{"id":6120,"date":"2017-11-04T11:15:44","date_gmt":"2017-11-04T15:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=6120"},"modified":"2017-11-04T11:15:44","modified_gmt":"2017-11-04T15:15:44","slug":"stick-to-baseball-11417-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/04\/stick-to-baseball-11417-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 11\/4\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My one ESPN piece this week is not Insider: I spoke to Jharel Cotton and Jabari Blash <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2yvx2C4\" target=\"_blank\">about the hurricane damage and recovery efforts in their home territory, the US Virgin Islands<\/a>. It&#8217;s bad, yet it&#8217;s getting virtually none of the attention here that Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico are getting. If you&#8217;d like to help, you can donate to the <a href=\"http:\/\/cfvi.net\/donate\/donate.php\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/gyp4sw-hurricane-irma-relief-fund\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">St John Rescue<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/frcusvi.org\/donate\/frc-building-relief\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Family Resource Center<\/a>, all of which are heavily involved on the ground on the islands.<\/p>\n<p>I also held a <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2zqTf4x\" target=\"_blank\">Klawchat<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2foenM8\" target=\"_blank\">Smart Baseball<\/a><\/em> makes a great holiday gift, or at least I think it will, since this is actually the first holiday season since its publication. Also, please sign up for my <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\" target=\"_blank\">free email newsletter<\/a>, which is sort of weekly, and includes some mini-essays that don&#8217;t appear elsewhere plus links to all my writing.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Longreads first: The <em>Atlantic<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2017\/10\/when-kids-have-to-parent-their-siblings-it-affects-them-for-life\/543975\/\" target=\"_blank\">how children who have to parent younger siblings carry the effects into adulthood<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Also from the <em>Atlantic<\/em>, a writer went to live in a Norwegian town <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/health\/archive\/2015\/07\/the-norwegian-town-where-the-sun-doesnt-rise\/396746\/\" target=\"_blank\">that gets no sun for two months each winter yet has low rates of depression<\/a> despite the long darkness. <\/li>\n<li>ProPublica looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/inside-the-lefts-online-efforts-to-out-white-supremacists\" target=\"_blank\">leftists who work to dox neo-Nazis &#038; white supremacists<\/a>. Read it until the end.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Boston Globe<\/em> looks at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/sports\/patriots\/2017\/10\/29\/cte\/uDS1dj1CVuUzTDAsjosJ7J\/story.html\" target=\"_blank\">a number of former Patriots players now living with dementia<\/a> or who&#8217;ve died of CTE-related causes.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Guardian<\/em> examines <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2017\/oct\/06\/why-cant-we-cure-the-common-cold?CMP=share_btn_tw\" target=\"_blank\">the failed history and new potential for a vaccine against the common cold<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A ShareBlue reporter <a href=\"https:\/\/shareblue.com\/shareblue-media-reporter-violently-arrested-while-covering-gop-nominee-for-virginia-governor\/#.WfiXwk1K9IY.twitter\" target=\"_blank\">was violently arrested while asking a question of the GOP nominee for Virginia governor<\/a>. The Fairfax County police chief <a href=\"https:\/\/wtop.com\/fairfax-county\/2017\/11\/fairfax-co-police-chief-defends-officer-behavior-parade-arrest\/\" target=\"_blank\">has defended the officers&#8217; actions<\/a>, in part because the reporter violated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fairfaxcounty.gov\/courts\/gdc\/gdc-paylist.htm\" target=\"_blank\">the county law against swearing in public<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>A judge at Gitmo <a href=\"http:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/nation-world\/world\/americas\/guantanamo\/article182031196.html\" target=\"_blank\">sentenced a Marine general lawyer to 21 days in confinement for &#8220;disobeying&#8221; the judge&#8217;s orders<\/a>. What did the lawyer do? He excused three civilian lawyers from the case on ethical grounds. <\/li>\n<li>The Trump Administration has shelved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/10\/28\/opinion\/sunday\/chlorpyrifos-dow-environmental-protection-agency.html?smid=tw-share&#038;_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">a planned ban on the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos<\/a>, an organophosphate that <a href=\"https:\/\/journalistsresource.org\/studies\/society\/public-health\/chlorpyrifos-insecticide-brain-development-children-epa\" target=\"_blank\">is already banned for residential use<\/a> but is persistent enough in the environment that it&#8217;s found in most of our bodies. There are multiple studies showing potential evidence of harm from chlorpyrifos, including one that shows a possible link to autism.