created for and by Black women.
By Deena Campbell
KJ Miller and Amanda Johnson knew they wanted to work together after graduating Harvard Business School, but they didn’t have any idea on the type of business to launch. Finally, after many months of meeting up to discuss life hacks, the duo realized the beauty industry needed cosmetics for women of color. They grabbed a few hot plates, a glass of pinot and began mixing shades in their kitchen. Six shades later, Mented Cosmetics was born.
http://www.essence.com/lifestyle/entrepreneurship/mented-cosmetics-interview?iid=sr-link2
http://www.essence.com/beauty/makeup/lips/black-owned-mented-cosmetics-nude-lipstick?iid=sr-link1
Hi there! I want you to try Mented Cosmetics, a new line of nude lipsticks for women of all hues. Use my link to get 15% off your first purchase! Check it out: http://mentedcosmetics.refr.cc/rhildaf
That's a Lot of Poop
From Now I Know -
The Poop Collector
We all have different hobbies. Some of us like to play golf, others enjoy cooking, still others write trivia email newsletters. Some hobbies are mundane, but some are weird. Take, for example, a Florida man named George Frandsen. He collects something called coprolite — or, to use Merriam-Webster’s definition, “fossilized excrement.” Basically: Frandsen collects really old pieces of poop — poop specimens that have been preserved over millions of years and are now considered fossils.
http://nowiknow.com/the-poop-collector/
The Poop Collector
We all have different hobbies. Some of us like to play golf, others enjoy cooking, still others write trivia email newsletters. Some hobbies are mundane, but some are weird. Take, for example, a Florida man named George Frandsen. He collects something called coprolite — or, to use Merriam-Webster’s definition, “fossilized excrement.” Basically: Frandsen collects really old pieces of poop — poop specimens that have been preserved over millions of years and are now considered fossils.
http://nowiknow.com/the-poop-collector/
A Scary Thought
An excerpt from Slate -
A Stymied Trump Is a Dangerous Trump
Since he can’t score any wins at home, he just might look for glory overseas—and that means war.
By Joshua Keating
The collapse of efforts to repeal Obamacare last week leaves Donald Trump without a single legislative achievement more than half a year into his presidency. With relations souring between the president and his own party, with the West Wing thrown into chaos, and with the Russia investigation continuing to dog the administration, the president’s governing agenda has lost momentum. At first glance, this must be reassuring to Trump’s opponents, but it really shouldn’t be: The more he’s stymied at home, the more likely he is to look for victories abroad, a dynamic that significantly raises the risk of armed conflict.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/why_trump_might_be_itching_to_start_a_war_against_north_korea_or_iran.html
A Stymied Trump Is a Dangerous Trump
Since he can’t score any wins at home, he just might look for glory overseas—and that means war.
By Joshua Keating
The collapse of efforts to repeal Obamacare last week leaves Donald Trump without a single legislative achievement more than half a year into his presidency. With relations souring between the president and his own party, with the West Wing thrown into chaos, and with the Russia investigation continuing to dog the administration, the president’s governing agenda has lost momentum. At first glance, this must be reassuring to Trump’s opponents, but it really shouldn’t be: The more he’s stymied at home, the more likely he is to look for victories abroad, a dynamic that significantly raises the risk of armed conflict.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/07/why_trump_might_be_itching_to_start_a_war_against_north_korea_or_iran.html
What Are the Odds?
An excerpt from Vanity Fair -
Trump Has Fired Enough Staffers for an All-Trump Season of Dancing with the Stars
But which castoff would win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy?
by LAURA BRADLEY
In fact, now that we think of it, Dancing with the Stars could air an entire season populated solely with ex-Trump staffers looking for their second acts. Naturally, that raises one crucial question: who would win? Let’s consider the odds.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/anthony-scaramucci-fired-trump-dancing-with-the-stars
Trump Has Fired Enough Staffers for an All-Trump Season of Dancing with the Stars
But which castoff would win the coveted Mirrorball Trophy?
by LAURA BRADLEY
In fact, now that we think of it, Dancing with the Stars could air an entire season populated solely with ex-Trump staffers looking for their second acts. Naturally, that raises one crucial question: who would win? Let’s consider the odds.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/07/anthony-scaramucci-fired-trump-dancing-with-the-stars
Monday, July 31, 2017
Another Outster
TONIGHT: A dejected Stephen Colbert feels like he’s been front-stabbed in the heart after learning of The Mooch’s resignation. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/Ttmlk1ujJw— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) August 1, 2017
Crusty Eyes
An excerpt from Now I Know -
Why We Wake Up With Crusty Eyes
They go by many names — crusties, eye boogers, sleep dust, goop, or sometimes simply “sleep.” But whatever you call it, you’ve experienced this: you wake up in the morning and, in the corner of your eyes, there are shards of a hard, yellowish-white crust hanging out. Why does this happen?
The short version: When we sleep, we don’t blink.
