How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
Happy Mother’s Day to all readers of the Six who are mothers.
Before we get to the articles, a quick follow up from TKR’s story this past week on the city of Naperville.
There was a city council meeting Tuesday night, nothing decided on the commission/board candidacy’s of Shannon Adcock and Kevin Coyne. Twitter was an interesting place to be this week (more so than usual) as reaction to the piece – predictably – spawned disharmonious response.
(it’s not every day you get called a “bitch” or “blow hard” but hey, at least they’re reading!)
I read an editorial in the Wall Street Journal that, although about a different topic, framed the situation in Naperville pretty well.
The opinion piece is about a Jewish museum denying access to a Jewish organization due to their relationship with Ron DeSantis, the controversial Florida governor.
Here’s the excerpt:
The new thought police don’t see themselves as acting solely or primarily out of fear. They believe they are defending the good: inclusion against hate, equality against discrimination, victimized minorities against white privilege. Yet the pseudo-gospel of inclusion breaks down quickly. In the name of inclusivity, a Jewish museum sent us a clear message: Some people are to be excluded. In the name of fighting hate, the museum decided that the millions of Floridians who support Gov. DeSantis—including many Jews—are so hateful that they don’t even merit a voice in the great American conversation. A museum of tolerance has become intolerant
As I said in my article, the city of Naperville has a decision to make: “do they support the views of a portion of their city’s population fundamentally antagonistic towards the freedom of expression? Will they validate authoritarianism disguised as inclusion?”
If my Twitter timeline this past week is any indication, the speech control crowd is not backing down.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
What We Can Deduce From A Leaded Document.
News of the impending overturn of Roe vs. Wade dominated conversation this week across our culture. I immediately tweeted that the story of how the leak occurred should be a documentary or feature film. A stunning development in how one document can become a catalyst for so much national discourse. In this article from a personal blog, the writer looks for clues to the leaker of the Supreme Court judgement on abortion rights and concludes that the leaked version, a photocopy of a PDF print-out, was made on a home scanner/printer. "I’d suppose it’s a friend, spouse, or family member of a Supreme Court justice who has opposed Roe v. Wade, acting with something between autonomy and plausible deniability.”
Chicago Mayor Takes Casino Path of Least Resistance.
After what seems like decades of debate, spanning multiple mayoral administrations, Chicago is moving forward with plans for a downtown casino. Earlier this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot settled on a location for the proposed casino, River West. A political win for Lightfoot. But there’s battles left to fight before the Casino Wars are over. We’re talking about Chicago, after all. The still great Fran Spielman of the Sun-Times pens an analysis piece on the “legislative battle that lies ahead.”
Walking home on a Friday night in Springfield, Illinois, veteran reporter Dusty Rhodes and her dog Rosie were struck by the hit and run driver of a Porsche SUV. Rosie was killed and Rhodes was in the emergency room for six hours and underwent surgery a week later. What kind of person would do such a thing? With the help of FOIA searches and a Springfield detective, Rhodes set out to find out in pursuit of justice. A fantastic first-person narrative story via the Illinois Times.
We apply for everything: schools, scholarships, internships, IDs, jobs, promotions, apartments, loans, grants, clubs, conferences, prizes, dating apps, etc, etc. There must be a better way, right? Apparently, according to the author of the Experimental History newsletter, there is. The article lists alternative schemes for matching the right people to the right opportunities using veils of ignorance, elements of game theory, randomization, perverse incentives and revealed preferences.
A Billionaire, His Neighbors, and Their Battle Over Art.
I enjoy these types of stories – rich people fighting over rich people stuff. Provides diversionary content for us laypeople with actual problems (like $100 to fill up our gas tanks). What happens when billionaires go to war over beautiful things like pieces of art? How about the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song blasts outside the mansion of one of the wealthy combatants every night (among other things)? Entertaining read from Town & Country.
Angry animals returns to the Six! We go to Connecticut where a black bear jumps into a pigs playpen. Does bear attack pig? No, the much smaller pigs fend off the bear. Video from a security camera captures the whole exchange. A quote from the pigs owner, “I am very proud of them because Hammy, the little one especially, he’s afraid of his own shadow and the way he came charging out when he seen Mary tussling with the bear. He was like ‘oh no, no way, get out.’” Yes, one of the pigs’ names is Mary. Isn’t that cute.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend and Mother’s Day.
Have a suggestion for the Sunday Six? Send email to jon@jonjkerr.com