AUDIO:

POSSIBLE TOPICS: VOTETEXAS.GOV—Voter Information; Harris County, Houston officials outline preparations for freezing temperatures; Ahead of below-freezing temperatures, ERCOT prepares power grid; Mayor Sylvester Turner announces agreement with Houston, Harris County, TxDOT over I-45 project; Guns confiscated at US airports hit record levels; ‘Out of control’: No one knows how much to tip; P-22, Los Angeles’ famous mountain lion, has been euthanized after ‘severe injuries’ from possible ‘vehicle strike’; Majority of states call on Supreme Court to review constitutionality of CFPB funding; Abe Hamadeh’s challenge of Arizona attorney general election to go to trial; Maricopa judge allows narrow part of Kari Lake’s Arizona election lawsuit to head to trial; Biden team planning a dramatically expanded digital strategy for 2024; Big Tech Laid Off Thousands. Here’s Who Wants Them Next; Biden administration proposing phaseout of compact fluorescent light bulbs; Mystery recordings will now be heard for the first time in about 100 years; More.

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) on KPFT FM-HD2, Houston’s Community Station. You can also hear the show:

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Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.

 

• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter InformationTEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   1. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2022
      1. Fort bend County Elections/Voter Registration Machine takes you to the proper link
      2. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      3. Liberty County Elections (Liberty County, TX)
      4. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      5. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      6. Waller County (TX) Elections
      7. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      8. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
      9. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
      10. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting Centers, HARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
          1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
          2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
          3. Current utility bill
          4. Bank statement
          5. Government check
          6. Paycheck
          7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
          8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
             1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
             2. Sick or disabled;
             3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
             4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
             5. Make sure you are registered:
             6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
             7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
             8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
             9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL NEW MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2023 AFTER JANUARY 1, 2023.
   
   1. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking
3. Harris County, Houston officials outline preparations for freezing temperatures; By Rachel Carlton | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 7:06 PM Dec 20, 2022 CST, Updated 7:06 PM Dec 20, 2022
   1. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the hard freeze coming to the region the night of Dec. 22 will not be as severe as Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 during a news conference Dec. 20.
   2. Temperatures will dip below 24 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods for three nights and three mornings, but precipitation is not in the forecast, according to Hidalgo.
   3. “This hard freeze is something we face about once every five years or so, and it’s something we can handle so long as we work together,” Hidalgo said.
   4. According to Hidalgo, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has made assurances that residents should not expect widespread power outages and that it is well prepared to handle the hard freeze coming to the region.
   5. Turner said CenterPoint Energy would not disconnect residents’ power and added the Houston Public Works Department is taking precautions to keep its facilities up and running.
   6. According to Turner, the following five locations will serve as warming centers beginning Dec. 22 at 3 p.m.:
      • Fonde Community Center, 110 Sabine St., Houston
      • Moody Community Center, 3725 Fulton St., Houston
      • Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, 6719 W. Montgomery Road, Houston
      • George R. Brown Convention Center, Hall B, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas, Houston
      • Houston Recovery Center for Houston Police Department use at 150 N Chenevert St., Houston
   7. Turner said the locations are not shelters but will provide blankets, chairs, water and snacks and are open to pets. Turner said Lakewood Church will also serve as a warming center.
   8. According to Turner, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County will be operating on a normal schedule.
   9. Visit https://www.readyharris.org/ for more information.
4. Ahead of below-freezing temperatures, ERCOT prepares power grid; By Hannah Norton | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 4:13 PM Dec 16, 2022 CST
   Updated 4:13 PM Dec 16, 2022 CST
   1. Ahead of the cold weather, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s power grid, issued an operating condition notice 16. The notice informs transmission and distribution owners of the “predicted extreme cold weather event.”
   2. According to a news release, extremely cold weather occurs when temperatures reach 25 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. Temperatures will dip below 25 degrees in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas next week, while the low temperature in Houston will be 26 degrees, AccuWeather reported.