Eye crusties (or whatever you call this stuff) are made up of something called rheum, pronounced like the word “room,” which Wikipedia describes as a “thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes.” Rheum protects our eyes from dust and whatever other bad stuff would otherwise irritate our eyes — it’s a barrier watch catches the bad stuff before it causes us any problems. Of course, we don’t want specks of dust or whatever floating around our eyes, so we have to get rid of the rheum pretty often. Blinking takes care of this. Blinking moves tears from the outside of the eyes inward, toward our tear ducts. And when that happens, the tears wash the rheum away ever so subtly; unless you’re thinking about it, you probably don’t even notice it happening.
http://nowiknow.com/why-we-wake-up-with-crusty-eyes/
Why We Wake Up With Crusty Eyes
They go by many names — crusties, eye boogers, sleep dust, goop, or sometimes simply “sleep.” But whatever you call it, you’ve experienced this: you wake up in the morning and, in the corner of your eyes, there are shards of a hard, yellowish-white crust hanging out. Why does this happen?
The short version: When we sleep, we don’t blink.
Eye crusties (or whatever you call this stuff) are made up of something called rheum, pronounced like the word “room,” which Wikipedia describes as a “thin mucus naturally discharged from the eyes.” Rheum protects our eyes from dust and whatever other bad stuff would otherwise irritate our eyes — it’s a barrier watch catches the bad stuff before it causes us any problems. Of course, we don’t want specks of dust or whatever floating around our eyes, so we have to get rid of the rheum pretty often. Blinking takes care of this. Blinking moves tears from the outside of the eyes inward, toward our tear ducts. And when that happens, the tears wash the rheum away ever so subtly; unless you’re thinking about it, you probably don’t even notice it happening.
http://nowiknow.com/why-we-wake-up-with-crusty-eyes/
Aggressive Incompetence
An excerpt from USA Today -
Anthony Scaramucci's aggressive incompetence
Tom Krattenmaker, Opinion columnist
Sure, take the flashy flatterer who has been singing the president’s praises on cable news and make him White House communications director, never mind the fact he has no communications experience. What could go wrong?
How quickly we learned.
The PR disaster during Anthony Scaramucci’s first week on the job — a profanity-laced diatribe to a national magazine in which the president’s new communications director blasted supposed colleagues and exposed the knife-fight chaos in the White House —tells us something worth remembering:
Communications is not for amateurs. Nor is governing.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/07/30/scaramucci-mess-demonstrates-communications-not-amateurs-tom-krattenmaker-column/521156001/
Anthony Scaramucci's aggressive incompetence
Tom Krattenmaker, Opinion columnist
Sure, take the flashy flatterer who has been singing the president’s praises on cable news and make him White House communications director, never mind the fact he has no communications experience. What could go wrong?
How quickly we learned.
The PR disaster during Anthony Scaramucci’s first week on the job — a profanity-laced diatribe to a national magazine in which the president’s new communications director blasted supposed colleagues and exposed the knife-fight chaos in the White House —tells us something worth remembering:
Communications is not for amateurs. Nor is governing.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/07/30/scaramucci-mess-demonstrates-communications-not-amateurs-tom-krattenmaker-column/521156001/
All Electric. All the Time.
An excerpt from the NY Times Editorial -
Britain Joins the Shift to Electric Cars
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The drive to switch to electric cars went a mile further last Wednesday when Britain joined France in pledging to end the sale of new gas and diesel cars by 2040. Norway and India have also said they want to get rid of gas and diesel cars, and at least 10 other countries have set targets for electric cars. All that is good news for the planet and for human health, even if caveats and challenges abound.
Cars powered by gasoline or diesel are major polluters. The Volkswagen emissions scandal in the United States put to rest the longstanding European faith in diesel as a more environmentally friendly fuel, not least because it generates large quantities of health-threatening nitrogen oxides. VW’s extensive efforts to conceal the true extent of that pollution has now turned consumers against the fuel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/opinion/britain-electric-cars.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
Britain Joins the Shift to Electric Cars
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
The drive to switch to electric cars went a mile further last Wednesday when Britain joined France in pledging to end the sale of new gas and diesel cars by 2040. Norway and India have also said they want to get rid of gas and diesel cars, and at least 10 other countries have set targets for electric cars. All that is good news for the planet and for human health, even if caveats and challenges abound.
Cars powered by gasoline or diesel are major polluters. The Volkswagen emissions scandal in the United States put to rest the longstanding European faith in diesel as a more environmentally friendly fuel, not least because it generates large quantities of health-threatening nitrogen oxides. VW’s extensive efforts to conceal the true extent of that pollution has now turned consumers against the fuel.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/opinion/britain-electric-cars.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region
Will He Listen?
An excerpt from the NY Times -
Sage Advice From the ‘Gold Standard’ of White House Chiefs of Staff
By PETER BAKER
When a new White House chief of staff takes over, the smart ones check in with James A. Baker III, the only man to have occupied the office two different times for two different presidents and who is widely considered to be the gold standard.
Mr. Baker has plenty of advice from running the White House during Ronald Reagan’s first term and again at the end of George Bush’s presidency, but it usually boils down to this: “You can focus on the ‘chief,’ or you can focus on the ‘of staff.’ Those who have focused on the ‘of staff’ have done pretty well.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/us/politics/john-kelly-james-baker-white-house.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories&_r=0
Sage Advice From the ‘Gold Standard’ of White House Chiefs of Staff
By PETER BAKER
When a new White House chief of staff takes over, the smart ones check in with James A. Baker III, the only man to have occupied the office two different times for two different presidents and who is widely considered to be the gold standard.
