Monday, December 4, 2023
Inmates Can Now Make Free Phone Calls in Five States
An excerpt from CNN.com
Making phone calls from prison is now free in Massachusetts
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
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| Inmates at Massachusetts correctional facilities can now make an unlimited number of calls cost-free. WichienTep/iStockphoto/Getty Images |
Massachusetts has now become the fifth state in the US to allow inmates to make phone calls for free, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Governor Maura Healey.
The new law went into effect on Friday and includes all 14 correctional facilities in the state, according to a news release from the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
The change will “provide equitable access to sustained communication between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones,” says the news release.
There is no limit to the number of calls each inmate can make, according to the release.
“The Massachusetts Department of Correction recognizes the importance of incarcerated individuals maintaining bonds with their loved ones,” said the Department of Correction commissioner Carol Mici in the release. “No cost calls will alleviate the financial burden and remove barriers for an individual in MA DOC custody to stay connected with their outside support system. Strong family support helps to advance the rehabilitative process, reduces recidivism, and contributes to successful reentry upon release.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/03/us/massachusetts-prison-call-free-trnd/index.html
Sunday, December 3, 2023
TSA Canine Calendar
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Meet the hard-working dogs of TSA’s 2024 canine calendar
You can get your paws on one this second because it’s free to download
By Natalie B. Compton
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| Zita, a German shorthaired pointer, works at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. (TSA photo) |
The Transportation Security Administration has just released the perfect antidote to this week’s capitalistic overload of holiday sale mania: a 2024 calendar of very good dogs with airport jobs. And it’s free.
Travel better with news, tips and guides that make you feel like a local wherever you go. In your inbox, Thursdays.
The TSA Canine Calendar is an annual tradition celebrating the work of America’s explosives-detection dogs. More than 1,000 patrol our airports and 300 more are trained every year to sniff out explosive materials.
“We screen passengers, baggage, we do terminal searches, we even screen cargo,” said TSA canine handler Caitlyn Winn, who’s been working with her dog, Puk (featured in this year’s calendar for October), at the Boston Logan International Airport since 2019. Like all the dazzlers in the calendar, Puk lives at home with her handler and leads a pretty normal life. But at the office (or, airport) she goes from pet to professional.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/11/29/tsa-dog-calendar-2024/
The Billionaire Myth
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Opinion: The billionaire myth takes a beating
By Jennifer Rubin
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| New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, left, and Elon Musk at an event in New York on Wednesday. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) |
Long before Donald Trump rode down the golden escalator or Elon Musk purchased Twitter (now X) or Sam Bankman-Fried built a crypto empire, Americans lionized billionaires.
“The idea of a self-made American billionaire is the super-sized version of all other self-made myths, and outlandish to the point of being at least mildly insulting,” BSchools.org, a blog about business schools, explained. “Individual achievement still deserves recognition. But these things don’t operate in a vacuum — and massive wealth is never solely attributable to the actions of a single person.”
But, as we have learned again and again this year, sometimes the self-appointed “genius” billionaire is simply a crank, a con man or a beneficiary of familial wealth and luck.
Never has the billionaire myth looked shakier. Trump, the four-times-indicted former president, is facing civil liability for exaggerating his wealth (built on inheritance) and property values. Bankman-Fried is facing a lengthy prison sentence for fraud. And Musk, who lost more than half of Twitter’s value, self-incinerated in a now-viral interview in which he crassly told off advertisers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/03/billionaire-myth-musk-trump/
Looking at 2023 in the Rearview Mirror
From CNN -
2023: The Year in Pictures
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/specials/year-in-pictures/
Saturday, December 2, 2023
Dance Monkey
@emiliopiano I met a SAXOPHONIST at the AIRPORT ?! 😱😱 #piano #publicpiano #publicreaction #dancemonkey #saxophone ♬ original sound - Emilio Piano
https://www.tiktok.com/@emiliopiano/video/7287627955805687072?_r=1&_t=8hoLm4fyzAU
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Outstanding Travel Hacks
An excerpt from Travel Noire -
103 Travel Hacks to Make Jet-Setting a Little Easier
Travel Hacks
By Leah Jones
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| Photo Credit: Atikh and Khayriyyah/Unsplash |
Hitting the road can be exhilarating, but traveling also comes with its fair share of hassles. Between crowded airports, cramped flights, and language barriers in foreign destinations, getting from point A to point B can involve plenty of headaches. Luckily, there are all sorts of ingenious tips and tricks that can make travel less stressful and more enjoyable. Whether it’s your first time backpacking abroad or you’re a seasoned jet-setter, a few simple travel hacks can go a long way in making your trips simpler and smoother.
