Emily Burns
Verified
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Emily Burns
How is AI Transforming Defensive Cybersecurity?
Originally published by Abnormal Security. Written by Emily Burns. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has reshaped nearly every industry, but its impact on cybersecurity is particularly transformative. While AI opens doors to unparalleled efficiencies and innovation, it also gives rise to a new generation of cyberthreats that are faster, smarter, and more adaptable than ever.
The Culmination of Decades of Censorship and Propaganda
I have a vivid memory of when I realized that virtually every piece of information I heard from “mainstream media” was a lie. It was in May of 2020. I was driving back to Boston from our place in New Hampshire. Listening to NPR as I had in virtually every car ride since I was a child, I heard them discussing coronavirus cases and mortality.
Debate Night: How Kamala Harris Won My Heart and My Vote
Like many Americans, I spend my weeknights chatting with friends and family, rewatching my favorite movies and mentally preparing myself for the laborious task of waking up early the next morning. But on Tuesday, Sept. 10, my eyes were glued to my computer screen. Not because I was tuned in to the latest episode of Love Island, but because I was watching the 2024 Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
What to Do After an Account Takeover
Originally published by Abnormal Security. Written by Emily Burns. Account takeovers are a shockingly common and consistently damaging attack that occurs when a malicious actor gains access to an organization’s sensitive data through a compromised account. These attacks are often financially devastating. In fact, IBM reports that the average breach caused by stolen credentials costs organizations upwards of $4.62M.
Water, Water Everywhere, but Every Drop Unique: Challenges in the Science to Understand the Role of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Management of Drinking Water Supplies
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) defines “contaminant” as any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water. Thus, by this definition, anything other than the water molecule itself (H2O), is considered a contaminant. “Contaminants of emerging concern” (CECs) is a term that covers a wide variety of chemicals and microorganisms that are, typically, currently unregulated under the SDWA.
The Politics of Disdain
I am pleased to publish here a brief excerpt from an article originally published in City Journal with my colleague Emily Burns, a research analyst, writer, and member of our censorship working group at Brownstone Institute. Several commentators have claimed recently that the era of “hyperpolitics”—described by Ryan Zickgraf in Compact as the sense that “Suddenly, politics was Everything Everywhere All At Once”—is ending.
The Politics of Disdain
Elite censorship and targeting of political opponents have created a self-justifying feedback loop. Don’t like a policy? Claim that the policy harms a given constituency, say that the policy’s supporters are attacking said constituency, and then claim that the attackers’ ideas don’t merit consideration—or even that the attackers deserve retaliatory or liberationist violence. This rhetorical approach has made the elite intellectually lazy, since they feel no need to engage ideas on their merits.
The Politics of Disdain
Several commentators have claimed recently that the era of “hyperpolitics”—described by Ryan Zickgraf in Compact as the sense that “Suddenly, politics was Everything Everywhere All At Once”—is ending. Having consumed all the emotional oxygen in the room, the phenomenon, “driven by charismatic influencers and digital demagogues—not established institutions,” has finally burned itself out, leaving the American body politic exhausted.
The Politics of Disdain
Published October 20, 2023 City Journal Several commentators have claimed recently that the era of “hyperpolitics”—described by Ryan Zickgraf in Compact as the sense that “Suddenly, politics was Everything Everywhere All At Once”—is ending. Having consumed all the emotional oxygen in the room, the phenomenon, “driven by charismatic influencers and digital demagogues—not established institutions,” has finally burned itself out, leaving the American body politic exhausted.
The Costs and Casualties of Government’s Information Total War
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” This phrase, misattributed to Voltaire, has largely come to dominate—and confuse—our understanding of the importance of free speech in a free society. That misunderstanding seems to be at the heart of the very lukewarm response elicited by the exposure of “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history” unearthed through discovery in Missouri v. Biden now before the Supreme Court.