Mr. Baker has plenty of advice from running the White House during Ronald Reagan’s first term and again at the end of George Bush’s presidency, but it usually boils down to this: “You can focus on the ‘chief,’ or you can focus on the ‘of staff.’ Those who have focused on the ‘of staff’ have done pretty well.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/us/politics/john-kelly-james-baker-white-house.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories&_r=0
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Let's Count the Ways
An excerpt from Business Insider -
Trump may have just had his 'worst week' yet
By Natasha Bertrand
The Boy Scouts were forced to apologize. the Pentagon was caught flat-footed. The GOP failed to pass a crucial healthcare vote.
The president openly undercut his attorney general. The White House communications director publicly attacked the White House chief of staff. The White House chief of staff was then ousted.
Congress backed the president into a corner on Russia, and the police department that hosted the president's speech on gang violence quickly denounced his remarks.
And that was just last week.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-scaramucci-reince-priebus-health-care-2017-7?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
Trump may have just had his 'worst week' yet
By Natasha Bertrand
The Boy Scouts were forced to apologize. the Pentagon was caught flat-footed. The GOP failed to pass a crucial healthcare vote.
The president openly undercut his attorney general. The White House communications director publicly attacked the White House chief of staff. The White House chief of staff was then ousted.
Congress backed the president into a corner on Russia, and the police department that hosted the president's speech on gang violence quickly denounced his remarks.
And that was just last week.
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-scaramucci-reince-priebus-health-care-2017-7?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosam&stream=top-stories
An Idiot and a Fool
An excerpt from NY Magazine - (Italics is mine)
Reince Priebus: Requiem for a Minion
By Jonathan Chait
Priebus’s replacement, John Kelly, is more appealing to the president because he is a general and is untainted by having recorded any doubts about the viability of a candidate who grabs women by their genitals. Another article (link below) notes approvingly, “He won’t suffer idiots and fools,” which might be a problem, since the president is both.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/reince-priebus-requiem-for-a-minion.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/07/29/john-kelly-trumps-new-chief-of-staff-wont-suffer-idiots-and-fools/?utm_term=.d733ae1f3237
Reince Priebus: Requiem for a Minion
By Jonathan Chait
Priebus’s replacement, John Kelly, is more appealing to the president because he is a general and is untainted by having recorded any doubts about the viability of a candidate who grabs women by their genitals. Another article (link below) notes approvingly, “He won’t suffer idiots and fools,” which might be a problem, since the president is both.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/reince-priebus-requiem-for-a-minion.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/07/29/john-kelly-trumps-new-chief-of-staff-wont-suffer-idiots-and-fools/?utm_term=.d733ae1f3237
Saturday, July 29, 2017
Obamacare
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
Obamacare Is Alive Because It Has Made Life Better For Millions
Republicans could never admit this — and it came back to haunt them.
By Jonathan Cohn
The Affordable Care Act has survived yet another effort to snuff it out. And one reason is a simple reality that Republicans have rarely been willing to admit ― to their supporters, to the general public, and perhaps even to themselves.
It turns out “Obamacare” has made life better for a great many people.
Millions of Americans now have health insurance because the law has put it within financial reach. They are enrolling in Medicaid, or buying private insurance with the help of tax credits ― and taking advantage of laws that prohibit insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Millions more have insurance that is cheaper, better, or more comprehensive than what they could get before. They are more financially secure, they have better access to care, and they are probably getting healthier, too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-obamacare-survived_us_597ae374e4b02a8434b5774f?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Obamacare Is Alive Because It Has Made Life Better For Millions
Republicans could never admit this — and it came back to haunt them.
By Jonathan Cohn
The Affordable Care Act has survived yet another effort to snuff it out. And one reason is a simple reality that Republicans have rarely been willing to admit ― to their supporters, to the general public, and perhaps even to themselves.
It turns out “Obamacare” has made life better for a great many people.
Millions of Americans now have health insurance because the law has put it within financial reach. They are enrolling in Medicaid, or buying private insurance with the help of tax credits ― and taking advantage of laws that prohibit insurers from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. Millions more have insurance that is cheaper, better, or more comprehensive than what they could get before. They are more financially secure, they have better access to care, and they are probably getting healthier, too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-obamacare-survived_us_597ae374e4b02a8434b5774f?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Irresponsible & Unprofessional
An excerpt from the Huffington Post -
NYPD Calls Unreasonable Use Of Force ‘Irresponsible’ After Trump’s Speech
The department said suggestions for using another standard for use of force “sends the wrong message.”
By Carla Herreria
The New York Police Department released a statement on Saturday reiterating their use of force policies after President Donald Trump suggested police officers be more rough with their suspects during a Friday speech to invited law enforcement officers.
In a statement emailed to HuffPost, the NYPD called suggestions for police officers to use alternative standards for use of force “irresponsible” and “unprofessional.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nypd-responds-to-trump-speech-use-of-force_us_597cf58be4b02a8434b6d20e?9oa&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
NYPD Calls Unreasonable Use Of Force ‘Irresponsible’ After Trump’s Speech
The department said suggestions for using another standard for use of force “sends the wrong message.”
By Carla Herreria
The New York Police Department released a statement on Saturday reiterating their use of force policies after President Donald Trump suggested police officers be more rough with their suspects during a Friday speech to invited law enforcement officers.
