Pittsburgh
Unsurprisingly but disgustingly, Tony Moreno has re-entered the Pittsburgh mayoral race as a Republican.[1] He will draw the not inconsiderable white supremacist and police white supremacist gang-supporting vote but will probably not draw anywhere near enough votes to defeat Ed Gainey, who won the Democratic primary.[2]
Tom Davidson, “Tony Moreno re-enters Pittsburgh mayoral race as Republican,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 29, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/tony-moreno-re-enters-pittsburgh-mayoral-race-as-republican/
Positivist hubris
John Horgan rightly doubts that positivism—scientific method—can resolve all the questions of human existence. Unfortunately, people exist who think it can.[3]
John Horgan, “Science Should Not Try to Absorb Religion and Other Ways of Knowing,” Scientific American, June 25, 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-should-not-try-to-absorb-religion-and-other-ways-of-knowing/
AdBlock
It looks like the proximal cause of my difficulties yesterday may have been one of my layers of ad-blocking.[4] I have little regret however, as my Mac had been set up in the way that someone who had been away from Macs for over twenty years might indeed screw it up. Now I have a chance to sort it out with a bit more current experience.
One thing I tried to resurrect—and gave up on—is my old script for archiving articles. I wasn’t getting a clue what was going wrong and I just can’t do it anymore; as I said yesterday, my burnout on technical matters is intensifying.
So I’m now archiving articles a simpler way, as PDFs to my Google Drive, which has unlimited storage, and I’m deleting the HTML versions that I had kept private on this site, which enables me to make a bit more public. A lot of the entries on this site will gradually be converted to reading lists on various topics.
Richard Lawler, “AdBlock glitch blanks out content on Twitter, Wikipedia, Amazon, and other sites,” Verge, June 28, 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554495/adblock-plus-filter-lists-wiki-reddit-twitter
Amazon
Amazon Flex is Amazon’s piece of the gig economy. Ironically given the name, it’s less flexible than other gig options as drivers must sign up for times in advance.
Tim De Chant, “Amazon is using algorithms with little human intervention to fire Flex workers,” Ars Technica, June 28, 2021, https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/06/amazon-is-firing-flex-workers-using-algorithms-with-little-human-intervention/
Evictions
In a detail that passed below my radar, apparently the Biden administration has extended the eviction moratorium for another month, to the end of July.[5]
In a brief opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said he agreed with [U.S. District Judge Dabney] Friedrich’s ruling, but voted to leave the ban on evictions in place because it’s due to end in a month and “because those few weeks will allow for additional and more orderly distribution of the congressionally appropriated rental assistance funds.”[6]
Dabney Friedrich’s ruling was handed down in May.[7] I do not know the status of other challenges to the ban.
Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place
- [1]Tom Davidson, “Tony Moreno re-enters Pittsburgh mayoral race as Republican,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, June 29, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/tony-moreno-re-enters-pittsburgh-mayoral-race-as-republican/↩
- [2]Associated Press, “Pittsburgh votes out mayor in primary election,” Politico, May 18, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/18/pittsburgh-votes-out-mayor-in-primary-election-489542; Tom Davidson, “Pittsburgh, Allegheny County voters approve no-knock warrant ban, solitary confinement restrictions,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 19, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny-county-voters-approve-no-knock-warrant-ban-solitary-confinement-restrictions/; Tom Davidson and Megan Guza, “How did Peduto lose Pittsburgh mayoral primary? Experts offer insight,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, May 19, 2021, https://triblive.com/local/how-did-peduto-lose-the-pittsburgh-mayoral-primary-experts-offer-insight/; Charlie Wolfson, “Gainey topples Peduto in primary, will be Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor barring a November challenge,” Public Source, May 18, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/gainey-topples-peduto-in-primary-on-course-as-first-black-pittsburgh-mayor/; Charlie Wolfson and Rich Lord, “‘The rebel becomes the establishment’: Peduto and Gainey reflect on a historic election,” May 24, 2021, https://www.publicsource.org/gainey-peduto-pittsburgh-mayor-election-police-affordable-housing-covid-politics/↩
- [3]John Horgan, “Science Should Not Try to Absorb Religion and Other Ways of Knowing,” Scientific American, June 25, 2021, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-should-not-try-to-absorb-religion-and-other-ways-of-knowing/↩
- [4]Richard Lawler, “AdBlock glitch blanks out content on Twitter, Wikipedia, Amazon, and other sites,” Verge, June 28, 2021, https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554495/adblock-plus-filter-lists-wiki-reddit-twitter↩
- [5]Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place↩
- [6]Associated Press, “Supreme Court rejects plea by landlords to lift federal eviction moratorium,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 2021, https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-06-29/supreme-court-leaves-cdc-eviction-moratorium-in-place↩
- [7]Kyle Swenson, “Federal judge vacates CDC’s nationwide eviction moratorium,” Washington Post, May 5, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/05/05/federal-judge-vacates-cdcs-nationwide-eviction-moratorium/↩