Favorites July 11 2021

Colin McMillen @mcmillen

This is a great thread about how modern agriculture works, starting with the question "why are California almonds such a big deal when it's much 'easier' to grow pecans in the US?" (even though my personal opinion is that almonds are a much tastier food than pecans)

Dr Sarah Taber @SarahTaber_bww

Incoming megathread on ag as a network good •  Pecans are nearly a 1:1 replacement for almonds in the food system. But unlike almonds, pecans can grow nearly everywhere in the eastern US. So why did we wind up with a massive CA almond industry & a tiny eastern pecan one? https://t.co/fN1AqplFop

I think I prefer pecans to almonds. But as for the thread: California's Agriculture industry is very good at orchards, and the infrastructure just isn't there in the Southern states at the moment. We have so many orchards that there can be contractors specializing in just planting trees. I found a video, they do it real fast.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

Social Security is very good jberman72.github.io/Jacob_Berman_J…

Summarized: "Randomly getting $100 more of Social Security reduces medicare spending by $38.”

Andrew Prokop @awprokop

Notable that Sen. Sanders has been extremely pragmatic this year, focused on getting what he can into law rather than grandstanding or burnishing his own image axios.com/35-trillion-re…

Among the progressives, Sanders is surprisingly willing to compromise to make progress.

Jesse Walker @notjessewalker

"the most massive popular demonstration to protest the government that we have experienced in Cuba since '59"

nytimes.comCubans Denounce ‘Misery’ in Biggest Protests in DecadesThe rallies, widely viewed as astonishing for a country that limits dissent, were set off by economic crises worsened by the pandemic.

If you're interested, here's a thread with a bunch more detail.

Marcus @Thulcandra64

Texas: so committed to slavery they seceded twice!

Dr. Alex Wild @Myrmecos

1836. When Texas declared independence from Mexico after Mexico outlawed slavery, the early government was so devoted to slavery and to white supremacy that they wrote it down, explicitly and at length, in the constitution of the new republic. https://t.co/edhF9uzBBn

Re-imposing slavery is a unusual horribleness that Texas shares with just France. Yuck.

Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias

A new life awaits you in the off-world colonies

Blade Runner

I’ve gotta agree that this suborbital stuff only barely qualifies as impressive.

October 2019, Niagra

IMO, Earth is still pretty great.