Non-theist Christian and elder in Community of Christ. I have Mormon roots and aspirations to do better with justice and peacemaking—especially in the digital sphere but also in Lexington, Kentucky, the U.S., and the world more broadly.
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🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Elon Musk officially tries to bail on buying Twitter - The Verge'
- kudos:Best line: “Musk seemed to relish the ability to make wishful product plans about free speech and corporate independence more than he wanted to develop a coherent business plan for Twitter.” link to ‘Elon Musk officially tries to bail on buying Twitter - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'New York gun applicants will have to submit their social accounts for review : NPR'
- kudos:Gun control is good, but surveillance isn’t. I don’t think this is the answer. link to ‘New York gun applicants will have to submit their social accounts for review : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Twitter Is Ready for a Potential Legal Battle With Elon Musk - The New York Times'
- kudos:What an enormous mess this is turning into. link to ‘Twitter Is Ready for a Potential Legal Battle With Elon Musk - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Marco Rubio Pretends To Be A TikTok Privacy Champion, Despite Years Of Undermining U.S. Consumer Privacy | Techdirt'
- kudos:Concern about privacy is good, but not when it’s Sinophobic posturing. Yes, what TikTok is doing is worrying and problematic, but Bode makes an important point here: If they aren’t willing to fix the broader infrastructure, stances like Rubio’s just come down to trying to score cheap political points. link to ‘Marco Rubio Pretends To Be A TikTok Privacy Champion, Despite Years Of Undermining U.S. Consumer Privacy | Techdirt’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Kentucky school district bans backpacks for older students | Lexington Herald Leader'
- kudos:I went to high school post Columbine, so we could only use mesh or clear backpacks and were required to wear IDs at all times. Even at the time, that felt like security theater. Schools can’t solve this problem with decisions like these–we need to decide as a society to rethink our relationship with guns. link to ‘Kentucky school district bans backpacks for older students | Lexington Herald Leader’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'US carriers want to bring “screen zero” lock screen ads to smartphones | Ars Technica'
- kudos:I’m glad I got out of the Kindle game before they did on-screen ads. This feels dystopian. link to ‘US carriers want to bring “screen zero” lock screen ads to smartphones | Ars Technica’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Learn English: The Anglicization of the Church | Times & Seasons'
- kudos:Very interesting look at Anglocentrism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. link to ‘Learn English: The Anglicization of the Church | Times & Seasons’
is the Book of Mormon's Gideon a convert to peace and nonviolence?
- kudos:When I made the decision to join Community of Christ, it wasn’t (just) because this was a denomination that aligned with my current religious and social values, but because I knew it would be a denomination that pushed me to improve my current religious and social values. I know that I have room to grow in being a better person and in making the world a better place, and I felt that Community of Christ is a denomination that would not only show me grace for who I was but also walk with me as I tried to grow in these ways.
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'U.S. Supreme Court takes on the independent state legislature theory : NPR'
- kudos:Worrying ideas here—American democracy feels more and more tenuous. link to ‘U.S. Supreme Court takes on the independent state legislature theory : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Facebook Bans People For Simply Saying Abortion Pills Exist | Techdirt'
- kudos:A terrifying teminder that content moderation can easily overreach. link to ‘Facebook Bans People For Simply Saying Abortion Pills Exist | Techdirt’
what does 'the Lord' mean in the Book of Mormon?
- kudos:One recurring question that I’ve had while working on my “rereading the Book of Mormon” project is asking what should be understood by the common phrase “the Lord” in the text of this book of scripture. In Bible translations, this is a bit more straightforward: “the Lord” is often used as a euphemism for the divine name YHWH and could be read in that way. Before going any further with this discussion, I want to acknowledge that my writing out and speculating on the divine name here may (or will likely) be seen as disrespectful or offensive by many Jews (and even some Christians—I admire Wil Gafney’s approach to the divine name).
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Amtrak Spent 11 Years and $450 Million to Save Acela Riders 100 Seconds'
- kudos:Fitting that I’m reading this the day after booking Acela tickets. Fits with what I’ve said in the past: Northeast Corridor is great, but lets bring trains elsewhere too. link to ‘Amtrak Spent 11 Years and $450 Million to Save Acela Riders 100 Seconds’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'How 'Peanuts' creator Charles Schulz pushed for Title IX in the 1970s : NPR'
- kudos:I had no idea about this history, and I think it’s fun! link to ‘How ‘Peanuts’ creator Charles Schulz pushed for Title IX in the 1970s : NPR’
anxiety, privilege, and trying to make a difference
- kudos:A couple of weekends ago, I had my first experience with a Community of Christ Reunion camp. Kiddo and I only stayed for a long weekend rather than the whole week, but it was still a great experience. By far the best experience I had at Reunion was a Monday morning class for young adults and “90s kids” (which is not a label I’ve ever actively applied to myself, but it fit just fine.
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'The Myopic Focus On TikTok Privacy Issues Remains Kind Of Weird | Techdirt'
- kudos:Good writing here. Vague Sinophobia drives a lot of media and political concerns, and I appreciate Bode’s challenging of that here. link to ‘The Myopic Focus On TikTok Privacy Issues Remains Kind Of Weird | Techdirt’
- kudos:
Heard a kid crying in the background of a company’s help line and realized it used one of those often-exploitative work-from-home customer service networks. That made me more mad than issue I was calling about.
