The New York Times's slideshow of the Hallowe'en displays of hedge-fund managers and other NYC oligarchs has some pretty impressive haunts, though nothing that justifies the socially corrosive effect of out-of-control wealth gaps. (Photo: Christian Hansen) (via 3 Quarks Daily)
Hallowe'en with NYC's super-rich
Read ProPublica's excellent work on the IRS's targeting of poor taxpayers
The GOP has long made it their mission to absolutely disable the IRS, thus protecting the wealthiest of the wealthy from any sort of scrutiny. And it's been working: as ProPublica reported in 2019, millionaires in 2018 were about 80% less likely to be audited than they were in 2011; coincidentally (or not), the IRS's… READ THE REST
Play: Dungeons and Deadlines, "an epic game of work-life balance"
Smarter people than me have pointed out that "work-life balance" says the quiet part out loud, implicitly confirming that you stop living when you're at work. Miles Matrix's Dungeons and Deadlines makes all this much realer with acerbic wit and rockin' chiptunes. My spouse left me after five turns. (via Four Short Links) READ THE REST
When contracting with Chinese manufacturers, it's very hard to avoid forced labor
The China Law Blog (previously) is one of my favorite sources of insight into the secret workings of the businesses that produce the majority of the world's daily-use goods. READ THE REST
This hyper-cool, minimalist floor lamp is guaranteed to spark a conversation
We're all looking for home furnishings that come with extra gear. Of course, we want basic functionality or a certain decorative flair for that coffee table or piece of wall art or those window coverings that we bring into our home. But every once in a while, we run across a home furnishing item that… READ THE REST
These 20 air purifiers can help combat allergy season — and they're all on sale now
While the last year has been preoccupied with COVID, let's not forget there were plenty of good reasons to be concerned about the air you were breathing before 2020. With springtime rolling back on the calendar, one of those reasons has returned with its usual seasonal vigor — allergies. Seasonal allergies affect up to 30… READ THE REST
Get up to 65% off on 12 gardening tools, planters, and other yard accessories
Now that everyone is starting to emerge back out into the world again, this might be the first time you're really checking out the current state of your home gardening and landscaping in a while. If your snap reaction is… not so great, this might be a good time to roll up your sleeves, tool… READ THE REST