In a statement emailed to HuffPost, the NYPD called suggestions for police officers to use alternative standards for use of force “irresponsible” and “unprofessional.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nypd-responds-to-trump-speech-use-of-force_us_597cf58be4b02a8434b6d20e?9oa&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Black Beauty
 | ||
| FAMU Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters gathered in Costa Rica for an induction anniversary and did what they're calling a #MelaninIllustrated photo shoot. | (Photo: Courtesy of Amanda Byrd. Photo by Javier A. Mereb - Bidrop Images.) |
A Biodegradable Urn
From Wired -
TURN YOUR DEAD GRANDMA INTO A TREE WITH THIS SMART PLANTER
By Elizabeth Stinson
AFTER JAY JUNKER’S father passed away from cancer in 2014, the 33-year-old took his cremated remains and planted them in a field outside the family’s farm house in Vermont. His father, who Junker recalls as outgoing and nature loving, is now a white oak sapling that’s grown from 5 inches to just over 5 feet tall in the last two years. On nice days, Junker likes to take a stroll out to the meadow where his father is planted and spend some time reminiscing about how they used to ski and hike in the rolling green hills. “To me, this just seemed like the best way to keep in touch," Junker says. "The best way to keep someone in your life.”
Ashes by themselves don’t grow into trees, of course, but Junker had some help. He used a Bios Urn—a biodegradable urn that turns human ash remains into growth material for trees.
https://www.wired.com/story/turn-your-dead-grandma-into-a-tree-with-this-smart-planter/?mbid=nl_72917_p8&CNDID=
TURN YOUR DEAD GRANDMA INTO A TREE WITH THIS SMART PLANTER
By Elizabeth Stinson
AFTER JAY JUNKER’S father passed away from cancer in 2014, the 33-year-old took his cremated remains and planted them in a field outside the family’s farm house in Vermont. His father, who Junker recalls as outgoing and nature loving, is now a white oak sapling that’s grown from 5 inches to just over 5 feet tall in the last two years. On nice days, Junker likes to take a stroll out to the meadow where his father is planted and spend some time reminiscing about how they used to ski and hike in the rolling green hills. “To me, this just seemed like the best way to keep in touch," Junker says. "The best way to keep someone in your life.”
Ashes by themselves don’t grow into trees, of course, but Junker had some help. He used a Bios Urn—a biodegradable urn that turns human ash remains into growth material for trees.
https://www.wired.com/story/turn-your-dead-grandma-into-a-tree-with-this-smart-planter/?mbid=nl_72917_p8&CNDID=
Friday, July 28, 2017
This is it, right?
An excerpt from NY Magazine -
A Week of Reckoning
By Andrew Sullivan
We have become, at this point, inured to having an irrational president in an increasingly post-rational America. We’ve also come to tell ourselves that somehow (a) this isn’t really happening, (b) by some miracle, it will be over soon, or (c) at some point the Republican Party will have to acknowledge what they are abetting, and cut their losses. And yet with each particular breach of decency, stability, and constitutionality, no breaking point seems to have arrived, even as the tribalism has deepened, the president’s madness has metastasized, and the norms of liberal democracy are hanging on by a thread.
But surely this week must mark some kind of moment in this vertiginous descent, some point at which the manifest unfitness of this president to continue in office becomes impossible to deny.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/a-week-of-reckoning.html
A Week of Reckoning
By Andrew Sullivan
We have become, at this point, inured to having an irrational president in an increasingly post-rational America. We’ve also come to tell ourselves that somehow (a) this isn’t really happening, (b) by some miracle, it will be over soon, or (c) at some point the Republican Party will have to acknowledge what they are abetting, and cut their losses. And yet with each particular breach of decency, stability, and constitutionality, no breaking point seems to have arrived, even as the tribalism has deepened, the president’s madness has metastasized, and the norms of liberal democracy are hanging on by a thread.
But surely this week must mark some kind of moment in this vertiginous descent, some point at which the manifest unfitness of this president to continue in office becomes impossible to deny.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/a-week-of-reckoning.html
From His Mouth to God's Ears
An excerpt from Rolling Stone -
The Anthony Scaramucci Era Will Be Freakish, Embarrassing and All Too Short
Glad-handing hedge-funder turned White House press chief has reignited the comic potential of Trump presidency. It's too bad he won't last past the end of this sentence
By Matt Taibbi
It's hard to believe that it was barely a week ago, on July 21st, that Scaramucci was given Trump's top press job. It feels like it was millions of years in the past, back when Africa was still connected to Brazil, and Sean Spicer was still our idea of a national embarrassment. This is the way time works in the Trump era. Days seem like centuries, and weeks seem like millennia.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/taibbi-anthony-scaramucci-era-will-be-freakish-embarrassing-short-w494718?utm_source=rsnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=072817_10
The Anthony Scaramucci Era Will Be Freakish, Embarrassing and All Too Short
Glad-handing hedge-funder turned White House press chief has reignited the comic potential of Trump presidency. It's too bad he won't last past the end of this sentence
By Matt Taibbi
It's hard to believe that it was barely a week ago, on July 21st, that Scaramucci was given Trump's top press job. It feels like it was millions of years in the past, back when Africa was still connected to Brazil, and Sean Spicer was still our idea of a national embarrassment. This is the way time works in the Trump era. Days seem like centuries, and weeks seem like millennia.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/taibbi-anthony-scaramucci-era-will-be-freakish-embarrassing-short-w494718?utm_source=rsnewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=072817_10
Retiring at 98
An excerpt from Poynter -
He’s spent nearly 7 decades at The San Francisco Chronicle. This year, at 98, he’s retiring.
