{"id":6170,"date":"2017-11-25T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2017-11-25T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/?p=6170"},"modified":"2017-11-25T12:10:28","modified_gmt":"2017-11-25T17:10:28","slug":"stick-to-baseball-11-25-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/25\/stick-to-baseball-11-25-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Stick to baseball, 11\/25\/17."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The biggest piece I wrote this week was actually right here, the tenth annual <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2B0f4Vf\" target=\"_blank\">ranking of my top 100 boardgames<\/a>, including a list (at the bottom) of my favorite titles for two players. And you&#8217;ll see in the comments there are still plenty of good games out there I haven&#8217;t played.<\/p>\n<p>For Insiders, I <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2Al2inQ\" target=\"_blank\">broke down MLB&#8217;s penalties for Atlanta<\/a>, looking at the players set free and the impact of the league&#8217;s actions for the long term, and also looked at <a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2AnvRFt\" target=\"_blank\">how the top few free agents might end up overpaid<\/a> this offseason. My next scheduled piece will cover Shohei Otani and will run December 2nd, the day he hits the market for real, assuming there isn&#8217;t another roadblock between now and then.<\/p>\n<p>No Klawchat this week on account of the holiday. <\/p>\n<p>Buy <em><a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2zBGLra\" target=\"_blank\">Smart Baseball<\/a><\/em> for all your loved ones this holiday season! It makes a great gift. By which I mean it&#8217;s great for me when you give it as a gift.<\/p>\n<p>And now, the links&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Longreads first: The <em>New York Times<\/em> found that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/11\/16\/magazine\/uncounted-civilian-casualties-iraq-airstrikes.html?smid=tw-nytmag&#038;smtyp=cur\" target=\"_blank\">civilian casualties from the U.S. airstrikes against ISIS are much higher than reported<\/a>. I can&#8217;t shake the notion that the last fifteen-odd years of bombings, especially by drone, are merely incubating a new generation of potential terrorists who hate us.<\/li>\n<li>Buzzfeed blew the doors off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.buzzfeed.com\/paulmcleod\/she-complained-that-a-powerful-congressman-harassed-her?utm_term=.lmR9v1W8Q3#.ow6D7kK0Y5\" target=\"_blank\">the Congressional fund that pays off sexual harassment complaints against legislators<\/a> and certain other federal employees, with $17 million paid out over 264 complaints. There&#8217;s so much wrong here, including the allegations against Rep. John Conyers (who <a href=\"http:\/\/talkingpointsmemo.com\/livewire\/kathleen-rice-calls-on-conyers-to-resign\" target=\"_blank\">needs to resign immediately<\/a>), including the fact that taxpayers are covering this expense, and that settlements aren&#8217;t automatically made public. <\/li>\n<li>The <em>Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2017\/world\/north-korea-defectors\/?utm_term=.c3b06d15b111\" target=\"_blank\">interviewed 25 North Korean defectors about life under the current dictator, Kim Jong Un<\/a>, who has slightly liberalized the economy while further cracking down on any semblance of individual rights. The biggest takeaway for me: It&#8217;s no longer famine driving people to defect, but an increased awareness of the freedom of the world outside of North Korea&#8217;s borders.<\/li>\n<li>The <em>Guardian<\/em> has a long, entertaining, and wide-ranging look at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2017\/nov\/24\/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain\" target=\"_blank\">the British prepared sandwich industry<\/a>, which is a much bigger deal than I realized. The lack of time to eat a proper meal, however, is an issue here and in many other developed economies, even though it&#8217;s probably hurting our physical and mental health.<\/li>\n<li><em>Forbes<\/em>, that bastion of liberal economic thought, says the current GOP tax bill &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stancollender\/2017\/11\/19\/gop-tax-bill-is-the-end-of-all-economic-sanity-in-washington\/#4b184fe477ef\" target=\"_blank\">will be the start of a decades-long economic policy disaster unlike any other that has occurred in American history.