The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces
The Weird Times: Issue 74, October 10, 2021 (V2 #22)
“If we don’t protect voting rights now, we are not going to be able to protect any other rights later.” —Malcolm Nance
“But this means nothing unless we do something about it. He's still trying to overturn the last election and laying the groundwork to overturn the next one.”—Dave Pell, NextDraft
“In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs.”—Edith Wharton (from The Age of Innocence)
Politics is Culture
A new Confederacy: Trump and the Republicans have seceded and are fighting a Civil War, Lucian Truscott IV, Newsletter, 10/9/21
“This is what I mean when I say that Republicans have already seceded. They’re a white party and they’re forming a white country with white laws and white companies and white jobs where white votes count and others don’t. They can live in the states that comprise that country, but they can’t survive there without our money. It was the same way with the South before the Civil War. They lived in their states with slavery, but they couldn’t survive without the economy of the North, so they started a war. They never intended to “secede.” They intended to win, and run the new country, which would be the South writ large, with slave-owners in power and slavery everywhere.
That’s what Republicans and Donald Trump are doing right now. They know they can’t win legitimate elections. There aren’t enough of them. So they are engaged in a war, with the aim not of winning elections, but of taking over and exercising the power that, at least until now, came from winning elections. Republicans can’t rely on doing that, so they have transformed their party from one that participates in democracy to a fascist party engaged in a takeover of the United States of America.”
The Plague of Silence, Jill McCorkle, Arrowsmith Press
“This sharp right turn, fueled by the former Republican Presidential administration, has undermined the University system as well as unleashed the racist hatred that many of us might have stupidly—hopefully—thought was growing smaller in the rearview mirror. But no, like the many killer viruses and bacteria of the past—anthrax, smallpox, you name it—it was resting dormant in its permafrost tomb, waiting for a shift in climate. The radical, pervasive racism we are witnessing needed only some strategic heated and hostile encouragement. The pernicious, evil virus is clearly alive and well, and there is a growing wall of denial and silence allowing and enabling it.”
How dumb can a nation get and still survive? Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 10/7/21
“T.S. Eliot wrote that the world ends "not with a bang but a whimper,” but I fear our great nation is careening toward a third manner of demise: descent into lip-blubbering, self-destructive idiocy.”
“In an era of widening authoritarianism and inequality, the Pandora Papers investigation provides an unequaled perspective on how money and power operate in the 21st century – and how the rule of law has been bent and broken around the world by a system of financial secrecy enabled by the U.S. and other wealthy nations.”
Life in the New American Suburbs: A vision of how we'll live in an age of moderately higher density, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 10/10/21
“The suburbs will not vanish as a result of America’s new need for density; they will simply change. But what will they change into? What will the new suburbs look like, and what will the lives of people in them be like? Obviously there will be a wide variety, but I think that current trends are starting to sketch us a rough outline of that future.”
Amitava Kumar: How Can You Write Fiction That Fights Fake News? “A novel often serves as a site of contention for different viewpoints,” Lithub, 10/5/21
“My research in the matter of fake news had led me to a study done at MIT that revealed that while bots spread false news on social media, humans spread such news six times faster than the rate at which bots do. According to this study, bots disseminate all manner of news at the same rate; it is only humans that are partial to propagating fake news. This is a disturbing statistic. But isn’t a novel, then, the correct antidote?”
Facebook is harming our society. Here’s a radical solution for reining it in, Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post, 10/5/21
“A problem that threatens the underpinnings of our civil society calls for a radical solution: A new federal agency focused on the digital economy.”
Facebook’s laughable response to the whistleblower, Mark Hurst, Creative Good, 10/7/21
“I’d say that Frances Haugen was courageous, articulate, and spot-on in her diagnosis of the problems at Facebook. However, her prescription was wrong: we don’t need more regulation of Facebook, we need to shut it down.”
Facebook’s Outage and its Future, Martin Peers, The Information, 10/4/21
“Bigger picture, though, the idea that Facebook may have peaked seems logical, even without considering how recent revelations could be affecting morale and the company’s ability to operate.”
What Happens Next In The Fight For Voting Rights? Meet the Women Working to Protect a Crucial Right, Mekita Rivas, Vogue, 10/4/21
“What people need to know is that what’s happening in this moment to voting rights in this country—it’s much more sinister than that.”
