Pluralistic: 07 Aug 2020

Today's links

Satanic Abortions cut through unconstitutional abortion laws: Go ahead, sue to overturn the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Restore the Office of Technology Assessment: In the 21st Century, it's no longer OK to not understand technology.
US plummets below Russia and Mexico in global misery index: Tired of Winning.
Novartis's $678m bribery scandal: Epistemological crisis actors.
California DMV's $50m/year data selloff: California lawmakers want to know who's buying.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Judge won't release Black learning-disabled kid jailed for missing homework: Mary Ellen Brennan is up for re-election in 2020.
Podcast: Part 10 of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town: "A glorious book unlike any book you’ve ever read" -Gene Wolfe.
Christopher Brown's Failed State: I'm helping him launch an outstanding and timely novel on Aug 12.
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist: Comparison is the thief of joy.
Luxury homes to be washed away: Australian plutes voted for climate deniers and now they're about to literally fall off a cliff.
As We May Think: Danny O'Brien on the past future of news.
Trump's spent a billion on re-election: Biden spent $165m.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Trump convinces GOP supporters not to vote: You're supposed to take him seriously, not literally, guys.
Trump handed grifters millions for masks: Failed boner-pill entrepreneurs get a second chance in Trump's America.
What it's like to be a man: Phil Christman's beautiful, frustrating, illuminating tale of masculinity.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

PE companies that looted healthcare want billions in bailouts: Plute socialism.
Automating arbitration claims: Fairshake recreates class action suits in arbitration form.
Non-secret votes vs e-voting: Don't use it for elections, but maybe for elected officials.
RNC plans ex-cop/military voter intimidation squad: Rebooting the "Ballot Security Task Force."
"Job creators" are job annihilators: Bailout for me, not thee.
Snowden warns of permanent pandemic surveillance: The new normal ain't pretty.
RIP MAD's Mort Drucker: One of "the usual gang of idiots."
This day in history: 2005, 2019
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

Private equity looting public health in a pandemic: The math is part of the con.
MacGuyver mask tutorial: Crafter/filmmaker marriages for the win.
Prescient Reagan-era text-adventures: What we can learn from the 1985 Infocom game "A Mind Forever Voyaging."
Landlord accidentally organizes rent strike: When you're threatening 300 tenants, don't CC them all on on the email.
The Pandumbic: Fox News is a suicide cult.
This day in history: 2005, 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