By Daniel Funke
David Perlman was born in 1918 — a decade before the discovery of penicillin and the Big Bang Theory.
And, for the majority of his career, he covered scientific progress in the 20th century and beyond, writing thousands of articles about everything from the beginning of the space age to the computer age.
Until now.
The 98-year-old science editor is retiring from The San Francisco Chronicle after nearly seven decades at the newspaper, a decision he said had been coming for a while.
http://www.poynter.org/2017/hes-spent-nearly-seven-decades-at-the-san-francisco-chronicle-this-year-at-98-hes-retiring/468149/
He’s spent nearly 7 decades at The San Francisco Chronicle. This year, at 98, he’s retiring.
By Daniel Funke
David Perlman was born in 1918 — a decade before the discovery of penicillin and the Big Bang Theory.
And, for the majority of his career, he covered scientific progress in the 20th century and beyond, writing thousands of articles about everything from the beginning of the space age to the computer age.
Until now.
The 98-year-old science editor is retiring from The San Francisco Chronicle after nearly seven decades at the newspaper, a decision he said had been coming for a while.
http://www.poynter.org/2017/hes-spent-nearly-seven-decades-at-the-san-francisco-chronicle-this-year-at-98-hes-retiring/468149/
San Francisco Via Drone Part 1
Music is obnoxious. You might consider muting it. Otherwise great views.
Slow & Painful
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
The Trump administration: Where your pride goes to die
By Aaron Blake
Getting close to President Trump, it seems, means checking your pride at the door and taking some very public abuse.
Trump's first big-name supporters in 2016 were Chris Christie and Jeff Sessions. He spent the bulk of the rest of the campaign embarrassing Christie before firing him as head of the Trump transition effort. And now he's spent the bulk of the last week haranguing Sessions, his own attorney general, apparently in hopes Sessions will resign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/28/the-trump-administration-where-your-pride-goes-to-die/?tid=pm_politics_pop&utm_term=.eee8ef039074
The Trump administration: Where your pride goes to die
By Aaron Blake
Getting close to President Trump, it seems, means checking your pride at the door and taking some very public abuse.
Trump's first big-name supporters in 2016 were Chris Christie and Jeff Sessions. He spent the bulk of the rest of the campaign embarrassing Christie before firing him as head of the Trump transition effort. And now he's spent the bulk of the last week haranguing Sessions, his own attorney general, apparently in hopes Sessions will resign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/07/28/the-trump-administration-where-your-pride-goes-to-die/?tid=pm_politics_pop&utm_term=.eee8ef039074
Black Gun Owners
An excerpt from the Washinton Post -
‘It seems cool to be racist now’: The rising profile of the black gun owner
By Wesley Lowery
Mark Warner was hovering over the counter of handguns, about midway through the morning shift at Blue Ridge Arsenal, the black-owned gun store in Fairfax County where he’s worked for the past 18 years, when he spotted me.
“I heard you want to talk about black people buying guns,” Warner, himself black, declared in the matter of fact, teasing tone that has endeared him to the store’s regulars. “So what do you want to know?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/07/27/it-seems-cool-to-be-racist-now-the-rising-profile-of-the-black-gun-owner/?utm_term=.c589dc2eff63&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
‘It seems cool to be racist now’: The rising profile of the black gun owner
By Wesley Lowery
Mark Warner was hovering over the counter of handguns, about midway through the morning shift at Blue Ridge Arsenal, the black-owned gun store in Fairfax County where he’s worked for the past 18 years, when he spotted me.
“I heard you want to talk about black people buying guns,” Warner, himself black, declared in the matter of fact, teasing tone that has endeared him to the store’s regulars. “So what do you want to know?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/07/27/it-seems-cool-to-be-racist-now-the-rising-profile-of-the-black-gun-owner/?utm_term=.c589dc2eff63&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
He's Smart Enough to Quit
From the Daily Mail -
Ravens star, 26, who is also pursuing a PhD in math at MIT, RETIRES abruptly after shock study shows 99% of NFL players' brains are affected by degenerative disease CTE
By James Wilkinson
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4736612/Math-whiz-Ravens-star-quits-NFL-brain-damage-study.html#ixzz4o8jYykur
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Ravens star, 26, who is also pursuing a PhD in math at MIT, RETIRES abruptly after shock study shows 99% of NFL players' brains are affected by degenerative disease CTE
By James Wilkinson
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4736612/Math-whiz-Ravens-star-quits-NFL-brain-damage-study.html#ixzz4o8jYykur
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Blog Love
From http://www.freehomeschooldeals.com/free-printable-life-skills-checklist-for-kids/
comes a wonderful chart that lists life skills that kids should have at each from preschool through high school.
comes a wonderful chart that lists life skills that kids should have at each from preschool through high school.
A Very Necessary Message Delivered in a Great Little Book
One of the best books I've seen that discusses the issues of black kids dying at the hands of folks hired to protect them is Momma, Did You Hear the News by Sanya Gragg.
It is a must read for anyone raising black kids in America.
It is a must read for anyone raising black kids in America.
