A Serious Issue: The Republican Party has 17 presidential candidates. Where are their ideas? →

I try not to stray too far into partisan politicking, but the lack of substance is worrisome.

If you asked me to name one thing Clinton would do in office, I could describe her plan to change the capital gains tax and encourage long-term investment. If you asked me the same of Sanders, I could explain his plan to fund college tuition with a financial transaction tax, or his plan to tax carbon emissions and use the gains to help consumers and spur renewable energy sources. If you asked me that of Bush, I could give you a guess—based on the GOP platform and his own interests—but I wouldn’t have a great answer. I might even shrug.
As an analyst of American politics, I think this is unusual. But if I were a Republican voter, I’d be concerned.

Sexism in Tech: Don’t Ask Me Unless You’re Ready To Call Somebody a Whistleblower →

Frankly, between the people who are mistreated because they are seen as persecutors, those who are seen as self-promoting, and those seen as liars, whistleblowing for sexism in tech is getting really unattractive for anybody who isn’t willing to leave the tech industry. We’re in a difficult place though because if we are asked and we deny that anything wrong went on, we know we’ll just be trotted out as evidence against any actual whistleblower to show that nothing is wrong and they are just making stuff up. If we decline to comment, we’re seen as cowards. It’s not a pretty situation to be in.
What needs to change is three-fold...

2 Women on the Cusp of Making Army History →

History is in the balance: For the first time, two female students advanced to the third and final phase of the notoriously exhausting course in the swamps of Florida and are within reach of graduating. If they pass, they will become the first Ranger-qualified women in the history of the U.S. military and will be celebrated at an Aug. 21 graduation ceremony at Fort Benning, Ga., that is expected to draw not only family and friends, but hundreds of other well-wishers and media from across the country.
If they graduate, the Army must confront a separate, but related, decision: Whether to allow women to try out for the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. The highly trained Special Operations unit carries out raids and other difficult missions and includes about 3,600 soldiers, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. It remains completely closed to women, even though some of the jobs in it, ranging from parachute rigger to intelligence analyst, are open in other parts of the Army.

Democrats Are Not Socialists, and Neither Is Bernie Sanders →

The modern Democratic Party isn’t about revolution. Since FDR, Democrats have consistently supported regulated competition and redistributive policies that direct private profits toward the relative losers in market exchange. These strategies are better understood as “welfarism” than socialism. A concrete example? Compare Britain’s NHS before Thatcher’s reforms to Medicare…or Obamacare, for that matter.
There’s something of a spectrum between these positions. Even so, you don’t meet many socialists in mainstream politics these days. Most “Socialist” parties in Europe abandoned their revolutionary dreams a long time ago. And the self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders offers a welfarist agenda that’s barely updated from the ’50s.
So no, Democrats aren’t socialists. We might be able to have a less stupid discussion of their actual positions if welfarists, and their critics, knew the difference.

The Marines Who Took Down the American Flag in Havana →

Around noon on Jan. 4, 1961, after spending hours feeding mounds of government documents into an incinerator, three American Marines assigned to the embassy guard force in Havana turned their attention to a solemn task: lowering the American flag.
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On Friday, the three Marines will fulfill an old dream as they return to Havana with Secretary of State John Kerry, who is traveling there to mark the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. The American government has asked the men to raise the flag once again.
“We’re doing something that not too many Marines have ever done,” Mr. Morris, 75, said. “It’s thrilling.”

For American Psychological Association, National Security Trumped Torture Concerns →

A new report disclosed by James Risen of the New York Times on Friday tells in greater detail than ever before the story of how members of the American Psychological Association colluded with the CIA when it came to the application of brutal interrogation techniques.
The report describes how repeated expressions of concern from within the CIA itself that psychologists had no place in the abusive treatment of detainees were brushed asided by leaders of what was supposed to be a highly ethical professional association. Psychologists with close ties to the CIA, in some cases even involving financial relationships, cited national security as the reason to ignore their fundamental oaths to do no harm.

The APA has now officially broken ties with the intelligence community.

Why ‘Smart’ Objects May Be a Dumb Idea →

This is the future. But we have to begin taking privacy and security seriously. There still isn't much financial incentive to, and our laws are 30 years out of date.

A FRIDGE that puts milk on your shopping list when you run low. A safe that tallies the cash that is placed in it. A sniper rifle equipped with advanced computer technology for improved accuracy. A car that lets you stream music from the Internet.
All of these innovations sound great, until you learn the risks that this type of connectivity carries...
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The early Internet was intended to connect people who already trusted one another, like academic researchers or military networks. It never had the robust security that today’s global network needs. As the Internet went from a few thousand users to more than three billion, attempts to strengthen security were stymied because of cost, shortsightedness and competing interests. Connecting everyday objects to this shaky, insecure base will create the Internet of Hacked Things. This is irresponsible and potentially catastrophic.

Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional) →

After years of cutting their pay, benefits, and job security, and vilifying their unions, this isn't surprising. We get what we value (or "reap what we sow"), and, as a society, we've been telling teachers we don't particular value them for quite some time now. Yet another instance of the U.S. trying to turn a career into temp labor, and expecting people to put up with it. Hopefully this article is an indication we'll turn things around.