Stephen

As with healthcare, American discussion of #gerrymandering almost never mentions that no other democracy in the world allows it. There was a whole NY Times article this morning that failed to mention that the rest of us have figured this out.

Study compares heart risks of COVID-19 infection and vaccination, and the results may surprise you The risk of children developing rare but serious heart complications is higher after a COVID-19 infection than after vaccination, according to a new study.

Buried in the article:
“Over a period of six months, researchers estimate that COVID-19 infections led to 2.24 extra cases of myocarditis or pericarditis per 100,000 children, while vaccinations led to 0.85 extra cases per 100,000.”

The scare tactic of the headline is what’s wrong with media today

If you are a Republican elected official looking at yesterday's results, you have some thinking to do. Do you continue publically supporting Donald Trump, whose policies and tactics are widely disliked, and likely lose next year; or begin standing up for your constituents and hope they forgive you?

I didn’t guess it.

Halloween candy: A smart guide for parents How to enjoy the holiday without letting sugar or falsehoods take over.

To summarize:
- candy does not create a "sugar high" in children (though expectancy bias makes us think that it does)
- artificial food dyes are highly regulated
- candy tampering is an urban legend
BUT
- Hallowe'en creates a rise in child pedestrian accidents open.substack.com/pub/yourloca...

News media really need to stop saying "Donald Trump hasn't ruled out running for a third term" because it implies that there is some way that he can. It seems pretty clear cut that he can't do that, and suggesting otherwise is highly irresponsible.

Just saw someone refer to #football as "the sport of violent hugs" and my day is now complete.

Watching John Oliver tackle #Medicare and I realize the USA managed to take the ONE PART of healthcare coverage that was supposed to be simple and free and universal, and butchered it by letting for-profit insurance companies get in the way.

My American friends - IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

I am also a soybean farmer, in that I buy soybeans at the store periodically.

It occurs to me that unless your reincarnation belief includes the ability to remember your previous life, it is no different than believing that death is the end. If the next guy doesn't remember the previous guy, you're just a fresh ball of clay. #Fridaythoughts

Whenever a Canadian politician is asked by an American, "what are you doing about the #fentanyl problem", they politically have to say something like "we're continuing to make progress". But what they are thinking is, "are you kidding me with this question?".

I will thank Toronto councillors to not involve those of us who live outside the GTA in your inability to manage vehicles.

Have you seen this petition yet? Reverse the decision on speed cameras in Ontario

If you live in Ontario and care about safety on our streets, please consider signing. chng.it/F5zgS967sy

1-company makes a great piece of software that performs a core task well at a reasonable price.
2-company keeps adding features most customers don’t need and jacks up the price ‘because of all the new features’
3-customers move to an alternative

Rinse, repeat. The curse of constant growth.

1 dead, 9 injured in shooting at Michigan church, police say | CBC News Police say one person was killed and nine injured in a shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan, and the suspect is also dead.

“Police said there is no ongoing threat to the public“ Um, yes there is. Rampant uncontrolled gun ownership is an ongoing threat to the public.

Like George said, the critical path is whether they have the battery and start work on it when you get there. The actual operation isn't difficult (I've done it myself). Just the removal and re-installation of a lot of tiny screws.

Hegseth puts us all at risk Why put all the American commanders in one room?

If my family lived anywhere near Arlington Virgina I'd be doing some rapid planning on a vacation next week.

“A senior foreign diplomat posted at the U.N. texts me,” foreign affairs journalist Ishaan Tharoor wrote, “‘This man is stark, raving mad. Do Americans not see how embarrassing this is?’”

UPDATE: Kimmel returns — but not on Sinclair or Nexstar affiliates Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show returned last night, less than a week after ABC indefinitely suspended production in response to Kimmel’s comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

The decision by Nexstar and Sinclair to not broadcast Jimmy Kimmel's show, when it is available in full on YouTube, is just another nail in the coffin of cable television. I really don't understand why anyone pays for it anymore.

This reminds me of that game we played as kids, "I bet you $100", "Well I bet you $1000", that always ended with someone saying "I bet INFINITY DOLLARS".

As an IT guy, for me the conversation usually ends with the revelation that they are having some trouble with their printer.

So the exact opposite of the stated goal. Once again suggesting that discrediting experts and doing what feels right might not be a useful approach.

Some day years from now there will be a full accounting of how much the Trump administration cost US taxpayers in legal fees. They sue and get sued constantly, and every loss has to be appealed to the highest court. If lawyers were a publicly traded company the stock price would be through the roof.

I like how the staffer who brought him the bottle for this stunt forgot to remove the little plastic thing inside that makes it pour out really slowly.

Guy on YouTube hawking some idea: "classical #science refuses to accept this".

Translation: I have no reproducible evidence of any kind, so I'll portray science not as a method but as a bunch of old men saying, "doesn't feel right to me."

(Also... what the hell is "classical science"?)

iPhones will have something similar later this fall: “The caller is prompted to “record [their] name and reason for calling” to “see if this person is available”. A transcript of the response is then shown to the call recipient, who can decide to accept or decline the call.”