{"id":6024,"date":"2017-10-07T10:52:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T14:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=6024"},"modified":"2017-10-07T10:52:31","modified_gmt":"2017-10-07T14:52:31","slug":"stick-to-baseball-10717","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/07\/stick-to-baseball-10717\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 10\/7\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My lone Insider piece this week looked at <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2fGFaE0\" target=\"_blank\">the top under-25 players on playoff rosters<\/a>, so of course someone complained that I&#8217;d left Manny Machado off the list. I also held a <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2y2ml8B\" target=\"_blank\">Klawchat<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Next Saturday, October 14th, I&#8217;ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.changinghands.com\/event\/october2017\/keith-law-smart-baseball\" target=\"_blank\">at Changing Hands in Phoenix<\/a>, talking about and signing copies of <em>Smart Baseball<\/em>, starting at 2 pm ET. This Changing Hands location serves beer and wine, which may help make me more interesting.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This BBC piece on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/resources\/idt-sh\/the_daydream_that_never_stops\" target=\"_blank\">a young adult who daydreams constantly<\/a>, a habit that may be a disorder called maladaptive daydreaming, was the best thing I read this week.<\/li>\n<li>Runner-up: An Eater piece titled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eater.com\/platform\/amp\/2017\/10\/3\/16395312\/olive-garden-review\" target=\"_blank\">Christ in the Garden of Endless Breadsticks<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>LA Times<\/em> ran a six-part series <a href=\"http:\/\/beta.latimes.com\/local\/la-me-dirty-john-one-20171001-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">on a con man who romanced women by pretending to be a doctor<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A woman whose fetus had a malignant tumor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/23-week-abortion\" target=\"_blank\">describes having an abortion at 23 weeks<\/a> and why Republican attempts to ban such procedures are cruel. <\/li>\n<li>The Trump Administration <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/blogs\/blog-briefing-room\/353685-trump-admin-denied-puerto-rico-request-to-let-hurricane-victims-use\" target=\"_blank\">is refusing to let Puerto Ricans use food stamps to buy hot meals<\/a> even though electricity and fuel are scarce on the island. But hey, they have those paper towels.<\/li>\n<li>Trump&#8217;s pick for an EPA position overseeing chemical safety <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/10\/03\/epa-nominee-michael-dourson-toxic-chemicals\/\" target=\"_blank\">has previously argued that kids are less sensitive to toxins<\/a> than adults (this is not true, by the way). Dourson defended himself at a confirmation hearing as &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/trump-epa-pick-defends-his-views-sound-science-n807681\" target=\"_blank\">very science<\/a>.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Kris Kobach <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/kris-kobach-nvra_us_598dcd41e4b08a247273eb29?uh\" target=\"_blank\">is trying to weaken key federal voter rights protections<\/a>, part of his bogus &#8220;voter fraud&#8221; effort that continues despite the lack of any evidence of voter fraud occurring in recent elections.<\/li>\n<li>Senator John Thune (R) of South Dakota <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rawstory.com\/2017\/10\/sen-john-thune-blames-shooting-victims-for-failing-to-take-precautions-and-get-small-to-avoid-gunfire\/\" target=\"_blank\">blamed the Las Vegas shooting victims for failing to &#8220;get small&#8221;<\/a> when the gunfire began. He&#8217;ll win reelection handily.<\/li>\n<li>Harvey Weinstein <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/05\/us\/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html?_r=1\" target=\"_blank\">is a sexual predator<\/a> who has abused his power in the movie industry to harass young women and worse. I would like to see the industry turn its back on him, but given their recent history, I doubt that&#8217;ll happen. The <em>New York Times<\/em> has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/06\/opinion\/harvey-weinstein-democrats.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">calling on Democrats to cut ties with him<\/a>, but it seems like <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/campaign\/354310-democrats-rush-to-cut-ties-with-harvey-weinstein\" target=\"_blank\">that&#8217;s already starting<\/a>, just nowhere near fast enough.<\/li>\n<li>Sweden&#8217;s economy has more restrictions and higher tax rates than that of the United States and most other European nations, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/business\/archive\/2017\/09\/sweden-startups\/541413\/\" target=\"_blank\">so why does Sweden have so many startups<\/a>? The answers hinge largely on how laissez-faire you like your capitalism. There are good lessons here for when we have adult supervision in the United States again.