Author's archive
The Elephant in the Room 0
Der Spiegel interviews evolutionary biologist Victoria Herridge on biotech company Colossal’s intention to genetically engineer woolly mammoths, which have been extinct for millennia. She is, shall we say, at best lukewarm to the endeavor. Here’s a snippet:
Herridge: Of course! When you have tools like that in your hand, you think less about your own behavior and its consequences. It worries me that we humans prefer to be interested in such shiny, high-tech projects as with the mammoth rather than in pragmatic species conservation projects that, if managed well, can actually make a difference.
Follow the link for the rest. It is worth your while.
The Vaccine Nation Goes to School 0
Writing as a guest columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, University of Georgia professor Peter Lindsay is less than sanguine about the Georgia University Board of Regents policies in these viral times. He points out that, in the name of “freedom,” the Board has acted in questionable ways, eschewing mask mandates and vaccination requirements; indeed, they have prohibited teachers from so much as inquiring about students’ vaccination status.
A snippet; follow the link for the rest:
Maskless Marauders 0
Note the part where the owner of the restaurant admits that “it’s political.”
And he’s not the only one . . . .
We are a society that no longer understands the concept of the “common good.”
Vaccine Nation 0
At the Portland Press-Herald, Bill Nimitz tells the tale of a couple who went from wanting vaccination to spurning it to numbers on a list. Here’s a bit of the article:
Finch is not ready to name the facility. “I’m still getting my ducks in a row,” he explained.
But he wants the world to know that if his parents could fall victim to wild, unfounded claims that the vaccines are a hoax, anyone can. And if he can stop it from happening again, that’s precisely what he’s going to do.
SLAPP-Back 0
One of the fundamental principles of filing SLAPP suits is to avoid suing those with the resources to fight back, as Devin Nunes is finding out.
All the News that Fits 0
See the news report that Farron is discussing.
Afterthought:
I don’t want to think Farron is correct when he says “these people are unreachable,” but I fear that he is.
I’ve known many persons who hear only what they want to hear.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Celebrate the impending birth, but do so politely.
It’s the Happiest Place on Earth . . . 0
. . . unless you happen to work there.
Limitations of Statues 0
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Maureen Downey looks at efforts to change the names of schools honoring the Secesh and the obstacles those efforts are encountering. A snippet:
The SPLC inventory revealed the effectiveness of a campaign by United Daughters of the Confederacy to rebrand the events of the Civil War as heroic, especially through the naming of Southern schools. “These names are living symbols of white supremacy, and there is a difference between remembering history and showing a reverence for it,” said Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the SPLC, during a recent media briefing. “Removing namesakes that celebrate a revisionist Confederate past does not erase history; it corrects it.”
Gutting Out the Vote 0
Gregory Svirnovskiy thinks Republicans have come up with a new gerrymandering strategy.
It’s a long and complex read, but, as states are starting to redraw voting districts based on the recent census, a worthwhile one.