Author's archive
Courting Disaster 0
Federal Judge Judge James Ho has a notion of immigrants.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Security expert Bruce Schneier shares his take on AI. Given all the hoopla of the past couple of months, I think his piece is worth a read.
Punishing the Poor for Being 0
One of the features of the pending debt-ceiling compromise bill is increasing work requirements for persons receiving SNAP and TANF benefits.
Cara Brumfield explains why this is a con and a scam. A snippet:
The reality is that millions of workers rely on programs like Medicaid and SNAP because they are paid low wages, have unpredictable schedules, and lack benefits — all of which make it harder to meet the work requirements.
Built-in Bias 0
Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, Karim Bettache takes a penetrating look at how structural racism permeates society. (Structural racism is that thing that racists and their dupes, symps, and fellow travelers say does not exist because they don’t want to admit that it does.) Furthermore, he suggests that it’s a world-wide phenomenon that can be traced back to the age of empire, when European nations used racism–that is, white superiority–to help justify rationalize subjugating foreign lands and peoples.
Bettache cites research that demonstrates that children start absorbing racist messages from the culture almost before they learn how to talk, let alone learn how to read or think critically. Here are a couple of snippets from his article:
(snip)
For black girls, discrimination based on hair texture is a common experience that reinforces their position as outsiders in some environments. Some schools have even prohibited natural hairstyles, considering them “unruly” or contrary to policies requiring a “professional” appearance (Macon, 2014). The message is that to succeed and be accepted, black women must conform to white norms rather than embrace their cultural heritage and identity. Such policies inflict psychological harm and perpetuate racist beliefs that natural black hair is somehow unkept (sic) or unclean.
Given the efforts of the New Secesh to rise again, I think his piece is well worth the few minutes it will take to read it.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Thus passeth another day in NRA Paradise.
QOTD 0
Bill Daily, in the voice of Howard Borden:
Even if you stink at what you do, you can always do something else that you stink less at.
Sound Familiar? 0
Thom offers a definition of fascism from the U. S. Department of War during World War II. A snippet;
Fascism is government of the few, for the few.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
They are fiendlier than ever before.
A Question of Identification 0
Computer security expert Bruce Schneier reports that fingerprint logins may not be as secure as they are portrayed to be.
Overloaded 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, the Hospital, Health, and Addiction Workers Group argues that, thanks to cell phones, tablets, 24-hour “news” channels, and the like, we are overloaded with news. Indeed, I would add that much of what passes for broadcast “news” coverage is not information about things that have happened–that’s news–it’s opinion and even mis- and disinformation (think Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems) masquerading as opinion.
They point out that
It’s one thing to be informed, quite another to be constantly alarmed.
Follow the link for some suggestions for reaching a healthy balance between being informed and being panicked.
Aside:
I avoid television news completely (except when there’s a snowstorm).
I read the local rag and visit various news web sites–mostly legitimate newspapers–and don’t subscribe to news alerts on my “devices” (I do subscribe to various RSS feeds, but they lie there quietly until I choose to look at them). I also spend large portions of the day away from news; heck, I don’t even like to listen to the one-minute hourly NPR headline summary on my local classical music station.
Being informed without being overloaded is depressing enough these days, thank you very much.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
And another “responsible gun owner” commits a random act of politeness.
And, in more news of the polite . . . .
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.