<\/li>\n<li>This year&#8217;s Nobel Prize in Physics went to three scientists for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-41476648\" target=\"_blank\">the 2015 discovery of evidence of gravitational waves<\/a> as predicted a century ago by Albert Einstein.\n<li>The Red Cross stands accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/texas-official-after-harvey-the-red-cross-was-not-there\" target=\"_blank\">failing to deliver aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey<\/a> despite a massive fundraising effort after the storm.<\/li>\n<li>Contrary to popular belief, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/surprisingly-tropical-forests-are-not-a-carbon-sink\/\" target=\"_blank\">tropical forests add CO2 to the atmosphere, rather than trapping it<\/a>. Of course, it&#8217;s because of what we&#8217;ve done to those forests.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Guardian<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2017\/sep\/26\/this-island-is-not-for-sale-how-eigg-fought-back\" target=\"_blank\">how the residents of the Scottish island of Eigg bought their own island<\/a> back after years of private ownership.<\/li>\n<li>Splinter listed <a href=\"https:\/\/splinternews.com\/every-member-of-congress-who-took-money-from-the-nra-an-1819059582\" target=\"_blank\">every member of Congress who took money from the NRA and then tweeted that &#8220;thoughts and prayers&#8221; bullshit<\/a> after the massacre in Vegas.<\/li>\n<li>American fast-food outlets like KFC may be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/02\/health\/ghana-kfc-obesity.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">contributing to the rise in obesity in African nations<\/a> like Ghana, according to this <em>NY Times<\/em> report.<\/li>\n<li>Modern humans of non-African descent <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/health-shots\/2017\/10\/05\/555592707\/neanderthal-genes-help-shape-how-many-modern-humans-look\" target=\"_blank\">may owe some of our looks from Neanderthal DNA<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><em>The Stranger<\/em>&#8216;s David Lewis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thestranger.com\/news\/2017\/10\/04\/25451102\/we-snuck-into-seattles-super-secret-white-nationalist-convention\" target=\"_blank\">posted as a white nationalist and attended a Seattle neo-Nazi convention<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The British pharmacy chain Superdrug is under fire for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/lifestyle\/health\/wont-uks-leading-homeopathic-firm-11207244.amp\" target=\"_blank\">selling homeopathic products that don&#8217;t work<\/a>. The firm that manufactures them won&#8217;t back up claims of efficacy, probably because homeopathy is bullshit.<\/li>\n<li>A Detroit mother <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/to-your-health\/wp\/2017\/10\/04\/a-mother-refused-to-follow-a-court-order-to-vaccinate-her-son-now-shes-going-to-jail\/?utm_term=.39520b4f37ba\" target=\"_blank\">is going to jail for violating a court order to vaccinate her son<\/a>, an order to which she had previously agreed. This is more a question of custody and family law than of science, but notable because she trots out the &#8220;able to make medical choices for my child&#8221; canard. Courts have ruled repeatedly that parents cannot deny medical care to their children, and have ruled that governments can require or, in case of epidemic, force vaccinations over parental refusals.<\/li>\n<li>A small biotech company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/s\/609080\/gm-apples-that-dont-brown-to-reach-us-shelves-this-fall\/\" target=\"_blank\">plans to introduce apples that don&#8217;t brown<\/a>, but won&#8217;t specifically label them as &#8220;genetically modified&#8221; for fear of scaring off consumers. I&#8217;ve generally favored labeling GMOs because consumers do have the right to know what they&#8217;re buying, even if their choices are dumb, but this speaks to the rising science-phobia and anti-intellectualism across our culture.<\/li>\n<li>A recent study by the National Soil Project found that <a href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2017\/09\/11\/new-study-shows-organic-farming-traps-carbon-in-soil-to-combat-climate-change\/\" target=\"_blank\">soils from organic farms sequester 26% more carbon<\/a> than those from conventional farms. If you have journal access, you can <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0065211317300676?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\">read the original paper here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My lone Insider piece this week looked at the top under-25 players on playoff rosters, so of course someone complained that I&#8217;d left Manny Machado off the list. I also held a Klawchat on Thursday. Next Saturday, October 14th, I&#8217;ll be at Changing Hands in Phoenix, talking about and signing copies of Smart Baseball, starting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[828,190,776,870,940,807],"class_list":["post-6024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-change","tag-links","tag-physics","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-the-swamp","tag-vaccines","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6025,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6024\/revisions\/6025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}