   3. [Houston temps are expected to drop into the mid-20’s to high teens at night, with daytime highs in the low-30’s to mid-40s through the weekend.] …
   4. The power grid will have “sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand,” the release said. …
   5. As the demand for energy increases in Texas, officials have assured residents the lights will stay on this winter. ERCOT and its regulator, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, face heavy distrust and criticism from all sides—largely due to the grid’s inability to withstand Winter Storm Uri in February 2021. Over two-thirds of Texans lost power during the storm and nearly half lost access to running water, according to previous reporting by Community Impact. …
   6. MIKE: I was shopping yesterday because I was basically out of food, but I saw other folks shopping like it was February 2021, except this time everyone swore to be prepared.
   7. MIKE: It just goes to show how easily and deeply trauma can slip into a society and change long-term — perhaps even generational — behavior.
   8. ANDREW: Absolutely. I have zero trust in ERCOT, personally, and I’ve heard some people theorizing that most of the “grid improvement” funds have just gone to line the pockets of those friendly to the people in power. I should say that that’s not concrete and I’m not making any accusations– but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. I’ll be making sure all my batteries are charged and my gas tank is full.
   9. ANDREW: One thing that cannot be emphasized enough: if your power or heating go out, DO NOT run your car, generator, or anything that produces exhaust indoors. That exhaust is toxic, and it can and will kill you. Run them outside where the wind can take the exhaust away, you’ll be fine.
   10. REFERENCE (YOUTUBE): Preparing your pipes for the cold weather — KHOU.COM
   11. REFERENCE: Arctic blast: How to properly use a space heater, fireplace during hard freeze — KHOU.COM
   12. REFERENCE: Arctic blast: How to protect your pipes from freezing temperatures — KHOU.COM
   13. REFERENCE: 2022 Arctic blast: How to protect your plants during freezing temperatures — KHOU.COM
5. Mayor Sylvester Turner announces agreement with Houston, Harris County, TxDOT over I-45 project; By Leah Foreman | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 12:48 PM Dec 19, 2022 CST, Updated 12:49 PM Dec 19, 2022 CST
   1. In a Dec. 19 announcement, the city of Houston reached an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation and Harris County over the North Houston Highway Improvement Project and I-45.
   2. This comes after the county’s lawsuit against the state over the civil rights implications of the highway.
   3. “I have always said–in its current state–I-45 is not safe,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “It doesn’t meet our flooding needs, our mobility needs.”
   4. Turner said this is one of the largest transportation projects Houston will see in a generation.
   5. The approved plan — The highway will not only be modernized primarily by usage of its current footprint to reduce congestion, but it will also set a precedent for how roads can benefit communities, according to information provided during the news conference.
   6. The $9 billion plan entails providing more pedestrian and bike trails along green space—such as White Oak Bayou, Buffalo Bayou and Emancipation Trail—and the minimizing of the highway’s current presence in green spaces–in addition to flood mitigation and the reduction of historic flood patterns.
   7. “The community came together and said, ‘We can do better,’” Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia said.
   8. The project will connect communities via current streets, such as Andrews Street, Lamar Street and McKinney Street.
   9. It will also provide assistance and compensation to residents displaced by the construction in relocating so they can stay within their communities. …
   10. Construction on the next segment, involving the Greater Heights and Fifth Ward, will start in 2023.
   11. ANDREW: This is definitely better news than the last we heard of it, but I’m not qualified to say if it’s good enough. I want to know how community members, civil rights groups, and sustainable urban planning experts feel before it goes ahead.
   12. MIKE: I agree with Andrew on this point. The article says that leaders are on board, but there really isn’t much detail. So, this is strictly “to be continued”.
6. Guns confiscated at US airports hit record levels; By Nathan Williams | BBC News | Published 12/17/2022
   1. A record number of firearms was confiscated from US airport passengers in 2022, transport officials have said.
   2. A total of 6,301 guns were taken at checkpoints as of mid-December – and of those 88% were still loaded.
   3. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it expects to confiscate 6,600 guns by year’s end – a 10% increase over 2021’s record level. …
   4. Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, had the highest number of recorded firearm stops, while Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in the state of Texas had the second highest.
