Check It Out

Links to cool places or things.

There are 1,515 posts filed in Check It Out (this is page 45 of 152).

An App Called Brigade Saw Trump Winning Swing States When Polls Didn’t : All Tech Considered : NPR

In 2016, the polls got it wrong. They failed to predict that Donald Trump was winning key battleground states. But a startup in San Francisco says it spotted it well in advance, not because of the “enthusiasm gap” — Republicans turning out and Democrats staying at home. Instead, the startup Brigade’s data pointed to a big crossover effect: Democrats voting for Trump in droves.

The company built an app that asks a simple question: Which candidate are you going to vote for?

It’s like what boots-on-the-ground organizers do. Though there is one big difference. In the physical world, most people aren’t wearing their candidate button for the 18 months leading up to the election.

Source: An App Called Brigade Saw Trump Winning Swing States When Polls Didn’t : All Tech Considered : NPR

I am. – Cassie Hewlett

A friend shared this blog post from a Republican college student, who wrote about what it is like to be a Republican college student.

I have reminded my liberal friends of the mistake of dismissing Trump supporters simply as racists (I will be writing more about this when I come up for air from all the stuff going on). The author here is right in reminding everyone of this.

I don’t think Ms. Hewlett is racist. This doesn’t mean she isn’t a little naive.

This paragraph stands out (emphases mine):

Well, I was not sad. While I understand that many people found the result disheartening, I am happy that the Republican party is in office for the next four years. I am happy that trade and markets will once again be free. I am happy that jobs will be brought back into the United States. I am happy that small business owners will finally be able to reap the benefits of hard work and dedication. I am happy that I voted in my first presidential election as a Republican.

Let’s take these one by one.
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When ESPN Anchor Finds Out Kaepernick Didn’t Even Vote, He Teaches QB a Lesson He’ll Never Forget

Yep.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith gave Colin Kaepernick a brutal verbal beatdown Wednesday after he learned the San Francisco 49ers quarterback decided not to vote at all in the 2016 presidential election.

In a fiery and lengthy rant, Smith argued Kaepernick has delegitimized everything he tried to accomplish by first sitting then taking a knee during the national anthem in protest of “oppression” in America.

“As far as I am concerned, Colin Kaepernick is absolutely irrelevant,” Smith said. “I don’t want to see him again; I don’t want to hear from him again; I don’t wanna hear a damn word about anything he has to say about our nation — the issues that we have, racial injustices, needing change, etcetera, etcetera. He comes across as a flaming hypocrite.”

Source: When ESPN Anchor Finds Out Kaepernick Didn’t Even Vote, He Teaches QB a Lesson He’ll Never Forget

Why the White Working Class Rebelled: Neoliberalism Is Killing Them (Literally) – Juan Cole – Truthdig

I’ll have more election thoughts soon.

The Democratic Party has been the Establishment for eight years, and the Clintons have arguably been the Establishment for 24 years. Since the late 1990s, members of the white working class with high school or less have seen their life-chances radically decline, even to the point where they are dying at much higher rates than they have a right to expect.

A year ago Anne Case and Angus Deaton, Princeton University economists, published a study with the startling finding that since 1999 death rates have been going up for white Americans aged 45-54. It is even worse than it sounds, since death rates were declining for the general population.

One of the big reasons for this increased death rate has been increased use of opiods and other drugs, leading to overdoses, along with liver disease from drinking too much alcohol and increased suicide rates. The problems were especially acute among working class and rural whites with only high school or less, and later studies found that they extended to younger members of this social class in their 20s and 30s. Loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs was clearly a primary reason for this despair.

Source: Why the White Working Class Rebelled: Neoliberalism Is Killing Them (Literally) – Juan Cole – Truthdig

It was the Democrats’ embrace of neoliberalism that won it for Trump | Naomi Klein | Opinion | The Guardian

More truth. I believe if Bernie Sanders had run against Trump we’d be saying “President-elect Sanders” today.

Here is what we need to understand: a hell of a lot of people are in pain. Under neoliberal policies of deregulation, privatisation, austerity and corporate trade, their living standards have declined precipitously. They have lost jobs. They have lost pensions. They have lost much of the safety net that used to make these losses less frightening. They see a future for their kids even worse than their precarious present.