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Trump team didn't have the evidence and 4 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing : NPR'
- kudos:‘I just know in my heart’ is terrible and terrifying reasoning for posing this level of a threat to democracy. link to ‘Trump team didn’t have the evidence and 4 other takeaways from Jan. 6 hearing : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Impossibility Theorem Strikes Again: YouTube Deletes January 6th Committee Video | Techdirt'
- kudos:Good example here of how content moderation can absolutely overreach. Arguments that platforms shouldn’t moderate are nonsense, but I appreciate Masnick’s emphasis on the need to be very careful about how we moderate. link to ‘Impossibility Theorem Strikes Again: YouTube Deletes January 6th Committee Video | Techdirt’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Researcher Hacks Into Backend for Network of Smart Jacuzzis'
- kudos:Yet another example of why I’m wary of smart devices. link to ‘Researcher Hacks Into Backend for Network of Smart Jacuzzis’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Texas GOP's new platform says Biden didn't really win the 2020 election : NPR'
- kudos:I get that some of this is bluster and posturing, but that doesn’t make it any less worrying. This is the same state GOP that leaned into Gab a year or two ago. link to ‘Texas GOP’s new platform says Biden didn’t really win the 2020 election : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'There's a legal battle over burkinis in France : NPR'
- kudos:I have never understood the panic about burkinis. It’s one of many examples where French laïcité goes further than appropriate and desirable secularism. link to ‘There’s a legal battle over burkinis in France : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Kentucky court delves into use of cell phones for tracking | AP News'
- kudos:Good for the court, though the narrow majority is disappointing. link to ‘Kentucky court delves into use of cell phones for tracking | AP News’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Amid Jan. 6 Revelations, Election Lies Still Dominate the G.O.P. - The New York Times'
- kudos:This is more worrying to me—and more damning for the GOP—than anything that happened on January 6th. link to ‘Amid Jan. 6 Revelations, Election Lies Still Dominate the G.O.P. - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on '4 takeaways from the third Jan. 6 hearing : NPR'
- kudos:Pence deserves credit for the steps he took on January 6th, but I agree that he has responsibilities to do more right now. link to ‘4 takeaways from the third Jan. 6 hearing : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Trump Attorney Eastman Admitted His Jan. 6 Plot Was Illegal—and Asked for a Pardon'
- kudos:All of this is worrying, but not as worrying as the possibility that it won’t make a difference in the minds of people who should be outraged. link to ‘Trump Attorney Eastman Admitted His Jan. 6 Plot Was Illegal—and Asked for a Pardon’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites – The Markup'
- kudos:Well this is terrifying. link to ‘Facebook Is Receiving Sensitive Medical Information from Hospital Websites – The Markup’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on '$1-2 Billion In Streaming Ads A Year Aren’t Being Watched Because The TV Is Off | Techdirt'
- kudos:I mean, there’s still plenty to be worried about when it comes to targeted advertising and smart TVs, but this is a good reminder to take a step back. link to ‘$1-2 Billion In Streaming Ads A Year Aren’t Being Watched Because The TV Is Off | Techdirt’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'What the Latter-day Saint hymn ‘Love at Home’ has to do with blackface'
- kudos:So, so many wild things in this article. I grew up loving this hymn and had no idea it had roots in blackface minstrelsy. Hope the Church will take it out of its next hymnbook, but I’m not holding my breath. The real kicker is Brigham Young’s concern about blackface—not because it’s racist but because it’s degrading to white people. link to ‘What the Latter-day Saint hymn ‘Love at Home’ has to do with blackface’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Facebook Says Apple is Too Powerful. They're Right. | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:Doctorow is spot on here. Apple may be the most benevolent of the big tech companies, but it still has far too much power over its users. link to ‘Facebook Says Apple is Too Powerful. They’re Right. | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
participation in June 12th Beyond the Walls online service
- kudos:A few weeks ago, John Hamer (from the Toronto-based Beyond the Walls inclusive online congregation of Community of Christ) reached out to ask if I would be interested in contributing a pre-recorded prayer to a June 12th “millennial prayer service” focused on Community of Christ’s Enduring Principles. The denomination describes its Enduring Principles as follows: Our Enduring Principles define the essence, heart, and soul of our faith community. They describe the personality of our church as expressed throughout the world.
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Sweeping Legislation Aims to Ban the Sale of Location Data'
- kudos:Yes please. link to ‘Sweeping Legislation Aims to Ban the Sale of Location Data’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'A far-right plan to riot near an Idaho LGBTQ event heightens safety concerns at Pride : NPR'
- kudos:Given the aggressively queerphobic language I’ve read on Gab, events like this are worrying but not surprising. More worrying is the way that this queerphobic language is increasingly used in the mainstream GOP. How do Republican politicians and voters feel about these events? link to ‘A far-right plan to riot near an Idaho LGBTQ event heightens safety concerns at Pride : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Senator Declares Amazon Ring's Audio Surveillance Capabilities 'Threaten the Public' | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:I’ve been plenty spooked by Ring’s video capabilities, but apparently I haven’t been worried enough about its audio surveillance. link to ‘Senator Declares Amazon Ring’s Audio Surveillance Capabilities ‘Threaten the Public’ | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'EFF’s Flagship Jewel v. NSA Dragnet Spying Case Rejected by the Supreme Court | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:Disappointing news, but glad for the fight that the EFF and others are waging. link to ‘EFF’s Flagship Jewel v. NSA Dragnet Spying Case Rejected by the Supreme Court | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'How the Federal Government Buys Our Cell Phone Location Data | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:The only thing worse than the already-bad reality of powerful, private data brokers is public agencies buying what they have to sell. link to ‘How the Federal Government Buys Our Cell Phone Location Data | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
🔗 linkblog: my thoughts on 'Trump’s ‘Free Speech’ Social Network, Truth Social, Is Banning People For Truthing The Truth About January 6 Hearings | Techdirt'
- kudos:This is a peak example of what performative concerns about “free speech” boil down to. link to ‘Trump’s ‘Free Speech’ Social Network, Truth Social, Is Banning People For Truthing The Truth About January 6 Hearings | Techdirt’