The Costs and Casualties of Government's Information Total War ⋆ Brownstone Institute
“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” This phrase, misattributed to Voltaire, has largely come to dominate—and confuse—our understanding of the importance of free speech in a free society. That misunderstanding seems to be at the heart of the very lukewarm response elicited by the exposure of “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history” unearthed through discovery in Missouri v. Biden now before the Supreme Court.
Censorship and the Costs & Casualties of our Government's Information Total War
Discover more from Miss Information's Measured Discourse Another foot soldier working to highlight the government's complete inversion of logic and reason in its information total war. Over 1,000 subscribers “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” This phrase, misattributed to Voltaire, has largely come to dominate—and confuse—our understanding of the importance of free speech in a free society.
About that new Boston mask study in the NEJM...
The New England Journal of Medicine just released a new mask study comparing Boston and Chelsea school districts—which remained masked until June of 2022—to the several other Massachusetts school districts. It claimed that the districts that remained masked reduced transmission by ~45%, from a case rate of ~ 110, down to 60 for students, and 178, down to 101 for staff. Unfortunately, the study is rife with potential methodological flaws.
Lockdowns Discredit Those Who Try Them, Even the CCP
Last week Shanghai Disney was locked down, so was a FoxConn plant producing Apple iPhone 14s, and on and on. Viruses aren’t ideological. They just spread. Tragic as the lockdown responses have been, there’s arguably a silver lining. The Chinese people are seeing up close just how hapless its government is in the face of a pathogen.
Was there a Covid Response Plan? If So, Where Is It?
For nearly three years, media outlets, pundits and commentators have raged about how Trump botched the Covid response by not going far enough with lockdowns, or, on the other side, how Fauci’s Covid policies destroyed millions of lives. The assumption behind these claims is that either Trump or Fauci designed and/or implemented our Covid response. Such claims are too simple. The response of a nation with over 330 million inhabitants to a pandemic virus is never in the hands of a single individual.
A Mom-Led Rebellion
We are still a long ways from a place where a COVID amnesty can be granted. The political establishment—left and right—want desperately to move on, to pretend the last 30 months didn’t happen. With very few exceptions (Ron DeSantis, Kirsti Noem, Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, Ron Johnson, and a few others, later), they betrayed their core values. Many Republicans and so-called Libertarians quickly capitulated the primacy and importance of individual liberties.
With whom does Emily Oster want an amnesty? Moms, so they will return to the democratic fold
We are still a long ways from a place where a COVID amnesty can be granted. The political establishment—left and right—want desperately to move on, to pretend the last 30 months didn’t happen. With very few exceptions (Ron DeSantis, Kirsti Noem, Rand Paul, Thomas Massie, Ron Johnson, and a few others, later), they betrayed their core values. Many Republicans and so-called Libertarians quickly capitulated the primacy and importance of individual liberties.
Fact-Checking the School-Closers
Special thanks to Josh Stevenson for creation of these incredible dashboards. The day of reckoning is nearly upon us, and as it nears, blue state governors across the land are trying to deny the length of school closures, their role in it, and to distance themselves from the catastrophic results. Fortunately, we knew this day would come, and we had our receipts well-prepared.
How Did the States Handle Covid?
Utah, Nebraska, and Vermont: A+. Florida, South Dakota, Maine: A. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland: D. California: F. New York, New Jersey, District of Columbia: F-. After more than two years since the outbreak of Covid-19 in the United States, the time has come for a final analysis of public health outcomes on a state-by-state basis. That is what this new working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research seeks to do.
Contra CDC, School Masking Did Not Keep Kids in School
One of the reasons we were told masks were essential for school kids this year was that masks would reduce the likelihood of school closures, by reducing disease incidence. Unfortunately, like so much the CDC has promised, the opposite turns out to be true. Children in masked districts experienced, on average, 4-times the number of disrupted learning days as those in mask-optional districts (Figure 1).
