Required reading from around the web of the best, most interesting, or most though provoking things we’ve read:
Harrington: Feds Spend $1.1 Million Creating Apps for Transwomen and Gay Teens With ‘Hooking Up Simulations’
“Once developed, the app will include ‘hooking up simulations’ and tips for young gay teenagers on ‘self-pleasuring,’ ‘condom and lube use,’ and how to create ‘enjoyable sexual encounters.’ The app will also include features common on dating apps, such as a chat tool and a GPS locater. The researchers said they want to meet young black men who have sex with men, or YBMSM, ‘where they are.’ ‘We’re emphasizing sex positive messages that promote healthy relationships and sexual health in this underserved population,’ said Karin Coyle, Scotts Valley, and Tamara Kuhn, who run the project for dfusion in Oakland. ‘The app uses videos, games, and interactive activities like ‘hooking up’ simulations to emphasize ways to enhance sexual experience while reducing HIV risk.'”
Washington: Dreams from my father: A story of a blacklisted conservative black scholar
“Does the American Dream truly exist? If it does, why has much of my father’s hard work, published writings, and faith in God and country been ignored by premier American colleges, universities and law schools that he reaches out to obtain a faculty position? I’ve watched my dad ponder this question all my life, and it’s one he’s actually asked for the past 35 years. My name is Stone Washington, and my father is a blacklisted black law professor and conservative intellectual who has for nearly four decades waged a one-man battle against institutional and ideological bias in higher education. He has sent thousands of letters and emails, presenting his case before many of America’s top-rated colleges, universities and law schools. Their general response? Silence. A little about my dad: . . .”
Henney: These American states are drowning in ‘irretrievable’ debt
“Connecticut may be the richest state in the country, on a per capita basis, but it’s racked up a sizable debt worth more than $53 billion – and it could be taxpayers who are forced to bail out the Constitution State, according to the former governor of Indiana. […] And Connecticut isn’t the only state struggling with a debt crisis: California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York are unable to make pension payments to retired government workers. […] In Illinois, for instance, vendors wait months to be paid by a government that’s $30 billion in debt, and one whose bonds are just one notch above junk bond status, according to Daniels. New York’s more than $356 billion in debt; New Jersey more than $104 billion; and California more than $428 billion.”