A Mississippi religious-liberties law, dubbed a “license to discriminate” by critics is helping to foment a new LGBT in the conservative state.---

Top of the Alty World

“And LGBTQ Rights March On: The Who, What, How in Mississippi”--Jackson Free Press

Researchers say the smart reading device of the future may be the reading technology of the past—paper.--Wired

New research shows carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have reached, unprecedented and terrifying new levels.--Slate

Over the decades the federal government has become toothless in enforcing the desegregation of schools in the south.--ProPublica

Top of Alty Utah

The Deseret News refuses to run an ad in its newspapers for a pro-Trib advocacy group.--Salt Lake City Weekly

A study says same-sex marriage in Utah would help boost the economy.--Q Salt Lake

Records show former Attorney General Mark Shurtleff received questionable campaign donations during his meddling in a controversial white-collar fraud prosecution.--Salt Lake City Weekly

Utah Political Capitol profiles Democratic incumbent Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City.--Utah Political Capitol

Rantosphere

Jesse Harris with Utah Politico Hub is fine with The Salt Lake Tribune dying and sees the current market uncertainty as part of an inevitable process.

“That uncertainty leads people to rush to defend the old models as necessary because they have no idea what else to do. It’s going to be very Wild Wild West for a while, with lots of failed experiments and lots of legacy players trying very, very hard to protect their turf. Reporters who lose their jobs at the Tribune will find other ways to be journalists, just as others who have left the traditional model at other outlets have found new opportunities.

I don’t doubt that someone with deep pockets will probably snap up the best of them for a lean venture, devoid of legacy costs and focused on quality content over maximizing productivity.”--Utah Politico Hub

The Long View

The New Republic looks at the desperate situation in the Central African Republic where public lynchings are near daily occurrences in the nation's capital of Bangui, a city torn apart by competing factions such as the brutal Anti-Balaka a Christian militia group.

“We searched for signs that the Anti-Balaka might emerge from behind buildings to rob us, or worse. As we drove on, the road grew quiet, and the commotion of shared taxis and wobbly motorbikes gave way to pedestrians, and finally to the ominous emptiness of no one at all. Then we hit a roadblock. The half-dozen children who surrounded us when we exited the car all wore threadbare, dirty clothes, and around their necks they strapped anti-sorcery charms, mostly amulets and leather pouches of herbs.

Their weapons were dirty and battered, as if used in harsh conditions. The youngest was about ten, the oldest no more than 16. In their hands, I counted three AK-47s, two pistols, two swords, and a crooked, blunt scythe, before I realized I should stop counting and start figuring out a way to leave as soon as possible.”--New Republic