   5. No reason was given for why more people were attempting to clear security while carrying a weapon. …
   6. If TSA officials detect a weapon at a checkpoint, they issue a civil penalty that varies by number of previous offenses and whether the gun was loaded at the time.
   7. The agency also said it is raising the maximum civil penalty for a firearms violation from $13,910 (£11,450) to $14,950. …
   8. There were an estimated 390 million guns in circulation in the US in 2018, according to figures from the Small Arms Survey – a Swiss-based leading research project.
   9. ANDREW: I think the overwhelming majority of these incidents will be people just not knowing or not thinking about both airport rules and common sense. If it was more serious, I think there would be more trumpeting about foiled terror attacks. I encourage all of our listeners who may be travelling soon to know the TSA’s requirements about taking guns on planes. We’ve linked that on the blog post at com. The most immediately obvious advice, though, is don’t try to take it through airport security, and don’t bring it to the airport loaded.
   10. REFERENCE: Transporting Firearms and Ammunition | Transportation Security Administration
7. ‘Out of control’: No one knows how much to tip; By Nathaniel Meyersohn | CNN | Updated 9:49 AM EST, Sat December 17, 2022
   1. A new checkout trend is sweeping across America, making for an increasingly awkward experience: digital tip jars.
   2. You order a coffee, an ice cream, a salad or a slice of pizza and pay with your credit card or phone. Then, an employee standing behind the counter spins around a touch screen and slides it in front of you. The screen has a few suggested tip amounts – usually 10%, 15% or 20%. There’s also often an option to leave a custom tip or no tip at all. …
   3. Customers and workers today are confronted with a radically different tipping culture compared to just a few years ago — without any clear norms. Although consumers are accustomed to tipping waiters, bartenders and other service workers, tipping a barista or cashier may be a new phenomenon for many shoppers. It’s being driven in large part by changes in technology that have enabled business owners to more easily shift the costs of compensating workers directly to customers.
   4. “I don’t know how much you’re supposed to tip, and I study this,” said Michael Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at Cornell University and one of the leading researchers on US tipping habits.
   5. Adding to the changing dynamics, customers were encouraged to tip generously during the pandemic to help keep restaurants and stores afloat, raising expectations. …
   6. The shift to digital payments also accelerated during the pandemic, leading stores to replace old-fashioned cash tip jars with tablet touch screens. …
   7. Customers are overwhelmed by the number of places where they now have the option to tip and feel pressure about whether to add a gratuity and for how much. …
   8. Some customers tip no matter what. Others feel guilty if they don’t …
   9. One [Starbucks] barista in Washington State said that he understands if a customer doesn’t tip for a drip coffee order. But if he makes a customized drink after spending time talking to the customer about exactly how it should be made, “it does make me a little bit disappointed if I don’t receive a tip.”
   10. [T]ipping service workers was essentially built into law by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which created the federal minimum wage that excluded restaurant and hospitality workers. This allowed the tipping system to proliferate in these industries.
   11. In 1966, Congress created a “subminimum” wage for tipped workers. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees has stood at $2.13 per hour — lower than the $7.25 federal minimum — since 1991, although many states require higher base wages for tipped employees. If a server’s tips don’t add up to the federal minimum, the law says that the employer must make up the difference. But this doesn’t always happen. Wage theft and other wage violations are common in the service industry. …
   12. Just how much to tip is entirely subjective and varies across industries, and the link between the quality of service and the tip amount is surprisingly weak, Lynn from Cornell said.
   13. The gig economy has also changed tipping norms. An MIT study released in 2019 found that customers are less likely to tip when workers have autonomy over whether and when to work. Nearly 60% of Uber customers never tip, while only about 1% always tip, a 2019 University of Chicago study found.
   14. What makes it confusing, Lynn said, is that “there’s no central authority that establishes tipping norms. …”
   15. You should almost always tip workers earning the subminimum wage such as restaurant servers and bartenders, say advocates and tipping experts.
