{"id":6159,"date":"2017-11-18T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-11-18T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=6159"},"modified":"2017-11-17T22:33:19","modified_gmt":"2017-11-18T03:33:19","slug":"stick-to-baseball-11-17-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/18\/stick-to-baseball-11-17-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 11\/17\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I had one Insider column this week, on Friday, looking at <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2ySvzlO\" target=\"_blank\">a few free agents who might sort of possibly perhaps be bargains<\/a> this offseason. I also held a <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2hyp00H\" target=\"_blank\">Klawchat<\/a> on Thursday; that will be the last chat until after Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re at PAX Unplugged in Philly this weekend and have a copy of <em><a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2foenM8\" target=\"_blank\">Smart Baseball<\/a><\/em>, I&#8217;ll be signing on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm.<\/p>\n<p>Feel free to sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/tinyletter.com\/keithlaw\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">my free email newsletter<\/a>, which I send out &#8230; I guess whenever I feel like it. I aim for once a week, although I&#8217;ve gone as long as two weeks between issues when I haven&#8217;t had much to say. You can see past issues at that link.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Longreads: The Daily Beast on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/green-beret-discovered-seals-illicit-cash-then-he-was-killed\" target=\"_blank\">the murder of a Navy SEAL by two of his comrades<\/a> in Mali after the victim realized his eventual killers were stealing cash.<\/li>\n<li>I didn&#8217;t realize that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2017\/12\/second-life-leslie-jamison\/544149\/\" target=\"_blank\">Second Life still exists, with a small but loyal user base<\/a>. I tried it once for maybe an hour and gave up. I found it both annoying and hard to use.<\/li>\n<li><em>Texas Monthly<\/em> profiles <a href=\"https:\/\/features.texasmonthly.com\/editorial\/the-convert\/\" target=\"_blank\">Tania Joya, the ex-wife of a Texas man who became a Daesh fighter and propagandist<\/a>. She&#8217;s now back in the US after a hellish experience in Syria with her then husband and their three kids.<\/li>\n<li><em>WIRED<\/em> examines <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/how-one-womans-digital-life-was-weaponized-against-her\" target=\"_blank\">a long-running case of digital harassment<\/a> that nearly ruined the victim&#8217;s life and still hasn&#8217;t quite ended despite a seven-figure civil judgment.<\/li>\n<li>Also from the <em>Atlantic<\/em>, a consistent producer of great longreads, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2017\/12\/the-making-of-an-american-nazi\/544119\/\" target=\"_blank\">the search for the origins of racist troll Andrew Anglin<\/a>, who runs a popular neo-Nazi website and actively encourages the doxing and threatening of his critics.<\/li>\n<li>Michael Lewis looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2017\/11\/usda-food-stamps-school-lunch-trump-administration\/amp\" target=\"_blank\">Trump&#8217;s dismantling of the USDA from the inside<\/a> in a long piece for <em>Vanity Fair<\/em>. The process here is inexcusable, but the USDA has not been very good at many of its responsibilities, including policing safety in our food supply.<\/li>\n<li>A former lobbyist for the pesticide industry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/a-wide-open-door-for-pesticide-lobbyists-at-agriculture-department\" target=\"_blank\">is at the Department of Agriculture and fighting to deregulate these chemicals<\/a>, granting wide and possibly unethical access to her former colleagues on the industry side. It may not be safe to go back in the water.<\/li>\n<li>Author Rebecca Traister says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecut.com\/2017\/11\/rebecca-traister-on-the-post-weinstein-reckoning.html\" target=\"_blank\">we are all implicated in the current reckoning on sexual abusers<\/a>, observing how we still worry for the fates of the men accused more than the women they victimized.<\/li>\n<li>In my review of <em>City of Ghosts<\/em>, I mentioned the liberation of Raqqa last month. Well, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/resources\/idt-sh\/raqqas_dirty_secret\" target=\"_blank\">it turns out the &#8220;liberation&#8221; involved buying off Daesh fighters<\/a>, bribing them and letting them leave the city safely.