<\/a>&#8221; I rarely discuss economic policy here, feeling rather unqualified to do so, but I will say that I think this bill is a poor facsimile of a failed macroeconomic policy proposal, trickle-down economics, that instead is merely a massive transfer of wealth to the highest income earners. I might actually benefit from the bill, depending on the fine print, but I thoroughly oppose it, because it will make so many people worse off and drag our country into a length economic malaise it will be tough to escape. (Also, tax breaks on private jets? What possible rationale is there for that?)<\/li>\n<li>The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center&#8217;s analysis <a href=\"http:\/\/www.taxpolicycenter.org\/sites\/default\/files\/publication\/148831\/2001605-distributional-analysis-of-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-as-passed-by-the-senate-finance-committee_1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">also shows the bulk of the benefits going to higher income brackets<\/a>, with the biggest gainers those in the 95th to 99th percentiles for income. <\/li>\n<li>Fake news in action: You&#8217;ll see many alt-right accounts (bots) and sites pushing the story of a Saudi princess whose tell-all interview with <em>Le Monde<\/em> revealed tales of orgies, white slavery, and other debauchery among the Saudi ruling class. The problem, according to <em>Le Monde<\/em>, is that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lemonde.fr\/les-decodeurs\/article\/2017\/11\/15\/la-fausse-interview-de-la-princesse-al-tawil-dans-le-monde_5215115_4355770.html\" target=\"_blank\">the interview never happened<\/a> (article in French). The fabrication is so pervasive that the esteemed French newspaper felt compelled to author a refutation, blaming the Iranian news service and a Sri Lankan paper for promulgating the lie.<\/li>\n<li>People with diabetes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/alex-azar-trumps-hhs-pick-has-already-been-a-disaster-for-people-with-diabetes\/\" target=\"_blank\">are dying because they can&#8217;t afford insulin, a situation created by the current nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar<\/a>. While Azar headed up Eli Lilly, he more than tripled the cost the company&#8217;s insulin product over ten years, even though the product&#8217;s patent expired. The company is also under investigation for price-fixing, and settled a set of cases over off-label marketing of its drug Zyprexa for over $1.4 billion.<\/li>\n<li>The Administration and the conservative wing of the Republican Party <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/conservatives-have-a-breathtaking-plan-for-trump-to-pack-the-courts\/2017\/11\/21\/b7ce90d4-ce43-11e7-9d3a-bcbe2af58c3a_story.html?utm_term=.0270662cd3fc\" target=\"_blank\">are trying to pack the courts with conservative judges<\/a>, a threat to civil liberties and more for decades, even after the current occupant of the White House is out.<\/li>\n<li>The Attorney General of New York says <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@AGSchneiderman\/an-open-letter-to-the-fcc-b867a763850a\" target=\"_blank\">the commenting process on net neutrality was compromised, and the FCC won&#8217;t provide the documents to help him investigate it<\/a>. One researcher claims <a href=\"https:\/\/hackernoon.com\/more-than-a-million-pro-repeal-net-neutrality-comments-were-likely-faked-e9f0e3ed36a6\" target=\"_blank\">over a million of the comments were fake<\/a>. It doesn&#8217;t really matter; Ajit Pai, the new FCC head, was going to axe net neutrality regardless of the public reaction. One of the minority Democrats on the FCC board wrote a piece <a href=\"http:\/\/beta.latimes.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/la-oe-rosenworcel-fcc-net-neutrality-repeal-20171122-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">imploring the public to keep the pressure on<\/a> by contacting other board members. We should all do this, but you&#8217;ll have to forgive my cynicism: if the three conservative board members can physically get to the vote on December 14th, net neutrality is dead.<\/li>\n<li>Media consolidation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.poynter.org\/news\/how-mega-media-deals-further-erode-myth-liberal-media\" target=\"_blank\">erodes the myth of &#8220;liberal&#8221; media<\/a> as large conglomerates pull major outlets to the right, according to Poynter.<\/li>\n<li>The Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-europe-42043910\" target=\"_blank\">has banned all gay assemblies in the capital, Ankara<\/a>, including forums, festivals, and film screenings, part of an ongoing crackdown on LGBT rights in the supposedly secular nation. Also, our current President loves Erdogan.