Doing the right thing in uncertain times

(Note: I wrote the original post about 10 months ago, but am only publishing it now. I have edited it since then, both for content, clarify, and style. But it's essentially the same post.) 

I won't disclose what I do for a living or where exactly I work, but I can say that I work in an academic adjacent job at a very big public institution with locations in five cities and possibly more than 20,000 employees.

My employer has apparently commanded all its units to eliminate DEI requirements for hiring and for assessing job performance. 

The details are frustratingly vague, and the process by which my employer arrived at this decision is even vaguer. It's not clear who in the institution's top management are responsible for the order. It's not clear why they are making the order. Have they been threatened directly by the present administration? Are they acting in compliance with a recent (last summer) memo from the Department of Justice? Are they doing anticipatory compliance in the hopes that the institution will not be a target for more drastic changes?

Read below the fold for more:

Myth busting doesn't work: Lipoprotein(a)

Here is another of my occasional posts about how "myth busting" doesn't work.When you see someone offering to refute a "myth" with "facts," that's usually a sign that you're about to see an unhelpful, or even dishonest, argument. Not always and not necessarily, but usually. 

For this post, I'll be talking about a "myth/fact" sheet offered by the American Heart Association about lipoprotein(a), or lp(a).  

The American Heart Association offers a "myth/fact" sheet [PDF] about lipoprotein(a), or lp(a). In this case, it's less dishonest than it is unhelpful and perplexing--and clumsy. Read below the fold for more.

Reflections on Pluribus, season 1

Here are some more or less random reflections on the TV show Pluribus. This isn't a review. And I'll assume you've seen the show. So I won't be summarizing much. 

Spoilers follow below the fold for the show and two other shows, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Reflections on "Severance" [the television series]

I've just finished watching the first two seasons of the Apple TV series "Severance." Apparently, the creators are working on a third season. I have some thoughts so far and would like to share them.

I should warn you right off the bat that this blogpost has spoilers, some of them major. So you continue reading at your own risk.