   16. When given the option to tip in places where workers make an hourly wage, such as Starbucks baristas, customers should use their discretion and remove any guilt from their decision, etiquette experts say. … [I]t’s okay to say no.
   17. Etiquette experts recommend that customers approach the touch screen option the same way they would a tip jar. If they would leave change or a small cash tip in the jar, do so when prompted on the screen.
   18. “A 10% tip for takeaway food is a really common amount. We also see change or a single dollar per order,” said Lizzie Post. If you aren’t sure what to do, ask the worker if the store has a suggested tip amount. …
   19. ANDREW: I’ve noticed this too. I’m glad my general approach for curbside service– $1.00– is being mentioned here as a good guideline. I figure I’m going out to get it and then coming home so they’re not doing very much for me, but they are bringing it out to me, and that does deserve compensation. But it is harder to make a thoughtful decision when you’re standing at a register and don’t want to hold up the people behind you. Being unemployed, I can usually afford 10%, so that’s what I default to in those situations.
   20. ANDREW: I do think though that it’s time to abolish the subminimum wage, for all kinds of workers (many states have a subminimum for disabled workers as well, to say nothing of incarcerated workers). It would take a lot of the pressure off of tipping, and make it a genuine expression of thanks. It would also make wage theft more difficult.
8. P-22, Los Angeles’ famous mountain lion, has been euthanized after ‘severe injuries’ from possible ‘vehicle strike’; By Paradise Afshar and Zoe Sottile | CNN.COM | Updated 5:59 PM EST, Sat December 17, 2022
   1. The big cat made made headlines last month after he attacked and killed a resident’s leashed chihuahua. He was captured by authorities on Tuesday, who used GPS data from his tracking collar to locate and anesthetize him.
   2. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife made the decision to euthanize P-22 after a “comprehensive medical evaluation,” according to a news release Saturday.
   3. The department said the “compassionate euthanasia” was unanimously recommended by the medical team at San Diego Zoo Safari Park and conducted under general anesthesia. …
   4. He was in poor health overall and “may also have had additional underlying conditions not yet fully characterized by diagnostics,” said the department. …
   5. [Gov. Gavin] Newsom’s father was a founder of the Mountain Lion Foundation and championed permanent protections for the species, according to the release.
   6. “The iconic mountain lion’s incredible journey helped inspire a new era of conserving and reconnecting nature, including through the world’s largest wildlife overpass in Liberty Canyon,” Newsom added. “With innovative coalitions and strategies to restore vital habitat across the state, we’ll continue working to protect California’s precious natural heritage for generations to come.”
   7. Earlier this year construction on a wildlife crossing spanning 10 lanes along Highway 101 began, with the hopes of creating a safer way for animals to roam in the region. In addition, Newsom promised $50 million for other similar projects throughout the state. …
   8. MIKE: While this is mostly a local story about a locally celebrated animal, I decided to include it here and dedicate time to it because I feel that it’s representative of the problems faced by wildlife living near human development.
   9. MIKE: Wild animals can’t survive and thrive in small pockets of temporarily undeveloped land. Wildlife overpasses are a potential strategy that can help. I’m including reference links to a couple of stories about Houston and Texas where these wildlife overpasses are being developed.
   10. ANDREW: I can’t find anything to object to here. They captured him to check on him, he wasn’t in good shape, and it was just his time. It’s sad, but I’m glad they consulted with wildlife care experts, and that they anesthetized him first so he could pass in his sleep.
   11. REFERENCE: New information details Memorial Park land bridge construction timeline — ABC13.COM (Houston)
   12. REFERENCE: How Texas Wildlife Crossings Are Saving Lives and Money — TEXASMONTHLY.COM
9. Majority of states call on Supreme Court to review constitutionality of CFPB funding; by John Kruzel | THEHILL.COM | 12/15/22 1:45 PM ET
   1. More than three dozen attorneys general from red and blue states on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to agree to decide the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Board’s (CFPB) funding structure.
