Vice Principles

Betting, Smoking, and Weekend Whats

The weekend is approaching, so let's check in on a couple of American vices (or virtues, depending on your stance). For many people, this is no ordinary weekend. It's the first weekend in a long time without football. Or more to the point, it's the first weekend in a long time without football to bet on. Some will take the weekend off from their newly legal habit. Others will take a less treacherous (and withdrawal-inducing) path and just bet on some other game. Maybe game is too broad. Modern gamblers (especially young men) bet on distinct aspects and parts of games. That's how the action keeps going. These days, who has the attention span to wait the length of an entire game to see if a bet hits? The action never stops. The casino is always open. It's right in your pocket. And it's been supercharged by other tech and techniques that keep you glued to your device. "The apps are designed to be played quickly and aggressively to trigger repeated hits of dopamine and, eventually, addiction. 'This has nothing to do with ordinary sports betting ... Until you had online sports betting, nobody had ever bet on whether the next pitch was going to be faster or slower than 95 mph. You’re betting on all these micro-propositions. It’s just an opportunity to push the button.'" The Guardian: How the quick high of ‘fast-food gambling’ ensnared young men. Want a safe bet? Put your money on this trend accelerating. Gambling marketers are definitely laying their money down. "Over the course of an NBA or NHL broadcast, the viewer will see the logo of a betting company or hear some reference made to gambling 2.8 times per minute, according to a study. 'ESPN is a 24-7 casino ad right now,' says Dr Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist and the co-director of UCLA’s Gambling Studies Program. 'The normalization has gone so deep, so fast. [Sports] gambling has gone so viral that it’s beyond normalization. It’s endemic.'"

+ The widespread legalization of sports betting has been a win for the House. But other constituents have suffered. Which brings us to another big legalization bet. Weed. The Atlantic (Gift Article): Legal Weed Didn’t Deliver on Its Promises. "Advocates touted a host of benefits and no real costs. That’s proven to be a fantasy." (At least let me experience the host of benefits for the next four years, when I really need it...)

2

Get Out of My Head

"The Food and Drug Administration approved a new medication Thursday to treat pain from an injury or surgery. It is expensive, with a list price of $15.50 per pill. But unlike opioid pain medicines, it cannot become addictive. That is because the drug, suzetrigine, made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and to be sold as Journavx, works only on nerves outside the brain, blocking pain signals. It cannot get into the brain." Gina Kolata in the NYT(Gift Article): F.D.A. Approves Drug to Treat Pain Without Opioid Effects.

3

Altered States

The next phase in the war on abortion has begun. This time, a state with an extreme abortion ban is targeting out of state providers of abortion-inducing drugs. New York doctor indicted for prescribing abortion pill in Louisiana. "The case appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of sending abortion pills to another state, at least since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and opened the door for states to have strict anti-abortion laws." (We're leaving it up to the states ... to target other states.)

4

Weekend Whats

What to Benefit: The FireAid concert that aired on every major streaming network combined amazing (and an amazing number of) musical performances with some really moving stories from people who experienced the fires. The performances spanned the genres and the years and included a reunion of Nirvana with guest artists providing lead vocals, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, Lady Gaga, Pink, John Mayer, Green Day, Billie Eilish, Sting, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Katy Perry, Olivia Rodrigo, and on and on. You can still watch the whole event. And of course, consider making a donation. Steve Ballmer matched all FireAid donations made during the benefit concert. That’s how you billionaire.

+ What to Doc: Tom Green was an internet star before there were internet stars. Take a nostalgic (and oddly comforting) look back at his meteoric rise (and the rise of a certain kind of homemade entertainment) on Prime: This Is The Tom Green Documentary.

+ What to SNL: With the 50th anniversary looming, there is a lot of SNL content out and more coming. For now, check out the four episode look behind the scenes, Beyond Saturday Night. And experience music history with 50 Years of SNL Music. Even the trailer is amazing.

5

Extra, Extra

Paramount a Resistance? For big corporations, news divisions are a rounding error, one many of them are willing to tarnish or sell out for (potential) returns down the road. The latest example: Paramount in Settlement Talks With Trump Over ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit. "When Donald J. Trump sued CBS for $10 billion days before the 2024 election, accusing the company of deceptively editing a '60 Minutes' interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, many legal experts dismissed the litigation as a far-fetched attempt to punish an out-of-favor news outlet." (60 Minutes used to refer to an investigative news show. Now it refers to how long it took corporate America to bend the knee.)

+ Aircraft Collision: More than 40 bodies have been recovered following the midair collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger plane approaching Reagan International. Investigators have also retrieved the black box. Here's the latest from CNN and AP. NYT (Gift Article): Washington Crash Renews Concerns About Air Safety Lapses. "Even before an official cause is determined, there were signs Wednesday that pilots and air traffic controllers at Reagan National were not operating under optimal conditions." And, not that reality matters anymore, but Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries. And, don't let all the DEI talk distract you from the larger plan to gut the federal government. The New Yorker: What’s the Point of Trump’s War on D.E.I.?

+ More of the Trump Dump: White House says Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China will come Saturday. A headline for the ages: Trump administration moving to fire FBI agents involved in investigations of Trump. Trump's FCC chief opens investigation into NPR and PBS. And NYT (Gift Article): How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze. Enough about our elected king. Let's talk about our unelected king. Elon Musk is reportedly taking control of the inner workings of US government agencies. (I know, I know. This is a lot of Trump news. Believe me, there's a hell of a lot more out there. I'm filtering as fast as I can.)

+ On the Button: "Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men's figure skater in history. He was one of his sport's great innovators and promoters, the man responsible not only for inventing the flying camel spin but describing it to generations of fans." Dick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95.

+ A Look Below the Belt: "Transporting sand to petroleum frackers is often expensive—and dangerous. A big bet on a mammoth machine aims to change that." What's this new-fangled technology? A conveyor belt. Texas Monthly: The World’s Second-Longest Conveyor Belt Is Rolling in West Texas. (How the hell is this thing not in the show Landman?)

6

Feel Good Friday

NYT Mag (Gift Article): What Happened When America Emptied Its Youth Prisons. "Lessons from a radical 20-year experiment and a quiet triumph of public policy."

+ There's something interesting happening in the NFL. When a player makes a mistake that causes his own team's fans to attack him, the other team's fans often rally together to support that player's favorite charity. (Maybe just to say thanks for making the mistake?)

+ WaPo (Gift Article): He thought his dog was gone forever. Seven years later, the phone rang. (For a second, I thought his dog learned to use the phone...)

+ WaPo (Gift Article): An airport piano was filthy and out of tune. He fixed it during a layover.

+ The Best Table Tennis Points Of 2024.

+ Nature reserve enjoys resurgence of bearded tits. (The same thing happened to me when I started eating carbs again...)