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

Twitter recently imposed blue checkmarks, previously assigned only to people paying to use the site, on all users meeting a certain threshold of paid followers. And soon users assigned blue checkmarks will no longer be able to hide them.

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