   2. The separate coalitions of Republican and Democratic state AGs urged the court to take up the case for sharply contrasting reasons.
   3. Led by West Virginia, a group of 16 red states want the justices to affirm a lower-court decision that said the CFPB’s funding structure usurps Congress’s power over appropriations.
   4. “Attaching the spending power directly to Congress — including power over agencies’ budgets — makes the federal government more accountable to the States,” the Republican attorneys general said in an amicus brief.
   5. A blue-state brief signed by Washington, D.C., New York and 20 other states backs the Biden administration’s request that the Supreme Court reverse the lower court ruling.
   6. The CFPB, which enforces consumer financial laws, was formed by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street reform law after the 2008 financial crisis and receives its funding, which totaled around $596 million last year, from the Federal Reserve. …
   7. The Biden administration’s petition for Supreme Court review said Congress’s decision to fund the CFPB through annual transfers by the Federal Reserve was a valid use of its appropriations power. …
   8. MIKE: To me, this is another example of Republican officials working against the interests of their constituents for the commercial advantage of their donors. It’s aggravating.
   9. ANDREW: Absolutely. With the Court the way it is now, though, I worry that it’s more likely to agree with the Republicans and further harm what little protections consumers have in the US financial sector.
10. Abe Hamadeh’s challenge of Arizona attorney general election to go to trial; By Tara Kavaler | AZCENTRAL.COM | Dec. 20, 2022
    1. A Mohave County judge has decided that Republican attorney general candidate Abe Hamadeh’s election challenge can go to trial.
    2. Hamadeh trails 511 votes behind Democrat Kris Mayes in one of Arizona’s closest statewide elections.
    3. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee F. Jantzen held that four counts of Hamadeh’s election challenge can proceed to trial, set to begin Dec. 23.
    4. The decision noted how Hamadeh’s election lawsuit was distinct from some of the others that have been filed: “This case is different … because the Plaintiff is not alleging political motives or fraud or personal agendas being pushed. It is simply alleging misconduct by mistake, or omission by election officials, led to erroneous count of votes and which if true could have led to an uncertain result.” …
    5. Mayes’ attorney, Dan Barr, said he is confident his side will prevail.
    6. “They’re going to have to come forward with admissible facts and not, you know, information and belief,” Barr said. “I mean, this is a court of law. It’s not some Twitter thread or Fox News or something like that.” …
11. Maricopa judge allows narrow part of Kari Lake’s Arizona election lawsuit to head to trial; By Kyung Lah, CNN | Updated 6:52 AM EST, Tue December 20, 2022
    1. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that Arizona Republican Kari Lake, who lost last month’s gubernatorial race, will be allowed to head to trial on two narrow claims in an election lawsuit.
    2. Judge Peter Thompson ruled that the majority of the claims Lake made in her initial complaint – 8 out of 10 – would be immediately dismissed. The motion to dismiss hearing in Maricopa County did not present evidence or witness testimony. But on two of the counts, the judge found Lake should be allowed to proceed to a trial to attempt to prove intentional misconduct that resulted in her loss.
    3. Lake lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs, the secretary of state, by about 17,000 votes.
    4. The judge narrowed one allegation involving the printers on Election Day, allowing the Lake campaign to present evidence to back her claim that a Maricopa County employee had interfered with Election Day printers resulting in her losing votes.
    5. The judge will also allow the Lake team to present evidence that Maricopa County violated its election manual regarding ballot chain of custody. The Lake campaign claims an unknown number of ballots were added, resulting in her loss. The judge called this claim a dispute of fact, rather than law, so Lake should be allowed to present her evidence in court. …
    6. MIKE: According to vote, a total of 2,592,313 votes were cast. Kari Lake’s lawsuit is probably a waste of the court’s time. She’s not going to find irregularities totaling over 17,000 votes to give her the election.