Pilot Shortage
An excerpt from CNN -
The U.S. has a staggering pilot shortage
by Jon Ostrower
Over the next two decades, 87 new pilots need to be trained and ready to fly a commercial airliner every day in order to meet our insatiable demand to travel by air.
That's one every 15 minutes.
Passenger and cargo airlines around the world are expected to buy 41,000 new airliners between 2017 and 2036. And they will need 637,000 new pilots to fly them, according to a forecast from Boeing released this week. That staggering figure is matched only by how many will leave the profession in the next decade -- particularly in the U.S.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/27/news/companies/pilot-shortage-figures/index.html
The U.S. has a staggering pilot shortage
by Jon Ostrower
Over the next two decades, 87 new pilots need to be trained and ready to fly a commercial airliner every day in order to meet our insatiable demand to travel by air.
That's one every 15 minutes.
Passenger and cargo airlines around the world are expected to buy 41,000 new airliners between 2017 and 2036. And they will need 637,000 new pilots to fly them, according to a forecast from Boeing released this week. That staggering figure is matched only by how many will leave the profession in the next decade -- particularly in the U.S.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/27/news/companies/pilot-shortage-figures/index.html
Thursday, July 27, 2017
School Segregation
An excerpt from Vox -
School segregation didn’t go away. It just evolved.
How parents are gerrymandering school borders and fencing out poor kids.
Updated by Alvin Chang
Their idea was simple: to create their own school district.
Their stated reason was simple: Schools do better when they’re part of smaller, city-based districts where they can make hyperlocal decisions.
So five years ago, organizers in Gardendale, Alabama, decided it was time to secede from the Jefferson County School District — because of the changing “dynamics.”
But this simple idea has historically caused a contentious debate about race, class, and education in America. And when the courts ruled on this issue, it resulted in the biggest setback to school integration since Brown v. Board of Education: a legal decision that allows parents to use borders to segregate their kids away from their less desirable peers.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/7/27/16004084/school-segregation-evolution
School segregation didn’t go away. It just evolved.
How parents are gerrymandering school borders and fencing out poor kids.
Updated by Alvin Chang
Their idea was simple: to create their own school district.
Their stated reason was simple: Schools do better when they’re part of smaller, city-based districts where they can make hyperlocal decisions.
So five years ago, organizers in Gardendale, Alabama, decided it was time to secede from the Jefferson County School District — because of the changing “dynamics.”
But this simple idea has historically caused a contentious debate about race, class, and education in America. And when the courts ruled on this issue, it resulted in the biggest setback to school integration since Brown v. Board of Education: a legal decision that allows parents to use borders to segregate their kids away from their less desirable peers.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/7/27/16004084/school-segregation-evolution
Falling Sperm Count
An excerpt from New Scientist -
Sperm count has fallen by nearly 60 per cent in richer countries
By New Scientist staff and Press Association
An analysis of research into male fertility suggests that there has been a steep decline in sperm counts for men living in richer nations.
The review pooled data from 185 different studies, and found a 59.3 per cent drop between 1973 and 2011 in the average amount of sperm produced by men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. No similar pattern was seen in South America, Asia and Africa, although fewer studies had been conducted in these countries.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2141784-sperm-count-has-fallen-by-nearly-60-per-cent-in-richer-countries/#link_time=1501018098
Sperm count has fallen by nearly 60 per cent in richer countries
By New Scientist staff and Press Association
An analysis of research into male fertility suggests that there has been a steep decline in sperm counts for men living in richer nations.
The review pooled data from 185 different studies, and found a 59.3 per cent drop between 1973 and 2011 in the average amount of sperm produced by men from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. No similar pattern was seen in South America, Asia and Africa, although fewer studies had been conducted in these countries.
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2141784-sperm-count-has-fallen-by-nearly-60-per-cent-in-richer-countries/#link_time=1501018098
The Next Time You Have A Slice of Birthday Cake
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Blowing Out Birthday Candles Increases Cake Bacteria by 1,400 Percent
But it’s okay, really!
By SARAH ZHANG
I can identify the exact moment when my relationship with birthday cake changed forever, and it was last week, when I read a study titled “Bacterial Transfer Associated with Blowing Out Candles on a Birthday Cake.”
Of course, the more cautious (aka germophobic) among us have already thought about it in gruesome detail. One colleague said she scrapes off the top layer of frosting, a habit that suddenly made perfect sense but which I for some reason had never before considered. I had been living in ignorant, saliva-splattered bliss.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/07/birthday-candle-bacteria/534987/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-072717
Blowing Out Birthday Candles Increases Cake Bacteria by 1,400 Percent
But it’s okay, really!
By SARAH ZHANG
I can identify the exact moment when my relationship with birthday cake changed forever, and it was last week, when I read a study titled “Bacterial Transfer Associated with Blowing Out Candles on a Birthday Cake.”
Of course, the more cautious (aka germophobic) among us have already thought about it in gruesome detail. One colleague said she scrapes off the top layer of frosting, a habit that suddenly made perfect sense but which I for some reason had never before considered. I had been living in ignorant, saliva-splattered bliss.