We’ve put together 103 of these hacks to help upgrade your next trip. From packing pointers to tech tools, these hacks cover all aspects of travel from start to finish. With these tips at your disposal, you can breeze through annoying logistics and focus on creating memorable experiences.
https://travelnoire.com/travel-hacks
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Trevor Noah on Having Difficult Conversations
@spotifypodcasts Let’s have the conversation @Trevor Noah 🎯 #podcast #trevornoah #whatnow #podcastrecommendations #monologue #dailyshow #trevornoahclips #podcastclips ♬ original sound - Spotify Podcasts
https://youtube.com/shorts/phsbi4ibsck?si=ZYh18lHJFmLsdyad
Sunday, November 26, 2023
10 SHOCKING Things I Learned Driving Around Texas for 4 Months
When I moved back to Texas from California and the small town of China, Texas (population 1100) where I was raised to the big city of Houston, the biggest surprise was the Texas Turnaround (number 2). Every city should have these. They're the best.
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Ten Commandments Bill - Best Rebuttal EVER!
@jamestalarico Texas Republicans are trying to force public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. I told the bill author: “This bill is not only un-constitutional and un-American, it’s deeply in-Christian.” #txlege ♬ original sound - James Talarico
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Jenga Genius - Guinness World Records
An excerpt from Upworthy -
Teen with autism makes record-breaking Jenga block tower, inspiring Hallmark holiday movie
15-year-old Auldin Maxwell, who stacked an astonishing 1,840 Jenga pieces all on one single block, says using them helps tap into his creativity.
By Heather Wake
At the ripe old age of fifteen, Auldin Maxwell is already breaking world records and inspiring Hallmark movies.
Maxwell landed his first spot in the Guinness World Records in November 2020, when he successfully balanced 693 Jenga blocks all on top of one vertical facing Jenga block.
Only four months later, he broke his own record by stacking 1,400 Jenga blocks onto one vertical block, more than doubling the original amount. He then broke the record for most Jenga GIANT blocks (500) stacked on top of a single vertical Jenga GIANT block.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Rosalynn Carter: A Testament to Her Character (May She RIP)
An excerpt from Time.com
Rosalynn Carter Hired a Wrongfully Convicted Murderer to Serve as White House Nanny. They Remained Lifelong Friends
BY KATHY EHRICH DOWD
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| Amy Carter playing on the White House grounds with Mary Prince. National Archives and Records Administration/Wiki Commons |
Mary Prince, a Black woman who had been convicted of murder, was already a controversial figure at Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Presidential Inauguration.
Although she was incarcerated, Prince was given permission to travel to Washington, D.C. for the event and arrived in a dress made of material given to her by her fellow inmates at the Fulton County Jail and the Atlanta Work Release Center. At the end of the celebration, Prince remembers newly minted First Lady Rosalynn Carter pulling her aside. "Before I left, Mrs. Carter said, 'How would you like to work in this big old place?'" Prince told People that year.
Rosalynn Carter and Prince had known each other for years at that point, and had developed a close bond. Prince had been young Amy Carter's nanny when the family lived at the Georgia governor's mansion, not long after Prince was accused of—and subsequently sentenced to life for—murder. When the Carters arrived at the White House, most political operatives would have advised the family to keep their distance from Prince. But the first couple did the opposite.
After the inauguration, Prince told Rosalynn that she would indeed be interested in working at the White House. And Rosalynn pulled out all the stops: She secured a reprieve for Prince, helped make President Carter her parole officer and officially hired her to serve as Amy Carter's nanny at the White House.
Send Your Name to Space in a Bottle
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
Send your name to space via NASA’s ‘Message in a Bottle’
The space agency is inviting people to submit their names by the end of the year for inclusion on a mission to one of Jupiter’s moons
By Erin Blakemore
In 2024, a new spacecraft will hurtle toward Jupiter in a bid to learn whether its moon Europa is capable of supporting life. The craft will carry more than high-tech sensors: It also will bear a poem and hundreds of thousands of human names.
Yours could be one of them.
NASA is asking people to submit their names ahead of the mission’s October 2024 launch. Those submitted by the end of 2023 will go into space on the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which should enter Jupiter’s orbit in 2030.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/11/19/nasa-name-in-space-europa/
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