    7. MIKE: Abe Hamadeh’s suit is qualitatively different, with a statewide different of only 515 votes. A recount is unlikely to change the result, so Hamadeh is presenting a question of error by non-malicious intent. Nonetheless, having presented no evidence before being allowed a trial, this also seems like a weak case to contest with.
    8. ANDREW: I absolutely don’t want either of these legal challenges to succeed, both because I don’t want there to have been any election irregularities and also because I don’t want Republicans to win. But I do believe that all allegations of irregularity that can’t be immediately disproven should be investigated, because elections need to be legitimate and democratic in order to be useful alternatives to violent overthrow. My only caveat is that those investigations shouldn’t hold up the transition of power. If it’s discovered that the wrong person is seated, they can always give up– or be forced to give up– power to the duly elected. If a court of law is the place where those investigations occur, then so be it.
12. Biden team planning a dramatically expanded digital strategy for 2024; One aim is to organize content-sharing between supporters and their friends on digital platforms, including TikTok and WhatsApp, where political advertising is not allowed. By Michael Scherer | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | December 18, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST
    1. President Biden’s political advisers are preparing a strategy for his likely 2024 reelection campaign that would dramatically expand efforts to organize content-sharing between supporters and their friends on digital platforms, including TikTok and WhatsApp, where political advertising is not allowed, according to people involved in the effort.
    2. The plans, which build upon lessons from the 2020 campaign, are one part of an expansive research effort funded by the Democratic National Committee to prepare for Biden’s expected campaign launch next year. Top advisers have been testing ways to reactivate volunteers and donors, and they completed a review this summer of the shifts in how voters consumed political information over the past two years.
    3. The review found phone-based apps and streaming television have grabbed an increasing share of attention from voters, which offer fewer opportunities for direct advertising, according to multiple people involved in the effort, including some who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. Local television news continues to be popular, as does the use of search engines to ferret out political information.
    4. But much of the focus of party strategists has been on groups of voters who are increasingly spending time consuming information in private digital environments, mostly through their phones or on public platforms where paid political advertising is not available, including chat threads and other smaller communities built around nonpolitical interests, such as fitness. Democratic strategists have concluded that in many cases, volunteers can have more impact by creating or distributing content to their digital communities than by spending their time on more traditional canvassing operations. …
    5. As a result, the Biden team has been reviewing ongoing experiments run by the national party and looking at Democratic Senate campaigns involving once-obscure organizing strategies, which became more common in the 2022 midterms. The options include paying social media influencers to produce and share supportive content, and encouraging volunteers or paid organizers to directly push messages to targeted voters in their phone contacts. There are also technologies that the party has been reviewing that make it easier for volunteers to share campaign content to their networks.
    6. Biden advisers emphasize that the new techniques will not replace traditional field programs. Investments in door-to-door canvassing, for example, are expected to increase over what past Democratic campaigns did before the coronavirus …
    7. Biden has not made a final decision on whether to run for reelection, though he has said it is his “intention,” with a formal decision expected in the first three months of next year. …
    8. ANDREW: Back in 2016, when I was still supporting Bernie Sanders, I “phonebanked”, which was essentially cold-calling voters on the rolls and reading from a script to them, answering basic questions, that sort of thing. The Bernie campaign extended that philosophy to Facebook, in a tactic they called “Facebanking”, where I copied-and-pasted a script to friends on Facebook Messenger and answered basic questions. I actually went on to use the same Facebanking tactic in my own bid for Student Government President (I didn’t win). So I have some personal experience with those kinds of “once-obscure” tactics.
    9. ANDREW: What I don’t like hearing is that candidates are starting to pay social media influencers to essentially make political advertising. Brands doing that is already pretty shady, but I think being paid to openly hold certain political opinions when a major part of your appeal is your personality and thoughts, that’s really crossing an ethical line.
    10. ANDREW: I also dislike the idea of organizers being encouraged to share political content in non-political groups. If there are organic discussions happening, that’s one thing, but to be told “hey, go post about the Democratic Party in your yoga group chat”… it feels like the parties and candidates doing this are pushing their way into spaces where they don’t fit, and I strongly doubt voters will like that.
