As discussed previously, this is my weekly Twitter roundup. Note that tweets of articles generally include header images from the articles, which are not included here unless they happen to be available under a free license. Most are not. But I now add most of my commentary here, where I’m not 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.

Before we get going, though, a happy porcelain anniversary to Wikipedia!

9:03 – Mon 11 January 2021

I ended up taking most of Monday off from Twitter.

9:01 – Tue 12 January 2021

Trump’s DOJ Just Gave Civil Rights One Last Middle Finger from VICE News

…would no longer enforce the law in cases where “disparate impact” was found to result in discrimination.

We see this scheme increasingly frequently. They start with the assertion that there can’t be any discrimination, because apparently nobody ever does illegal things. And since there isn’t any discrimination, then the laws against it should be eliminated as wasteful. It might make sense to stop believing them…

12:01 – Tue 12 January 2021

Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends; they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.

Emily Brontë

9:04 – Wed 13 January 2021

NYPD Cops Accused of Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia Cost the City $500,000 Over Four Years from The Intercept

In another case that resulted in a $60,000 payment, an NYPD officer was accused of grotesque misogyny.

Among all the other problems with police misconduct, there’s the fact that a lot of money just goes to enabling it, with no benefit to anyone but the worst people in law enforcement.

12:02 – Wed 13 January 2021

You may set it down as a truth which admits of few exceptions, that those who ask your opinion really want your praise, and will be contented with nothing less.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

9:02 – Thu 14 January 2021

Meet the New DA Who Could Prosecute Trump for the Georgia Call from VICE News

Willis, a Democrat and the daughter of a Black Panther, faces the politically explosive task of deciding whether to charge Trump.

I suspect that the benefits massively outweigh the drawbacks, here, but I don’t envy Willis a decision that—because we’re not arresting insurrectionists fast enough—is likely to result in rioters trying to make trouble.

12:05 – Thu 14 January 2021

The true wealth of a nation lies not in its gold or silver but in it’s learning, wisdom and in the uprightness of its sons.

Kahlil Gibran

9:05 – Fri 15 January 2021

Before Mob Stormed the Capitol, Days of Security Planning Involved Cabinet Officials and President Trump from ProPublica

…Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller met…to discuss Defense Department involvement and “potential requirements” for DOD support.

Related: Here’s what the U.S. Capitol looked like when protesters wanted healthcare and equality

It’s becoming hard to escape the conclusion that the attack on the Capitol had significant help, from making sure that they’d have access to the building to allegedly disabling the panic buttons in Congressional offices. But ask not to allow cops to murder Black people over fifty dollars in merchandise, and they bring out the military.

12:04 – Fri 15 January 2021

No man has a chance to enjoy permanent success until he begins to look in a mirror for the real cause of all his mistakes.

Napoleon Hill

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, here’s a sixth and seventh article that didn’t fit into the week, but too weird to not mention.

Google’s workers unionize, launching the Alphabet Workers Union from Fast Company

Instead, the union’s focus will be on activism within the company—pressuring Google leadership to implement workplace changes.

It remains to be seen if this actually changes Google, but it’s still gratifying to see sectors that don’t need organized labor for treatment reasons (which is still important, for the workers who are less affluent) use their bargaining power to force ethics on the company.

Why the platypus sweats milk and is so weird from Futurity

Monotremes have 10 sex chromosomes, with five Y and five X chromosomes. That compares to humans—and every other mammal on Earth—that have two, the X and Y chromosome system in which XX is female and XY is male.

The platypus continues to be far stranger than anybody expects. I’m kind of surprised that we’ve never seen an “in this timeline, intelligent life evolved from monotremes” story, since we’ve seen just about every other animal used as a template.

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