Interesting Links for 17-02-2021

[andrewducker]

Renewables are not causing blackouts in Texas

(tags:Texas coal winter electricity fail windpower viaDanielDWilliam )

Tesco loses 'fire and rehire' court battle

(tags:Jobs wages business tesco )

An illustrated version of one of Tolkien's unpublished epilogues of The Lord Of The Rings

(tags:lotr comic )

Photographer Sues Tattoo Artist over Miles Davis Tattoo

(tags:copyright photography tattoos )

Trump declares war on McConnell — vows to back MAGA challengers against GOP

(tags:republicans USA politics )

Covid in Scotland: Watchdog's report on the government released

(tags:Scotland pandemic )

Humans were drinking milk before they developed the genes for digesting it

(tags:genes milk prehistory Africa )

Please don't assume all age-gap relationships are the same

(tags:age relationships )

Sacked UK LGBT veterans can reclaim removed medals

(tags:UK military LGBT GoodNews )

Database management is key to good government policy making

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1361673425140543490.html
(tags:database government pandemic )

Comments

[symbioid]

This is interesting, the Republicans are getting hit from the "center-right" and far-right populists.

I saw a bunch of neocons are talking of starting a new party. I'm very curious to see how this shakes out.

[andrewducker]

The collapse of the GOP as it's eaten from the inside, and hopefully electoral reform?

(I mean, probably not that good, but I can hope)

[symbioid]

And then news of Rush Limbaugh dying, haha, quite symbolic.

Yeah we can hope for electoral reform, but... I live in WI the gerrymandering the Repubs have on this state, and the last hope of change was destroyed because Mitch McConnell's supreme court decided to let Gerrymandering happen and we can't really fight it anymore. :(

[danieldwilliam]

My observation of USian politics is that structural reforms like electoral reform don't tend to happen. See for example things like the Voting Reform Act or the attempts to end run round the electoral college.

Much more likely is a collapes of the current (4th? Party System) and a realignment of the Republican party constituency and some of the Democratic Party constituency.

But I think Trump will win control of the GOP, and after a few election cycles voters who are not Trump supporters will eventually stop voting the Republican Party consistently and in such large numbers.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-trumpiest-republicans-are-at-the-state-and-local-levels-not-in-d-c/

Then a split of the US right-wing, which would make the Senate interesting for four years.

[mountainkiss]

That database thing is fascinating! Thank you.

[calimac]

Very nice and appropriate Tolkien illustrated story. Cuts down on the treacliness which is the main flaw of the original in prose.

[andrewducker]

I am glad you liked it.

Milk is tricky food.

[agoodwinsmith]

Just having enough to feed a little more to babies would be valuable. Also, childhood lactose tolerance can last well into the teens. Even those of us with strong intolerance can stand a little every so often - and the more fatty the more often. And yoghurting does something digestible for the intolerant.[1]

So, even if we never achieved adult digestion, carefully managed extra milk would still be an advantage.

[1] - Just for comparison - 8 ounces of 2% milk is enough to send me into porcelain exile for many hours. I don't know how much yoghurt it would take - I haven't achieved it yet.

Re: Milk is tricky food.

[andrewducker]

Oh yes. I'm intolerant myself. Very very grateful for the existence of lactase pills.

Re: Milk is tricky food.

[agoodwinsmith]

And even if you didn't use it, Sophia having milk while you eat other foods that would go to her if the milk wasn't there is still a gain.

(I find the lastase pills hurt my tummy - kinda pinchy.)

Re: Milk is tricky food.

[andrewducker]

That's a huge shame. I don't use them much, but they are so useful when I'm not sure if something has milk in it, or am out somewhere where the options are limited.