Category: Books
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5 Remember professional ethics
No comments on 5 Remember professional ethicsWhen political leaders set a negative example, professional commitments to just practice become more important. It is hard to subvert a rule-of-law state without lawyers, or to hold show trials without judges. Authoritarians need obedient civil servants, and concentration camp directors seek businessmen interested in cheap labor. From On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth […]
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4 Take responsibility for the face of the world
You might one day be offered the opportunity to display symbols of loyalty. Make sure that such symbols include your fellow citizens rather than exclude them. Even the history of lapel pins is far from innocent. In Nazi Germany in 1933, people wore lapel pins that said “Yes” during the elections and referendum that confirmed […]
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2: Defend Institutions
“[C]hoose an institution you care about—a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union—and take its side.” – from Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (p. 22). The reasoned, learned people running the non-Nazi newspapers in Germany did not believe that the Nazis would really close down non-Nazi media, or […]
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1: Do not obey in advance.
From Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (p. 17). In early 1938, Adolf Hitler, by then securely in power in Germany, was threatening to annex neighboring Austria. After the Austrian chancellor conceded, it was the Austrians’ anticipatory obedience that decided the fate of Austrian Jews. Local Austrian Nazis captured Jews […]
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On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
This is a small book containing information that’s both obvious and – at times – surprising. I’ve been meaning to post about it and failing. I bribed myself to try again by … getting the ebook from the library, because I can cut-and-paste from the ebook easier than paper. So expect to see some posts […]
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Reading Recommendations
Short things by Naomi Kritzer: Better Living Through Algorithms – just won Best Short Story Hugo Award The Year Without Sunshine – just won Best Novelette Hugo Award Recent books: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older, and the sequel, The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles The Infomacracy series by Malka Older. Life Beyond Us […]
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Madame Restell
If you haven’t seen the quotes I posted on tumblr, I’ve just finished reading Madame Restell: The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Old New York’s Most Fabulous, Fearless, and Infamous Abortionist by Jennifer Wright. My overall impression is that the title could have been Madame Restell: Her Life and Times to make it clear that […]
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Alcohol
I seem to have hit on a string of books where the characters drink alcohol every day. Usually multiple drinks at a sitting. Then I read a Tumblr post that reiterates that 3 to 5 drinks at a time is considered a binge, and the liver needs time to process it, so even if you […]
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Quote of the Day
“Wilson writes about how Black women — herself included — feel the pressure to make their bodies, their appearance, their actions conform to what whiteness demands in order to protect themselves, and how this daily negotiation of their existence extends to “performing” health. The bitter irony being that the Black women will still have bodies […]
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A few things
Voting matters. Even if you’ve been in prison, you should be able to get the right to vote restored. If you, like me, are waiting on Philips to send you a non-recalled CPAP, check your spam/junk folder. Despite my sleep doctor’s office having sent them my prescription, Philips insists it needs … my prescription. OR, […]
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Books I’ve been reading
Lost in the Moment and Found by award-winning author Seanan McGuire, the latest entry in her Wayward Children series. This book focuses on Antsy, who we first saw in Where The Drowned Girls Go. It is a challenging book that includes parental death and a manipulative stepparent, but also victorious as Antsy runs and learns […]
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Books I’ve been enjoying
The Unkept Woman and A Rogue’s Company, by Allison Montclair. A mystery series set in post-WWII London, featuring two women who opened a matchmaking service. (First book is actually The Right Sort.) Lilith’s Brood aka the Xenogenesis trilogy, by Octavia Butler. Lilth awakens after the war that destroyed most of humanity. Someone has rescued Lilth […]
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Zero Fail by Carol Leonnig
Amazon link: Zero Fail I found this a compelling book that details serious mistakes in Secret Service management and culture. In many ways the failures of described are human failures of the “I haven’t had a day off in weeks, why not go out to the bar? Why not bring a person I’m attracted to back […]
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Happy Saturday
In no particular order: My household continues to abide without strife, hooray. I appear to have hit on a balance for strength training and stretching that keeps my knees happy and doesn’t disappoint my back or hips or anything. else. Yay. My state, Washington, has decided to start vaccinating more non-frontline workers who are under […]
Living ~400lbs 