Vaccine Mandates Are Robbing My Son of the Chance to Play at Carnegie Hall
In a little over a week, my son will miss the opportunity of a lifetime—a chance to perform at Carnegie Hall—because he is not vaccinated for COVID-19. While New York City dropped its vaccine mandate weeks ago, Carnegie Hall has retained theirs. What’s that you say? Carnegie Hall is a private organization, and therefore may discriminate freely? I’ll address the problems of rampant, socially-sanctioned discrimination, and the [lack of] scientific rationale for doing so later.
No, Masks Don't Help Keep Kids in School...
The below article was written by Emily Burns, with analysis from me, with a little help from Phil Kerpen. Subscribe to Emily’s substack here: And find Burbio’s excellent data that tracks school closures, mask policy, in-person learning throughout the country here: https://cai.burbio.com/school-opening-tracker/ One of the reasons we were told masks were essential for school kids this year was that masks would reduce the likelihood of school closures, by reducing disease incidence.
No, Masks Don't Help Keep Kids in School...
by Emily Burns, with Josh Stevenson, and Phil Kerpen One of the reasons we were told masks were essential for school kids this year was that masks would reduce the likelihood of school closures, by reducing disease incidence. Unfortunately, like so much the CDC has promised, the opposite turns out to be true. Children in masked districts experienced, on average, 4-times the number of disrupted learning days as those in mask-optional districts (Figure 1).
Case Rates for Masked and Un-Masked School Districts in 2021-22 School year
Special thanks to Josh Stevenson, from Truth in Data, LLC for creating the dashboards. Since the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, millions of students across the country have been attending school un-masked. You’d think the CDC and others would be curious about the difference between masked districts and un-masked districts. Unfortunately, scientific curiosity is no longer a hallmark of the CDC—particularly as it pertains to children and masks. But the data are there.
Jab Mandates Are Both Unethical and Fail the Cost/Benefit Test
During my weekend shopping in Melbourne, Australia, I was turned away from my favourite café and not allowed to sit even at an outside table by order of my master, the Chief Health Officer of Victoria. Later, I was told off for recklessly entering a food store to order a takeaway burger and muffin, a food store which I was allowed to enter last week but not this week. Apparently, I might have been touching surfaces (I wasn’t, and Covid is not transmitted via surfaces).
22 Studies and Reports that Raise Profound Doubts about Vaccine Efficacy for the General Population
The evidence is pouring in that the COVID-19 vaccines are not efficacious against the Delta variant that became dominant in the fall of 2021. The Delta is learning how to thrive. The evidence has further accumulated to show that the vaccinated are showing viral loads (very high) similar to the unvaccinated, and the vaccinated are equally as infectious. The gestalt of the findings implies that the infection explosion globally – post double vaccination e.g. Israel, UK, US etc.
Vaccine Mandates are the New Prohibition
Not all popular policies are good policies. Prohibition (1920-1933), one of the most visible public policy failures in modern history, was wildly popular. There are lessons here. Like vaccines mandates, Prohibition was rooted in the desire to achieve a positive social end, one its proponents felt couldn’t be achieved without legal coercion. It was widely supported by “the science.” The goal of Prohibition was not to reduce drinking, per se.
Why Does the CDC Recognize Natural Immunity for Chicken Pox but Not Covid?
To understand the odd guidance coming out of the CDC on COVID-19, consider its contradictory advice on vaccines and immunity as it pertains to diseases other than Covid-19.
Marijuana Use And Gun Ownership: What You Need To Know
Technically, if you own a firearm and use marijuana for recreational or medical purposes, you are in violation of federal law. It is unlawful for an unauthorized user of a controlled substance, including marijuana, to possess, ship, transport, or receive firearms or ammunition. It is also unlawful to sell a firearm or ammunition to any person if the seller knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such person is an unlawful user of marijuana.
Paraphernalia And The PACT Act, Explained
The PACT Act has caused quite the stir in the cannabis and vaping community, but a vague reference to the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by the United States Postal Service (USPS) last month caught my eye. The USPS PACT Act update and notice indicated that the USPS would continue to reject drug paraphernalia items as defined by 18 USC 863, as they did before the enactment of the PACT Act.
