August, 2025 archive
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Via Above the Law, Techdirt hears something that sounds a lot like “McCarthyism.”
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*Mark Twain.
Occupying Army 0
Thom sees an ominous precedent for the Trump maladministration’s push for military occupation of American cities. (Warning: Short commercial at about the 1:30 mark.)
Republican Thought Police 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gene Collier makes a strong case that the Republican thought police are coming for the U. S. Military. A snippet (emphasis added):
Facebook Frolics 0
The Zuckerborg’s AI is involuntarily assimilating celebrities without their permission.
Words fail me.
The Archtype 0
Jonathan Alter offers an alternative angle:
Alter may be onto something. Hitler and Mussolini had ideologies. Warped and cruel ideologies, but ideologies non the less.
Avarice, vengefulness, and racism do not in and of themselves constitute an ideology.
But it’s difference without a distinction to his victims.
Follow the link and see what you think of his reasoning.
A Notion of Immigrants 0
Another tale of mean for the sake of mean.
Suffer the Children 0
As we know, that’s a Republican family value, even as they vociferously claim to be “pro-life.”
Farron runs the numbers that put the lie to that claim.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
An illusion created by an algorithm? At Psychology Today Blogs, John Nosta notes that “AI’s fluency creates the illusion of thought, but no cognition lies behind it.”
He goes on to point out
His whole piece is worth a read.
The Climates They Are a-Changing 0
If you don’t believe me, believe the stone crabs.
Stone crabs are native to Florida and other southern waters and have historically been observed only as far north as North Carolina. VIMS Professor Rom Lipcius, who also teaches at William & Mary’s Batten School, is currently holding four adult stone crabs collected this summer by a Virginia waterman.
(snip)
Vaccine Nation 0
David discusses the damage that RFK Jr. is doing to the CDC and public health.
Read the news story David refers to at Reuters.