13. Big Tech Laid Off Thousands. Here’s Who Wants Them Next; Governments, nonprofits, and small startups hope to scoop up people let go by the likes of Meta and Amazon. It’s their big chance to lure top-tier talent. By Amanda Hoover, Staff Writer | WIRED.COM | Dec 16, 2022 at 7:00 AM
    1. Remote work. Competitive salaries. A streamlined hiring process. They’re all perks being offered to prospective tech workers from an unlikely employer: the US government. 
    2. [A]s companies like Meta, Amazon, and Google have cut jobs or slowed hiring, government, nonprofit, and smaller companies are now seizing the moment and looking to catch the attention of out-of-work technologists. The US Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking tech workers to fill 1,000 roles. They’ll work on solving problems like modernizing benefits software and revamping medical appointments scheduling. … Big Tech’s losses could be a boon to these employers. …
    3. Nearly 1,000 tech companies around the world have laid off more than 150,000 tech workers this year … Meta cut 11,000 jobs and Amazon 10,000 in November. …
    4. But tech jobs make up just a small slice of the US economy, and experts say recent layoffs are a high-profile outlier occluding a strong job market still hungry for workers. So, tech workers are turning elsewhere for opportunities, and they’re increasingly looking for jobs in nonprofits, smaller startups, and government. …
    5. Some governments have long struggled to secure top tech talent and younger workers. The divides in the private and public sector extend beyond the US. … [I]n China, some young workers are ready to leave behind a volatile tech industry for greater security. Finland’s government was so eager for tech workers to join the country’s industry that, in 2021, it gave foreigners 90-day visas to try out life in Helsinki. …
    6. Tech Jobs for Good, a job board that focuses on mission-driven employers, saw a 40 percent increase in job-seeker profiles in May, says its founder, Noah Hart. … In October, as other tech companies began cutting employees, profile sign-ups jumped another 30 percent, Hart says. “There’s been a longer trend of more and more job seekers looking for impactful roles,” Hart says. “A lot of organizations are still hiring and are getting a lot more applications.” 
    7. Nonprofits and governments are trying to become more competitive. The average job posted on Tech Jobs for Good pays $118,000 to $134,000 Hart says. By comparison, software engineers at Google make between $98,000 and $330,000, and data scientists earn $113,000 to $200,000. The VA is working to close the existing pay gap between its roles and the private sector by 60 percent. …
    8. Smaller startups or industries like retail and health care are also benefitting from the group of technologists let loose. …
    9. The most proactive employers could walk away winners. Joshua Browder, CEO of [an] AI robot lawyer company … , tweeted in November that he wanted to hire people affected by layoffs and would offer jobs to immigrants and sponsor their visas to help people who lost their jobs stay in the US. …
    10. “I was actually quite surprised that the companies were laying them off, because they are incredibly talented people,” Browder says. “I think these companies are making a mistake by being too aggressive with their layoffs.” Six months ago, Browder says, he likely would have had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a recruiter to get such talent. Now, they’re landing in his inbox for free.
    11. ANDREW: It doesn’t surprise me that governments are interested in hiring tech workers. I know that the IRS is still using a system from the 1960s called the Individual Master File to handle tax return processing, and modernization has been tried and failed or only partially successful many times. In addition to needing people who could modernize it, they need people who know COBOL to keep it running in the meantime.
    12. ANDREW: What I’m hoping, though, is that this increased demand could give these workers more leverage in attempts at unionizing. There may be plenty of applicants, but they have high expectations from previous jobs, and employers may not want to go through the screening and negotiating processes again if workers threaten to strike or quit.
14. Biden administration proposing phaseout of compact fluorescent light bulbs; by Zack Budryk | THEHILL.COM | 12/19/22 1:16 PM ET
    1. A proposed Department of Energy rule would phase out the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to remove less energy-efficient bulbs from the market.
