Pluralistic: 13 Apr 2020

Today's links

I'm teaching a teen writing class: "Stories are Super Weird. Here’s Why They Work."
Trump will deliver killing blow to the USPS: The murder's been underway since 2006.
Fighting the EU Copyright Directive in court: Former MEP Julia Reda has a new gig doing impact litigation.
Virginia's election-day holiday: They also eliminated Lee-Jackson Day.
Quantifying Boris Johnson's body-count: Ireland makes for a natural experiment.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Solnit on the revelations of crisis: Pandemic speeds up processes that were too slow to notice.
Nurse suspended for distributing crowdfunded PPE: Shame on Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Cleveland Plain Dealer executed by union-busting owners: Firing health reporters during a pandemic.
Monster-themed covid pinup PSAs: By Alejandra Oviedo.
The Onion on Wisconsin's election: We need strategic Onion reserves for all our calamities.
NSO Group says Facebook tried to buy its malware: NSO is worse than Facebook, but it's a close-run thing.
How to pay for covid: Unearthing Keynes's "How to Pay for the War."
Smart lock hemorrhages user data: And it broadcasts its unlock code over Bluetooth.
TSA wanted to inspect 16 year old trans girl's genitals: Jon Corbett is on the case.
Roger Fuckebythenavele vs Bannatyne Manuscript: Black Plague-era f-bomb eclipsed by 14th century frottage artist.
Rube Goldberg feeding device: Now that's physical comedy.
Public domain Zoom backgrounds: Fantastic backdrops for an absurd moment.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

100 Ideas for Dungeon Masters: Based on the Pathfinder Bestiary, readily adaptable for other systems.
Attack Surface author's note: My latest podcast is the afterword from the third Little Brother book.
Trump admits voter suppression: Proving intent was never easier.
Reality endorses Sanders: Pandemics have an obvious leftist bias.
Amazon fires walkout organizer: Low waged workers, doing the most important work in America, exposed to lethal risk.
Monopolists stole your respirator: Dying a gasping death is pareto-optimal.
Corporate welfare vs food stamps: A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.
How viruses experience social distancing: XKCD mixes atavistic satisfaction with science communications.
Scarfolk pandemics: This isn't the worst timeline after all.
This day in history: 2005, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Lax antitrust killed ventilator stockpiles : The USG procured <$3k ventilators from a startup, so an incumbent bought them and shuttered them.
Koch network demands an end to lockdown: While sending its staff home for their safety.
Private equity firms scooping up pandemic bargains: It's not the wound that gets ya, it's the opportunistic parasitic infections.
Digital rights are human rights: Why broadband should be a public utility.
ACLU vanquishes the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Terms of Service violations are not felonies.
Munching Squares and Munching Tunes: The music and visuals of slow-decay phosphors.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The US is now the epicenter of the pandemic: Trump has murdered millions.
Plutes cash in on stimulus: $170B for real-estate tycoons.
States prep for postal voting: But the GOP has all but murdered the USPS.
"Civility" and the Confederate playbook: The right's call for "civility" has a long, dishonorable history.
Boris Johnson has coronavirus: He greenlit national pox-parties, now he has it.
Reasonable covid food-safety advice: Sanitize your hands and your cart, practice social distancing, and…you're done.
San Francisco cocktail delivery: Courtesy of the DNA Lounge.
Flu pandemic photos: Mask-slackers beware!
Free hi-rez covid stock art: Make your pandemic more visually varied.
Warren campaign frees its software: Free, open and universal campaigning tools.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The worst Democrat in Congress just lost his job: Dan Lipinski primaried by the amazing Marie Newman.
Canada Reads documentary on Radicalized: The Great Canadian Book debate is indefinitely postponed, but here's an hour on my book!
Africa's Facebook modders are world leaders: Technological self-determination through adversarial interoperability.
Imagineering in a Box: Interdisciplinary theme park design lessons from Khan Academy and Disney.
Data is the New Toxic Waste: It was never "the new oil."
How to structure a fair covid bailout: Stimulus, not private jets.
Fox News is a suicide cult: Telling your elderly viewers to perform tribal loyalty by engaging in high-risk behaviors is a career-limiting move.
Grocery supply chains are resilient: One less thing to worry about.
Magic in the time of coronavirus: Never let a good crisis go to waste, card-trick edition.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading