November, 2024 archive
The Vice of the Turtle 0
Writing at the Portland Press-Herald, Lincoln Paine voices his fear that the election of Donald Trump may signal the death knell of American democracy (and, frankly, I doubt he’s alone in that fear). And he points a finger:
But the people who lost our democracy are the Republican leadership, starting with Mitch McConnell.
Follow the link for his reasoning.
The Fee Hand of the Market 0
Thom looks at why the middle class is dwindling.
Foxy Shady 0
(Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
Afterthought:
- But they all look alike.
Said the racists.
I know.
I’m a Southern boy who grew up under Jim Crow and was there when schools were desegregated.
I heard–and still hear–the racists say it, if not explicitly, then implicitly (see above).
America’s original sin of chattel slavery continues to poison our polity and empower those who would do evil.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Fomenting the phony. Well, maybe just a bit. From El Reg:
This trend suggests that many self-proclaimed thought leaders on LinkedIn may be presenting AI-generated content as their own profound insights.
Much more at the link.
Aside:
Speaking of the land of the me-me-me . . . .
Republican Family Values 0
Methinks persons could be excused for concluding that a primary Republican family value is mean for the sake of mean.
OH! And speaking of Republican family values, Idaho State Senator Melissa Wintrow has a question.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Once again, politeness goes for the dogs.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
The dialog, at about the 24 minute mark: You’ve got to ‘elp us, Ken.
The closed caption: You got elbows, Ken.
The words: They fail me.
About five minutes later:
The dialog, as Ken calls the name of another character: Rocky! Rocky!
The closed caption: Rookie! Rookie!
Afterthought:
Just because Big Tech calls it “intelligence” doesn’t make it so.
Extra-Special Bonus QOTD 0
John Mannarino:
When we live in a nation transformed from the “land of the free and the home of the brave” to the “land of the me and home of the knave,” it is easier to understand how Donald Trump got reelected.
Letter to the Editor, The Virginian Pilot, November 29, 2024, p. 15
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Mike Barrett is not Harding of hearing.
He hears a Republican rhyming from slightly over a century ago.
____________________
*Mark Twain.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Once again, we are reminded that “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.
Guns and stupid, guns and stupid.
They go together like love and Cupid.
Let me tell you brother,
You can’t have one without the other.
It’s the Stupid, Economy 0
Chris Hayes argues we’ve seen this before.
A Consummation Devoutly To Be Wished 0
The Newark Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine makes a convincing case that the term “black Friday” as it is currently used should be stricken from the lexicon.
Aside:
When I lived in Philly, I learned that term originated with the Philadelphia police to refer to the traffic for the Army-Navy game, which used to be played in Philadelphia (neutral territory about half-way between West Point and Annapolis) on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Then, somewhere along the way, it became a marketing term in our retail-obsessed economy, where companies want persons to spend quantities of money that those same companies are unwilling pay them.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Nigel Bairstow and Jeremy Neofytos argue that you don’t use “social” media. It uses you. A snippet:
Remember, “social” media isn’t.
The Journalist 0
“Totally stole a car today! Something I never thought of doing,” Vanessa Guerra wrote.
Words fail me.
The Privatization Scam 0
In the Charlotte Observer, a doctor speaks out on how the privatization scam is harming public school students with disabilities in North Carolina. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for the rest.
The lawmakers who voted for vouchers should know private-school funding with public money is not popular with voters. Across the country, ballot measures to publicly pay for private schools failed in 2024.
That’s why all our Republican legislators and Democratic Reps. Carla Cunningham, Michael Wray and Shelly Willingham waited until after the election to overturn Gov. Cooper’s veto. They knew it would be unpopular with voters and may cost them.
