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I’m Currently Planning to Vote No on #1

Back in June, I posted about signing the petition to expand the Massachusetts Automotive Right to Repair law. It’s great they got enough confirmed signatures, including mine, so the initiative is on the ballot.

I’ve now read all I can find on the pros and cons of this initiative and am left feeling let down by the Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee. Very serious cyber security concerns have been raised by the NHTSA testimony and I have not been able to find any refutation of the NHTSA claims from known independent security experts. Both sides on this question have a financial interest in the outcome and I don’t trust either side to be looking out for my interests.

Only one side has brought forth information from an organization with no monetary interest in the outcome. So unless the Massachusetts Right to Repair Committee can provide a serious rebuttal to the NHTSA report, I’m voting no.

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Rhode Island 2020 – 2021 Hunting Season Fluorescent Orange Requirements

The state of Rhode Island requires all visitors to wear safety orange during the busiest hunting seasons. For the 2020-2021 season the regulations are:

All other users of State Management Areas and designated undeveloped State Parks, including but not limited to: hikers, bikers, and horseback riders are required to wear 200 square inches of solid daylight fluorescent orange from the second Saturday in September to the last day of February and the third Saturday in April to the last day in May.

500sq. in. by all hunters (including archers) and all users of management areas and undeveloped state parks during all portions of shotgun deer seasons.

Here’s my publicly available Google calendar showing the 200 & 500 sq. in dates.

Note: the calendar dates only apply to Zones 1 & 2 which is the vast majority of the state. For Zones 3 (Patience & Prudence Islands) & 4 (Block Island), refer to the regulations for those dates.
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Sadly True

This is actually happening now in the US with the history of slavery. For example, 41% of people in a recent survey believe that the civil war was about something other than slavery, when the historical record is clear that slavery was the driving issue. Recently Trump announced that he thinks the US should be engaged in “patriotic education.” He stated, “Children must be taught that America is “an exceptional, free and just nation, worth defending, preserving and protecting.” We know what this means in states that take this approach to education – white-washing the history of slavery.

Source: The Holocaust and Losing History | NeuroLogica Blog

Go read the rest, sadly Trump is following the playbook that worked so well for Hitler, any bets on when we see book burnings.

 

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Two Ars Technica Articles One Sad One Happy

😦

If all those costs are passed on to residential customers, the savings compared to 2015 would mean everybody would save a grand total of 49 cents each year.

In return for that, the societal-level savings from decreased pollution are basically wiped out.

Source: EPA issues new rules on coal plant pollution | Ars Technica

🙂

On Friday, the first small modular reactor received a design certification from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, meaning that it meets safety requirements and could be chosen by future projects seeking licensing and approval.

Source: NuScale’s small nuclear reactor is first to get US safety approval | Ars Technica

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A Death Absolutely Caused by an Irresponsible & Ignorant US President

An Arizona man has died and his wife is in a critical condition after both ingested chloroquine phosphate in an apparent effort to stave off Covid-19.

President Donald Trump has touted the medication form of chloroquine as a possible treatment for the virus.

…

Shortly after ingestion, the couple fell ill, said Arizona-based hospital system Banner Health. The couple were both in their 60s. The woman told NBC News she had seen a televised briefing in which Mr Trump discussed the potential benefits of chloroquine as a treatment Covid-19.

…

“We saw his press conference. It was on a lot, actually,” she said. “Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure.” “We were afraid of getting sick,” she told NBC.

…

They mixed a small amount of the substance with liquid to drink. Within 20 minutes, both fell ill. “I started vomiting,” she said. “My husband started developing respiratory problems.” Her husband could not be revived in hospital and she remains in critical care.

Source: Coronavirus: Man dies taking fish tank cleaner as virus drug – BBC News