The Art of Connecting the Dots with Data
“Serendipity” is a big word that describes a small joy: that feeling when nice things happen just like that, as if by chance. Some of our favorite blog posts leave us with a similar sense of happy, unexpected discovery, even though it takes great skill (and a lot of work) for a writer to draw connections and make things click in a way that feels effortless. Take, for example, Ofir Magdaci’s casual observation that if soccer were a language, it would be the most widely spoken one in the world.
A Systematic Approach to Bad Data
Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash Anyone who works with data knows how time-consuming (and grey hair-inducing) the initial preprocessing steps can be. We all have chomped at the analytic bit, staring eagerly down the project path to our distant modeling destinations. So what if the data isn’t perfect? How much could a few suspect values or variables really impact findings? Resist that urge to gloss over raw data. Trust me. Your employers, shareholders, and future self will thank you. Why?
USPS Suggests PACT Act Compliance Exception For Mailing Hemp And CBD Products
Last month, I discussed my optimism regarding the mailability of vape products that are used for the consumption of hemp and CBD, based on principles of statutory interpretation. This month, I am happy to report that the USPS published a guidance document in the Federal Register that indicates a likely exception for hemp-derived CBD and other products that are produced lawfully pursuant to the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bill legislation.
PACT Act Update: USPS Delays Ban On Mailing Vape Products
In a move that should encourage the cannabis industry, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is delaying the implementation of its new rules for the enforcement of a ban on direct-to-consumer mailing of vaping products. As we reported earlier this year, recent amendments to the PACT Act (Preventing All Cigarette Trafficking) required the USPS to issue regulations putting into effect the new ban on USPS mailing vape products from retailers to consumers.
National‐scale down‐the‐drain environmental risk assessment of oxybenzone in the United States
Special series Emily E. Burns Corresponding Author burnse@personalcarecouncil.org orcid.org/0000-0003-4236-6409 Personal Care Products Council, Washington, DC, USA Correspondence Emily E.
Cannabis Prohibition Is About To End — Does History Have To Repeat Itself? - The Fresh Toast
America is on the cusp of legalizing marijuana at the federal level. There appears to be enough support in Congress to amend federal law and make commercial marijuana activities legal. But a federal mandate may not mean that recreational marijuana will be accessible in all 50 states.
A Complete Guide to Database Normalization in SQL
Photo by Sam Moqadam on Unsplash Imagine you’ve just been asked to manage your company’s relational database system. Eager to impress, you quickly run a few initial queries to familiarize yourself with the data… only to find the tables in organizational disarray. You freeze. You’re worried about the negative impact the inconsistent dependencies could have on future data manipulation queries and long-term analyses. But you’re also unsure of what steps to take to correctly redesign the tables.
Politicizing Covid Has Hurt Blue-State Families & Children | RealClearPolitics
Politicizing Covid Has Hurt Blue-State Families & Children Thread by @Emily_Burns_V: 1/many COVID has been politicized. Children and families in blue states are paying the price. On average, in red states, 3x as many children have access to 100%, 5-day/week in-person learn...… Read Full Article »
Lockdowns: Systemic Racism in Action
BY EMILY BURNS Lockdown-dependent public health policies to handle COVID-19 represent the most racist public policy since Jim Crow. The systemic racism that infects public health is exacerbating health outcomes during the pandemic, but not in the way that is getting traction in the media. Because public health officials simply expect minorities will fare worse, they chalk up higher death rates to past injustices.
Data Cleaning in R Made Simple
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash Data cleaning. The process of identifying, correcting, or removing inaccurate raw data for downstream purposes. Or, more colloquially, an unglamorous yet wholely necessary first step towards an analysis-ready dataset. Data cleaning may not be the sexiest task in a data scientist’s day but never underestimate its ability to make or break a statistically-driven project.