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>New Yorker<\/em> looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/culture\/culture-desk\/the-story-behind-the-unjust-shutdown-of-gothamist-and-dnainfo?mbid=social_twitter\" target=\"_blank\">the bullying tactics behind the shutdown of DNAinfo and Gothamist<\/a> by Joe Ricketts, who opposed the writers&#8217; desire to unionize.<\/li>\n<li>The Colombian soda industry, with help from the country&#8217;s government, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/13\/health\/colombia-soda-tax-obesity.html\" target=\"_blank\">silenced a consumer group that was raising awareness of obesity<\/a>, fighting for a tax on the sodas and running ads linking them to obesity. I am not a fan of sugar taxes, but this is beyond heavyhanded for a country that is trying to present itself to the world as a functioning, modern democracy.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Kansas City Star<\/em> has been doing important investigative work on malfeasance in Governor Brownback&#8217;s administration, with this latest piece <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kansascity.com\/news\/politics-government\/article184179651.html\" target=\"_blank\">asking why the government is blocking even basic transparency with constituents<\/a>. There&#8217;s no good reason for any government to hide this kind of information from voters. There are many bad ones.<\/li>\n<li>American oil and gas companies <a href=\"https:\/\/thinkprogress.org\/trump-anti-corruption-measures\/\" target=\"_blank\">no longer have to disclose how much money they&#8217;ve given to foreign governments<\/a>, opening the door to unfettered, unreported bribery.<\/li>\n<li>Actress Mara Wilson, who played the title character in <em>Matilda<\/em>, wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elle.com\/culture\/career-politics\/a13532407\/dont-sexualize-young-girls\/\" target=\"_blank\">about how society sexualizes young girls<\/a>, as she found out as a prepubescent movie star.<\/li>\n<li>With all due respect to Blake Shelton, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2017\/11\/15\/fox-news-shepherd-smith-debunks-his-networks-hillary-clinton-scandal-story-infuriates-viewers\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shepherd Smith became the sexiest man alive<\/a> this week.<\/li>\n<li>I included a post last week about disturbing Youtube videos aimed at kids; the site <a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2017\/11\/10\/disturbing-youtube-videos-directed-at-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\">responded quickly and plans to age-restrict such content<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>There&#8217;s a beautiful minor-league ballpark in Camden, New Jersey, just over the bridge from Philly, without a tenant, and it might be torn down. NJ.com looks at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nj.com\/news\/index.ssf\/2017\/11\/whoosh_how_35_million_from_taxpayer_flushed_with_d.html\" target=\"_blank\">how the $35 million taxpayer expense has gone for naught<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Bruce Arthur wrote about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/sports\/baseball\/2017\/11\/13\/anthopoulos-lands-on-his-feet-in-atlanta-get-over-it-jays-fans-arthur.html\" target=\"_blank\">how Jays fans need to &#8220;get over&#8221; the loss of Alex Anthopoulos<\/a>, who exit from Toronto was mishandled by the team&#8217;s ownership.<\/li>\n<li>The faculty at my alma mater <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2017\/11\/8\/lewis-motion-defeated\/\" target=\"_blank\">rejected a motion that would have allowed single-gender social groups<\/a> at the school. Harvard does not have fraternities and sororities, but has long-standing, off-campus &#8220;finals clubs&#8221; that serve a similar purpose. (I was not a member of one and barely even saw evidence of their existence while there.)<\/li>\n<li>Astronomers found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/science-environment-41995572\" target=\"_blank\">a planet that might be suitable for life just 11 light-years away from us<\/a>. The EPA responded by issuing blanket permits for drilling and mining for the new body.<\/li>\n<li>The abusive parents in Canada who were convicted of failing to get medical help when their toddler had meningitis \u2013 which killed him \u2013 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/calgary\/david-collet-stephan-meningitis-death-son-failure-provide-necessaries-facebook-1.4404690\" target=\"_blank\">still don&#8217;t get it and are ranting about the justice system<\/a>. They&#8217;re anti-vax, anti-science people who are now expecting another child whom they won&#8217;t vaccinate or provide with modern medicine.