Speed traps and property confiscations are among the worst abuses of state power, IMHO. You're generally helpless to fight back, regardless of how capricious the claims against you.
A new outrage joins the pantheon of state perpetrated awfulness. This piece in The New Yorker lays out a new abuse I had not heard of before: relatives of the incarcerated no longer allowed to visit in person. — Read the rest
The DEA's scare tactics likening Adderall prescriptions to the opioid epidemic betrays its addiction to manufacturing drug panics to protect its authority amid the drug war's failures.
The Drug Enforcement Administration has found a new bogeyman to justify its failed prohibitionist crusade — prescription medication for people with ADHD. — Read the rest
There's always been an unresolvable tension between artistry and fame. Very few people find fame to be what they had hoped. It comes with a lot of strings attached. It's like a drug — once you've had it, you spend the rest of your life chasing more. — Read the rest
I lived in NYC for a few years at the end of the 8'0s and so so so much has changed since then. (There wasn't even a Starbucks in Manhattan yet!) But one thing that hasn't changed — garbage. Towering piles of garbage bags, put out at the curb for collection. — Read the rest
The blue checkmark, originally a form of verification and implicit status, was turned into a paid feature after Elon Musk's takeover of the site. — Read the rest
TouronsofYellowstone shares that yet another tourist failed to regard the warning signs as meaningful and got the up close and personal experience they were looking for with one of the park's many wild animals. Bison are huge. I was intimidated sitting inside my camper van, stopped, and waiting for them to clear their road so we could continue without incident. — Read the rest
An American Airlines passenger was kicked off a recent flight for allegedly arguing with other passengers, but she made it clear her behavior was warranted since she's a special influencer while everyone else is a "bum."
The social media climber can be seen on video telling people to "shut the fuck up" while she gathers her belongings. — Read the rest
A quarter-century after Netflix transformed the video rental market, its spinoff rental company DVD.com is sending out its final discs to subscribers on September 29. And if you have any DVDs still to be returned, fuck it, says the company, you can just keep them. — Read the rest
James O'Keefe, the right-wing provocateur recently fired from his own organization, is now under investigation by authorities in New York. It wouldn't be his first tangle with the law–his famously deceptive methods already earned him one fraud conviction–and his alleged misuse of Project Veritas's funds have put him back under the axe. — Read the rest
One of the emergent viral memes worming it's way into video stream suggestions across the internet is the "By Balenciaga" series that has rapidly evolved over the past 2 months to from it's own aesthetic that intentionally dips into the uncanny valley while reimagining Pop Culture icons from the past. — Read the rest
What is this sorcery? This video shows that if you rub your fingers on a freshly cut clove of garlic, you can then gently pick up a raw egg yolk. I'm not entirely sure how this will prove useful in your life, but there you have it. — Read the rest
A customer's plot to discredit a Bay Area boba tea was foiled by surveillance footage. Watch as the Boba tea saboteur's sneaky tactics are exposed in this video. At around the 2-minute mark of the video, the seated gentleman in the lower left corner reaches into his pants pocket and sets what looks like a piece of lint on the table. — Read the rest
In 2018, Jesse Singal wrote a controversial cover story in The Atlantic, "When a Child Says She's Trans." Focused on teens who de-transitioned, it appealed to skeptics and critics of gender-affirming care, but offered little acknowledgement to the majority of young transfolk who are happy to have affirmed their genders. — Read the rest
