Weekend Editor

In case facts still matter

Botany recapitulates organic chemistry.

So the women in the first photo were indeed "dressed like witches", because their (now ceremonial) uniform was established around the same era witches were put on trial in New England. The truth is: witches are CREATED out of respectable older women by accusation & this is what they wore.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” ~Frederick Douglass, 1857. Image: Library of Congress.

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Update of previous stats: Assume DoJ chances of success start as a random uniformly in 0% - 100%. After 0/27 cases, Bayes rule updates to: median 2.4%, 95% confidence interval 0.1% - 12.3%. Attorneys: who pursues cases w/2.4% chance? Details of method: www.someweekendreading.blog/doj-smackdow...

Ah yes. The wurst käse scenario.

Muslims and immigrants, despite all the lies we're told about them, have never presented a systemic threat to Western security, let alone to "Western civilisation". Instead, the threats come from our governments, especially in the US, and their grim alliances with capital and overseas dictators.

The time to determine whether Dan J. Sullivan Jr. could appear on the Alaska ballot for U.S. Senate was months ago, and Alaska courts did so. What's additionally batshit about this is that the candidates' names are printed on the ballot in a way which makes abundantly clear who's who.

literally illegal

I think the billionaire class should start using its wealth for luxury items they’ve heretofore been convinced are too expensive—things like healthcare for all, equal education and ending poverty.

I disavow everything, including disavowal itself.

Four brothers went to war against Hitler. Three were killed. The fourth survived, and his grandson, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is the president of Ukraine. Zelensky comes from a family that fought tyrants: Trump negotiates with them while demanding concessions from their victims.

This is How It Is Done. (Assuming one is in a position of sufficient power to be able to enforce it, which most of us are, alas, not.)

Back in the '04 campaign, there was a liberal group called Billionaires for Bush that did street theater and made parody posters with taglines like "Corporations are people too" and "Leave no billionaire behind" and "The environment. Can't sell it, who needs it?" Why do I bring it up? No reason

if millennials could afford homes this wouldnt be a problem but this is going to hit the generation like a truck

Today's deep thought: If a statistician gets assimilated into the Borg, will their designation be N of 1?

This is actually a difficult issue. Companies shift the blame to the consumer ("do your part!") while they pollute hugely, but it *is* a good idea to be mindful and do what you can. The biggest thing you can do is vote blue and be vocal about it.

GREENWASHING. Spending their money building solar & wind instead of fossil fuel burning power plants for their data centers would save many times more carbon for the same price, *and* save them money long term.

We've got to nationalize SpaceX. We have no choice. We can't operate our military without them and we can't trust them to serve our national interest. There is literally no other option.

Vote. Whatever inconveniences there may be, they are insignificant next to preserving democracy. Vote.

Russian casualty statistics over time are quite horrific: about 1.5 million dead. Adding in emigration & COVID-19, it's over 10% of Russian men of military service age. Sometime in the beginning of 2024, Ukrainians figured out how to make it *worse*. www.someweekendreading.blog/ukraine-1500k/

"Moral squalor" is indeed the term for the Trump régime. Indeed, utter contempt for the very concept of "moral".

Career staff at the CFTC were investigating suspiciously timed trades surrounding Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would not bomb Iranian power plants. Then a senior adviser to Trump’s CFTC commissioner told them to back off. Could this administration get any more corrupt?

Discovery+, one of the streamers now owned by David Ellison’s media monopoly Skydance, hiked its prices exactly one week after the merger officially closed. Employees have already been told to expect layoffs — while top executives received pay bumps. Monopolies are only good for the monopolists.

It's Winnie-the-Pooh's 100th birthday! If you like rolling dice with friends, I wrote a Pooh-themed TTRPG where you play toys brought to life by your child's imagination.

Ok, this is... this is just arfully delicious. I didn't expect political ads to be funny, but now you've gone and raised my standards.

After a career as a private sector researcher, I can report that it's not very different from this. Substitute "management" for "departments", and that's about it.

You know, the thing is, I had drafted this piece a month ago, and then never published it, because I thought maybe it was too mean.

Today's blog post: Autumnal beauty in New England, beyond leaves: cranberry harvests! Also, the cats attempt to confer, consult, and otherwise hob-knob with wild turkeys about their holiday plans. Without noticeable success. www.someweekendreading.blog/beautiful-cr...

When Ukraine destroys Russian data centers, hoards of aggressive right-wing bots disappear & the internet becomes friendlier. So much of politics is driven by the internet & so much of the internet is driven by Russians who want to hurt us. Shouldn’t we do something about that, given that we know it

Can confirm: this is indeed the New England vibe going into the midterms.

Today's blog post: We donated blood to what is, apparently, the Very Model of a Modern Pirate Bloodmobile. www.someweekendreading.blog/blood-pirates/

I hate when I plan a conversation in my head but the other person doesn’t follow the script

Ils étaient mi-cerf mi-escargot, et re mi-cerf derrière

We wanted to understand the AI proof of Hilbert’s Tenth Problem over the rationals. So we talked to three unvaccinated UFC fans at an Arby’s in Scranton.

Being capable of imagining a better world is the first step towards making one. We have to be willing to at least *imagine* making things better.

"Ohhhh nooo! Our 'AI' 'Agent' 'went rogue' and deleted all the student loan records and paid off every remaining tuition acount by draining football coaches' salaries! Ohhhh noooooooo!"

Today's blog post: I voted in the US midterms & verified my ballot was received/accepted/queued for counting. Also a quick review of 9 Massachusetts ballot questions & a word of advice to the DSA about getting their guides out faster for early voters. www.someweekendreading.blog/voted-2026-m...