Random Links

​Alabama governor in sex scandal, possibly criminal, said to have purchased multiple 'burner' phones. Come on. If politics were a literary genre, people would be reacting to the "Christian politician" marketing brand like they do sparkly vampires. 

​Why Twitter Represents Everything Wrong With America Today. A well-written, thoughtful article about the problems with algorithms deciding what is important to you...among other things. My favorite quote from the piece: "Personally, I think America would be a lot better [off] if Wall Street was less full of greedy cancerous fuckwits willing to destroy companies so long as they get a paycheck today, and more populated with people who understood that businesses have different needs, and some unsexy businesses can make steady profits without funding yachts filled with cocaine-encrusted hookers." And I think that fits more than merely Twitter's business model.

Drilling for Earthquakes (Scientific American) presents a strong case. Mind you, the price of oil has already dropped so low that it's hammering the fracking industry to the point of bankruptcy. Thank the gods.

The girl who stole my book: How Eilis O'Hanlon found out her crime novels were swiped by a stranger. What a nightmare. I've a lot of feels on that subject. Some of them involve fan fic + the inevitable monetization thereof, and well, those opinions aren't terribly popular. So, I'll just leave this rant where it is and move on. 

There's a new documentary about the NRA that looks interesting. The NRA has far too much power. I also feel that if you're all about protecting kids from the mythological danger of sharing a bathroom facility with a transgender person, but aren't interested in protecting them from the threat of some asshole gunning them down at school...you've got your priorities seriously fucked up. I don't hunt, but I know people who enjoy it. (They also eat the meat that results from the hunting. Shooting animals just to get the trophy? NO.) That's okay. So is sport/target shooting. But this obsession with guns being absolutely everywhere because "freedom" and "security"? That's some dangerous mythology, right there. We need gun control. NOW. We needed it twenty years ago. And yes, I'm aware the mass shooter thing has been with us for a long time. All the more reason for gun control. I also see toxic hyper-masculinity as a big factor.