It’s funny that the last chapter of “A Clockwork Orange” — omitted from the original American publication and the movie — gets criticized as unrealistic, because “maturity leads to less violence” is basically correct.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: A federal judge Monday laid out a contingent plan to implement a previous ruling that the Alabama State Senate map violated the Voting Rights Act.

Among the many fantasies here is the belief that there was a single, stable currency in medieval Europe.

I’ll believe the rapture is real if all the dogs start floating into the sky

IMO: First two seasons are nearly perfect; third season is a mess after New Caprica; fourth season is a return to form (but maaaaaaaan that ending).

Finally saw the Superman movie, and hoo boy, didn’t realize how much I needed that message.

Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, wrote that "not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children.”

This is the funniest criticism I've ever gotten. I think it outdistances the guy who accused me of being part of a "lesbian media conspiracy."

I’m so honored to learn I won first place from the Nevada Press Association for coverage of underserved communities. It’s been a privilege to report on homelessness and try to give this topic better context. Congratulations to all my colleagues at @nevadacurrent.com who won awards!

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump will claim that Tylenol is linked to autism. But every expert Julia Musto and I interviewed say this is a gross misreading of the data. via @the-independent.com www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

neurodiversity is Good Actually. just want to say that

At the risk of getting called before the Cynical Journalists Examination Board: I am hopeful for the future of journalism, because reader-supported outlets are thriving. People want this reporting and are willing to support it.

Via @georgiarecorder.com: A key vaccine advisory panel at the has indefinitely postponed a controversial change to guidelines on administering hepatitis B vaccines to newborn babies, and altered long-standing recommendations around COVID-19 vaccine access for children and adults.

If he got into the race, Pearl would probably be an early favorite, simply on name recognition.

Auburn University last week fired an undisclosed number of employees over social media posts whose contents were also not disclosed. Editor @brianlyman.bsky.social says that raises several questions, the most important being who gets to have free speech on the Plains, and who doesn’t.

My column this week. There are a lot of unanswered questions about Auburn’s employee firings last week, including how many people were terminated; what exactly they posted that led to their terminations, and who gets to have free speech on the Plains, and who doesn’t.

Once more: the best evidence shows that Tylenol taken during pregnancy is not harmful. **This question is settled.** The benefit of reducing discomfort and fever is extremely important at a time when the fetus is developing. Pregnant women - Tylenol is safe. sciencebasedmedicine.org/tylenol-and-...

Something we’ve noticed in doing our weekly bill round-ups are the many pieces of legislation increasing a local official’s expense account midterm and then converting it into salary at the next term. Here’s how that works.

Via Shauneen Miranda: Just days after federal data revealed average reading, math and science scores dropped among certain grades since before the coronavirus pandemic, a U.S. Senate panel on Thursday picked apart the root causes and methods for students’ academic improvement.

Just imagine that somewhere there’s a gif of The Lives of Others.

elite centrist/lib transphobia is one of those classic contrarian things where they’ve built up a huge pile of facially convincing “evidence” that collapses immediately if you put it under serious scrutiny

We have had The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy on our phones for nearly 20 years.

A fun fact about Watergate is that the first Washington Post journalist on the story was longtime cops reporter Alfred E. Lewis. Lewis was at the scene of the break-in and told Woodward about the preliminary hearing for the suspects, which got the ball rolling. (The book notes all this.)

Literally the 19th century equivalent of a crash out argument over social media or Twitch stream.

To be fair this also resulted in the alien and sedition acts. The meaning of both freedom of speech and freedom of religion were live questions while the ink on the constitution was drying.

It’s a cliché if you’re a history buff like me, but one should really look at newspapers published between 1789 and 1809. It would instantly any delusions that the Founders were interested in respectful debate.

Just one for the FWIW files: The top story on my Facebook feed/feeds is the SEC saying the refs botched a call in the Auburn/Oklahoma game. And that’s not the algorithm; that’s just the thing on the top of a lot of minds in Alabama this morning.

Interesting piece. The aging of the television audience is a problem for these companies that hasn’t shown signs of getting better.

I keep seeing "none of these make news" posts like these... ... Even though the Trump/Bondi story is leading the NYT and Washpost home pages right now

Via @jsodonoghue.bsky.social and @lailluminator.com: Even with GLP-1 coverage prohibited for obesity treatment, Louisiana’s Office of Group Benefits spends $200 million per year on the drugs and is “adding people everyday,” CEO Heath Williams said Thursday at legislative finance committee meeting.

My column from Monday. On the special treatment state officials want for participants in an effective voucher program, and what it says about Alabama’s attitudes toward public education.

What’s striking about this story is the only reason given for going back to the Moon is getting there before China and maybe going to Mars, without officials explaining why being there is valuable in itself.

A FWIW: 60% of Alabamians polled here said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Montgomery JAG High School’s marching band is superb. And if I could upload video I would share it, but these guys are scorching the field (and the Auburn crowd is into it).

This absurd overestimation takes place with basically all minority groups. In 2022, Americans thought 30% of the US was gay or lesbian, 29% was bisexual & 21% was trans. They also thought 27% were Muslim, 30% were Jewish & 41% were Black.

It’s Football Night In Auburn. The Tigers take on Montgomery’s Johnson-Abernathy-Graetz (JAG) High School tonight. JAG is named after three Montgomery civil rights heroes: Judge Frank Johnson, Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Rev. Robert Graetz.

The Alabama delegation split down party lines on the vote, with every Republican voting for the resolution and the state's two Democratic representatives voting against it.

Via @arianalfigueroa.bsky.social: The Trump administration Friday made an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to pause a district court’s order that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from ending temporary protections for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans.

Maraniss's "A Good American Family"-- the story of his family's traumatic experience with McCarthy's blacklist during the Red Scare, is suddenly frighteningly timely. I caught up with him to discuss politics, censorship and demagoguery then and now

Via @jennifershutt.bsky.social: Democratic leaders in the Senate have vowed not to help Republicans who control the chamber get the 60 votes needed to move past procedural votes — a stark contrast from March, when Democrats did that, leading to significant frustration from their House colleagues.

Via @andreadotweb.bsky.social: The Alabama State Department of Education is considering applying for a waiver that would change the way high school students are considered prepared for college and work.

Context for those outside Alabama: Fairhope is in Baldwin County, one the reddest counties in a red state. And Fairhope officials and citizens have made it *very* difficult for the state and the handful of people complaining about their books to censor them.

You might as well put a Muppet in the cabinet.

Via @jennifershutt.bsky.social: Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have entered a stalemate over whether to fund the government for seven weeks or begin a shutdown that could last considerably longer, amid high partisan tensions.

MMR vaccine is a freakin’ miracle.

If you sent this message back in time to 1994, a mob would form and destroy Netscape Navigator.

Via @jennifershutt.bsky.social: The 51-47 vote followed weeks of debate over whether senators could work out a deal on groups of nominees, with Democrats warning along the way that any changes to Senate procedures that benefit the Trump administration will likely aid a future Democratic president.

Via @jonshorman.bsky.social and @stateline.org: At least four states with Republican chief election officials have offered public data but not sensitive information sought by the Justice Department, while trying to avoid a fight with President Donald Trump. Another has refused to turn over any data.

Via @annabjournalist.bsky.social: The comments from Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s State Health Officer, came after a meeting of the Alabama Department of Public Health Thursday, in which officials stressed the importance of vaccination amid threats from diseases and federal policy changes.