Weekend link dump for December 22

“We are all passengers on the NFL’s journey. Private equity is too. It just gets to sit in better seats.”

“Put simply, we don’t have anywhere near enough pardons: both at the federal and the state level.”

“Our antivaccine friends appear energized for some reason. Doesn’t take much to figure out why. I anticipate a rough few years ahead.”

“Whooping cough cases skyrocket in Michigan, as vaccinations decline”.

“This, I think, is what has befallen America. This is a disease of affluence, not poverty. This isn’t a story of a working class that is being pinched. It’s the story of a working class that is doing better than any comparable working class ever has and a professional class who are angry about that. Who feel that this newfound security means they no longer show proper deference to their social betters.”

“Sarah Michelle Gellar Has Come Around To The Idea Of A ‘Buffy’ Offshoot”.

“The roots of Hegseth’s version of Christianity are worth a look as he heads into confirmation hearings before the U.S. Senate in January 2025.”

RIP, Reef, one of the white tigers at Houston’s Downtown Aquarium.

RIP, Kelly, a 44-year-old orangutan who spent decades at the Houston Zoo.

“Because what we have here is a stunted, misleading, misconception of what does and does not constitute “politics” — one that leaves out any consideration of 90% of the political formation and political discipling that occurs in congregations.”

“Beyond covering legal expenses and giving people the confidence they won’t be bankrupted by Trump these are really pro-wrestling-derived public spectacles and performance art aimed at telegraphing power and demoralizing enemies. So much of our politics in the Trump era amounts to this. We’ve seen this. We know this if we’re paying attention. And Trump’s opponents need to learn to speak in that language. Otherwise it’s a professional wrestling grudge match, a taunt-fest with only one side taunting.”

Oh, my God, no. Just, no.

RIP, Jim Tunney, longtime NFL referee who officiated some of the league’s most memorable games.

“More people are turning to IVF to have children than ever before. But new research, out last month, finds that the success of in vitro fertilization — a delicate process that works less than half the time — could be affected by air pollution.”

“Legal sports betting revenue in the US has gone from $430 million in 2018 to $11.04 billion last year, i.e., more than a 25-fold increase in five years. Note that revenue means total bets minus total payouts, so that $11.04 billion is the net loss to legal sports gamblers in America last year. Given the growth curve, I’d be surprised if that figure was less than $15 billion in 2024, which would mean that Americans legally wagered something like $150 billion on sports this year!”

“Trump’s nominations represent an unprecedented triple assault on constitutional appointment norms: First, many are unqualified or hostile to their agencies’ missions. Second, rather than making a few controversial picks, Trump has flooded the zone, nominating an entire slate of problematic candidates that burdens the Senate’s capacity for proper vetting. And third, Trump has signaled willingness to circumvent the confirmation process through legally dubious tactics such as forced Senate adjournment. Together, these moves threaten to transform the appointments process from a constitutional safeguard into a vehicle for installing loyalists regardless of competence.”

How to Lose a Fortune with Just One Bad Click“. One critical takeaway: Google will never call you to tell you that there’s a problem with your account. If you get such a call, it’s a scam. In general, for calls like that, hang up, look up, and call back.

“In 2024, TV shows that took on abortion largely failed to depict the many barriers to abortion access or reflect the real-life demographics of abortion patients — and in some cases, reinforced misleading tropes, according to a new report about abortion representation on television.”

“Four Ways to Unbend the Media’s Knee”.

“A scientific journal on Tuesday retracted the March 2020 study that introduced the world to hydroxychloroquine early in the COVID-19 pandemic – and confirmed that the attention was undeserved from the start.”

“The world’s largest hornet, an invasive breed dubbed the “murder hornet” for its dangerous sting and ability to slaughter a honey bee hive in a matter of hours, has been declared eradicated in the US, five years after being spotted for the first time in Washington state near the Canadian border.”

“Trump has sewn himself into a sack with Elon Musk, a few billion dollars, a cat and a snake and had the sack tossed into the Tiber. That’s the story here. And it will go on for a while.”

“Netflix and FIFA have agreed a deal for the streaming giant to have exclusive United States broadcasting rights to the next two FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments, global football’s governing body confirmed on Friday.” I’d really prefer they be on ESPN or one of the networks, but no one asked me.

1-800-CHAT-GPT. No, seriously.

RIP, Rickey Henderson, MLB Hall of Famer, all time leader in stolen bases, and honestly just a damn legend. As Bill James once said, if you cut Rickey in half, you’d have two Hall of Famers. There will be tons written about Rickey, as well there should. Here‘s a good starting point.

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One Response to Weekend link dump for December 22

  1. Flypusher says:

    Dr. Hotez had done so much good in this world, and it’s the worst sort of injustice that his reward is to be harassed by willfully ignorant nutters. The answer to their question of “how does he know this [increased likelihood of another pandemic]?” is also known by anyone who paid attention in their biology and history classes. I do not care if these fools offer themselves up for political natural selection. It’s the prospect of innocents who also get caught that makes me angry and sad.

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