Yesterday was one of those days that just existed, nothing more. I spent most of the day in bed (no big surprise). The kids cleaned out all eight litter boxes and refilled them (no small feat). Kat came home early, too exhausted to stand. We have days like this. You have days like this. We all keep going, doing our best, content with the fact that at least nothing horrible happened. Any day where the ground isn’t burning under our feet is a good day.
The headlines in this morning’s news are interesting though not necessarily consequential. The death of actor Matthew Perry has resulted in the arrest of five people, including doctors and dealers. Perry died ten months ago from a ketamine overdose so large that it aroused immediate suspicion. All five of those arrested are looking at severe jail time, possibly even life in prison. While that’s all well and good, I have a question:
Why do we only leverage this level of investigation for celebrities? The same thing happened with Michael Jackson’s death, where his doctor was eventually convicted. When Elvis Presley died on this day in 1977, officials immediately looked at his doctors and blamed them for his overdose. Why don’t we apply the same rules and the same level of inquiry to the overdose deaths of “normal” people? How famous does one have to be to warrant such an investigation?
I know, I know, cost is the primary factor in deciding which cases get more intense treatment. There’s no small amount of PR involved as well. People, for some reason, care who killed a celebrity more than they care about who/what killed the addict down the street. Was Perry really any better than anyone else? He had struggled with addiction for years. If we were to observe the same behaviors in anyone else, we would have considered their death an inevitability.
Where’s the ProLife crowd on this issue? Absent, of course. They’ll happily pass laws that deny women autonomy over their bodies to save a barely-developed zygote while ignoring the guy on the street corner who has someone constantly pushing a stream of harder and more dangerous drugs at him. Heaven forbid we provide public Narcan stations where people can actually get help. The way that our society prioritizes one life over another is nothing short of disgusting.
I normally don’t pay a lot of attention to changes in heads of state for countries that don’t generally have a dramatic effect on anyone outside their own borders. However, when Thailand’s parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the country’s new Prime Minister yesterday, it was a bit like if a fourth member of the Bush family were to become President here. Most famously, her father, Thaskin Shinawatra, who was elected to office three times, was overthrown and exiled in a coup orchestrated by the royal family in 2006. Since then, both her sister and brother-in-law have served as PM as well. This time, though, the royal family exerted its influence to prevent the liberal  Move Forward Party, which finished first in a national election, from coming to power.
How does this affect you? Probably not at all. At least, there’s no direct effect. Paetongtarn says she’s going to double Thailand’s minimum wage and improve its public transit system, among other popular things. What’s most likely to happen is an effort to rebuild Thailand’s influence in the tech sector, which could increase competition for companies such as Nvidia. Expect there to be a push to increase tourism as well since the Shinawatra family’s fortune comes from the hotel business. Thailand is a beautiful country full of ancient history. This could be a good time to book a trip, but be aware that should Paetongtarn cross the royal family, she’ll be gone quickly.
Among the more insipidly stupid things you’ll see in today’s news, the Orange Felon says he’s ‘entitled to personal attacks’ on Kamala Harris because of the multiple charges against him. Felon says what? The statements came during yet another rambling and almost incoherent press conference yesterday, which, as we’ve come to expect, requires fact-checking because the Felon doesn’t seem to know the difference between truth and the fiction he creates in his head.
Here’s an interesting story: An association of Indian doctors called for more than a million colleagues nationwide to provide only essential services on Saturday, in a protest over the brutal rape and murder of a medic that is set to be the biggest such strike in recent times. The 31-year-old doctor was found dead on a blood-soaked mattress in the medical college where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata. She had settled down for a short nap on a carpet in a college lecture hall after working for nearly 20 hours of a 36-hour shift.
Women account for a significant majority of medical professionals in India. While an arrest has been made for the crime, doctors say it highlights the dangers they face just being at work in hospitals across the country. In calling for a shutdown of all but emergency services, more than a million doctors could be absent as part of the strike on Saturday.
What an interesting perspective to have compared to the conditions in the US where women in the medical profession are still routinely abused, denigrated, passed over for promotion, and generally treated as inferior caregivers. In a July survey, a shocking 64% of participants reported a higher prevalence of all forms of gender-based violence for women, including sexual violence, verbal abuse, discrimination, bullying, and physical violence. If the American Medical Association were to suggest a nationwide shutdown in protest, there would not only be an outcry against them, legal action would likely occur in an effort to force them back to work. The US is so far behind other developed countries on this issue that presidential candidates won’t even acknowledge that it’s an issue. We’re not progressive. We’re not a leader in women’s rights. We need to improve dramatically.
Let’s end on a more positive note this morning, shall we? Panda twins were born in Hong Kong to Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time mom. By “world’s oldest” we mean that she’s 19 years old, which I guess is almost geriatric for a panda. The twins are still pink, furless little bundles for now, which means we won’t see them in public for a few weeks, but adding two more of the world’s most adorable creatures to the population seems like a very good reason to celebrate.
There are six cats and two large dogs currently sleeping in my bed, so I guess I’m staying up for a while. Good thing there’s more coffee.
Morning Update: 08/16/24
Yesterday was one of those days that just existed, nothing more. I spent most of the day in bed (no big surprise). The kids cleaned out all eight litter boxes and refilled them (no small feat). Kat came home early, too exhausted to stand. We have days like this. You have days like this. We all keep going, doing our best, content with the fact that at least nothing horrible happened. Any day where the ground isn’t burning under our feet is a good day.
The headlines in this morning’s news are interesting though not necessarily consequential. The death of actor Matthew Perry has resulted in the arrest of five people, including doctors and dealers. Perry died ten months ago from a ketamine overdose so large that it aroused immediate suspicion. All five of those arrested are looking at severe jail time, possibly even life in prison. While that’s all well and good, I have a question:
Why do we only leverage this level of investigation for celebrities? The same thing happened with Michael Jackson’s death, where his doctor was eventually convicted. When Elvis Presley died on this day in 1977, officials immediately looked at his doctors and blamed them for his overdose. Why don’t we apply the same rules and the same level of inquiry to the overdose deaths of “normal” people? How famous does one have to be to warrant such an investigation?
I know, I know, cost is the primary factor in deciding which cases get more intense treatment. There’s no small amount of PR involved as well. People, for some reason, care who killed a celebrity more than they care about who/what killed the addict down the street. Was Perry really any better than anyone else? He had struggled with addiction for years. If we were to observe the same behaviors in anyone else, we would have considered their death an inevitability.
Where’s the ProLife crowd on this issue? Absent, of course. They’ll happily pass laws that deny women autonomy over their bodies to save a barely-developed zygote while ignoring the guy on the street corner who has someone constantly pushing a stream of harder and more dangerous drugs at him. Heaven forbid we provide public Narcan stations where people can actually get help. The way that our society prioritizes one life over another is nothing short of disgusting.
Speaking of lives, file this one under “I didn’t know they were still alive.” Peter Marshall, the original host of Hollywood Squares died yesterday at the age of 98, well after most of the people who appeared in those squares have long passed. X gets the square and the game, Mr. Marshall. Well played.
I normally don’t pay a lot of attention to changes in heads of state for countries that don’t generally have a dramatic effect on anyone outside their own borders. However, when Thailand’s parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra as the country’s new Prime Minister yesterday, it was a bit like if a fourth member of the Bush family were to become President here. Most famously, her father, Thaskin Shinawatra, who was elected to office three times, was overthrown and exiled in a coup orchestrated by the royal family in 2006. Since then, both her sister and brother-in-law have served as PM as well. This time, though, the royal family exerted its influence to prevent the liberal  Move Forward Party, which finished first in a national election, from coming to power.
How does this affect you? Probably not at all. At least, there’s no direct effect. Paetongtarn says she’s going to double Thailand’s minimum wage and improve its public transit system, among other popular things. What’s most likely to happen is an effort to rebuild Thailand’s influence in the tech sector, which could increase competition for companies such as Nvidia. Expect there to be a push to increase tourism as well since the Shinawatra family’s fortune comes from the hotel business. Thailand is a beautiful country full of ancient history. This could be a good time to book a trip, but be aware that should Paetongtarn cross the royal family, she’ll be gone quickly.
Among the more insipidly stupid things you’ll see in today’s news, the Orange Felon says he’s ‘entitled to personal attacks’ on Kamala Harris because of the multiple charges against him. Felon says what? The statements came during yet another rambling and almost incoherent press conference yesterday, which, as we’ve come to expect, requires fact-checking because the Felon doesn’t seem to know the difference between truth and the fiction he creates in his head.
Here’s an interesting story: An association of Indian doctors called for more than a million colleagues nationwide to provide only essential services on Saturday, in a protest over the brutal rape and murder of a medic that is set to be the biggest such strike in recent times. The 31-year-old doctor was found dead on a blood-soaked mattress in the medical college where she worked in the eastern city of Kolkata. She had settled down for a short nap on a carpet in a college lecture hall after working for nearly 20 hours of a 36-hour shift.
Women account for a significant majority of medical professionals in India. While an arrest has been made for the crime, doctors say it highlights the dangers they face just being at work in hospitals across the country. In calling for a shutdown of all but emergency services, more than a million doctors could be absent as part of the strike on Saturday.
What an interesting perspective to have compared to the conditions in the US where women in the medical profession are still routinely abused, denigrated, passed over for promotion, and generally treated as inferior caregivers. In a July survey, a shocking 64% of participants reported a higher prevalence of all forms of gender-based violence for women, including sexual violence, verbal abuse, discrimination, bullying, and physical violence. If the American Medical Association were to suggest a nationwide shutdown in protest, there would not only be an outcry against them, legal action would likely occur in an effort to force them back to work. The US is so far behind other developed countries on this issue that presidential candidates won’t even acknowledge that it’s an issue. We’re not progressive. We’re not a leader in women’s rights. We need to improve dramatically.
Let’s end on a more positive note this morning, shall we? Panda twins were born in Hong Kong to Ying Ying, the world’s oldest first-time mom. By “world’s oldest” we mean that she’s 19 years old, which I guess is almost geriatric for a panda. The twins are still pink, furless little bundles for now, which means we won’t see them in public for a few weeks, but adding two more of the world’s most adorable creatures to the population seems like a very good reason to celebrate.
There are six cats and two large dogs currently sleeping in my bed, so I guess I’m staying up for a while. Good thing there’s more coffee.
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