<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;d love the opinions of the scientists in the audience on this one: <a href=\"http:\/\/nautil.us\/issue\/53\/monsters\/is-the-modern-mass-extinction-overrated\" target=\"_blank\">is fear of a sixth mass extinction overrated<\/a>? I understand what the scientist in question is saying \u2013 there will be new speciation \u2013 but I can&#8217;t see how what we gain could possibly make up what we&#8217;ll lose.<\/li>\n<li>Another piece that left me with questions: Is <a href=\"https:\/\/geneticliteracyproject.org\/2017\/10\/27\/organic-farming-sustainable-5-carbon-footprint-challenges\/\" target=\"_blank\">organic farming actually worse for climate change<\/a>? <\/li>\n<li>Thirteen federal agencies issued a joint report on Friday, saying that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/03\/climate\/us-climate-report.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">the activities of man are causing climate change<\/a>. You&#8217;d like to think that this would be the end of this stupid, brainless debate, but we all know it&#8217;s not.<\/li>\n<li>This came after President Trump nominated a thoroughly unqualified candidate to be the USDA&#8217;s top scientist, Sam Clovis, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/energy-environment\/wp\/2017\/11\/02\/sam-clovis-trumps-nominee-for-usdas-top-scientist-confirms-he-has-no-hard-science-credentials\/?utm_term=.8b2cd5b07476\" target=\"_blank\">admitted he lacked any credentials and then withdrew<\/a> after his name appeared in the probe into the Trump campaign&#8217;s ties to Russia.<\/li>\n<li>He was hardly alone; Trump&#8217;s pick to lead NASA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2017\/10\/26\/trump-pick-for-nasa-chief-doesnt-understand-science\/#.WfnNhLy-UiM.twitter\" target=\"_blank\">doesn&#8217;t understand how science works<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Yet another junk science article appeared, claiming a link between mercury (in processed foods this time) and autism, even though <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.scientificamerican.com\/observations\/mercury-and-autism-enough-already\/\" target=\"_blank\">all the evidence says there is no link whatsoever<\/a> between the two.<\/li>\n<li>Doctors and scientists in New Zealand <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/national\/health\/98414734\/antivaxxers-delusional-and-dangerous\" target=\"_blank\">blame Andrew Wakefield&#8217;s bullshit documentary for declining vaccination rates<\/a>. They should take a tip from Australia and stop allowing vaccine deniers into the country.<\/li>\n<li>Another great podcast episode from The Hidden Brain, on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2017\/10\/30\/559996276\/the-trick-to-surviving-a-high-stakes-high-pressure-job-try-a-checklist\" target=\"_blank\">the power of checklists<\/a>, featuring Dr. Atul Gawande, author of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/1knbq7B\" target=\"_blank\">The Checklist Manifesto<\/a><\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>LawFareBlog breaks down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawfareblog.com\/unpacking-uranium-one-hype-and-law\" target=\"_blank\">the so-called Uranium One scandal<\/a>, separating the actual legal questions from the hype being sowed by you-know-who.<\/li>\n<li>This story hasn&#8217;t seen much ink here in the U.S., but the <em>Guardian<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2017\/oct\/28\/trump-assange-bannon-farage-bound-together-in-unholy-alliance\" target=\"_blank\">how a British analytics firm connects Trump, Assange, Bannon, and Farage<\/a>. The company may have made an &#8220;impermissible donation of services&#8221; to Farage&#8217;s Leave (&#8220;Brexit&#8221;) campaign.<\/li>\n<li>Three Republican Congressmen have introduced a bill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/gop-congressmen-introduce-bill-to-remove-mueller-from-russia-probe\" target=\"_blank\">demanding that Robert Mueller recuse himself from the Russia probe<\/a>, based on a specious argument around that Uranium One story.<\/li>\n<li>Vox asks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/policy-and-politics\/2017\/11\/2\/16588964\/america-epistemic-crisis\" target=\"_blank\">what if Mueller proves collusion and the right just ignores it<\/a>?<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em> editorial page&#8217;s coordinated attacks on Mueller <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2017\/11\/the-wall-street-journal-editorial-board-coverage-of-mueller\" target=\"_blank\">have led to internal divisions at the paper<\/a>, which shares a parent with Fox News, and may hasten the ongoing exodus of top journalists. It&#8217;s a shame; I remember when the <em>WSJ<\/em>&#8216;s editorial page was home to some of the best op eds in American journalism.<\/li>\n<li>The Republicans&#8217; tax bill has gotten poor reviews from many economists and many individual sectors of the economy. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/Republican-Tax-Proposal-Gets\/241662\" target=\"_blank\">American higher education officials oppose it<\/a>, as the bill would make attending college and graduate school more expensive while reducing charitable donations. College is too expensive as it is, but the deductions they&#8217;re targeting here may only be making it more expensive, just like student loans do, by allowing colleges to raise tuition. <\/li>\n<li>George Will writes how the tax proposal <a href=https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/so-republicans-agree-with-democrats-on-taxes-after-all\/2017\/11\/01\/6a72d01e-bf22-11e7-97d9-bdab5a0ab381_story.html?tid=ss_tw&#038;utm_term=.56d266baac84\" target=\"_blank\">contradicts the Republicans&#8217; self-proclaimed goals of fiscal responsibility<\/a>. Their &#8220;reform&#8221; proposal is anything but, and won&#8217;t do anything to reduce deficits or the debt.