<\/li>\n<li>Another tyrant, Robert Mugabe, has resigned after ruling Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. The problem is that his successor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/blog\/matabeleland-massacre-and-contemporary-zimbabwe\" target=\"_blank\">was implicated in one of Zimbabwe&#8217;s deadliest massacres<\/a>. The new boss is the same as the old boss.<\/li>\n<li>The hell is wrong with western Canada? One family of anti-science nutters lets their kid die of meningitis without seeking medical treatment, and they&#8217;re still raving about their rights. Now another mother <a href=\"http:\/\/fox17online.com\/2017\/11\/21\/mom-sentenced-to-prison-in-senseless-death-of-7-year-old-with-strep-throat\/\" target=\"_blank\">is going to jail for failing to get medical help for her son<\/a>, who had strep throat \u2013 easily treatable with antibiotics, as <em>Streptococcus<\/em> doesn&#8217;t readily develop resistance \u2013 and died after she treated it with bullshit. Yes, the story says &#8220;holistic remedies,&#8221; but there is no such thing, and the Tribune Media Wire author(s) behind the piece should be fired. Meanwhile, a &#8220;naturopathic doctor&#8221; (no such thing, folks) in Medicine Hat <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DrSchnieder\/status\/933875769276690432\" target=\"_blank\">is pushing the &#8220;sanitation and hygiene&#8221; crap<\/a> while ranting against vaccines on Twitter. I don&#8217;t know Canadian law, but if there&#8217;s a licensing board in Alberta, someone should ask them to strip his.<\/li>\n<li>Conservatives and the highly religious <a href=\"https:\/\/psmag.com\/social-justice\/conservatives-highly-religious-more-likely-to-endorse-rape-myths\" target=\"_blank\">are more likely to endorse myths about rape<\/a>, including victim-blaming, disbelieving accusers, or saying it&#8217;s only rape if the victim fought back. Pro tip: If your religion tells you that a woman can ask for rape, or that date rape is acceptable, then it&#8217;s time you found a new religion or none at all.<\/li>\n<li>The &#8220;Church&#8221; of Scientology <a href=\"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/nosacredcows\/2017\/11\/scientology-covering-up-danny-masterson-rapes\/\" target=\"_blank\">covered up the rape of one of its members by actor Danny Masterson<\/a>, telling her it wasn&#8217;t rape because they were in a relationship. I&#8217;d say this is yet another point in favor of stripping the cult of its tax-exempt status.<\/li>\n<li>I reviewed Ed Yong&#8217;s wonderful book <em><a href=\"http:\/\/klaw.me\/2nNb8jE\" target=\"_blank\">I Contain Multitudes<\/a><\/em>, about the microbiome in our ecosystem and all over our bodies, back in March. In a later chapter, he discusses the proposal to release male <em>Aedes albopictus<\/em> mosquitoes infected with a strain of the <em>Wolbachia pipientis<\/em> bacterium into the environment; when they mate, the eggs laid by the female mosquitoes won&#8217;t hatch because of the bacterial infection. Earlier this month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/us-government-approves-killer-mosquitoes-to-fight-disease-1.22959\" target=\"_blank\">the EPA approved a proposal to do just that<\/a> in 20 states and Washington DC. It could prove a game-changing advance in the fight against mosquito-borne diseases like yellow fever, Zika, dengue, and chikungunya. (Malaria is transmitted by a different genus of mosquito, <em>Anopheles<\/em>.)<\/li>\n<li>Coral researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/science\/archive\/2017\/11\/coral-scientists-coping-reefs-mental-health\/546440\/\" target=\"_blank\">are coping with the effects of watching the reefs they cover die out<\/a> as a result of ocean acidification and climate change.<\/li>\n<li>Three cups of coffee a day <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/health-42081278\" target=\"_blank\">may have health benefits<\/a>. I could confirm this, but I&#8217;d be in the bathroom all day long if I tried.<\/li>\n<li>If you know someone who&#8217;s both celiac and anti-GMO, ask them if they&#8217;d eat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/scientists-genetically-engineer-a-form-of-gluten-free-wheat\/\" target=\"_blank\">gluten-free flour made from genetically modified wheat<\/a> that can&#8217;t form the key proteins that appear to trigger celiac disease. The genetic modification comes via CRISPR rather than gene transfer from an unrelated species.