My first Big Board for the 2016 draft (assembled with an assist from Eric Longenhagen) went up for Insiders this week. I’ll have my 2006 redraft piece up Monday, and then my first mock (as in, an actual first-round projection) on Wednesday.
I also wrote a free news item on MLB’s investigation of the Red Sox’s July 2nd signings, and held my regular Klawchat on Thursday.
- The Harvard Public Health Review published an editorial that made a clear, rational call for the Rio Olympics to be moved or cancelled due to the Zika outbreak. This virus is no joke, and I have to wonder if we might have stopped or slowed it had we taken various other mosquito-borne illnesses (malaria, dengue) that primarily affect poorer countries more seriously.
- Ronan Farrow’s op ed on his father, Woody Allen, and the free pass the director gets on his child molestation allegations is a must-read for so many reasons. I particularly hope reporters interviewing the stars of Cafe Society ask one simple question: Why would you work with a man who stands accused of molesting his daughter?
- If someone overdoses on drugs given to him/her by a friend, is the friend guilty of murder? Even if you favor decriminalization of drug use (as I do), this question isn’t so easy.
- Don’t be shocked, but quack doctors in California, led by Dr. Bob Sears, are selling medical exemptions to the state’s tougher childhood vaccination law. The only real solution is to flood the state medical board – which, as the article states, is generally worthless – with complaints and hope they do something.
- Ontario has it right: Parents who refuse to get their kids vaccinated may be forced to take a class on the science of immunization. Good. Let’s do it here, in every state.
- Zika is coming, and it’s going to hit states in the deep south – states that have done their best to circumvent Roe v Wade and limit abortion rights – the hardest.
- Difficult longread of the week: The Boston Globe‘s Spotlight team looks at sexual abuse and cover-ups in New England boarding schools.
- Why is the Washington Post‘s science section touting the pseudoscience of acupuncture?
- Speaking of junk science, Louisiana is all in, pushing the state’s Health Department to study the “abortion reversal” nonsense. It doesn’t work, it’s dangerous, and most of all, it’s more men legislating what women can do with their bodies.
- Vox dives deep on the multitude of studies that contradict the conventional wisdom that you can lose weight by exercising. Note that it’s complicated, like science often is.
- How oregano may help reduce cow belches and fight climate change.
- Two silly stories from England: A British couple were told to restrain their cat by the Royal Mail because he’s grabbing the mail when the postman pushes it through their mail slot. Also, a different couple got a request for a larger wedding gift than the £100 check they gave in an email after the event.
- The New Yorker takes a somewhat serious look at how Michael Jordan became fodder for a mocking meme.
- Tweet of the week:
Um … so, a couple of things … https://t.co/S4mZqO3DnG
— Michael Cohen (@speechboy71) May 10, 2016
which referred to this quote:
.@HeidiSCruz compares her husband's journey to slavery: "It took 25 years to defeat slavery. That is a lot longer than four years."
— Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) May 10, 2016