<\/li>\n<li>The BBC&#8217;s America First series looks at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/world-us-canada-41754308\/the-americans-who-can-t-read\" target=\"_blank\">the American adults who can&#8217;t read<\/a> (video).<\/li>\n<li>The <em>LA Times<\/em> reported that Walt Disney <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment\/la-et-holiday-movie-preview-2017-times-note-on-disney-1509668978-htmlstory.html\" target=\"_blank\">won&#8217;t give it advance screenings of holiday movies<\/a> in response to a piece the newspaper ran covering <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/projects\/la-fi-disney-anaheim-deals\/\" target=\"_blank\">the company&#8217;s relationship with the city of Anaheim<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Twitter unveiled some new policies on removing tweets or suspending users; while most of the focus was on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.recode.net\/2017\/10\/17\/16492234\/twitter-user-guidelines-update-nudity-harassment\" target=\"_blank\">the policy covering non-consensual nudity<\/a>, it covers quite a bit more, including sexual harassment on the site, and at least hints at a crackdown on hate tweets and hate groups there.<\/li>\n<li>Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thetwo-way\/2017\/11\/03\/561830256\/billionaire-owner-shuts-down-dnainfo-gothamist-sites-a-week-after-workers-unioni\" target=\"_blank\">shut down a set of news sites he owned after the writers voted to unionize<\/a>. <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nj.com\/middlesex\/index.ssf\/2017\/11\/racist_campaign_posctards_being_mailed_in_edison.html\" target=\"_blank\">Racist flyers accusing immigrants of &#8220;taking over&#8221; the New Jersey town of Edison<\/a> appeared in voters&#8217; mailboxes this past week. The fliers don&#8217;t indicate who funded them, which violates state election law.<\/li>\n<li>A judge in Mississippi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-watch\/wp\/2017\/10\/26\/mississippi-judge-resigns-after-barring-mother-from-seeing-newborn-because-of-unpaid-court-fees\/?tid=hybrid_mostsharedarticles_1_na&#038;utm_term=.221d7bf228f2\" target=\"_blank\">banned a mother from seeing her newborn because she couldn&#8217;t pay court fees<\/a>. Although the judge resigned from the family court where he made the ruling, he still serves on the Rankin County court, where all four justices are white men.<\/li>\n<li>The liberal Center for American Progress <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rob_bennett\/status\/926253886989651969\" target=\"_blank\">made word clouds for Trump&#8217;s responses to terrorist attacks<\/a>, split by the races of the attackers.<\/li>\n<li><A href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2017\/11\/why-liberty-university-banned-an-anti-trump-christian-author-from-campus\/544571\/\" target=\"_blank\">Liberty University kicked an anti-Trump Christian author off campus<\/a>, with armed officers removing him and warning him he&#8217;d be trespassing if he set foot on the campus again.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>New York Times<\/em>&#8216; Health section looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/10\/30\/health\/men-rape-sexual-assault.html?smid=tw-share&#038;_r=1\" target=\"_blank\">what men who rape or sexually assault women have in common<\/a>, including research done by asking such men directly about their crimes.<\/li>\n<li>A Twitter troll who spouted pro-Trump nonsense <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/jenna-abrams-russias-clown-troll-princess-duped-the-mainstream-media-and-the-world\" target=\"_blank\">was actually a fabrication of the Russian government&#8217;s &#8216;troll farm&#8217;<\/a>, yet was quoted widely in American and British news outlets.<\/li>\n<li>Okra, a consistent recommendation on my Arizona dining guides, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.phoenixnewtimes.com\/restaurants\/okra-italian-southern-hybrid-has-closed-phoenix-restaurant-9811265\" target=\"_blank\">has closed<\/a>, as one of the co-owners is moving to California. Crudo, Okra&#8217;s sister restaurant, remains open and under the reins of Chef Cullen Campbell.<\/li>\n<li>A Kickstarter for a new printing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/gbg\/folklore-the-affliction-2nd-printing?ref=328436&#038;token=71dea22d\" target=\"_blank\">the boardgame Folklore: The Affliction<\/a> blew past its $30,000 goal in the first week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My one ESPN piece this week is not Insider: I spoke to Jharel Cotton and Jabari Blash about the hurricane damage and recovery efforts in their home territory, the US Virgin Islands. It&#8217;s bad, yet it&#8217;s getting virtually none of the attention here that Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico are getting. If you&#8217;d like to [&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":[190,870],"class_list":["post-6120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-links","tag-stick-to-baseball","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120","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=6120"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6122,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6120\/revisions\/6122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}