Maryland Lawsuit Seeks Medical Cannabis Access For Out-Of-State Residents
In Maryland, there is currently a lawsuit pending over medical cannabis patient reciprocity in the state. This follows a national trend of residency-related legal challenges in the cannabis industry. The Maryland state legislature defined qualifying patients as any “individual” who obtains a recommendation pursuant to a bona fide patient-physician relationship by a certified provider.
Voter turnout reached over 80% in Bay Area for 2020 election
More than two weeks after the 2020 presidential election, Bay Area officials are close to having all the votes counted. The numbers are revealing how this election was different from those in the past. All nine Bay Area counties saw voter turnout above 80%. RELATED: Watch Kamala Harris's journey from Berkeley to become 1st Black, Asian woman elected to vice presidency Solano County was just over that with 80.68%.
Adapting Social Science to a Data-Driven World
Data science is an inherently social tool, let’s use it as such. Photo by h heyerlein on Unsplash You’ve heard it before: This is the era of data. The integration of big data, tech, and innovation is apparent in the boom of data science roles currently permeating the job market and companies’ evolving ability to tap into human-tech interaction and online behaviors. This transition into the data era isn’t exclusive to Silicon Valley and its tech gods. Data is everywhere.
Why Companies Should Consider Employing Robots
September 2020 | Sponsored | Thought Leaders September 15, 2020 | By Emily Burns Tags: Technology , Big Data Q: What is robotic process automation? A: Modern robotic process automation (RPA) technology began forming 20 years ago, and has become the transformative tool it is today within the past five years. RPA is a high-tech solution where a process that was previously performed by a human is now performed by a computer.
Report details years of alleged sex abuse at San Jose's Presentation High School, president apologizes
Presentation High School today released the results of a months-long investigation. RELATED: More sexual misconduct claims at San Jose's Presentation High School "The stark truth is that our school did not live up to its commitment to protect you. We added further harm when we responded defensively when reports of past abuse began to surface in 2017." SAN JOSE, Calif.
Is anticoagulation with bivalirudin comparable to heparin for pediatric extracorporeal life support? Results from a high‐volume center
MAIN TEXT Aaron M. Abarbanell Corresponding Author E-mail address: a.abarbanell@wustl.edu Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children’s Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA Corresponding Author: Aaron M.
The Austin Chronicle Can Be Delivered to Your Door
Kevin Curtin shows you how it's done, kinda By Emily Burns, 1:00PM, Wed. May 13, 2020 We promise that Chronicle writer Kevin Curtin will not be delivering your actual paper. Did you know you can get The Austin Chronicle delivered right to your door? You don't even have to leave your house to read all of the latest information about local politics, music, movies, arts, and events.
Coronavirus kindness: Concord catering company, Maverick's Catering, provides meals, food to first responders, hospital amid COVID-19 pandemic
"We went from catering upwards of thousands of events a year... to zero... virtually overnight ," said Jeff Schlagel, Maverick's Catering owner. CONCORD, Calif. (KGO) -- A Concord catering company is using its resources to give back to neighbors and first responders amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. They have had to transform how they do business. But the owner says helping others is also helping the company stay afloat.
Texas Tribune to Host Live Interview With Mayor Adler on Coronavirus in Texas
Join the stream Wednesday, March 25, at 8am By Emily Burns, 4:30PM, Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 Join The Austin Chronicle and Texas Tribune at 8am on March 25 for a live-streamed interview with Mayor Steve Adler as he answers questions about the latest developments surrounding coronavirus in Austin.
Oakland councilman hurt dodging gunfire outside turkey giveaway
Oakland Police say at 9 a.m. Oakland police were sent to that area of Edes Avenue to assist Fremont Police, who had chased a car into the city. Separately, around 10:10 a.m., officers heard multiple gunshots in the area. The officers responding to the car chase and some there to help out with the giveaway all jumped into action. OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland City councilman Larry Reid is recovering after ducking from gunfire Thursday morning.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Emily
Contact Emily, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack