The Art of the Dealbreak 0
David explains why it’s Trump, not Democrats, who bears the responsibility for TSA’s not being funded because of his inability (refusal? ego-driven hostility? maniacal narcissistic aversion to?) to compromise.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” feels compelled to expel the contents of his portable phallus at a fellow driver.
ICEcapades of the Air, Reprise 0
My old Philly DL friend Noz thinks that Trump’s deploying ICE agents in airports may
Follow the link and decide whether you agree.
Establishmentarians 0
Michael in Norfolk decodes de code:
Follow the link for his reasoning.
Stray Thought 0
I’m so old, I can remember when dances had steps.
Republican Thought Police 0
Apparently, they want to turn (what’s left of) the Voice of America into the Voice of Trump.
American Stasi 0
Rick Strom reports on an ICE agent’s violence against an 62-old man who was filming him as a form of a protest and said agent’s attempts to claim self-defense. (You can read the report in the Chicago Sun-Times.)
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A font of fallacious fakery? You bet your sweet bippy. At the Psychology Today website, Emily Ko discusses the spread of fake content on the inner webs–something that has proliferated thanks to AI bots and warns that we must not allow the algorithm to do our thinking for us.
She makes three main points; follow the link for a detailed exploration them.
- Fake content spreads faster because it triggers strong emotions that elicit quicker responses.
- Biases and social media algorithms combined make people more likely to believe and trust fake content.
- In an AI-driven world, consumers must rely less on social proof and more on critical thinking.
And, while we are on the subject, the Charlotte Observer reports:
Republican Thought Police 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice reflects on the a federal court’s ruling that Pete Hegseth decision to bar members of the press who did not print his bidding from the Pentagon. In discussing what led up to the case, Patrice notes that (emphasis added)
That policy has now been overturned, though the Trump maladministration has promised to appeal.
Read the whole article. It is a gem.
Winners and Losers Sharks and Marks
0
I recommend Harry Shearer’s interview with Danny Funt, author of Everybody Loses, on how gambling has gone from being, if not illegal, at least limited and tightly regulated, to being seemingly everywhere. The discussion starts about half an hour into this week’s episode of Le Show.
Wars and Mongers of War, Reprise 0
Mona Charen looks at the Trump maladministration’s war on Iran and tries to understand the you-can’t-really-call-it reasoning behind it.
The whole piece is worth a read. Here’s a tiny bit: