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.
You can subscribe to this content through this RSS feed or this Mastodon account. You can also subscribe to all of the content on this website through this RSS feed, this Bluesky account, or this newsletter.
I sometimes write in French! To only see the French content (which is also available below, alongside English content), please click on [fr] in the site header.
🔗 linkblog: Gorton unveils $460 million Lexington budget | Lexington Herald Leader'
Most of this budget sounds great, but why are we budgeting for 75 more ALPRs when we haven’t even finished the trial of the current ones yet? Not to mention that the trial is unlikely to evaluate ethics, only “effectiveness.”
🔗 linkblog: Gab CEO Ironically Pines For Net Neutrality | Techdirt'
Never thought to connect Gab back to net neutrality; interesting reflection here.
🔗 linkblog: New Flock security cameras being installed in Lexington by end of May | Lexington Herald Leader'
There are a few yellow flags in this article for me. Quick and efficient sounds good, but are those the most important values in policing? What values do they stand in tension with? It’s great that there are policies against using a ALPR database for personal reasons, but these policies regularly get violated. No, these aren’t videosurveillance cameras, but that doesn’t make them harmless.
🔗 linkblog: Lexington gets $2.9 million for two shared use trails | Lexington Herald Leader'
Hooray for additional bike infrastructure!
🔗 linkblog: KY lawmakers reverse vote, give politicians control of libraries | Lexington Herald Leader'
Grumpy about this this morning.
🔗 linkblog: Trump as a Modern-Day Party Boss: Hoarding Cash and Doling Out Favors - The New York Times'
Very interesting read. I have never been a Republican, but I frequently voted GOP prior to 2016. Because my personal political views have shifted since then, it’s hard to say whether I would vote for a GOP that throws off the Trump baggage, but I do hope such a party one day re-emerges. I may not agree with it, but we certainly need it.
🔗 linkblog: Twitter’s upcoming edit feature may keep track of tweet history - The Verge'
Bad faith edits were the main reason why I’ve never jumped on the “edit button” train, so I think this is a good way to handle this.
🔗 linkblog: Marine Le Pen Victory Would Threaten European Alliances'
Interesting read on potential stakes of France’s presidential election.
🔗 linkblog: When Vladimir Putin joined George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas : NPR'
Good article on our past optimism for Putin.
🔗 linkblog: Of ‘Algospeak’ and the Crudeness of Automated Moderation | by Clive Thompson | Apr, 2022 | OneZero'
Fascinated by this article for so many reasons. First, it’s a great example of meaningful practices in online spaces; second, it brings it back to the need for more, smaller platforms.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk Demonstrates How Little He Understands About Content Moderation | Techdirt'
I have only been reading Techdirt for a short amount of time, but I increasingly appreciate Masnick’s perspectives on issues like this.
🔗 linkblog: Texts Show Mike Lee Released ‘the Kraken’ and Tried to Give Trump a Smarter Coup Plan'
Worrying stuff out of Utah.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk, After Toying With Twitter, Now Wants It All - The New York Times'
Content moderation is a necessity, and Musk’s take here is wildly irresponsible.
🔗 linkblog: It’s Still Stupidly, Ridiculously Difficult To Buy A ‘Dumb’ TV | Techdirt'
Losing dumb TVs is not an acceptable option.
🔗 linkblog: Brittney Griner's detention in Russia: What it says about basketball's pay gap : NPR'
Seems to me that folks truly concerned about the integrity of women’s sports would have more to say about this.
🔗 linkblog: The Far-Right Is Doxxing School Officials They Think Are “Groomers”'
This matches rhetoric I’m reading while doing research on Gab. We need respectable conservative movements in the U.S., but our contemporary mainstream right is flirting with these ideas instead of denouncing them. It’s troubling
🔗 linkblog: Présidentielle 2022 : le ralliement d'Eric Zemmour gêne la stratégie de camouflage de Marine Le Pen'
Faut pas oublier ces liens quand-même.
🔗 linkblog: House G.O.P. Kills Bid to Honor Pioneering Black Judge - The New York Times'
Litmus tests like this are making me even more worried about the future.
🔗 linkblog: KY libraries worried by bill giving politicians control over them | Lexington Herald Leader'
Wish that I’d been paying better attention to this legislation. Libraries are pillars of our communities and ought to retain partisan independence.
🔗 linkblog: Des crimes de guerre auraient aussi été commis par des soldats ukrainiens - rts.ch - Monde'
Faut pas transformer l’Ukraine un héros irréprochable.
🔗 linkblog: GOP Social Media Experiments Fail (In Part) Because They Break The Troll/Amplification Cycle | Techdirt'
Insightful piece on trolling and feeding trolls.
🔗 linkblog: Roger Stone Claims He’s Being ‘Censored’ on Trump’s Truth Social'
All platforms moderate content, most content moderation isn’t censorship.
🔗 linkblog: Why You Should Buy the Dumbest TV You Can Find'
If I can help it, I will never buy a smart TV. I appreciate the suggestion to consider a monitor as a dumb TV.
🔗 linkblog: Cops Tried Playing Disney Music to Censor a Video'
Weaponization of copyright filters is awful, and it’s not even the worst thing about this story.
🔗 linkblog: Extremist Republicans like Ammon Bundy face opposition from moderates : NPR'
Keeping an eye on France’s elections in April and then Idaho’s in May, I guess.
🔗 linkblog: How You’re Still Being Tracked on the Internet - The New York Times'
Frustrating to see steps that feel like progress seem to shore up the tech giants I hoped were being kept in check.
📚 bookblog: The Era of Restoration (❤️❤️❤️❤️🖤)
I have been meaning to read this for quite some time, as it is the first volume in the most recent official history of Community of Christ. I’m also looking forward to the next two volumes, since they cover history that I am not familiar with, but it was especially interesting to read a Community of Christ perspective on the 1830-1844 era.
I appreciated the frankness and openness of the volume—it’s impossible to imagine an LDS version of this book taking the same approach.
🔗 linkblog: LGBTQ biases led to uproar after board message, KY teacher says | Lexington Herald Leader'
Worries about this picking up. General Assembly took steps in a bad direction this session, but they could go further next time.
🔗 linkblog: Marjorie Taylor Greene: If You Vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson, You Must Like Pedophiles'
GOP needs to do more about MTG.
🔗 linkblog: Russia’s Bucha “Facts” Versus the Evidence - bellingcat'
Not that I was inclined to believe Russian cries of fake news anyway, but I still appreciate Bellingcat on the case.
🔗 linkblog: The U.S. Has Its Own Agenda Against Russia'
This kind of article is why I read The Intercept—to give me fresh perspectives on important issues.
🔗 linkblog: Google Docs will start nudging some users to write less dumbly - The Verge'
Nooooo thank you. Don’t like this about Grammarly, don’t like this about Word, won’t like this about Google Docs. I am very skeptical of giving algorithms authority over style.