Notices by Brian Klaas (brianklaas@journa.host)

Jimmy Carter is 100 today. Many people don’t know about some of his most important achievements—the hidden legacy that will save countless lives for decades to come. I wrote about it here: https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/jimmy-carters-hidden-legacy

It is clearly plausible that the US state of Missouri may have just executed an innocent man, even after prosecutors tried to stop the execution. I wrote about his case, about capital punishment, and about the last words that inmates say before they die. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-last-statements-of-death-row-aa2

In big news, the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist presidential candidate who dumped a bear cub carcass in Central Park and had part of his brain eaten by a worm has endorsed a convicted felon fraudster who incited a violent mob in a failed attempt to steal an election.

I wrote about Supercitizens—the hidden heroes who volunteer their time, talent, and energy, to make our world better, with special attention paid to parkrun, the evolution of altruism, and similar joyous aspects of being human. Have a little read, as a treat: https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-power-of-supercitizens

Okay, I finally got too annoyed about idiot MAGA zealots incorrectly using the words “coup” and “Marxist” while insisting that “America is a republic, NOT a democracy” and wrote about why such abuse of the English language is both stupid and dangerous. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/maga-corruptions-of-the-english-language

I wrote about how Wikipedia has evolved into one of the more reliable sources on an internet awash with junk, AI-generated sludge, and toxic lies. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/in-a-sea-of-disinformation-why-is

Are there universal traits of human minds that have evolved across all cultures? I wrote about a fascinating new book—“Inheritance”—which says that we universally have three shared impulses: to conform, to believe, and to belong. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/inheritance-how-evolution-shaped

Well that’s a plot twist: I finally get UK citizenship and I get to vote in my first British general election on…the 4th of July.

Well, after 12+ years of living in this quirky, wonderful country, it has finally happened: I’m now a British citizen. 🇬🇧

(I remain a statriotic Minnesotan and patriotic American, but I now have dual US/UK nationality).

I wrote about why humans don’t have tails and why we don’t lay eggs — and how the answers to both questions shine a light on arbitrary forces that made us who we are, as well as teaching us powerful lessons for modern society. https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/why-dont-humans-have-tails-or-lay

2024 is a year with a striking paradox: there are more elections than ever before in human history and yet the world is becoming less democratic—and global democracy is under severe threat. I explain what’s going on and why it matters here: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/01/elections-democracy-autocracy-trump/677037/

What are the best TV theme songs of all time? Not the best shows — but the opening songs that immediately get you pumped when you hear the first few notes?

My top 5 (not in order)

Game of Thrones
The Office (US)
Poirot
Narcos
Law & Order

What did I miss?

It’s crazy that, of the two leading US presidential candidates, the guy found liable for rape who is facing 91 criminal indictments after he incited an insurrection *isn’t* the one who is facing vocal calls to step aside for someone else to run. People have lost their minds.

If you poison the information pipeline to voters, you can kill democracy — it relies on informed consent of the governed, built on a shared sense of reality. That shared sense is splintering in ways that are tearing apart our societies, often based on widely held delusions. Musk made it way worse.

Imagine you’re one of the richest people in the world. You can get access to the best analysis, unimaginable real-time information. And instead, you tell people to follow the account of an anti-Semitic 18 year old for “reliable information.” That’s Musk.

Since I moved to the UK 12 years ago, there has been *one* significant mass shooting. Six people died, including the shooter.

It’s the guns.

There are a lot of really stupid pro-gun arguments. I debunk them, with data, here: https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/its-the-guns

Yet another mass shooting in America. This isn't some inexplicable tragedy; it's a *policy choice*. And the reason it happened is simple: It's the guns. In this piece, I systematically dismantle the pro-gun arguments with actual data. It's. The. Guns.

https://open.substack.com/pub/brianklaas/p/its-the-guns?r=1maga&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

*Sheepish request* I'm new to Mastodon, but a lot of my former Twitter followers don't know I'm here yet. Someone suggested I could simply ask you fine people to boost me. Would you be so kind? (I promise to post a photo of my dog to say thanks). #WelcomeToMastodon