<\/li>\n<li>A stem-cell researcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/speaking-of-science\/wp\/2017\/06\/20\/he-broke-ground-in-stem-cell-research-now-hes-running-for-congress\/?utm_term=.2700bef13bb3\" target=\"_blank\">hopes to run against Republican Dana Rohrabacher<\/a> for California&#8217;s 48th Congressional district. <\/li>\n<li>A Trump judicial nominee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/zoetillman\/a-trump-judicial-nominee-appears-to-have-written-about?utm_term=.bxQqZAJjN8#.msomZplRXx\" target=\"_blank\">wrote about politics on a sports site and didn&#8217;t disclose it<\/a>. That&#8217;s the same guy I mentioned last week, whom the ABA rated &#8220;not qualified&#8221; for the bench.<\/li>\n<li>I saved a slew of links on the Alabama special election, but it&#8217;s just been so well-covered elsewhere that I&#8217;ll only include two here: conservative columnist George Will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/roy-moore-is-an-embarrassment-doug-jones-deserves-to-win\/2017\/11\/13\/0dcb24e2-c89b-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.7104870d67eb\" target=\"_blank\">endorses Doug Jones and calls Roy Moore &#8220;an embarrassment,&#8221;<\/a> and David French, also a conservative, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/453663\/no-roy-moore-not-entitled-due-process-we-believe-claims-against-him\" target=\"_blank\">explains why &#8220;due process&#8221; is not a reasonable standard when considering candidates<\/a>. Also, there&#8217;s a site that <a href=\"https:\/\/whosaysnomoore.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">shows which politicians have supported, renounced, or waffled on Moore<\/a> since the revelations of his sexual assaults against young women appeared.<\/li>\n<li>And by the way, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kabc.com\/2017\/11\/16\/leeann-tweeden-on-senator-al-franken\/\" target=\"_blank\">Al Franken groped a woman and otherwise forced his attentions on her in 2006<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/16\/opinion\/al-franken-sexual-harassment.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">he should resign<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Atlantic<\/em> also published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/politics\/archive\/2017\/11\/the-secret-correspondence-between-donald-trump-jr-and-wikileaks\/545738\/\" target=\"_blank\">an expose on the correspondence between Donald Trump, Jr., and Wikileaks<\/a> during the 2016 campaign.<\/li>\n<li>FEMA contracted with a tiny Georgia company <a href=\"http:\/\/www.myajc.com\/news\/national\/puerto-rico-food-aid-from-contractor-sparks-outrage\/5JeiNwTZn9bxFW0SLGmtpI\/\" target=\"_blank\">to send &#8220;meals&#8221; of junk food to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>The FDA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statnews.com\/2017\/11\/14\/kratom-fda-warning\/\" target=\"_blank\">issued a warning about herbal supplement kratom<\/a>, which is used as a pain treatment and as a possible way to fight opiate addiction, but which is unregulated and can thus be laced or tainted with unlisted, toxic ingredients.<\/li>\n<li>TLC has given a forum <a href=\"https:\/\/respectfulinsolence.com\/2017\/11\/15\/charlie-goldsmith-a-new-celebrity-quack\/\" target=\"_blank\">to a quack healer who claims he can cure infections and chronic diseases<\/a> through energy healing.<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;ve never been a Brand New fan, but I know many of you are; their lead singer <a href=\"https:\/\/pitchfork.com\/news\/two-alleged-victims-of-brand-news-jesse-lacey-detail-years-of-sexual-exploitation-of-minors\/\" target=\"_blank\">stands accused of inappropriate contact with minors<\/a>, including soliciting nudes.<\/li>\n<li>Ars Technica looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.co.uk\/gaming\/2017\/11\/essen-2017-best-board-games-from-the-biggest-board-game-convention-2\/\" target=\"_blank\">some of the hottest new games from Essen SPIEL 2017<\/a>, the world&#8217;s biggest boardgame convention, with over 1000 new titles introduced there.\n<\/li>\n<li>Handelabra Games is currently running <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/handelabra\/one-deck-dungeon-digital-tabletop-game\" target=\"_blank\">a Kickstarter for a Steam adaptation of One Deck Dungeon<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I had one Insider column this week, on Friday, looking at a few free agents who might sort of possibly perhaps be bargains this offseason. I also held a Klawchat on Thursday; that will be the last chat until after Thanksgiving. If you&#8217;re at PAX Unplugged in Philly this weekend and have a copy of [&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":[964,965,49,939,190,870,940,807],"class_list":["post-6159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alabama","tag-astronomy","tag-baseball","tag-harvard","tag-links","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\/6159","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=6159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6160,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions\/6160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}