At the same time, they have witnessed the rise of the Davos class, a hyper-connected network of banking and tech billionaires, elected leaders who are awfully cosy with those interests, and Hollywood celebrities who make the whole thing seem unbearably glamorous. Success is a party to which they were not invited, and they know in their hearts that this rising wealth and power is somehow directly connected to their growing debts and powerlessness.

Source: It was the Democrats’ embrace of neoliberalism that won it for Trump | Naomi Klein | Opinion | The Guardian

Don’t Panic

Some unexpectedly good political advice from Cracked.Com’s David Wong.

The truth is, most of Trump’s voters voted for him despite the fact that he said/believes awful things, not because of it. That in no way excuses it, but I have to admit I’ve spent eight years quietly tuning out news stories about drone strikes blowing up weddings in Afghanistan. I still couldn’t point to Yemen on a map. We form blind spots for our side, because there’s something larger at stake. In their case, it’s a belief that the system is fundamentally broken and that Hillary Clinton would have been more of the same. Trump rode a wave of support from people who’ve spent the last eight years watching terrifying nightly news reports about ISIS and mass shootings and riots. They look out their front door and see painkiller addicts and closed factories. They believe that nobody in Washington gives a shit about them, mainly because that’s 100-percent correct.

Source: Don’t Panic

Two Years of Construction on Glascock Street Could End This Week. Did Bad Communication Only Create More Problems? – Raleigh Agenda

Jane Porter’s story on the seemingly never-ending construction on Glascock Street ran in today’s Raleigh Agenda. It’s a fair piece and properly highlights the frustration neighbors have been feeling.

To give a little context to my remarks, I also told Jane that I’m happy that the City is bringing much-needed investment to East Raleigh (after all, there are still two actual, honest-to-God unpaved dirt roads that connect to Glasdock). I only wish the city had done a better job of setting expectations for how long this project (these projects) would take.

Being that I was East CAC chair at the time (or had just been), I certainly knew that the project was gearing. I was not aware, though (and I don’t think any other neighbors were aware), of the time it would all take.

What I would like to see for future projects is the city not only telling us when a project is expected begin but when it is expected to be completed. Put up a sign at the work site with this information. Include a URL (or QR code) that points people to the project webpage. This would do a lot to keep neighbors comfortable with the process.

A good example of why this is needed is the construction that has temporarily closed Old Louisburg Road. A sign appeared over the weekend of October 8th, which tells drivers that the road would close on the 10th. The sign does not tell drivers when the road will reopen! Because Old Louisburg Road is the main way people in my neighborhood get to downtown Raleigh, it being closed is hugely disruptive.
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Mysterious illness that can cause hallucinations hits Coos Bay | OregonLive.com

This is X-Files-worthy.

A mysterious illness that can cause hallucinations has struck Coos Bay.It all started Tuesday afternoon when a caregiver who works with a 78-year-old woman called 911. She reported that seven or eight people were trying to take the roof off her vehicle.

A deputy who showed up found nothing amiss, said Sgt. Patrick Downing, spokesman for the Coos Bay Sheriff’s Office.

The caregiver, 52, called back early Wednesday, reporting the same thing. This time the deputy who responded figured something was wrong and arranged to have another deputy with a more suitable vehicle take the caregiver to Coos Bay Hospital on a mental health hold, Downing said.

Not long after the two deputies reported feeling nauseous, light-headed and euphoric. The elderly woman also came down with symptoms.

Source: Mysterious illness that can cause hallucinations hits Coos Bay | OregonLive.com

USS Mason Fired 3 Missiles to Defend From Yemen Cruise Missiles Attack

What the heck is happening in the Red Sea? The U.S. Navy shot down two incoming cruise missiles? This is serious stuff!

The crew of a guided-missile destroyer fired three missiles to defend themselves and another ship after being attacked on Sunday in the Red Sea by two presumed cruise missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi-forces, USNI News has learned.During the attack against USS Mason (DDG-87), the ship’s crew fired the missiles to defend the guided-missile destroyer and nearby USS Ponce (AFSB(I)-15) from two suspected cruise missiles fired from the Yemini shore, two defense officials told USNI News.

Source: USS Mason Fired 3 Missiles to Defend From Yemen Cruise Missiles Attack