Sunday, August 3, 2025

The Dark, Shady Past of Spain’s Likely Next Prime Minister, Alberto Núñez Feijóo

Spain’s general elections this Sunday (July 22) could be a milestone event — of the bad rather than good kind.

How the Mayo Clinic and Uber Killed Efforts to Help Workers in Minnesota 

The Land of 10,000 Lakes has been widely celebrated for its supposedly worker-friendly legislation this year, but liberal Democrats headed for the exits when push came to shove. 

Hunting the Military Extremist: How Disturbed Is the U.S. Military?

On a planet where no other military spends as much, the US is incapable of winning a thing.

Notes on George Washington’s Farewell Address: The Evils of Political Parties

”How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of Negroes?” –Dr. Samuel Johnson

2:00PM Water Cooler 7/17/2023

~ Today’s Water Cooler: Open Thread ~

Links 7/17/2023

How Federal Law Can Protect All Workers on Sweltering Summer Days

In 2021, OSHA initiated efforts “to consider a heat-specific workplace rule.” In the meantime, states and local governments are free to make their own rules, let workers fend for themselves, or even put workers at greater risk.

Recork the Champagne: Sweden’s NATO Accession Deal With Turkiye Still Faces Hurdles 

Lack of trust has both sides wanting the other to fulfill their end of bargain first. 

Empty Office Spaces Can Be Converted to Residential Buildings – But It Won’t Be Affordable

What if we convert redundant office space to affordable living space or public housing and quit with the return-to-office pressure?

What Is Happening to the Cats of Cyprus?

The history of Cypriot cats, the Feline Coronavirus that’s infecting them, with its transmission, treatment, geographic and zoonotic spread, and its unsettlingly intriguing mechanism of action (with cat video).

Links 7/16/2023

Interview: The Ethical Puzzle of Sentient AI

Philosophy professor Jonathan Birch says the potential for conscious AI raises a host of moral concerns.

Links 7/15/2023

Colonialism or Sovereignty? How the Global Financial System Traps Countries in Debt

A deep dive on developing country debt crisis and how they reveal the workings of international finance.

The Origins of the Investment Theory of Party Competition

How Tom Ferguson’s archival research showed that conventional wisdom on voter behaior was rnaive, and investment drives outcomes.