Weekend link dump for March 19

“For the first time ever, solar ranked as the No. 1 source of new electric generating capacity additions brought on-line on an annual basis at 39%.”

“It comes as no small shock, then, to learn that the supposed empirical bulwark of forensic courtroom science rests on what is, at best, a creaky empirical foundation—and that in far too many successful criminal convictions, forensic evidence has been misinterpreted and manipulated to obtain swift, efficient convictions.”

The Purely Accidental Lessons Of The First Black ‘Bachelorette’.

“Based on this finding, it is our conclusion that the Comey letter, 11 days before the election, was the precipitating event behind Clinton’s loss, despite the letter being effectively retracted less than a week later. In such a close election, there may have been dozens of factors whose absence would have reversed the outcome, such as the influence campaign of the Russian government as detailed by US intelligence services. But the sudden change in the political conversation after the Comey letter suggest it was the single, most indispensable factor in the surprise election result.”

How racist is Rep. Steve King of Iowa? This racist. And he’s been that way for a long, long time.

Well, he was warned that HB2 was a job killer.

Olly the terrier is my new spirit animal.

RIP, Joni Sledge, one of the members of 70s R&B group Sister Sledge.

“The yellow submarine named Boaty McBoatface is set to leave for Antarctica this week on its first science expedition.”

“Grant County, Nebraska is one of the most pro-Trump places in America. In this rural community of about 700, the President won over 93 percent of the vote in the last election. But Grant County is also a place that has benefited hugely from the Affordable Care Act. In 2016, the law provided more than a quarter of its residents with tax credits to help them purchase health insurance. Now, under the Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, many Grant County residents would suffer steep cuts to the tax credits they’ve come to rely on. It’s a nationwide pattern: Some of the harshest consequences of the GOP’s health bill would fall on rural Republican strongholds — precisely the voters who helped elect Trump.”

A theory about Steve Bannon, Paul Ryan, and the AHCA.

If Your iPhone is Stolen, These Guys May Try to iPhish You.

RIP, Eligio “Kika” de la Garza, former Congressman and Hispanic pioneer in the world of state and national politics.

Two words: Baby armadillos. You’re welcome.

“Just as there is no escaping gravity when one steps off a cliff, there is no escaping the warming that follows when we add extra carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.”

“There is no one in Washington — possibly no one in America — whose reputation for basic competence outstrips the reality more than Paul Ryan. People with actual policy expertise have been pointing this fact out for years. Yet, somehow, the myth of Ryan as the Great Policy Wonk continues.”

“Breaking down the international humanitarian system is an obvious goal for a nationalist movement based on racial or ethno-religious supremacy, especially if that movement does not want to be constrained by international treaties or laws banning torture, indefinite detention and other basic human rights.”

The generally peaceful world we have all grown up in is not normal or pre-ordained. It was built by design, a great deal of work and sacrifice and on the experience of and in response to almost unimaginable destruction. It’s not natural. It can easily be very different. The wave of rightist, populist politics which is now making a bid for power in Europe and which is represented in the United States by President Trump and his key advisors is expressly based on the rightist, hyper-nationalist politics of [the post-World War I] period.”

“Each year, about 27 million tons of spiders consume somewhere between 440 million and 880 million tons of insects, new research finds. Yeah, that’s a lot of bugs.”

“By permitting a ban on the hijab, Europe is essentially permitting a ban on Muslim women in the workplace.”

How many Goldman Sachs executives does it take to drain a swamp?

People are still fighting over whether or not Pluto is a planet.

RIP, Chuck Berry, legendary musician and pioneer of rock and roll.

RIP, Jimmy Breslin, one of a kind newspaper reporter and columnist. Roy provides a nice elegy for him.

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One Response to Weekend link dump for March 19

  1. Bill Daniels says:

    Grant County, Nebraska is proof that some Americans put country over party, and put country above self interest.

    Instead of voting for the party that promises the most free stuff, these people voted to get LESS free stuff, for just the PROMISE of more jobs. Here’s a quote that should sound familiar:

    “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the people discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the canidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy–to be followed by a dictatorship.”
    ― Alexander Fraser Tytler

    Grant County, Nebraska voted AGAINST benefits from the public treasury. Let that sink in for a minute.

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