An end to civil forfeiture?
The US Supreme Court ruled today that the 8th Amendment rule against "excessive fines" applies to the states as well as to the Federal Government:The decision is a victory for an Indiana man whose...
View ArticleChanging ideas of romance, or just more awareness?
Writing for the Washington Post, columnist Monica Hesse examines how our understanding of the famous V-J Day photo of George Mendonsa kissing Greta Zimmer Friedman have changed between then and...
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Actually, it is rocket science: personal edition
One of my friends from high school, Beth Moses, today became the 571st person to travel into space:Virgin Galactic sent three human beings on Unity for the first time in Friday's supersonic test...
View ArticleStuff that piled up this week
I've had a lot going on this week, including seeing an excellent production of Elektra at Lyric Opera of Chicago last night, so I haven't had time to read all of these articles:A 12-year-old journalist...
View ArticleVideo from VSS Unity
Beth Moses describes her first flight on the Virgin Galactic space ship on Friday:I mean. C'mon. That's cool.
View ArticleBoring Chicago politics
Tomorrow is Chicago's mayoral election (with an expected run-off on April 2nd), which is only one of the problems facing Elon Musk's proposal to build a high-speed rail line from O'Hare to the Loop:The...
View ArticleThis sort of thing has cropped up before
...and it has always been due to human error.Today, I don't mean the HAL-9000. Amtrak:Amtrak said “human error” is to blame for the disrupted service yesterday at Union Station.A worker fell on a...
View ArticleStuff I'm reading this weekend
From the usual sources:James Stern, African-American, successfully infiltrated and legally destroyed a neo-Nazi group.Blair Braverman (no relation) prepares for her first Iditarod (warning: adorable...
View ArticleHow to cut 50% of our carbon emissions for only $14 trillion
Andrew Sullivan points to an energy source we already know how to build that can completely eliminate greenhouse-gas emissions wherever it comes online:Here’s a suggestion: Focus on a non-carbon energy...
View ArticleChicago's sinking, but don't worry
Wherever a landmass had several kilometers of ice on top, it deformed. Glaciers covered much of North America only 10,000 years ago. Since they retreated (incidentally forming the Great Lakes and...
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Europe may end Daylight Saving Time...badly
The EU could vote this month to end Daylight Saving Time in 2021, but it turns out popular support for the measure may have been...überwiegend Deutsch:Time is up for European Union-mandated daylight...
View ArticleWeekend reading list
Just a few things I'm reading that you also might want to read:Responding to yesterday's post about the Democratic Party's flirtation with anti-Semitism, reader DH sends an article from today's...
View ArticleChanges to US copyright law
On March 4th, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases that change how copyright infringement cases work in the U.S. In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com, the Court held that...
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Today's Google Doodle
Today is Johann Sebastian Bach's 334th birthday, and to celebrate, Google has created a Doodle that uses artificial intelligence to harmonize a melody that you can supply:Google says the Doodle uses...
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A to Z Theme Reveal for 2019
Once again, the Daily Parker will participate in the Blogging A-to-Z challenge, this year on the theme: "Basic Music Theory." For the A-to-Z challenge, I'll post 26 entries on this topic, usually by...
View ArticleStarting the April entries
It may appear that blogging will slow down a little bit going into the last week of March. That's because Blogging A-to-Z entries take a little more time to write. This year might be a little...
View ArticleParty like it's 1959!
Citylab has the story of the remaining private railroad cars in the US:[Bob] Lowe is one of only about 80 people in the U.S. who not only own their own railcars, but are also certified to operate them...
View ArticleEU votes on Daylight Saving Time
The European Union Parliament today voted 410-192 to allow member states to end Daylight Saving Time in 2021:The vote is not the last word on the issue but will form the basis of discussions with EU...
View ArticleReadings between meetings
On my list today:After Commons last night voted down every single proposal for navigating Brexit, Theresa May will bring the agreement she negotiated with the EU up for a vote tomorrow.Jeanne Gang has...
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Back to school, sort of
I made it to Long Island without incident, and as every New Yorker has done or someday will do, with a change at Jamaica.The view today isn't quite like the view yesterday:Next on the agenda: a nap....
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