PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
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South Florida Storm Dumps More Than a Foot of Rain (Maria)
The author writes, “A fierce storm packing hurricane-force wind gusts dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of South Florida on Thursday, flooding homes and streets, downing power lines and trees and leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power. The storm, which started on Wednesday, dropped almost 14 inches of rain from Key Largo to Fort Lauderdale while wind gusts topped out at 86 mph, the US National Service said on Thursday. …The severity and frequency of major storms affecting the US in recent years is linked to global warming.”
The Public Doesn’t Understand the Risks of a Trump Victory. That’s the Media’s Fault (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The press must get across to American citizens the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win. They don’t need to surrender their journalistic independence to do so or be ‘in the tank’ for Biden or anyone else. It’s now clearer than ever that Trump, if elected, will use the federal government to go after his political rivals and critics, even deploying the military toward that end. His allies are hatching plans to invoke the Insurrection Act on day one.”
Vermont Health Care Workers Are Grappling With Unprecedented Workplace Violence (Reader Andrew)
From Seven Days: “The people who work in Vermont’s busiest emergency department have been punched in the face. They’ve been bitten, stabbed with kitchen shears and battered with metal food trays. They’ve had their lips split open, noses broken and eyes blackened. Working in an emergency room always comes with risk. But as hospitals have absorbed the swell of humanity ill-served by so many other struggling systems of care, staff at the University of Vermont Medical Center say they have endured violence of a severity and frequency that is unprecedented — and unsustainable. The escalating threats have led many to consider leaving their jobs. Some already have.”
For a Century, the American Way of War Has Meant Killing Civilians (Laura)
The author writes, “Over the last century, the U.S. military has shown a consistent disregard for civilian lives. It has repeatedly cast or misidentified ordinary people as enemies; failed to investigate civilian harm allegations; excused casualties as regrettable but unavoidable; and failed to prevent their recurrence or to hold troops accountable. These long-standing practices stand in stark contrast to the U.S. government’s public campaigns to sell its wars as benign, its air campaigns as precise, its concern for civilians as overriding, and the deaths of innocent people as ‘tragic’ anomalies.”
Your Kid Is Trans. You Live in Texas. There Are No Good Options. (Dana)
From Slate: “Thousands of kids and teens throughout the U.S. … are suffering the effects of a targeted attack on one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in the country. Their parents are now faced with a choice: If they want their children to have access to essential, physician-recommended medical care, they must uproot their lives or plot out a series of convoluted steps to access care across state lines.”
Speculation Nation: Land Mania in the Revolutionary American Republic (Al)
From the Journal of the American Revolution: “The mark of excellent historical analysis is a fresh point of view on highly contested, deeply entrenched issues, whether you fully agree or not with its arguments. This is the case with Michael A. Blaakman’s new book, Speculation Nation: Land Mania in the Revolutionary American Republic. Over the past several years, there has been intense debate over whether the practice of slavery was foundational to the emerging United States. The Princeton University professor poses a different argument. He asserts that the dispossession of Native American land is also central to America’s founding.”
The Australian Town Where People Live Underground (Sean)
The author writes, “In one unusual outback town, everything is subterranean — from churches to campsites. As the world heads for 2.7C (4.9F) of global warming, should we be heading underground?”
