Character Assassination
America's Copy and Paste Tragedy
He "was begging for help from everybody around him ... The adults around him failed him." That's the aunt of America's latest school shooter on the 14 year-old student's struggle with mental health. We've also learned that the shooter was investigated last year for online threats. Meanwhile, the NYT is reporting on possible motives. "Troubling details emerged Thursday from the investigation of a 14-year-old student accused of opening fire in his Georgia high school. Police found evidence that the boy was interested in mass shootings, particularly the 2018 massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla." These sad updates following mass shootings have become a gruesomely rote part of the media's regular crime beat. The headlines, like the weapons that drive them, seem semi-automatic at this point. But mental health issues and troubled kids with sick obsessions happen in other places, so why does the evergreen headline from The Onion of all places continue to ring so true: ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens. Maybe a good place to start is with these characters: AR-15, and a headline that should be from the The Onion, but it's not: Georgia school shooter used an AR-15. Why are these weapons so popular for mass shootings? "An AR-15 is a semi-automatic or self-loading rifle that has been called 'America's rifle' by the NRA with well over 15 million sold by 2019 ... in 2023, about 1 in 20 U.S. adults owned an AR-15 ... the weapon was used in at least 10 of the 17 deadliest mass shootings in America ... New AR-15 rifles can sell for $400 to $2,000 and nearly every major gun manufacturer produces one. Ammunition is inexpensive and can be bought in bulk online, and magazines are interchangeable between manufacturers ... The AR-15 was designed to inflict what one of its designers called 'maximum wound effect.'" Politicians who have cravenly allowed the unabated proliferation of these weapons usually argue that the hours and days after a shooting tragedy is no time to discuss gun policy. But in America, that would mean there's never a time to discuss it.
2
Steeling a Base
Pennsylvania is arguably the most important swing state in a close election. That makes this a particularly thorny time for Japan’s Nippon Steel to acquire Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. Which side is against the deal? Both. NYT (Gift Article): How Swing State Politics Are Sinking a Global Steel Deal.
3
Game That Tune
Music platforms pay artists royalties based on the number of times their songs are streamed. Is there a way to artificially turn up the volume on that volume? Michael Smith decided to find out. He used AI to create a ton of songs by fake bands and then set up a bunch of bots to stream them over and over. The scheme worked. Maybe a little too well. I wonder if any of the AI songs sound anything like Jailhouse Rock. FBI busts musician’s elaborate AI-powered $10M streaming-royalty heist.
4
Fortune Kookie
"The Good Council, the text went on, would comprise fifty Austrians selected by lottery—Erna was among ten thousand who made the first cut—and meet for six weekends to come up with proposals for how to address inequality in Austria, where the richest one per cent controls half of the country’s wealth. Additionally, the council would have twenty-five million euros to distribute as it saw fit." Joshua Yaffa in The New Yorker: How to Give Away a Fortune. "An Austrian heiress recruited fifty people from all walks of life to redistribute twenty-five million euros—if they could agree on how to spend it."
5
Extra, Extra
Different Hoax for Different Folks: Over and over we were told that Russian interference in our elections was just a hoax. A "new indictment reinforces that it wasn’t. Russia began trying to influence American politics a decade ago, ultimately finding a sympathetic ally in Donald Trump. Now, instead of trying to make fake personalities who can elevate contentious issues to Russia’s benefit, there’s a stable of Trump-allied voices who already are." WaPo (Gift Article): A new reminder that Russian interference was never a ‘hoax’. "It just succeeded in a way that Russia could never have predicted." (Funny how the people calling everyone a communist were actually spreading messages from the Russians.) More from AP: Right-wing influencers were duped to work for covert Russian influence operation, US says. And from the NYT, a specific case that helps to explain how these influence campaigns work: Activists Charged With Pushing Russian Propaganda Go on Trial in Florida.
+ Case Scenario: "I understand that there is an election ... I’ve said before … that the electoral process and the timing of the election … is not relevant here. The court is not concerned with the electoral schedule." The Trump election interference case is back in session (and back to what will be a long, long path toward a trial - if one ever happens).
+ Cheney Reaction: "As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this. Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris." Republican Liz Cheney endorses Kamala Harris. The backing of Harris by some prominent GOP officials is one of the more welcome signs in this election. But it’s beyond comprehension that this is still the exception to the GOP rule.
+ Phoenix Rising: Phoenix, Arizona, hits its 100th consecutive day of 100F weather. (I could never take this. If I don't hear fog horns for a few hours, I panic.)
+ Does This Register? "The move escalates Texas Republicans’ brewing fight with urban counties over initiatives to proactively send applications to unregistered voters." Ken Paxton sues Bexar County over voter registration outreach effort. (Rule: Vote for people who want people to vote.)
+ Hand to Forehand Combat: Aryna Sabalenka has the loudest grunt/scream in tennis. And it works. At the US Open, she's been hitting forehands at speeds faster than anyone else on either side of the draw.
+ Dog Bytes: According to a recent study, dogs can remember names of toys years after not seeing them.
6
Bottom of the News
"There weren’t 25 yards of space between the road and the river, so it was impossible to get out of your car near the bison and remain at a safe distance. Still, few of my fellow motorists were able to resist. They got out and snapped photos without compunction, which made me think: Well, look, if they’re doing it, maybe I can too. It can’t charge all of us. That kind of attitude is why Yellowstone visitors end up gored by bison regularly, and then get roasted on Instagram for it." Drew Magary in Outside: Why Does Yellowstone National Park Turn Us All into Maniacs?
+ Parental PTSD warning: Barney Franchise Revived at Max With New Series ‘Barney’s World.