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/07/birthday-candle-bacteria/534987/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-072717
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
An excerpt from Wired -
INSIDE CUBA’S D.I.Y. INTERNET REVOLUTION
by Antonio GarcĂa MartĂnez
Every week, more than a terabyte of data is packaged into external hard drives known as el paquete semanal (“the weekly package”). It is the internet distilled down to its purest, most consumable, and least interactive form: its content. This collection of video, song, photo, and text files from the outside world is cobbled together by various media smugglers known as paqueteros, and it travels around the island from person to person, percolating quickly from Havana to the furthest reaches in less than a day and constituting what would be known in techie lingo as a sneakernet: a network that transmits data via shoe rubber, bus, horseback, or anything else.
https://www.wired.com/2017/07/inside-cubas-diy-internet-revolution/?mbid=nl_72617_EIC_p1&CNDID=
INSIDE CUBA’S D.I.Y. INTERNET REVOLUTION
by Antonio GarcĂa MartĂnez
Every week, more than a terabyte of data is packaged into external hard drives known as el paquete semanal (“the weekly package”). It is the internet distilled down to its purest, most consumable, and least interactive form: its content. This collection of video, song, photo, and text files from the outside world is cobbled together by various media smugglers known as paqueteros, and it travels around the island from person to person, percolating quickly from Havana to the furthest reaches in less than a day and constituting what would be known in techie lingo as a sneakernet: a network that transmits data via shoe rubber, bus, horseback, or anything else.
https://www.wired.com/2017/07/inside-cubas-diy-internet-revolution/?mbid=nl_72617_EIC_p1&CNDID=
A Guitar Made of Trees
From Atlas Obscura -
Pedro MartĂn Ureta's Forest Guitar
Guitar made of trees, dedicated to a man's lost love.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/guitar-forest
Pedro MartĂn Ureta's Forest Guitar
Guitar made of trees, dedicated to a man's lost love.
 |
| GENERAL LEVALLE, ARGENTINA |
Brown Sugar Waffle Recipe
From the LA Times -
http://www.latimes.com/food/recipes/la-fo-sos-waffles-brown-sugar-kitchen-20170719-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
http://www.latimes.com/food/recipes/la-fo-sos-waffles-brown-sugar-kitchen-20170719-story.html#nws=mcnewsletter
Cap and Trade - Explained in 90 Sec
From the LA Times -
http://www.latimes.com/politics/94177818-132.html
http://www.latimes.com/politics/94177818-132.html
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
Brain Damage
From the NY Times -
110 N.F.L. Brains
A neuropathologist has examined the brains of 111 N.F.L. players — and 110 were found to have C.T.E., the degenerative disease linked to repeated blows to the head.
By The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html?action=click&contentCollection=Television&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
110 N.F.L. Brains
A neuropathologist has examined the brains of 111 N.F.L. players — and 110 were found to have C.T.E., the degenerative disease linked to repeated blows to the head.
By The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/07/25/sports/football/nfl-cte.html?action=click&contentCollection=Television&module=Trending&version=Full®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
Monday, July 24, 2017
The Problem Isn't His Mouthpiece
Excerpts from the Washington Post -
Why Anthony Scaramucci won’t make a dent in Trump’s problems
By Michael Gerson
The Trump administration’s reality problem is a historically unpopular president, pushing historically unpopular legislation (at least on health care), in a historically divided party, to a historically polarized country. Hiring a new head of communications will not fundamentally alter this state of affairs.
~~~~~~~~~~
Trump’s greatest need is not someone who will defend him on cable television. It is an administration capable of even the baby steps of governing — defining a positive, realistic agenda and selling it to Congress, starting with one’s own party. Trump does not have a communications problem; he has a leadership problem.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-anthony-scaramucci-wont-make-a-dent-in-trumps-problems/2017/07/24/5db1d3b0-708b-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.7a1e65a74c3b
Why Anthony Scaramucci won’t make a dent in Trump’s problems
By Michael Gerson
The Trump administration’s reality problem is a historically unpopular president, pushing historically unpopular legislation (at least on health care), in a historically divided party, to a historically polarized country. Hiring a new head of communications will not fundamentally alter this state of affairs.
~~~~~~~~~~
Trump’s greatest need is not someone who will defend him on cable television. It is an administration capable of even the baby steps of governing — defining a positive, realistic agenda and selling it to Congress, starting with one’s own party. Trump does not have a communications problem; he has a leadership problem.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-anthony-scaramucci-wont-make-a-dent-in-trumps-problems/2017/07/24/5db1d3b0-708b-11e7-8f39-eeb7d3a2d304_story.html?utm_term=.7a1e65a74c3b
The Future is Now
An excerpt from the Verge -
A Wisconsin company will let employees use microchip implants to buy snacks and open doors
by Adi Robertson
A Wisconsin company called Three Square Market is going to offer employees implantable chips to open doors, buy snacks, log in to computers, and use office equipment like copy machines. Participating employees will have the chips, which use near field communication (NFC) technology, implanted between their thumb and forefinger. It’s an extension of the long-running implantable RFID chip business, based on a partnership with Swedish company Biohax International. The vending kiosk company, also known as 32M, will “chip” employees at a party on August 1st. (According to an email to The Verge, chips and salsa will be served as snacks.) Around 50 people are supposedly getting the optional implants.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/24/16019530/three-sqaure-market-implant-office-keycard-biohacking-wisconsin
A Wisconsin company will let employees use microchip implants to buy snacks and open doors
by Adi Robertson
A Wisconsin company called Three Square Market is going to offer employees implantable chips to open doors, buy snacks, log in to computers, and use office equipment like copy machines. Participating employees will have the chips, which use near field communication (NFC) technology, implanted between their thumb and forefinger. It’s an extension of the long-running implantable RFID chip business, based on a partnership with Swedish company Biohax International. The vending kiosk company, also known as 32M, will “chip” employees at a party on August 1st. (According to an email to The Verge, chips and salsa will be served as snacks.) Around 50 people are supposedly getting the optional implants.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/24/16019530/three-sqaure-market-implant-office-keycard-biohacking-wisconsin
Is Curiosity Nurtured in Schools?
