On the Spectrum, Vaccine Nation Dept. 0
Secretary of HHS Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has resurrected the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, and, in so doing, may well jeopardize the public’s health.
At Psychology Today Blogs, Sam Goldstein takes a deep dive into what science has learned about autism over the past half century or so. He makes three main points; follow the link for a detailed exploration of each.
- Most of autism’s rise is due to (increased–ed.) awareness, not an actual increase.
- Genetic causes of autism are firmly established by decades of research.
- Autism now includes many with social learning differences, not just disability.
I commend his article as a worthwhile read to arm yourself against the dis- and misinformation spread by the anti-VAX movement,
Real Big Men, Reprise 0
Via AL.com, Tom Moran marvels at the Trump administration’s and today’s Republican Party’s embrace of mean for the sake of mean.
No excerpt or summary will do his piece justice. Just go read it.
This New Gilded Age 0
At the Tampa Bay Times, John Hill writes that he is somewhat less than enamored by efforts in the Florida legislature to gut restrictions on the use of child labor.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Chum for honeypots? Gotcha, sucker.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” practices self-politeness with his portable phallus.
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
- J. Pat O’Malley, in the voice of Pithias: Up until yesterday, he resided at a place of felonious intent. A state prison, I believe they call it.
The closed caption: Up until yesterday, he resided at a place of Thelonious and Tent.
The most artificial thing about artificial intelligence is the hype that it’s in some way intelligent. It’s an algorithm, and that’s all it is. And Thelonious and Tent are just two streets that intersect somewhere in the algorithm’s hallucination.
A Tune for the Times 0
Stephen offers a paean to billionaires.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Michael in Norfolk hears several most unpleasant rhymes. Here’s the first line from one of them; follow the link for more.
You can find the second line of this couplet over at Boston.com.
_____________________
*Mark Twain.
Real Big Men 0
Emma and the crew discuss the factors that may be feeding toxic masculinity and misogyny that is a trait common to many far-right groups.
Extra-Special Bonus QOTD 0
Retired Federal Judge J. Michael Luttig:
The President of the United States of America is at war with the Constitution and the rule of law.
DOGE Bull 0
As one who has lived through hurricanes (after Donna, we were without power for eight days and my father had to sink a well so that we had water), I do not think that gutting the NOAA is a good idea.
Afterthought:
I do not think it is beyond the realm of plausibility to suggest that one of our major political parties no longer believes in promoting the general welfare.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
It occurs to me that this whole anti-DEI movement is all about making sure those folks (you know who they are) know their place and stay in it.
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Mild language.
The Golden Trumpled Door, Reprise
0
At The Sacramento Bee, Erwin Chemerinsky calls out Donald Trump and the Republican thought police. Here’s how his article starts (emphasis added); follow the link for the rest.
In fact, Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted on social media that its goal was to stop illegal ideas from coming into the country (this post was later taken down). But under the First Amendment, there is no such thing as an illegal idea.