Featured Links - December 2, 2024

Links to things I found interesting but didn't want to do a full blog post about.

Creepy Christmas yard ornaments

• Populism, freedom, and democracy in Alberta (and beyond). Here's a very good article about populism in the context of Alberta's politics. It has direct relevance to what's happening here in Ontario as well, not to mention the US.
• A Personal Pre-Pandemic Plan. "5 things you can do today to prepare for a possibility of seeing another pandemic sometime in the reasonably near future."
• Trumpomuskovia. From historian Timothy Snyder, "four scenarios for Trumpomuskovia, the musko-trumpified America that is already upon us." From a Canadian perspective, his second scenario is especially interesting.
• The Redbox Removal Team. "Redbox left 24,000 abandoned DVD rental kiosks. "The unceremonious end of Redbox is a reminder of how much stuff we make and buy, and how, when companies fail to plan for end-of-life or go out of business, they often leave a bunch of devices that suddenly become e-waste behind."
• Libraries can help end the culture wars. That’s why they’re under fire (gift link). "Nothing threatens authoritarianism like a quiet place to explore knowledge." Opinion piece by Annalee Newitz, author of Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind.
• Kennedy’s Inheritance: How Addiction and Trauma Shaped a Turbulent Life (gift link). Donald Trump’s pick to be health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reached a pinnacle of power after a life of fame and addictions and a career intertwined with conspiracy theories.
• TV In 2024. "It’s probably part of your life too. What happened was, we moved to a new place and it had a room set up for a huge TV, so I was left with no choice but to get one. Which got me thinking about TV in general and naturally it spilled over here into the blog. There is good and bad news."
• Notre Dame is a pipeline for Supreme Court clerks, magnet for justices. (gift link) "Growing ties between Notre Dame law school and the Supreme Court show the appeal of getting out of D.C. and of an environment that welcomes conservative views."