WWonderings 1.31.24 - Civil War in the Bin

Not just news links this week, also tools you can use! If you live in Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, S. Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, New York, or Washington state, check to see if the IRS Direct File pilot is a good option for you to do your taxes! You might be able to cut out the H&R Block/Turbotax middleman and save some of your refund.

Levittown man charged with beheading father. He posted grisly YouTube video after (Philly Burbs) Minutes after yesterday’s FD was posted, this news came in. This “indirectly called for” violence, from teens or young men with mental illness or a history of trauma, is going to keep resulting in actual violence.

3 US Troop Deaths in Jordan Shrouded in Secrecy (Ken Klippenstein) & US military revises account of what happened to 2 SEALs who died trying to board Yemen-bound ship (AP) Why do we have troops in Jordan? What is Tower 22? Why were SEALs trying to board a non-American unflagged ship? Why are reservists from Georgia based out of a military installation that the Pentagon has disavowed existing, until 3 of our own turned up dead? I don’t want answers from Iran, Yemen, or Iraq, I want them from the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the White House.

ICE gave unnecessary hysterectomies to non-citizens in custody (The Guardian) This is one of those stories that makes me so incandescently angry that I don’t have anything to say. We’re sterilizing women who just trying to provide a better life for their loved ones, so spare me comments that we are better than we were during the Tuskegee experiments.

 The Conservative Legal Movement Runs on Perpetual Grievance (Balls and Strikes) The Federalist Society and the conservative judiciary, one of the most powerful unelected groups of people on the planet, are convinced the “progressive Ku Klux Klan” is coming for them. They have to use metaphor recalling women, minorities, and migrants being attacked, because there are no examples of powerful white men being railroaded or punished for crimes they didn’t commit. Hell, just look at Trump, calling punishment for crimes he admitted to, a witchhunt!

Saudi Arabia prepares to open first alcohol store for diplomats (Reuters) Lol “just for diplomats.” The culture of sin is irrepressible, even in the supposed stronghold of temperance, Saudi Arabia.

Protesters allegedly sprayed with hazardous chemical at pro-Palestinian rally, nearly two dozen report (Columbia Spectator) & NYPD Investigating Alleged Columbia Chemical Attack As a Hate Crime (NY Mag) While the ongoing disaster in the Middle East is far beyond this newsletter to cover (Spencer Ackerman’s Forever Wars does a much better job), this story slipped under everyone’s radar. Columbia students at a pro-Palestinian rally were sprayed with something called “Skunk,” developed by the IDF, and used on Palestinians since 2004. To stress, other students were not the ones spraying this available-only-to-cops-or-military non-lethal crowd control weapon. The protesters believe former IDF soldiers are responsible, but evidence confirming this has not been presented by the NYPD or Columbia security yet. Imagine the outrage if ex-Hamas soldiers sprayed Jewish Columbia students with an unknown, hazardous chemical at a pro-Israel rally on the Upper West Side.

N.S.A. Buys Americans’ Internet Data Without Warrants, Letter Says (NYTimes) If the NSA can do this, why can’t China? If China can do this, why is TikTok an existential threat to the USA?

AT&T launches branded calls to help filter out spam (Verge) We just refuse to fix robo/spam calls huh? AT&T is just going to add another revenue stream, soaking people who need to use the phone, instead of policing their audio-only platform.

Pentagon ex-UFO chief says conspiracy theorists in government drive spending (Guardian) The person hired to collate all the UFO-related info within the Pentagon, DoD, and various gov’t offices, said the call is coming from inside the house. Certain people within gov’t are convinced UFOs exist, and they push spending into projects to confirm their pre-existing conclusions.

The Real A.I. Fight Is About Who Gets the Gains (In These Times) Hamilton Nolan is fast becoming my favorite current labor writer. This is a reminder that, as with all technological change, we have a chance to share those gains between labor & capital, or we can do what we usually do, capital taking it all and throwing a few crumbs out to the workers.

Gun from Civil War found in trash can at Gettysburg Walmart (Penn Live) It’s not just that a gun from the Civil War was found in Gettysburg. It’s that someone had one, went to Wal-Mart, and was like “Eff this” and binned the thing before driving home. Like if the ending of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels happened outside of Appomattox.

Milwaukee dog disappears; located at bar mile from home, having fun (Fox 6 Milwaukee) Just a wonderful Midwestern story. Get this dog as the face of a Tough Mudder or Crossfit event in deep winter. Call it the Underbite Ironman, and have the pup hang with everyone who finishes.

Quote of the week

To be kind is more important than to be right. Many times, what people need is not a brilliant mind that speaks, but a special heart that listens.F. Scott Fitzgerald

Poem of the week

Vibe of the week

Worakls amazes with this neo-classical banger that gives me hope that Gen Alpha will be obsessed with nu-rave remixes of the best in classical music. The festivals are going to be wild.

Keep your head up,tn