I'm a citizen of Lexington, Kentucky, the United States, the world, and the digital sphere. Politically, I care about equality (and changing structures to support it), elections (that is, making them more fair and representative), and electronics (or, rather, their impact on society).
I am a believing agnostic in Community of Christ with a (mostly) cherished past as a (mostly) literalist Mormon.
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🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Michigan’s New Congressional Maps Undo Years of Gerrymandering - The New York Times'
- kudos:Some hope for defeating gerrymandering. link to ‘Michigan’s New Congressional Maps Undo Years of Gerrymandering - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Tumblr goes overboard censoring tags on iOS to comply with Apple’s guidelines - The Verge'
- kudos:There are clear cases where platforms need to be moderating more content, but let’s not forget the seemingly-well-intentioned but overreaching cases either. link to ‘Tumblr goes overboard censoring tags on iOS to comply with Apple’s guidelines - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'TikTok sued by former content moderator for allegedly failing to protect her mental health - The Verge'
- kudos:Content moderation is an awful job, and we shouldn’t forget the people doing it for us. link to ‘TikTok sued by former content moderator for allegedly failing to protect her mental health - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Internet Archive Supports the Maryland’s Library eBook Fairness Law - Internet Archive Blogs'
- kudos:Intrigued by this idea. link to ‘Internet Archive Supports the Maryland’s Library eBook Fairness Law - Internet Archive Blogs’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Trump's 'Big Lie' endures and poses a threat to U.S. democracy : NPR'
- kudos:Unhappy reading for the holidays. link to ‘Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ endures and poses a threat to U.S. democracy : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: just finished '‘Q’ Has Been Quiet, but QAnon Lives On - The New York Times'
- kudos:Looks like QAnon is going to be around for a while. Worrying stuff. link to ‘‘Q’ Has Been Quiet, but QAnon Lives On - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Billions in Amtrak Funding Could Modernize Aging Rail System - The New York Times'
- kudos:Northeast Corridor is great, but more trains in Kentucky, please. I don’t mind waiting. link to ‘Billions in Amtrak Funding Could Modernize Aging Rail System - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Kentucky Politics Distilled – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville'
- kudos:Nearly a week later, this is even more heartbreaking. link to ‘Kentucky Politics Distilled – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Boston Police Bought Spy Tech With a Pot of Money Hidden From the Public — ProPublica'
- kudos:Stingrays are bad news, and so is the ability to buy them without public scrutiny. [link to ‘Boston Police Bought Spy Tech With a Pot of Money Hidden From the Public — ProPublica’](https://www.propublica.org/article/boston-police-bought-spy-tech-with-a-pot-of-money-hidden-from-the-public
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Scientists Ask Biden to Cut U.S. Nuclear Arsenal - The New York Times'
- kudos:We are not as worried about nuclear weapons as we should be. link to ‘Scientists Ask Biden to Cut U.S. Nuclear Arsenal - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'French regulator tells Clearview AI to delete its facial recognition data - The Verge'
- kudos:Vive la France ! 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷 link to ‘French regulator tells Clearview AI to delete its facial recognition data - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'YouTube’s New Copyright Transparency Report Leaves a Lot Out | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:Easy to forget that YouTube is functionally the only game in town… and that there are big consequences for that. link to ‘YouTube’s New Copyright Transparency Report Leaves a Lot Out | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Link Taxes: A Bad Idea for Journalism and the Open Internet - Internet Archive Blogs'
- kudos:Good read on an important subject. link to ‘Link Taxes: A Bad Idea for Journalism and the Open Internet - Internet Archive Blogs’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Proud Boys Regroup Locally to Add to Ranks Before 2022 Midterms - The New York Times'
- kudos:Very worrying. Underlines the importance of local politics. link to ‘Proud Boys Regroup Locally to Add to Ranks Before 2022 Midterms - The New York Times’
- kudos:
I have a professional interest in the far right, follow the news pretty well, and still sometimes forget how bad Jan. 6 was just because life is crazy. Shame on those actively encouraging us to forget out of cynicism and self-interest.
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Mayfield candle factory’s labor practices under scrutiny in wake of deadly tornado – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville'
- kudos:I am glad someone is doing this reporting, and I’m even more glad it’s from here in Kentucky instead of folks from outside. link to ‘Mayfield candle factory’s labor practices under scrutiny in wake of deadly tornado – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville’
🔗 linkblog: just finished '‘Sesame Street’ Was Always Political - The New York Times'
- kudos:A delightful and important read. link to ‘‘Sesame Street’ Was Always Political - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Western Kentucky tornadoes: How to help, donate money, blood | Lexington Herald Leader'
- kudos:Important read for folks looking to help. link to ‘Western Kentucky tornadoes: How to help, donate money, blood | Lexington Herald Leader’
- kudos:
Dreading all the terrible takes about people not deserving federal help because they vote the wrong way. It’s a universally bad position.
