Last week we talked about the senseless loss of life in Buffalo. This week, we recorded before Uvalde happened. We open with a few minutes devoted to that awful event, before moving on to our regularly scheduled nonsense. We jump around to a bunch of smaller topics this week, include SCOTUS news, primary results in Pennsylvania and predictions in Georgia, Senator Bill Cassidy steps in it, and a piece of new technology that we actually like. Listen, if you must! Has something we said, or failed to say, made you FEEL something? You can tell us all about it on Facebook or Twitter, leave a comment on the show’s page on our website, or you can send us an email here. Enjoy!
Show Rundown
Open — Some unorganized thoughts on what happened in Texas on Tuesday
11:49 — Actual show starts! Did you know the FDA is back on their “let’s ban menthol-cigarettes” thing?
15:50 — Some very important corrections
22:57 — SCOTUS rules that death row inmates cannot introduce new evidence in federal appeals, and that “innocence isn’t enough”
30:00 — Some Texas lawmakers want to ban corporations from their state if they help employees access abortions in other states, and a discussion about primary votes in various states
50:16 — Senator Bill Cassidy puts his foot in various of his own orifices
55:58 — NPR doesn’t even listen to NPR, why are we?
1:01:17 — Grub Hub reaffirms that there is no such thing as a free lunch
1:10:46 — Jay Caspian Kang in the NYT: cars have too many screens!
1:19:01 — The future is good, actually!
1:24:46 — Sam Neill and Laura Dern had a scandalous fake relationship in 1993
1:33:20 — Taylor Lorenz being silly in the Washington Post again
1:42:48 — Strassmann!
1:47:12 — The USMNT did something selfless, Bob disapproves
1:54:48 — A very brief new segment
1:55:35 — Wrap-up! Twitter, Joe Biden and Taiwan, COVID surging, “MEN,” Top Gun, Love on the Spectrum
Relevant Linkage
The Contingency of Oarsmen—a failed essay about free will, massacres, and contingent rights: https://www.timesxbob.com/home/2018/2/15/on-the-gun-or-mustard-gas-and-roses
NYT: US Food and Drug Administration moves to ban menthol cigarettes
YouTube: A video demonstration of the phases of the moon
SCOTUSblog: Conservative majority hollows out precedent on ineffective-counsel claims in federal court
Jacksonville: Man convicted in 1986 sexual assault of 4-year-old girl exonerated after wrongful conviction
The Intercept: “INNOCENCE ISN’T ENOUGH”: ARIZONA URGES THE SUPREME COURT TO SEND BARRY JONES BACK TO DEATH ROW
Texas Tribune: Businesses that help employees get abortions could be next target of Texas lawmakers if Roe v. Wade is overturned
NYT: How Trump’s 2020 Election Lies Have Gripped State Legislatures
WAPO: The Trump election conspiracists who could win — and impact 2024
Oz: Would Forego Security Clearances in Order to Maintain Dual Citizenship
UPDATE via CNN: Dr. Oz vows to renounce Turkish citizenship if elected to Senate
VOX: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s incredible fundraising haul reveals what the GOP is really about
WAPO: He’s raised and spent millions running against Marjorie Taylor Greene
How not to run for governor:
Abrams expounds on the point:
Bill (not John, you idiot) Cassidy with Politico: Why Louisiana’s maternal mortality rates are so high
NPR: A factory in Illinois has an innovative approach to employee wellness
Eater: Is Anyone Surprised Grubhub’s ‘Free’ Lunch Program Was a Disaster for Restaurant Workers?
NYT’s Jay Caspian Kang: Touch Screens in Cars Solve a Problem We Didn’t Have
Every Goddamn Culture Site on the Internet: Laura Dern and Sam Neill had an inappropriate fake relationship in the movie about cloning dinosaurs
WaPo’s Taylor Lorenz: How the Biden administration let right-wing attacks derail its disinformation efforts