Why Derecka Purnell went from police reformist to abolitionist: ‘It’s so we can get more free’: The lawyer, writer and advocate has shifted her position from one rooted in reform, to one focused on total abolition, Taya Bero, The Guardian, 10/5/21
“The hotter that the Earth gets and the more unpredictable the weather gets, it’s going to continue to displace people – especially Black people, poor people, immigrants. And when I started looking historically, I noticed that police helped facilitate that displacement.”
What We Lost When Gannett Came to Town: We don’t often talk about how a paper’s collapse makes people feel: less connected, more alone, Elaine Godfrey, Atlantic, 10/5/21
“These stories are the connective tissue of a community; they introduce people to their neighbors, and they encourage readers to listen to and empathize with one another. When that tissue disintegrates, something vital rots away.”
SCREAMING MATCHES, OXYGEN MASKS, AND WILD STAMPEDES: A CONGRESSMAN DESCRIBES JANUARY 6 FROM THE HOUSE FLOOR: “This is because of you!” a Democrat yelled at a Republican as protesters battered at the doors and Capitol police officers urged lawmakers to “move!” In Adam Schiff’s new book, Midnight in Washington, he recounts the horrific scene—and the events that enabled it, Adam Schiff, Vanity Fair, 10/6/21
Recent White House Study on Taxes Shows the Wealthy Pay a Lower Rate Than Everybody Else: When ProPublica compared the richest Americans’ wealth gains to the taxes they paid, we found a system that benefits billionaires. White House economists recently used a similar method to calculate tax rates, revealing stark inequality, Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica, 10/6/21
Seattle Just Became the Latest City to Decriminalize Psychedelic Drugs: Via a unanimous vote in the city council, The Editors, GQ, 10/5/21
We’re Losing Our Humanity, and the Pandemic Is to Blame: “What the hell is happening? I feel like we are living on another planet. I don’t recognize anyone anymore,” Sarah Smith, ProPublica, 10/7/21
“The stories of cruel, seemingly irrational and sometimes-violent conflicts over coronavirus regulations have become lingering symptoms of the pandemic as it drags through its second year.”
What's really happening with the mail, Judd Legum, Popular Information, 10/4/21
“DeJoy wants to spend less time in the declining first-class mail market and participate in the potentially more lucrative package delivery market. This would make perfect sense if the USPS was a private company looking to maximize its profits. But the USPS is "a public agency with a public service mission." By law, that mission includes "prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas" including "rural areas, communities, and small towns where post offices are not self-sustaining." DeJoy, however, has other priorities.”
Chamber of deceit, Judd Legum, Popular Information, 10/5/21
“Yes, the Chamber — a purportedly non-partisan organization advancing the diverse interests of the business community — has been participating in strategy calls to advance the agenda of the House Republican leadership.”
Scarcity Tactics: Low on Inventory, Auto Dealers Cash In on Higher Prices: Be prepared for pandemic-related supply-chain issues to linger for quite some time, keeping dealer lots empty and prices high, Sharon Carty, Car and Driver, 10/3/21
The Constitution
A noble piece of paper
With free society
Struggled but it died in vain
And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner
Hoping for some rain
Looks like it's hoping
Hoping for some rain
—Gill Scott-Heron, from “Winter in America”
In Defense of Poetic Plagiarism: Sam Riviere on the Foundational Practices of Collaboration and Copying, Lithub, 10/6/21
“While we still regard poetry, or any kind of writing, as emerging from some mythical-primordial inner space, rather than from dialogue, exchange, imitation, adaptation and other collaborative or collectivized practices, we’re unlikely to move beyond an increasingly restrictive model of literature, and a tightening legal bind. The entities benefitting most from this set-up are not authors, but publishing dynasties and literary estates. (Poets might baulk at so much comprehensible pragmatism, but don’t worry: the impulse to write a poem remains completely inexplicable!)”
Environment: The Good, the Bad and the very Ugly
Isolation & Wonder in the Pribilof Islands, Part One: This article is the first in a four-part series covering the Pribilof Islands: their beauty and biodiversity, their cultural history, the environmental challenges the islands face, and the proposed solutions, Toni Jensen, Orion Magazine
Actions You Can Take to Tackle Climate Change: These apps and resources can help you manage your eco-anxiety—and take steps to tread more lightly on the planet, Heather Higinbotham Davies, Wired, 10/6/21
“EcoAnxious is an online storytelling community where you can share your eco-anxiety and transform anxiety into meaningful connection. It offers resources for mental wellness, anxiety tools and tips, and an eco-anxiety reflection guide. Read others’ stories, or share your own.”
