The false link between Amy Coney Barrett and The Handmaid’s Tale, explained

One of the weirder ways this debate has played out since Barrett was first discussed as a potential Supreme Court nominee is the fight over whether or not People of Praise, the group of which she is a member, is also one of the inspirations for The Handmaid’s Tale. In Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel (and its recent TV adaptation), fertile women are forced to live as childbearing slaves called handmaids. The book isn’t an established inspiration — but the story has developed legs anyway.

Pictures only hint at her passion and can’t capture how smart she is. I love you, daughter.

Similar:I wish I could credit the designer. This is brilliant.PersonalThe ballroom of my #steampunk fantasy space cruiser is now a less lonely place. Thanks to watching many, many YouTub…AestheticsLovely #greebles give attractive details to the the flat surfaces of this little bot (from…AestheticsFinished Reading The Chronicles of PrydainWe could hardly stop reading just before…BooksA pleasant…

Trump administration gave Courage Award to a woman who criticized Trump, then rescinded the honor, then lied about it, a watchdog agency finds

The State Department revoked a prestigious award from a Finnish journalist because of social media posts critical of President Donald Trump, according to a report from the State Department Office of Inspector General. Although the watchdog found that the State Department had acted within its “broad discretion” to rescind the award from Jessikka Aro, it also…

The phrase “debate begins” in the headlines of multiple stories on coronavirus does not mean sneaky journalists copy-pasted a press release

If you encounter the same story on different news sites, that does not mean you caught sneaky America-hating fake news “journalists” in the act. A meme I recently encountered shows three slightly different coronavirus headlines, all of which use the phrase “debate begins.” Text shared along with the meme suggests the repetition means the story…

Twitter, Fix Your Cropping Algorithm

When given the chance to crop four different arrangements of photos of two different men, each time the Twitter algorithm chose to center on the white man and crop the black man out of the picture. Source: https://twitter.com/sina_rawayama/status/1307506452786016257 Update, 22 Sep: See also https://twitter.com/TLopesVictorM/status/1307846503885672449     Similar:The daughter looks stunning in pink. AestheticsFor years, I’ve…

Fact check: Biden ad misleadingly suggests Trump called Covid-19 a ‘hoax’

CNN fact-checks a misleading Biden ad, which edited a Trump speech to make it look like he called coronavirus a Democratic hoax. To be clear, Trump’s informal and freewheeling style of speaking at rallies often leaves his exact meaning hard to pin down. But I agree with CNN that this ad misrepresents Trump’s intentions. Here’s…

Scientists should be goggled and in the lab, where they belong. Shut up and make me a vaccine, beaker-nerd!

Am I doing the tribal rage thing right? Laura Helmuth of Scientific American says the decision to break tradition was both unanimous and quick: “We took this decision very seriously. You don’t give up 175 years of tradition for nothing.” —‘Scientific American’ Breaks 175 Years Of Tradition, Endorses A Presidential Nominee –NPR Similar:Portofess”If people can…

Something to Ponder — Let Me Fix That Meme For You

Similar:Woah there, online tech site. Let's not set that bar too high, now.I just saw the following clickbait for a…Current_EventsRaise It Up! :: Star-Spangled Banner – 1814-2014I usually start my American Lit I course…CultureAn Unexpecting MinorityTruthfully, I expected my new department…AcademiaThou shalt not commit logical fallacies  Thou shalt not commit logical fallaci…AmusingDissecting a Frog: How…

Boy, this sort of thing sure makes some racist people very angry.

We stand together against racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/xfeUACPu8Z — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 14, 2020   Similar:Iowa Reporter Found Not Guilty By Jury After Arrest At Black Lives Matter ProtestJustice for a brave reporter arrested fo…AwesomeSCUBA Diving at the PoolBecause a beautiful sunny day at the poo…CulturePerspective | Could ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ really be done?…

Stunning picture of my daughter

Similar:The Neutral Zone (ST:TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 25)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureA Man, a Plan, a Pointless(?) ProgramI readily admit that my accomplishment h…AmusingWhy We Dug AtariGame collectors have their story, too. F…CybercultureTrials and Tribble-ations #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 6) Trivial Time Travel…Rewatching ST:DS9 Strait-laced time c…AmusingA dinosaur and an octopus…

Remember Me (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 5) Dr. Crusher vs The Universe

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. When people start disappearing from the Enterprise without a trace, only Dr. Crusher remembers them. Some cringeworthy lines (e.g. “If there’s nothing wrong with me, maybe there’s something wrong with the universe”) still earn a facepalm, but I really enjoyed Gates McFadden as she Shatners her way through increasingly…

Drumming Kid Is Epic. That Is All.

Similar:Another social media post attacks journalists for doing their jobs — Updated Elijah McCla…If you’ve been following the sad story o…CultureFacebook paid Teen Vogue to run a fake article praising Facebook for "helping ensure the i… After FB crowed about this sup…BusinessFaceTime Fun: iPod Touch Rides in Jedi FighterThrough the magic of FaceTime and the…

IN-ZOOM (A world-premiere 10-minute play)

A very current short play by Bill Irwin. Very creative use of Zoom as a performance space.  I didn’t expect it also to cover so much else. Very touching. Similar:Incoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not to be cheerful …AcademiaAnother delightful section of a #steampunk control panel.…