Top-of-the-ticket contests like President, Governor, Senator get all the attention, but down-ticket races for school board, state legislature, county prosecutor, etc., are often uncontested. It's hard to vote for the progressive candidate when there isn't one on the ballot!
This is especially the case with School Board positions. Right-wing billionaires have been quietly funding groups like "Moms for Liberty" that are trying to take control of education. If you're a fan of censorship and book banning, just sit back and watch Moms4Bombs win! Or you could do something about it...
RunForSomething funds two crucial efforts - recruiting progressive candidates for down-ticket races, and funding their campaigns. If you care about education and state government, consider donating and/or volunteering.

https://runforsomething.net/give/

This weather data visualization tool is really cool.

https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-102.51,37.68,547/loc=-92.795,25.547

Here's something interesting - the ChatGPT LLM being used for good!

From the author:
"The commenting window to oppose the Census Bureau's attempt to erase millions of disabled Americans closes on 12/19 at 11:59PM ET. "

https://www.patreon.com/posts/94624464?pr=true

"It’s that simple. Bill Barr set up a system that protected Russian disinformation and made sure it could be laundered into the Hunter Biden investigation and also protected the President’s personal lawyer from any consequences for soliciting that Russian disinformation from a known Russian agent.

That’s why Rudy Giuliani wasn’t charged."

https://www.emptywheel.net/2023/11/14/the-two-impeachment-treason-trip-ukraine-charges-rudy-giulianis-sources/

Another Notable Sandwich essay (that isn't really about sandwiches) from Talia Lavin.

"I am hungry for joy lately. Perhaps you are too. The grilled cheese sandwich for me is an object of consistent joy, which is different in kind than the transcendent ray-through-the-clouds joy that graces any life too rarely. Perhaps that makes it more valuable; reliable pleasure, ordinary pleasure, is as common as light and as necessary."

https://theswordandthesandwich.substack.com/p/notable-sandwiches-75-grilled-cheese?r=9ow&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

I'm fascinated with the efforts to replicate animal products with plant sources. I think I would miss cheese more than meat.

The article mentions a "team of scientists from the University of Copenhagen". I guess they're probably affiliated with the former Nordic Food Lab, a project from NOMA restaurant. Funny that there's no citation from the actual researchers.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/plant-based-cheese-may-be-getting-more-appetizing/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

Jeet Heer on the upcoming Presidential race:

"Of the two major political challenges to Biden’s primacy among left-of-center voters, one has decided to pursue a path of self-marginalization and the other is likely to either do the same or run as a Libertarian (and thereby hurt Trump more than Biden). Yet even as Biden reaps a marginal advantage from the trajectory of the West and Kennedy campaigns, the real problem with his reelection bid remains."

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics