Friday Links (robotic telescope edition)

A duplicate of China's Jade Rabbit lunar probe photographed during tests before launch (Image: CNSA) — A duplicate of China’s Jade Rabbit lunar probe photographed during tests before launch (Image: CNSA)

It’s already the third Friday October!? It’s the month of pumpkins and falling leaves and spooks and costumes! It is also Gay History Month

Once again, I’m really, really, really glad that the weekend is upon us!

Anyway, here is a collection of some of the things that I ran across over the course of the week which struck me as worthy of being shared. Sorted into categories with headings so you can skip more easily:

Link of the Week

Why Twitter’s Dying (And What You Can Learn From It). When a technology is used to shrink people’s possibilities, more than to expand them, it cannot create value for them.

This Week in Diversity

The Only Request Any Voiceover Actor or American-Latino Need Follow.

Beauties and Beasts by Amelia Vaughn. “Because he should know that true love is still for him, even though he’s not interested in pretty girls. He deserves that. All kids do. Because true love is for everyone.”

Just Because You Do These 3 Things Doesn’t Make You A Feminist.

To the LGBT community, the niqab debate sounds mighty familiar.

This week in Topics Most People Can’t Be Rational About

SHOCKER: The Northern Arizona University Shooter Is a Patriot and a Gun Nut.

This week in Difficult to Classify

One of the news sites that linked to this introduced it with “I want to be in Obama’s book club!” It’s a conversation about literature: President Obama & Marilynne Robinson: A Conversation in Iowa.

On Apple’s Insurmountable Platform Advantage. “The truth is the best people in chip design no longer want to work at Intel or Qualcomm. They want to work at Apple.”

The Inside Story of Apple’s New iMacs. To me the heart is the effort they went to in order to make the sound the new mouse makes as if moves “right.” It is all about the details!

Culture war news:

What You’re Saying When You Use the Phrase “Politically Correct”.

We Were Sued by a Billionaire Political Donor. We Won. Here’s What Happened.

Republicans Admit Planned Parenthood Did Nothing Wrong.

School district fights feds on transgender student’s locker room access.

10 Ways Right-Wing Christians Are Destroying Christianity.

N.J. archbishop: No communion for Catholics who support gay marriage.

Libertarian superstar Ayn Rand defended Native American genocide: “Racism didn’t exist in this country until the liberals brought it up”.

Paul Krugman bursts David Brooks’ fantasyland version of conservatism: “Actually existing conservatism is a radical doctrine”.

Death of the Reagan revolution: Why the Southern Strategy is beginning to come undone.

Feds Arrest Fox News Commentator, Allege He Lied About CIA Past.

This Week in the Clown Car

Uh Oh, Lying Liar Carly Fiorina’s Planned Parenthood Lie Just Turned Into A Bigger Lie.

A Gay Dad Sounds Off On Why Mike Huckabee Is Choking On Those Rainbow Doritos.

The Psychology of the Impossible Campaign: An Investigation Featuring George Pataki.

How Steve Jobs Fleeced Carly Fiorina.

Ben Carson’s Broken Brain Has New ‘Thoughts’ On Gay Marriage.

Rand Paul’s Solution to LGBT Discrimination: Go Back in the Closet.

Louisiana’s nasty Bobby Jindal hangover: GOP failure is giving new life to Democrats in the unlikeliest of places.

This week in Other Politics:

Independent review board says NSA phone data program is illegal and should end. Bad headline, because the real story is: “We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. “Moreover, we are aware of no instance in which the program directly contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the disruption of a terrorist attack.”

Congressional Dems Urge TSA To Change Screening Procedures For Transgender Passengers.

Here Are The Two Best Things About The First Democratic Debate.

Amazing: Hillary goes for human!

DC insiders think Bernie Sanders lost the debate. Here’s why they might be wrong.

I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this to some of my friends: Bernie Sanders truthers, step down: There’s no conspiracy to hide that he “won” the debate.

Obama again delays Afghanistan troop drawdown.