Kansas City library via
How is the most unpopular and divisive president on his way to a second term? – theguardian.com
It’s the economy, says David Smith. Also, unlike 2016, Trump is running a highly organized, well-funded campaign. And Trump’s opposition is split.
On that last point: The Republicans are a minority party and, paradoxically, that is their strength. Every Republican is signed on to their agenda of white supremacy, xenophobia, gun fetishization, sex policing, preserving property rights, and their version of Christianity, which conveniently leaves out the bits about loving the stranger and least fortunate.
Whereas the Democrats are an unruly coalition of white moderates, second- and third-generation Eastern and Southern European immigrants, first-generation immigrants, Jews, African-Americans, minorities, socialists, LGBTQs, feminists and I’m probably missing some. Some of those groups disagree. For example, immigrants and African-Americans tend to be socially conservative, which puts them at odds with the LGBTQs and feminists. Those white moderates can’t stand the socialists, and vice versa. And yet they’re all supposedly one party.
The Story of Two Monks and a Woman: A parable about letting go of the past. kottke.org
Ode to San Rafael: my unremarkable hometown [Carolyn Jones/SFChronicle.com]
I had a vision recently: I’m at a little market buying cream soda and Ding Dongs. Bathed in luscious, late-afternoon amber light, I head out to the levee and perch on some rocks. Seagulls soar overhead. Somewhere in the distance, a Camaro blasts “Frampton Comes Alive.”
Now and then, I have the same nostalgia for Long Island. Hearing “Frampton Comes Alive” does it.
Scary Sea Monster Really Just Hundreds of Tiny Fish in a Trench Coat [kottke.org]
As a defense against predators, these juvenile striped eel catfish from Jemeluk Bay near Bali organize themselves into an ambling, pulsating sea creature that looks like something out of a Miyazaki film.
Copyright was designed to serve creators, but instead it serves big business against creators [Cory Doctorow/Boing Boing]
Expecting more copyright to help artists beat a concentrated industry is like expecting more lunch money to help your kid defeat the bullies who beat him up on the playground every day.
No more free rides: US seeks to limit emotional support animals on planes [Joanna Walters/The Guardian ]
Some animal lovers and nervous fliers may squawk but the US government wants a definitive “neigh” to the question of passengers bringing rabbits, turtles, birds, miniature horses and other unusual emotional support animals on planes in future, especially free of charge.
The head of ICE says he will deport DREAMers if the Supreme Court ends DACA - vox.com
To Trump and his supporters, cruelty is not an unfortunate by product of his policies. They are the point. These are people who believe government should be putting children in cages.
Gentleman ticketed for driving in carpool lane with plastic skeleton in passenger seat Mark Frauenfelder/boingboing.net
Totally should be allowed.
Laff-o-rama, 1964 via
We’re All in the Bathroom Filming Ourselves
Bathrooms are “the perfect stage set” for TikTok videos. “Most home bathrooms are well lit and have nice, bright acoustics. Unlike the kitchen, living room or even bedroom, bathrooms are private spaces, where parents and siblings are trained to not barge in.” Also, that big mirror is great for filming selfies.
“Spending a lot of time on TikTok, and it seems that knowing how to film yourself speaking with a cellphone in a bathroom mirror is a new skill to be mastered,” Jon-Stephen Stansel, a digital marketer, tweeted. “It’s like a stand-up learning to work a microphone, it’s part of the craft.”
The case for replacing air travel with high-speed sleeper trains
Like Cory, I’ve taken the sleeper train from London to Edinburgh and found it was a great trip.
I’ve often wished there was a sleeper train running between San Diego (where we live) and San Francisco (where I often travel for work). There’s a sleeper bus that runs between LA and SF but I don’t think that’ll work for me.
DirecTV Satellite at Risk of Exploding in Orbit — Jeff Baumgartner/Light Reading
AT&T and Boeing need to move the DirecTV Spaceway-1 satellite to a new orbit, over fears that a crippling battery malfunction could cause the bird to explode and threaten other satellites.
Podcast: Don’t Call Us an SD-WAN Provider – Cato Networks – Me/Light Reading
Cato Networks would rather you didn’t call them an SD-WAN provider anymore. Instead, Cato is delivering a new kind of service – Secure Access Service Edge – or SASE (pronounced “sassy”).
I talked with Cato’s David Greenfield about what the heck SASE is anyway, the shifting needs of the market formerly known as SD-WAN, and the relative virtues of gelato vs. Ben & Jerry’s on the Light Reading podcast.