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Daily Bafflements

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Daily Bafflements
January 23, 2015
• Billionaire Tom Steyer won’t run for Congress, he says. (We don’t know if anyone was really asking him to, but okay.) He writes in a statement, “My decision about whether to engage from the outside or seek elected office came down to a single question: how ...

Daily Bafflements
January 22, 2015
• This one really does baffle: when observing the public debate over Boston’s Olympics bid, it may be useful to know that the mayor of our fine city “had signed an agreement with the United States Olympic Committee to prohibit city employees from speaking ...

Daily Bafflements
January 21, 2015
• Forbes Magazine’s tips on How to Become a Thought Leader include keeping a journal, liberally using LinkedIn, and practicing your speeches on your cat before you try them on people. • In last night’s State of the Union Address, President Obama noted the ...

Daily Bafflements
January 20, 2015
• President Obama’s State of the Union address is on tonight, and some of the advertisements hyping it are…a bit ominous. Baffler blog contributor Andrew Helms asks, “SOTU or Black Mirror set?” • Today in Billionaires: According to a new Oxfam ...

Daily Bafflements
January 15, 2015
• We assume by now you’ve seen Scott Dadich’s bonkers memo to his employees about what is and is not permitted in the new Wired offices. In the words of British comedian Eddie Izzard, on the new ban on smoking in American bars in the late 1990s, “No smoking ...

Daily Bafflements
January 14, 2015
• A bartender at the country club that John Boehner attends has been indicted for a plot to kill him by poisoning his drink. • Here are all of the minimum wage raises effective as of 2015, gathered by the National Law Review. Just FYI, tipped employees like wait staff, and ...

Daily Bafflements
January 13, 2015
• Last week we let you know about a great little service called Poopsenders, that will anonymously send dung to someone you’re not happy with. If your sensibilities are offended, but you’ve still got a certain message to send, ShipYourEnemiesGlitter.com is an ...

Daily Bafflements
January 12, 2015
• Oh, good! Finally! “Silicon Valley Turns Its Eye Toward Education,” reports the New York Times. According to one research analyst, the obvious question everyone is asking is, “How are you going to monetize those users?” • Via the ...

Daily Bafflements
January 09, 2015
• “We are honored to be the U.S. bid city to host the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games,” reads the website for Boston 2024. “We are ready to engage in a community process about the opportunity presented by hosting the Games and eager to share the best of ...

Daily Bafflements
January 08, 2015
• At The Nib, Ted Rall writes about the power of political cartoons, the risks that every political cartoonist takes in making them, and why they do it. • Cartoonist Tommy Dessine’s dark and perfect response to Wednesday’s murders at Charlie Hedbo (the text ...

Daily Bafflements
January 07, 2015
• Did you know? You can anonymously send someone poop in a box? Plain old cow dung is only $15.95 per quart, but for gorilla doo, you have to pay a little bit more. (Via the Harpers’ Weekly Review.) • Revenge is best served on a plate, not in a bag: the Korean Air ...

Daily Bafflements
January 06, 2015
• Mars, here we come—sort of. A historic rocket launch by SpaceX—part of which would send supplies to the International Space Station, part of which would land on an ocean barge (“autonomous spaceport drone ship”)—was called off at the last minute this ...