- Nan’s Notebook brings us reflections from a Tulsa doctor after a week of hell in medical care.
- In Letters from an American, Heather Cox Richardson covers the decision to re-channel coronavirus data away from the CDC, and instead filter it through the Trump White House. If the data goes against you, change the data. But Heather digs deeper, following the money, and discovers – WOW – massive pharma corruption.
- Business, politics, life. Trump has always half-gambled. Heads he wins, tails other people lose. Green Eagle applies the pattern to my president’s votes-to-fatalities gamble with forced school openings and the lives of little kids.
- Well kids are immune to the coronavirus, right? We find out from Scotties Toy Box that, here in Missouri, school districts are requiring parents to sign waivers exempting schools from liability in case kids sicken and die from COVID-19.
- At The Onion, the Trump administration blames Anthony Fauci for coronavirus deaths after planting 137,000 corpses in his bed.
- My president hasn’t had much luck with his history of using the courts against anyone he regards as an enemy, but the cost does occasionally deplete the funds of non-wealthy opponents. Andy Borowitz reports as Trump sues the coronavirus for treating him unfairly.
- tengrain at Mock Paper Scissors covers as much of the story as available evidence permits. Members of the US Border Patrol have been ordered to join with other agencies, reportedly to roam the streets of Portland, Oregon, in unmarked vehicles, detaining random protestors without charging them with breaking laws. The Mayor, the Police Chief, the Governor, and the Congressional delegation have all asked them to stop.
- Our favorite Earth-Bound Misfit comes up with the Trump official who dreamed up the illegal detentions.
- PZ Myers lists the crimes the Trump administration says necessitated federal agents making arrests in Portland of “violent anarchists.” According to the list, President Trump ordered agents into Portland after several violent anarchists had committed graffiti.
- King of rants, Max’s Dad, is entertaining as he goes all French Revolution on Ivanka Trump for encouraging the unemployed to stop being so timid and just change careers. There now, see how simple that was? Now, peasants, go eat cake or whatever.
- There has been some criticism of conservatives, including former Trump supporters, for belatedly regretting the very mess they helped push the nation into. Infidel753 defends those who made the hardest decision most of us will ever make: acknowledging that we are wrong and changing our minds. Publicly. I once made a similar case for a different circumstance. Infidel does it better.
- In the Ant Farmer’s Almanac, historians rate the 5 worst US presidents. Of course, Trump makes the list, but exactly where is somewhat ambiguous. Note: it’s a quick read.
- How could we ever have lived without the cynical wisdom of great internet writers? nojo ties Charlie the Tuna, the dark underside of Christianity, and the Trump base into a warning about what will remain after Trump fades to a dismal memory.
- Sarah Cooper channels my president, explaining how to immigration policy:
- Jonathan Bernstein looks closely at platform negotiations between Biden folks and progressives and discovers compromise, pragmatism, and hope for post-election governing.
- John Scalzi at Whatever experiences the recent Twitter hack quite personally. He comes up with how it happened at twitter, why it was done, and what it tells us about the greatest weakness of any security system.
- Libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara is offended by the 1619 Project, the NY Times sponsored, heavily researched history of slavery in America. Michael regards the study as a poisonous infiltration into American politics. Among his criticisms: a history based correction of the public record on slavery should focus not so much on slavery but rather on the Declaration of Independence.
Because American history did not exist before 1776 so what happened from 1619 to then doesn’t count. Right?
Also, the Declaration ended slavery, although it took a few decades for the whole freedom thing to catch on. Right?
Well?
- Scientists say we have two nostrils. The Journal of Improbable Research looks into a study about whether humans possess stereo smell. The Chinese University Academy of Science concludes that those nostrils help human directional navigation. And you thought GPS was cool?
- Sometimes we need a reminder: There is hope for what can come from the human soul. Frances Langum recounts how, with the help of her great grandson, an Auschwitz survivor finally meets the family of the American soldier who rescued her from a Nazi death march.
- There are many forms and degrees of rescue. In The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser, Bruce looks back on a painful childhood. What stands out is a pattern of kindness from one individual.
– Podcasts –