<\/li>\n<li>I travel quite a bit every year, enough to get premium status on at least one airline, and I&#8217;ve begun carrying a refillable water bottle on every trip <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/20\/business\/water-bottle-airports-filling-stations.html?smid=tw-nytimesbusiness&#038;smtyp=cur&#038;_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">now that many airports have refilling stations of filtered tap water<\/a>, including the Philadelphia airport, which doesn&#8217;t have a ton to recommend it but does have a lot of these fountains. <\/li>\n<li>A leader of the Indian ruling party, as a bit of an overreaction to the forthcoming film <em>Padmavati<\/em>, has <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ibtimes.co.uk\/india-ruling-party-leader-offers-1-5m-reward-beheading-deepika-padukone-over-padmavati-row-1648153\" target=\"_blank\">offered a bounty for anyone who beheads the star actress and the film&#8217;s director<\/a>. <\/li>\n<li>The FBI and Department of Justice <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stltoday.com\/news\/local\/crime-and-courts\/fbi-justice-department-investigating-st-louis-police-conduct-during-protests\/article_dd3b76fb-8215-5e6e-b811-3aa0ac054040.html#utm_source=stltoday.com&#038;utm_campaign=BreakingNewsNewsletter&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_content=68BC7DBCB01BC824A070078C386CD0B87089CD8D\" target=\"_blank\">are investigating the St. Louis police force&#8217;s conduct during protests in September<\/a> after the acquittal of a white officer who killed an  unarmed black man in 2011. The police department is also under a temporary order blocking the use of chemical agents and dispersal orders, pending mediation.<\/li>\n<li>The Baseball Project is a supergroup comprising five well-known musicians who happen to be big baseball fans, including REM&#8217;s Peter Buck and Mike Mills and two former members of the Dream Syndicate. The fifth member, Scott McCaughey, had a significant stroke earlier this month, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/c3npfr-scott-mccaughey-medical-fund\" target=\"_blank\">there&#8217;s a GoFundMe to help cover his medical expenses<\/a>. McCaughey is\/was also a member of the Minus Five and the Young Fresh Fellows.<\/li>\n<li>The Verge looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2017\/11\/21\/16681292\/venmo-scam-iphone-payment-fraud-andy-mai-paypal\" target=\"_blank\">an ongoing Venmo scam that has netted the crooks over $100K<\/a>, largely because the victims hear a chance to get a guaranteed, immediate profit, and don&#8217;t demand cash or use a more secure payment system. <\/li>\n<li>Bad headline, good piece: A <em>NY Times<\/em> editorial examines <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/11\/18\/opinion\/sunday\/internet-digital-technology-return-to-analog.html\" target=\"_blank\">the increasing desire to find balance between our digital and analog lives<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><em>WIRED<\/em> profiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/its-a-living-meet-one-of-new-yorks-best-professional-dandd-dungeon-masters\/\" target=\"_blank\">one of New York&#8217;s most successful professional Dungeon Masters<\/a>, known to D&#038;D players as a &#8220;DM.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>At PAX Unplugged last week, I met with a rep from a company called Shapeways that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/creator\/keychain\" target=\"_blank\">allows you to create your own meeples and dice<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The biggest piece I wrote this week was actually right here, the tenth annual ranking of my top 100 boardgames, including a list (at the bottom) of my favorite titles for two players. And you&#8217;ll see in the comments there are still plenty of good games out there I haven&#8217;t played. For Insiders, I broke [&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":[828,84,844,846,190,708,799,870,295,807],"class_list":["post-6170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-change","tag-coffee","tag-economics","tag-food","tag-links","tag-rpgs","tag-science","tag-stick-to-baseball","tag-taxes","tag-vaccines","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6170","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=6170"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6172,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6170\/revisions\/6172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/meadowparty.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}