Afternoon Tea 2.25.2021 - Jurisdiction Revision

It's like Conjunction Junction, but with more cops and better liquor stores

February 25, 2021

The cops definitely didn’t look into that crash, the country is meeting the true Governor New York State people have known for years, the city is no longer an anarchist jurisdiction, Texas allocates blame, Potato Head already causing reactionary stupid, and 16% of Gen Z identify as Queer. And this is the Tea

NYPD investigated less than 10% of serious NYC street crashes involving critical injury (AMNY) In response to “Defund the Police” calls, a common retort is that crime will go unsolved and basically unpunished. When it comes to sexual assault and vehicular mayhem, that is already happening.

The Andrew Cuomo Show Has Lost the Plot (New Republic) Alex Pareene has finally said what I’ve struggled to put into words for the last year. As a resident of this state, Cuomo’s spotlight last year was perplexing for exactly the reasons Alex details:

This is, I think, a misreading of Cuomo’s political appeal and strategy, and misses what has made his recent round of terrible press so interesting. What is happening now is that fans of Andrew Cuomo the television character are being introduced to Andrew Cuomo the newspaper character…Andrew Cuomo the newspaper character, meanwhile, has a backstory as elaborate as that of any mainstream comic superhero, with as many side characters, allies, and antagonists weaving in and out of the narrative. As in modern comics, it is difficult for a newcomer to find a logical entry point into the ongoing serial storyline. Take this piece from the Albany Times-Union, which ran the day before the Times story on Cuomo’s bullying nature. It introduces two new characters: Linda A. Lacewell, “an especially loyal and combative aide” known as Cuomo’s “Minister of Defense,” and her onetime sidekick, Camille Joseph Varlack, who was recently named chair of the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE.

NYC no longer an ‘anarchist’ city after Biden scraps controversial Trump order (Daily News) Did you hear?! I can’t wait for our “Not Anarchist” Certificate. I hope there’s a ceremony and a presentation and everything. We’ve come so far everyone.

1 in 6 Gen Z adults identify as something other than heterosexual (Gallup) 5.6% of Americans identify as LGBT, with 15.9% of Gen Z adults polled identifying as LBGT. If you’re still whining about attack helicopter genders and gay sex being sinful, expect to be treated like someone who fought interracial marriage a few generations ago.

Big Texas Corporations Demand Storm Survivors Go Without Pay (Daily Beast) Jacked up corporations demanding workers use vacation days or deal with unexcused/unpaid absences as the state rebuilds from the 2021 Deep Freeze. I’d say I’m surprised, but it’s not good to lie to your readers.

Who’s Responsible for the Texas Blackouts (Texas Monthly) I’ve been following Christopher Hooks since his critical commentary helped inform my take on Cruz, Beto, Abbott, and Wall Ivanka. He remains on the money to this day, correctly diagnosing the Texas-sized fuck up and who could have stopped it.

A mister no more: Mr. Potato Head goes gender neutral (AP) & The iconic Mr. Potato Head gets a 21st-century rebrand (Fast Company) Yes, right-wing idiots are already blathering about the destruction of the nuclear family on Twitter about this. I gotta take my hat off to the Hasbro director of marketing that made this call. Not only will the whining from reactionaries give this a global wave of free press, they just made one of the oldest toys in existence the new woke hotness. Genius, I tell you.

This Book Is Not About Baseball. But Baseball Teams Swear by It. (NYTimes) The Psychology of Decision Making comes to Baseball. Thinking Fast & Slow is exceptional, and I use ideas Kahneman discusses daily.

WeWork’s Neumann to Leave Board for a Year Under Proposed Deal (Bloomberg) Can you imagine being so bad at your job, the company that invested $3 billion in your company, pays you $40 million to leave the board of that company for a year. Gotta love the meritocracy y’all.

10 Breakthrough Technologies - 2021 Edition (MIT Technology Review) They’ve been putting this out for a bunch of years now. Some technologies like mRNA vaccines, you’ve probably heard about, while Data Trusts and Green Hydrogen are definitely still taking shape.

Song of the Tea: When a Buddhist teacher successfully argued that thought is not who a person is, but a sense or emanation from what you are, I slept better for a week.

March 2021. Are we ready? What new joy & terror will the Calamity Year Two bring?

Yours,