Back from Basics

Well, I've decided to change my blog again. I haven't even done my first book review of the year, but I think I'm going back to posting links to news articles. In large part, this is because I'm tired of Facebook and backing out slowly - I don't know that I'll leave entirely, but I think I'll be less active there. Having a blog post of the news stories I find important to share that only posts once a day will also give me the time and ability to choose carefully, as well as to arrange by subject. It also gives me the opportunity to post once a day, rather than scattershot throughout the day, and gives others the chance to ignore me completely on Facebook or to see what I'm saying if they're not on Facebook.

Hopefully, it will also cut down on troll fights, because trolls are terrible.

In addition to my news posts and occasional book reviews, I'll post my Little Peaces and other pictures I take - so feel free, too, to just look at the pretty pictures and ignore the rest. So, first up: Have a couple pretty pictures!

Salt 1

Salt 2

Now, let's get to it - Links!

• Library Land
• Who isn't stressed these days? Coloring is one of my favorite de-stressers, and Newberry Library is letting you color their collection! I particularly recommend Illustration of a sea monster. (Or maybe I just wish I had my own sea monster to eat a few trolls...) 
• Want a reading list I love? Here you go, then: 9 Literary Mythical Creatures (and Where to Find Them) I've not read all of them - but the ones I've not read are going on my TBR mountain. 
• Niiiiice: Open Access eBooks on JSTOR
• ALA denounces recent FCC Lifeline revocations, report retractions
  

  On February 3, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revoked all of the designations of Lifeline Broadband Providers and ordered the retraction of multiple reports, including the “E-rate Modernization Progress Report” and “Improving the Nation’s Digital Infrastructure.”
  
  The American Library Association (ALA) is dismayed by these actions to reduce digital opportunity and revise the public record....

  This seems like a good time to remind everyone, limited Internet access has terrible consequences for children's education. 
• You know what else has terrible consequences for children's education? Banning books - particularly ones specifically written to teach moral behavior. Jay High bans book from Celebrate Literacy Week
  

  "I'm naturally sorry that 'Gutless' was pulled," [author Carl] Deuker said. "In context, 'Gutless' is moral to the core - maybe to the point of being too preachy. The characters that abuse power are, by the last page, revealed as moral cowards - despicable people. The main character learns through the course of the novel that developing the moral courage to stand up to evil is essential, far more important than physical courage on an athletic field. The teachers would have used the book to take on the topics of bullying and abuse of power.

  "A part of me does, I'll admit, sympathize with parents. They want to keep their children young and innocent - fourth-graders for life. But Peter Pan and Wendy aren't real. Their junior high 'children' are no longer children, but are now young adults. Reading 'Gutless' would have been good for them."

• Federal Court Rules Against Public.Resource.Org, Says Public Safety Laws Can Be Locked Behind Paywalls "Everyone should be able to read the law, discuss it, and share it with others, without having to pay a toll or sign a contract. Seems obvious, right? Unfortunately, a federal district court has said otherwise, ruling that private organizations can use copyright to control access to huge portions of our state and federal laws. The court ordered Public.Resource.Org to stop providing public access to these key legal rules."

• U.S. Politics
• Michigan Republican suggests 'another Kent State' for liberal protesters 'You know what these student protesters need? A bullet!' 'No, wait, that's not what I meant!' Uh-huh. [/shifty eyes]
  
  In case you're not familiar with the Kent State Incident, that was when the National Guard opened fire on peaceful protesters (who were protesting our involvement in Vietnam) at Kent State University, killing four students  and wounding nine more. The Jackson State Incident occurred a few days later - state highway patrolmen opened fire and killed two students, with an additional nine injured - which certainly suggests a pattern, although the Jackson State Incident received far less attention.
  
  Kent State had a response to Dan Adamini's posts:

  May 4, 1970, was a watershed moment for the country and especially the Kent State University family. We lost four students that day while nine others were wounded and countless others were changed forever.  This abhorrent post is in poor taste and trivializes a loss of life that still pains the Kent State community today. We invite the person who wrote this statement to tour our campus and our May 4 Visitors Center, which opened four years ago, to gain perspective on what happened 47 years ago and apply its meaning to the future.

• I know the 'Bowling Green Massacre' slip-up Conway had in her interview with MSNBC is old news by now. It was just a slip-up, right? Mistakes happen. It hasn't stopped people from having a lot of fun with it.  But apparently this particular 'oops' is not a one-time thing: That MSNBC Interview Was Not the First Time Kellyanne Conway Referred to the "Bowling Green Massacre" "In an earlier interview with Cosmopolitan.com, she not only used this same phrase but also went a step further in describing the actions of the two Iraqi men involved in the case to which she was referring." Of course, the more you repeat a lie, the more people believe it - so I propose this:  An actual 'Bowling Green Massacre' Information Center, which will really be a learning center devoted to the fake news phenomenon and teaching basic fact-checking skills. Now, who's going to give me a grant? 
• Related: Don't get fooled by these fake news sites
• 'The Senate is coming apart'  That sounds worse than it actually is, though.
  

  "People ask me if I’m worried about our country right now. And I say, well I am. But I always try to put things in perspective,” said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). “This is a country that survived a civil war followed by the assassination of our president followed by the impeachment of the next president. We got through that, so the Senate will get through this."

• Senate Democrats plan to debate all night in hopes of stopping DeVos This is not a filibuster - it's an attempt to sway one more Republican to vote 'no' and prevent a desperately unqualified DeVos from becoming Education secretary.
• Opposition to Trump travel ban grows as key court decision looms The travel ban is a little bit unpopular. "Ten former high-ranking diplomatic and national security officials, nearly 100 Silicon Valley tech companies, more than 280 law professors, and a host of civil liberties and other organizations have formally lent their support to the legal bid to block President Trump’s immigration order."
• Trump really has a problem with the media. It's getting ridiculous. President Trump is now speculating that the media is covering up terrorist attacks.  Related: Staying Informed While the Press is Under Attack 
• Lawmaker Wants Women To Spend Sundays Making Husbands Breakfast In Bed I know - I laughed, too. 
• International
• Romania govt vows to repeal law that goes easy on corruption  "After mass protests that have rocked the country for days, Romania’s government announced Saturday that it will repeal a highly controversial emergency decree that decriminalizes official misconduct....The ordinance decriminalizes official misconduct if the funds involved are less than 200,000 lei ($47,800), which critics said would just encourage officials to steal on the job up to that point." Well, yeah - if someone told me, "It's only illegal to steal more than ONE cheesecake", I'd be out the door with a cheesecake! Great, now I want cheesecake...  
• "The United States president is becoming a danger to the world. It is time for Germany and Europe to prepare their political and economic defenses." So says Klaus Brinkbäumer in his Der Spiegel editorial,  Trump as Nero: Europe Must Defend Itself Against A Dangerous President.He...ain't wrong. That makes me sad. 
• The UK isn't too thrilled with Trump, either. Donald Trump will not be allowed to address Parliament on UK state visit, Speaker John Bercow says
• Fall armyworm 'threatens African farmers' livelihoods'  The armyworm, an invasive species, is eating its way through maize crops, a staple of several African nations.
• Othernesses
• What will Earth look like if all its land ice melts? Here's your answer.  
• Flight attendants are being trained to spot victims of human trafficking. It works! Hurrah!
• Finally: Feynman explains the scientific method!