Big Business Is Bankrolling an Effort to Kill the Democratic Climate Bill: The trade group that represents Apple, Walmart, Nike, and dozens of other companies is trying to kneecap the U.S.’s final chance to meet its 2025 climate goals, Robinson Meyer, Atlantic, 10/1/21
Can Nuclear Fusion Put the Brakes on Climate Change? Amid an escalating crisis, the power source offers a dream—or a pipe dream—of limitless clean energy, Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 10/4/21
EPA strategic plan touts climate, environmental justice goals, Kevin Bogardus, E&E News, 10/4/21
‘Greta is right’: climate pledges must be matched by action, say Mars executives: The company will tie executive pay to emissions reduction and eliminate deforestation through its supply chain, Dominic Rushe, The Guardian, 10/5/21
The US falls behind most of the world in plastic pollution legislation: One of the world's biggest contributors to the plastic crisis has yet to pass meaningful federal regulation on plastic pollution, but a new bill may change that, Hannah Seo, Environmental Health News, 10/4/21
The oceans are being clogged with plastic. Here’s one way to fight this ecological catastrophe, Washington Post Editorial Board, 10/4/21
Global warming is making ragweed pollen season worse: Ragweed is a common culprit in late summer and fall allergies, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 10/4/21
Ozone Pollution: An Insidious and Growing Threat to Biodiversity: Ground-level ozone has long been known to pose a threat to human health. Now, scientists are increasingly understanding how this pollutant damages plants and trees, setting off a cascade of impacts that harms everything from soil microbes, to insects, to wildlife, Jim Robbins, Yale Environment 360, 10/7/21
Fossil fuel industry gets subsidies of $11m a minute, IMF finds: Trillions of dollars a year are ‘adding fuel to the fire’ of the climate crisis, experts say, Damian Carrington, The Guardian, 10/6/21
When West Coast waters warmed up, it brought new species. Now they’re staying: The shifts in temperature and species can provide lessons for how fluctuating temperatures might change ecosystems, Erika Nielsen, Sam Walkes, Fast Company, 10/5/21
Keeping a Detailed Record of the Changing Climate Could Save this Tribe’s Foodways: Research by the Karuk Tribe of Northern California aims to build resilient food systems in the face of droughts, wildfires, and extreme weather, Megan Mucioki, Civil Eats, 10/8/21
‘People protect what they love’ - citizen scientists collect and share data on watersheds in the Skeena region: From a 12-year-old collecting water quality data in his backyard to conservation organizations advocating for better access to information, people in the Skeena watershed are working to fill gaps in our collective knowledge of one of B.C.’s largest salmon watersheds, Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, 10/2/21
‘No fish means no food’: how Yurok women are fighting for their tribe’s nutritional health: Klamath River salmon populations are dwindling, so Yurok mothers are working to restore the river and reclaim Indigenous food sovereignty, Lucy Sherriff, The Guardian, 10/4/21
Aviation: Germany opens world's first plant for clean jet fuel: Sustainable fuels are seen as key to making carbon-neutral flying possible. But there are some major hurdles preventing these cleaner alternatives from getting off the ground, Natalie Muller, DW.com, 10/4/21
Mennonite leader helps other pastors speak up on climate change: Doug Kaufman’s pastoral retreats help empower Mennonite pastors and leaders to talk with their congregations about the problem, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 10/6/21
Climate-Friendly Investment Funds Are a Scam: Wall Street is trying to fool investors into thinking they can get rich and save the planet at the same time, Alex Pareene, New Republic, 10/5/21
Climate Change Is Ravaging Our National Parks: A warming planet, increased storms, and wildfires are creating a level of infrastructure collapse that’s expensive and devastating, Emily Pennington, Outside, 10/7/21
Ah little ships, I know your weariness!
I know the sea-green shadows of your dream.
For I have loved the cities of the sea,
and desolations of the old days I
have loved: I was a wanderer like you
and I have broken down before the wind.
—Arna Bontemps, from “Nocturne of the Wharves”
Science willing
There's a jolt, quasi-electric,
when one of our myths
reverts to abstraction.