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'At Mayfield, Ky. factory, incarcerated people among workers feared dead and injured – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville'
- kudos:Just when you thought this couldn’t get any worse. link to ‘At Mayfield, Ky. factory, incarcerated people among workers feared dead and injured – 89.3 WFPL News Louisville’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'How Trump and the 2020 race is weighing on Georgia Gov. Kemp in 2022 : NPR'
- kudos:A sign of scary things to come. I haven’t taught my department’s information literacy class for several semesters; I hope it’s up to the task of combatting this sort of thing. link to ‘How Trump and the 2020 race is weighing on Georgia Gov. Kemp in 2022 : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Storms, tornadoes: Western Kentucky death toll update | Lexington Herald Leader'
- kudos:Heartbroken for Western Kentucky and everywhere else that’s seen destruction. link to ‘Storms, tornadoes: Western Kentucky death toll update | Lexington Herald Leader’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Apple’s concessions in China reportedly include a secret $275 billion deal and one odd change in Maps - The Verge'
- kudos:Apple is better than many tech companies, but that doesn’t make it good. link to ‘Apple’s concessions in China reportedly include a secret $275 billion deal and one odd change in Maps - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Further Shift Away from Income Taxes Would Worsen Inequities, Harm State's Economy - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy'
- kudos:The last thing we need is a more regressive taxation system. link to ‘Further Shift Away from Income Taxes Would Worsen Inequities, Harm State’s Economy - Kentucky Center for Economic Policy’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'In Texas, Panic Over Critical Race Theory Extends to Bookshelves - The New York Times'
- kudos:All very worrying. link to ‘In Texas, Panic Over Critical Race Theory Extends to Bookshelves - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Researchers explain why they believe Facebook mishandles political ads : NPR'
- kudos:Size and scale remain problems for Facebook and other social media platforms. link to ‘Researchers explain why they believe Facebook mishandles political ads : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Report - Legal Loopholes and Data for Dollars: How Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies Are Buying Your Data from Brokers - Center for Democracy and Technology'
- kudos:This report sounds terrifying. Even the Capitol rioters deserve some freedom from this kind of surveillance. link to ‘Report - Legal Loopholes and Data for Dollars: How Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies Are Buying Your Data from Brokers - Center for Democracy and Technology’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Your Face Is, or Will Be, Your Boarding Pass - The New York Times'
- kudos:Nope nope nope. link to ‘Your Face Is, or Will Be, Your Boarding Pass - The New York Times’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Twitter reportedly suspended accounts by mistake after extremists abused new private media policy - The Verge'
- kudos:Not a great look. link to ‘Twitter reportedly suspended accounts by mistake after extremists abused new private media policy - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Emails show what happened before Missouri gov. falsely called journalist a “hacker” | Ars Technica'
- kudos:This dumb story got even dumber. link to ‘Emails show what happened before Missouri gov. falsely called journalist a “hacker” | Ars Technica’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Utah Makes Welfare So Hard to Get, Some Feel They Must Join the LDS Church to Get Aid — ProPublica'
- kudos:Bishop roulette makes for terrible public policy. link to ‘Utah Makes Welfare So Hard to Get, Some Feel They Must Join the LDS Church to Get Aid — ProPublica’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Twitter policy aimed at improving privacy sparks concerns over misuse : NPR'
- kudos:File this under bad solutions to worse problems. link to ‘Twitter policy aimed at improving privacy sparks concerns over misuse : NPR’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'The Internet Needs Fair Rules of the Road – and Competitive Drivers | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:Appreciate this argument for the need for true ISP competition alongside net neutrality. link to ‘The Internet Needs Fair Rules of the Road – and Competitive Drivers | Electronic Frontier Foundation’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'KU reaches compromise with Lexington tree-cutting protesters | Lexington Herald Leader'
- kudos:Wish I had commuted earlier today to see this; when I biked past, there were only KU folks, no protestors. ALSO: “protesters might be abetting murderers by taking up police time” is not a good look. link to ‘KU reaches compromise with Lexington tree-cutting protesters | Lexington Herald Leader’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Qualcomm’s new always-on smartphone camera is a privacy nightmare - The Verge'
- kudos:Takes some real self-confidence to describe an always-on camera as a feature, not a nightmarish bug. link to ‘Qualcomm’s new always-on smartphone camera is a privacy nightmare - The Verge’
🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Podcast Episode: Who Should Control Online Speech? | Electronic Frontier Foundation'
- kudos:Such a good conversation on such an important topic. link to ‘Podcast Episode: Who Should Control Online Speech? | Electronic Frontier Foundation’