As discussed previously, this is my weekly Twitter roundup. Note that tweets of articles generally include header images from the articles, which I don’t include here unless their creators happen to have released them for use under a free license. Most have not. But I now add most of my commentary here, where I don’t feel restricted by the message length.

diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week

I also don’t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

9:03 – Mon 10 October 2022

Loretta Lynn was more than a great songwriter — she was a spokeswoman for white rural working-class women from The Conversation

She aimed for her music to articulate the fears, dreams and anger of women living in a patriarchal society. It railed against those who idealized women’s domestic roles and demonized outspoken feminists.

It occurs to me that the decline in Lynn’s popularity in popular culture probably led the abandonment of feminism and the situation we currently find ourselves in, where white women vote for Republicans and then wonder why their rights keep shriveling up.

12:04 – Mon 10 October 2022

I’m really pleased that, at the state level, they recognize — many states recognize the importance of vaccinating educators — not only teachers, but para-educators, custodians, bus drivers.

Miguel Cardona

9:02 – Tue 11 October 2022

Protecting algae-eating fish isn’t enough to save coral reefs from Futurity

Instead, it makes more sense to support strategies that promote the conservation of diverse habitats and coral reef types at various stages of degradation, the researchers say.

This story may not supply much of interest in itself, but it makes the important point that we can’t solve environmental problems with—and therefore should apply a critical eye to those who propose—solutions that only have one activity involved.

12:01 – Tue 11 October 2022

…this was merely guessing, which is a very dangerous thing to do when trying to find out the plans that Nature makes for her great family.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes

9:04 – Wed 12 October 2022

Safe Tap Water Should Be a Human Right from OtherWords

In 2010, the city signed a $90 million contract with Siemens to overhaul its water infrastructure and install new meters to raise extra revenue. However, as journalist Judd Legum reported, the meters were installed incorrectly and there were “no substantial investments made.”

At least since the Reagan administration, you can see Republicans push for selling off public infrastructure in underserved areas. The buyer, claiming to need capital to fund improvements, cuts service while hiking prices. The executives take raises, and those improvements never materialize. After a disaster or scandal, in states with Democrats in charge, the state government creates or expands an agency to take over, restarting the process, with Republicans blaming the agency for the company’s scandal.

12:03 – Wed 12 October 2022

Because, the woman must obey the law as the man, she must vote like the man.

Maria de Lopez

9:01 – Thu 13 October 2022

This Politician Wants ‘Transgender’ to Be Defined as People Who Pee With One Hole from VICE World News

Last week, Pakistan’s Parliament saw an uproar after one senator, during a debate over the law, called transgender persons “disgusting.”

This particular story feels more personal to me than many others where some ranting, fascist dolt gets elected to high office, because I’ve worked with many folks from Pakistan over the years, and know that they and their families shouldn’t need to deal with this nonsense. Nobody does, but normally when I make that assertion, “they” only exist in the abstract.

12:05 – Thu 13 October 2022

Veneration for virtue…to teach those who do not know, to pour into the hearts of children the maxims of charity, love, knowing, glory, to the Homeland, make me shed a tear…enlightened by the merits of the virtuous man who sleeps in its bosom.

Lorenzo Puente Acosta

9:05 – Fri 14 October 2022

Dude food is not patriotic — vegetables and moderation are more deeply rooted in the nation’s early history from The Conversation

Washington, for one, stood up as an example of temperance. He largely adhered to “a vegetable and milk diet,” eating only small amounts of red meat. Washington’s alimentary philosophy was to avoid “as much as possible animal food.”

The weird cult of “hamburger defense” never made sense to me. I don’t shun meat, myself, but I tend to eat less of it—and less frequently—every year, because even ignoring the ethical issues of, for example, pork…meat (especially commercial meat) doesn’t have much to offer, in terms of flavor. It has a one-note, broad umami flavor, but beloved meat-based dishes generally fall into two categories: A great preparation that we can (and many do) apply to vegetables, and acquired tastes that don’t last long after sustained exposure to good vegetable dishes.

Some Monday, maybe I’ll post an outline of one of my favorite “oh, I get why people give up meat, now” recipes.

12:02 – Fri 14 October 2022

When the first salutations were over, and the first cross - very cross - questioning done by Mrs. Norval, the doctor ran out to see about bringing in his big boxes from the large wagon.

María Ruiz de Burton

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, I drop any additional articles that didn’t fit into the one-article-per-day week, but too weird or important to not mention, here.

The ambivalence of air from the Wellcome Collection

We tend to use “a change of air” figuratively, but for Victorian medical practice it was an indispensable prescription.

This group has run quite a few interesting histories, recently.

Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.