    2. Current standards require light bulbs to be at least 45 lumens, the unit used to measure brightness, per watt. Under the proposed update, first reported by CNN, the standard would be more than doubled to more than 120 lumens per watt. Commonplace 60-watt equivalent lightbulbs would only require a maximum of 6.5 watts, according to an analysis by the Apliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). …
    3. Standards aimed at phasing out incandescent bulbs in general were first passed by Congress during the Bush administration and put into practice during the Obama administration. However, in 2019 the Trump administration unwound the rule. The Biden administration resumed implementation of the rule, finalizing it in April. …
    4. MIKE: I like several points in this story. First, they define brightness by lumens-per-watt. I discussed this on a show quite a while back. The so-called “wattage equivalencies” claimed on packaging vary wildly in terms of actual lumens, to the point of being deceptive. Second, while the difference in energy efficiency between CFL’s and LEDs is not drastic, it is significant in terms of percentages and would make a huge cumulative difference in the energy dedicated to national lighting. Third, though this story doesn’t mention it, CFLs are a health and environmental hazard because they contain mercury. LEDS don’t. This is why CFLs are dangerous if broken, and need to be recycled rather than thrown away. The same is true of traditional tube fluorescents, but most stores won’t take them to recycle due to their size. If you can’t find a place to recycle fluorescent tubes, the best way I know to dispose of them is to put them in a big trash bag, close the bag tightly, and break the tubes in the bag to prevent mercury from escaping and being inhaled.
    5. REFERENCE (ADD’L INFO): First on CNN: Biden administration moves to phase out compact fluorescent light bulbs and push market toward LEDs — CNN
15. Mystery recordings will now be heard for the first time in about 100 years; By Jennifer Vanasco | NPR.ORG | April 5, 2022, 5:00 AM ET (Heard on Morning Edition)
    1. Before audio playlists, before cassette tapes and even before records, there were wax cylinders — the earliest, mass-produced way people could both listen to commercial music and record themselves.
    2. In the 1890s, they were a revolution. People slid blank cylinders onto their Edison phonographs (or shaved down the wax on commercial cylinders) and recorded their families, their environments, themselves. …
    3. They haven’t been heard because the wax is so fragile. The earliest, putty-colored cylinders deteriorate after only a few dozen listens if played on the Edison machines; they crack if you hold them too long in your hand. And because the wax tubes themselves were unlabeled, many of them remain mysteries.
    4. “They could be people’s birthday parties,” Wood said, recordings that could tell us more about the social history of the time. “Or they could be “The Star-Spangled Banner” or something incredibly common,” she laughed. “I really hope for people’s birthday parties.” …
    5. Enter the Endpoint Cylinder and Dictabelt Machine, invented by Californian Nicholas Bergh, which recently was acquired by the library. Thanks to the combination of its laser and needle, it can digitize even broken or cracked wax cylinders — and there are a lot of those. But Bergh said, the design of the cylinder, which makes it fragile, is also its strength. …
    6. One of those important collections owned by the library is the “Mapleson Cylinders,” a collection recorded by Lionel Mapleson, the Metropolitan Opera’s librarian at the turn of the last century. Mapleson recorded rehearsals and performances — it’s the only way listeners can hear pre-World War I opera singers with a full orchestra. Bob Kosovsky, a librarian in the music and recorded sound division, said the Mapleson Cylinders “represent the first extensive live recordings in recorded history.”
    7. He said that some of the stars sing in ways no contemporary opera singer would sing. “And that gives us a sort of a keyhole into what things were like then. Not necessarily to do it that way today, but just to know what options are available and how singers and performers and audiences conceived of these things, which is so different from our own conception. It’s a way of opening our minds to hear what other possibilities exist.”
    8. It will take the library a couple years to digitize all its cylinders. …
    9. ANDREW: I wonder how far they are through digitizing their collection, and if they’ve made any major discoveries. Even if they don’t, I still think there’s value in recording the minutiae of the past, because it gives us a more complete picture. Not to mention that this digitization effort will undoubtedly help pave the way for future wax cylinder cataloguing.

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