—Rae Armentrout, from “Upper World” in Up to Speed (2004)
Our DNA is becoming the world’s tiniest hard drive: Researchers propose faster method for recording data to DNA, showing promise in fields of digital data storage, neuron recording, Lila Reynolds, Northwestern Univ. News, 10/4/21
“Now, researchers at Northwestern University propose a new method for recording information to DNA that takes minutes, rather than hours or days, to complete. The team used a novel enzymatic system to synthesize DNA that records rapidly changing environmental signals directly into DNA sequences, a method the paper’s senior author said could change the way scientists study and record neurons inside the brain.”
Drug treatment for Lyme disease could lead to its eradication, Michael Le Page, New Scientist, 10/6/21
“The discovery that a chemical is deadly to the bacterium that causes Lyme disease but harmless to animals might allow the disease to be eradicated in the wild. “Lyme disease is well-positioned to be eradicated,” says Kim Lewis at Northeastern University in Boston. “We are gearing up, the first field trial will be next summer.”
Revealed: Wuhan and US scientists planned to create new coronaviruses: Before Covid pandemic erupted, group submitted proposals to mix genetic data of related strains and grow completely new sequences, Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph, 10/5/21
The Grid Isn’t Ready for the Renewable Revolution: The massive deployment of wind and solar will turn you, the humble homeowner, into a critical actor in the operation of the US power grid, Matt Simon, Wired, 10/6/21
Treating Severe Depression with On-Demand Brain Stimulation: UCSF Team Provides Immediate, Long-Term Relief for Patient’s Symptoms, Robin Marks, UCSF News, 10/5/21
NIH BRAIN Initiative Unveils Detailed Atlas of the Mammalian Primary Motor Cortex: Atlas and cell census represent the initial products of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Census Network, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 10/6/21
Scientists are one step closer to error-correcting quantum computers: Multiple quantum bits were combined into one ‘logical qubit’ to detect mistakes, Emily Conover, Science News, 10/4/21
A Nearby Asteroid Contains More Than $11 Trillion in Precious Metals: More than the Earth's entire global metal reserves, Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 10/5/21
Chemistry Nobel Prize Honors Technique for Building Molecules: Benjamin List and David MacMillan received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their development of asymmetrical organocatalysis, Jordana Cepelewicz, Quanta Magazine, 10/6/21
A New Squamish Study Puts an Actual Price on Nature: It found a local estuary delivers more than $12 million a year in benefits. And it keeps appreciating, Amanda Follett Hosgood, The Tyee, 10/6/21
Birds Have a Mysterious 'Quantum Sense'. Scientists Have Now Seen It in Action, Mike McCrae, Science Alert, 10/6/21
“In early 2021, scientists from the University of Tokyo announced they had, for the first time ever, directly observed a key reaction hypothesized to be behind birds' (and many other creatures') talents for sensing the direction of Earth's poles. Importantly, this is evidence of quantum physics directly affecting a biochemical reaction in a cell – something we've long hypothesized but haven't seen in action before.”
Happy birthday to the great Elmore Leonard, born October 11, 1925, and to Edward Estlin Cummings, born October 14, 1894.
“there is some shit i will not eat”
“Nobody who lived through the ’50s thought the ’60s could’ve existed. So there’s always hope.” —Tuli Kupferberg
There’s almost too much going on to keep up. Every week I seem to spend more time finding and reading news stories I want to share in these missives. It feels necessary. And yes, it is sometime difficult to focus. This week, if you read nothing else, pay attention to the slow-moving coup stories. It’s real — and we need to speak up before it’s too late.
Kamala Harris Might Have to Stop the Steal: Constitutional scholars are already worrying about another January 6 crisis, and they warn that the next election might be harder to save, Russell Berman, The Atlantic, 10/6/21
A Proclamation on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, 2021
“On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our Nation celebrates the invaluable contributions and resilience of Indigenous peoples, recognizes their inherent sovereignty, and commits to honoring the Federal Government’s trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.
Our country was conceived on a promise of equality and opportunity for all people — a promise that, despite the extraordinary progress we have made through the years, we have never fully lived up to. That is especially true when it comes to upholding the rights and dignity of the Indigenous people who were here long before colonization of the Americas began.”
Be strong, stay vigilant, stay engaged. Love to all.
