Links for you. Science:
Pandemic Revisionism, Part One: COVID-19 Origins (I think the probability estimate for #2 is too high, but this is still excellent)
Mauna Loa Observatory captured the reality of climate change. The US plans to shut it down
Measles cases reach 33-year high as RFK Jr. pursues anti-vaccine agenda
‘Where’s our money?’ CDC grant funding is moving so slowly layoffs are happening
AI, peer review and the human activity of science
Tomatoes in the Galápagos are quietly de-evolving (awful title, good article)
Other:
The Expensive, Seductive Strategy That Doomed the Democratic Party (excellent, must-read)
Internet Extremists Want To Make All AI Chatbots as Hateful as Grok Just Was
J.D. Vance’s Anti-Declaration
Why MAGA Hates Superman
I witnessed the masculinity crisis at the Trump rally. And got my chair stolen (they’re such miserable people…)
Persecuted for being LGBTQ+ in Trump country, they now have a chance to start over someplace new. Keshet and the Hebrew Free Loan Society are fighting discrimination and harassment by offering loans to those who need to flee
Video allegedly shows ICE agents detaining Hispanic U.S. citizen on Long Island
Trump‘s megabill gives billions to ICE — but hiring 10,000 new agents won’t be easy
An Oklahoma father planned to get married but now faces deportation
‘They’re killing us’: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions inside NYC holding site
EPA Employees Caught In ‘Frivolous Investigation’ After Criticizing Trump
Sen. Ted Cruz Stripped Weather Forecasting Funds From Trump’s Megabill. Then the Floods Came.
Weather warnings gave officials a 3 hour, 21 minute window to save lives in Kerr County. What happened then remains unclear.
A judge sided with Trump. Behind the scenes, he was lobbying for a nomination.
Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,’ at NPS Sites is a Failure.
A White Nationalist Wrote a Law School Paper Promoting Racist Views. It Won Him an Award.
When do girls fall behind in maths? Gigantic study pinpoints the moment
Sly Stone, dazzling funk maestro with the Family Stone, dies at 82
Google battling fox incursion on roof of £1bn London office
Politico’s AI tool spits out made-up slop, union says
Sly Stone, Family Stone Architect Who Fused Funk, Rock, and Soul, Dead at 82
Federal Insider columnist says farewell after 17 years (more details here)
How physicians like me are grappling with requests for unvaccinated donor blood (conspiracism has real consequences)
Does Trump’s Biggest Crypto Backer Really Exist?
In Texas flood response, FEMA slowed by Noem’s cost controls
How algorithms, alpha males and tradwives are winning the war for kids’ minds
Floods are swallowing their village. But for them and others, the EPA has cut the lifeline.
As D.C. affordable housing falters, council and mayor clash over solutions
RFK Jr. fails to solve yet another MAGA conspiracy
mikethemadbiologist
I’m still open to viri thawing out of the thawing tundra that hasn’t seen a human since before we were human but hey!, I’m just a chronicler of the end times. This holds up against my view from hinterlands. Looking forward to the next installment
That thing about the masks (photo caption) … I’ve always looked a bit askance at masking outside. Yeah downtown with eight million people around but walking the seawall in a light seabreeze? Hiking the hills, kayaking the bay? Across a hot parking lot? In your car? Always saw it as induced hysteria (Well, and a general lack of the understanding of physics)
Don’t get me wrong, there’s a box of fresh masks on my desk. Given my wife’s health we’re still pretty diligent about it, and I don’t say anything if she’s outside …
May be a placebo, but it seems to help reduce allergy symptoms, especially when doing yard work.
I can see that, especially given the increasing pollen counts. I might even try it …
IMO antivax psychopaths can start their own blood bank if they’re so concerned about it
then they can make sure that the get only ‘pure’ blood, for whatever racist and/or genocidal value of ‘pure’ they prefer
these people should be flagged for additional screening if they donate through the red cross, because they’re almost certainly going to lie