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Schools Are Missing What Matters About Learning
Curiosity is underemphasized in the classroom, but research shows that it is one of the strongest markers of academic success.
By SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN
The power of curiosity to contribute not only to high achievement, but also to a fulfilling existence, cannot be emphasized enough. Curiosity can be defined as “the recognition, pursuit, and intense desire to explore, novel, challenging, and uncertain events”. In recent years, curiosity has been linked to happiness, creativity, satisfying intimate relationships, increased personal growth after traumatic experiences, and increased meaning in life. In the school context, conceptualized as a “character strength,” curiosity has also received heightened research attention. Having a “hungry mind” has been shown to be a core determinant of academic achievement, rivaling the prediction power of IQ.
Yet in actual schools, curiosity is drastically underappreciated. As Susan Engel has documented in her book, The Hungry Mind, amidst the country’s standardized testing mania, schools are missing what really matters about learning: The desire to learn in the first place. As she notes, teachers rarely encourage curiosity in the classroom—even though we are all born with an abundance of curiosity, and this innate drive for exploration could be built upon in all students.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/the-underrated-gift-of-curiosity/534573/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-072417
Schools Are Missing What Matters About Learning
Curiosity is underemphasized in the classroom, but research shows that it is one of the strongest markers of academic success.
By SCOTT BARRY KAUFMAN
The power of curiosity to contribute not only to high achievement, but also to a fulfilling existence, cannot be emphasized enough. Curiosity can be defined as “the recognition, pursuit, and intense desire to explore, novel, challenging, and uncertain events”. In recent years, curiosity has been linked to happiness, creativity, satisfying intimate relationships, increased personal growth after traumatic experiences, and increased meaning in life. In the school context, conceptualized as a “character strength,” curiosity has also received heightened research attention. Having a “hungry mind” has been shown to be a core determinant of academic achievement, rivaling the prediction power of IQ.
Yet in actual schools, curiosity is drastically underappreciated. As Susan Engel has documented in her book, The Hungry Mind, amidst the country’s standardized testing mania, schools are missing what really matters about learning: The desire to learn in the first place. As she notes, teachers rarely encourage curiosity in the classroom—even though we are all born with an abundance of curiosity, and this innate drive for exploration could be built upon in all students.
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/the-underrated-gift-of-curiosity/534573/?utm_source=nl-atlantic-daily-072417
Unusual Musical Instruments From Around the World
From Atlas Obscura -
A Global Tour of Remarkable Musical Instruments
These 19 sonic contraptions are well worth experiencing in person.
BY MICHAEL INSCOE, PLACES FELLOW
http://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/19-of-the-worlds-most-unique-musical-instruments?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ca1068a9ef-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_07_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-ca1068a9ef-63562045&ct=t(Newsletter_7_24_2017)&mc_cid=ca1068a9ef&mc_eid=866176a63f
A Global Tour of Remarkable Musical Instruments
These 19 sonic contraptions are well worth experiencing in person.
BY MICHAEL INSCOE, PLACES FELLOW
http://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/19-of-the-worlds-most-unique-musical-instruments?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ca1068a9ef-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_07_24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f36db9c480-ca1068a9ef-63562045&ct=t(Newsletter_7_24_2017)&mc_cid=ca1068a9ef&mc_eid=866176a63f
Will Junior Ever Leave the Couch Now?
An excerpt from the LA Times -
E-sports isn't just a kids game anymore. There's big money for the best
By David Wharton
His father used to tell him that sitting in front of the computer, playing video games for hour after hour, was a waste of time.
So Cody Altman didn’t quite know what to think when a college from halfway across the country called to offer him a scholarship — for playing video games.
“Honestly,” he said, “I was skeptical.”
The young man from Anaheim changed his mind when he learned that Maryville University in St. Louis had an e-sports team with a coach, daily practices and league matches against other schools.
Two years later, Altman — who goes by “Walrus” in competition — found himself back in Southern California, seated with his teammates at a row of monitors on a high-tech stage, ready to do battle in the “League of Legends” college championship.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-e-sports-20170721-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
E-sports isn't just a kids game anymore. There's big money for the best
By David Wharton
His father used to tell him that sitting in front of the computer, playing video games for hour after hour, was a waste of time.
So Cody Altman didn’t quite know what to think when a college from halfway across the country called to offer him a scholarship — for playing video games.
“Honestly,” he said, “I was skeptical.”
The young man from Anaheim changed his mind when he learned that Maryville University in St. Louis had an e-sports team with a coach, daily practices and league matches against other schools.
Two years later, Altman — who goes by “Walrus” in competition — found himself back in Southern California, seated with his teammates at a row of monitors on a high-tech stage, ready to do battle in the “League of Legends” college championship.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-e-sports-20170721-htmlstory.html#nws=mcnewsletter
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