Bayard
Bayard's JournalDebunking two viral (and deeply misleading) 2019 (political) maps
Washington (CNN)In the wake of a series of defeats at the ballot box on Tuesday -- Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin's all-but-certain loss and Democrats' takeover of the Virginia state House and Senate -- Republicans, from President Donald Trump on down, have sought to downplay the meaningfulness of the results.
Arizona Republican party chairwoman Kelli Ward took that rationalizing to new heights late Wednesday when she pushed "send" on this tweet:
Dr. Kelli Ward 🇺🇸
✔
@kelliwardaz
Should we look toward an #ElectoralCollege type system at the state level?
What Ward is driving at -- and what seems to be supported by these county-by-county maps in both Virginia and Kentucky -- is that there is a whole lot more red than blue on those maps. And yet, Democrats won in Virginia and appear to have ousted Bevin in Kentucky too. (Bevin, who trails Democrat Andy Beshear by just more than 5,000 votes, is asking for a recanvassing of the vote.)
Hence Ward's "Should we look toward an #ElectoralCollege type system at the state level?" tweet. Because if, say, every county in a state got one electoral vote (just as a for-instance) then, obviously, looking at the two maps above, the results would be a lot more favorable to Republicans.
The problem with Ward's argument is, well, it's dumb. Very dumb.
And it's dumb for a very simple reason: These county-by-county maps -- whether in a single state or nationally -- are hugely misleading. What they show is land, not population. So, when you see, say, a sparsely populated but large -- geographically speaking -- county in eastern Kentucky colored red and a small county with a major city in it colored blue, your first reaction might be: Hey, wait a minute -- that red county is way bigger!
By that logic, of course, Alaska would be the most important and powerful state in the country. It's super big!
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/politics/kentucky-map-electoral-college/index.html
Good points explained in plain language.
How One Commonly Used Asthma Inhaler is Damaging the Planet
f there is any field of science that understands the doctrine of unintended consequences, its medicine. We rely on antibiotics to wipe out infections, and in the process breed a class of superbugs resistant to the drugs. We develop powerful medications that can control chronic pain, and in the U.S., have a nationwide addiction crisis to show for that breakthrough.
Now, it appears, we can add asthma control to the list pharmaceutical blowbacks we didnt see coming. According to a new study published in BMJ Open, the familiar lightweight, pocket-sized aerosolized inhalers that make breathing easier for so many of the 235 million people worldwide who suffer from asthma may be choking the planet on a powerful greenhouse gas they release in the process.
The study, led by Dr. Alexander JK Wilkinson, a respiratory specialist with Britains National Health Service, focused on the 4.67 million people diagnosed with asthma in the United Kingdom, but it has implications for treatment worldwide, including in the U.S., where 22.6 million people (6.1 million of them children) are afflicted with the condition. The researcher compared the greenhouse gas emissions of aerosol pumpsknown as metered dose inhalers (MDI)with dry powder inhalers (DPI), which are shaped something like a hockey puck and are activated simply by inhaling. The two werent even close.
https://time.com/5717676/asthma-inhalers-and-climate/?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=health_environment&linkId=76570316
It looks like they are only talking about albuterol here. That's an emergency inhaler. I don't see how that could be producing this much methane. While I keep albuterol on hand, my twice a day inhaler is Symbicort, and works the same way, so not quite understanding this.
Woman Cradles Shelter Dog In Her Arms Overnight So He Won't Die Alone
Its a heartbreaking reality of dog rescue, that not every dog saved off the streets makes it.
When Janine Guido of Speranza Animal Rescue saw Watson, she could tell the dog was not only exhausted, but that he was ready to die.
Watson had been found by a Good Samaritan in a park a week earlier. The Pit Bull was emaciated, covered in sores and had a large cancerous tumor on his hind leg. Sadly, the cancer had spread and no treatment was going to cure him.
Read more at https://www.reshareworthy.com/woman-comforts-dying-dog/#H7QokUyzXWiyiUYt.99
My eyes are watering.....
Chinese school principal teaches students shuffle dance during break
Wants to make sure his students are exercising. We need more principals like this!
Following live results of Kentucky election
Showing Beshear and Bevin within a point of each other either way. Its gonna be a nailbiter.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/kentucky-election-results
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/05/us/elections/results-kentucky-governor-general-election.html
As an aside--remind me not to do this again!
I went to the grade school to vote this morning. Poll workers say, no, no--you've already been sent an absentee ballot. I just thought, well I'm going to be here, might as well just go in person. No big deal. These little bitty women (all came up to about my navel), said you may have to go to the courthouse to turn that in first. Crap. Don't even know if I saved it. One gets on the phone for about 20 minutes, and they finally decide I can sign, an Oath, then vote. 45 minutes for the whole process.
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayHome country: U.S.
Member since: Tue Dec 29, 2015, 03:16 PM
Number of posts: 22,233