Events

From Josh Marshall: [D]ecoupling the United States from the major states and economies of Western Europe has been the central foreign policy goal of Russia for about 70 years. We defeated the Soviet Union by allying ourselves with most of the world. Now the President of the United States is undoing 70 years of work and handing Russia their own sphere of influence. Great work, Mr President.

Via Deeply Trivial, a video that claims to be the most detailed map of the universe to date:

I've narrowed my list down to four potential topics for the Blogging A-to-Z challenge: U.S. Civics Programming (with .NET) Music Places I've visited I've got 26 topics lined up for each. I think they'll all be fun and relatively easy to do (though I'll have to start writing them at least a week ahead). But like a true INTP, I can't decide which to start with. Sign-up is at 00:01 GMT tonight, or 6:01 pm Chicago time.

The New York Times outlines what you need to do in various countries to obtain a firearm: United States 1. Pass an instant background check that includes criminal convictions, domestic violence and immigration status. 2. Buy a gun. Canada 1. To buy a handgun, prove that you practice at an approved shooting club or range, or show that you are a gun collector. 2. For any gun, complete a safety course and pass both a written and a practical test. 3. Ask for two references. 4. Apply for a permit, and wait...

I'm actually coughing up a lung at home today, which you'd think gives me more time to read, but actually it doesn't. Really I just want a nap. Andrew Sullivan's weekly column asks whether this is the beginning of the end for the President. Even absent the Russia scandal, the new tariffs make no sense at all, and represent the shrinking of America (at least to Jeet Heer). Even the Wall Street Journal thinks it's the biggest policy blunder of his presidency. David Corn points out that Hope Hicks, late of...

At least according to Pew Research: Pew Research Center has been studying the Millennial generationfor more than a decade. But as we enter 2018, it’s become clear to us that it’s time to determine a cutoff point between Millennials and the next generation. Turning 37 this year, the oldest Millennials are well into adulthood, and they first entered adulthood before today’s youngest adults were born. In order to keep the Millennial generation analytically meaningful, and to begin looking at what might be...

Which explains why it's just above freezing and pissing with rain. Yesterday the temperature dropped from 15°C to 5°C in about 90 minutes as a cold front swept in from the north. Today we're living with the result. Oddly, though, the current temperature (3°C) isn't that far from the normal March 1st temperature (4°C). So perhaps we shouldn't complain. But that taste of spring we got earlier this week made us all anxious for the real thing. It's Chicago. The weather will change in a day or two.

I set a few Fitbit personal records yesterday. First: it was the first time I've gotten 20,000+ steps three days in a row. Second: it was the fourth-best stepping day since I got a Fitbit (see below). Third: my 7-day total, 147,941, completely blew away the old record of 135,785 set on April 18th last year. Here are my top-5 stepping days: 2016 Jun 16 40,748 2016 Oct 23 36,105 2017 May 27 33,241 2018 Feb 27 32,747 2016 Sep 25 32,354 On the other hand, Chicago didn't set a weather record, and wasn't in...

We're now on the third day of spring weather even though spring doesn't technically begin (for climatologists, anyway) until Thursday. Yesterday we got up to 12°C, even more spring-like than Sunday's 10°C. (Those high temperatures are normal for March 31st and 23rd, respectively.) Today's forecast high is 17°C—normal for April 24th and, if it actually happens, a new record for February 27th. (Note that the current record, 16.7°C, was set in 2016.) Two things to note: first, weather ≠ climate, though you...

The best President we have, who got deferments from service during the Vietnam War because of "bone spurs" in his heels, fantasized yesterday about charging into a school shooting unarmed: Speaking to a meeting of the country’s governors at the White House, Mr. Trump conceded that “you don’t know until you test it.” But he said he believed he would have exhibited bravery “even if I didn’t have a weapon, and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too.” As Mr. Trump skipped from one...