Republican Thought Police 0
Remember, the purpose of intimidation is to motivate persons to censor themselves.
Via the Sacramento Bee, Alli Aldis looks at how intimidation is stifling thought and learning. He explains that teachers are starting the censor themselves due to pressure from government and parents. He cites a survey:
Follow the link for context.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
History professor Michael E. Neagle listens to the Trump maladministration’s justifications for bombing South American fishing boats and hears a number of rhymes. Here’s just one of them:
Applied during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the label denied captured insurgents international rights and protections otherwise afforded state-sanctioned “prisoners of war.”
It enabled the indefinite detention and torture of these individuals, which eroded America’s moral standing in the world and crippled judicial efforts to convict suspected 9/11 planners.
Follow the link for the rest.
______________________–
*Mark Twain.
The Switch 0
Michael in Norfolk offers a theory as to why Donald Trump reversed his position on releasing the Epstein files. Here’s a bit; follow the link for other possibilities he mentions.
QOTD 0
Rex Stout, in the voice of Nero Wolfe:
In a word that operates largely at random, coincidences are to be expected, but any one of them must always be mistrusted.
Stout, Rex, Champagne for One (in a dual volume with Too Many Cooks) (New York, Bantam, 2009) p. 71.
Emoluments, Meet the Crypto Con 0
David follows the money (launderer). (Warning: Short commercial at the end.)
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
And, as we all know, politeness takes practice.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A source of competent medical advice? Via the Houston Chronicle, Dr. Owais Durrani says beware of online AI quacks
Devolution 0
I fear that my old Philly DL friend Noz is quite correct about one aspect of Donald Trump’s legacy.
It’s All about the Algorithm . . . 0
. . . and, as Timothy Cook points out at Psychology Today Blogs, the algorithm does not care about the well-being of children–or of anyone else, for that matter.
QOTD 0
Robert Guillaume, in the voice of Benson DuBois:
Afterthought:
Misty water-colored memories . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
A private equity firm that just bought Walgreens has decided that lowly wage slaves don’t deserve paid holidays off.
“Fact Are What People Think” 0
But what about the people who don’t think?
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Who’s the turkey here?
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.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the San Francisco Chronicle, Don Lattin, who covered Jonestown, hears a rhyme. Here’s but a tiny bit from his article:
Follow the link to see why hears such eerie echoes.
________________
*Mark Twain.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Bad for developing brains? Pediatrician Ran D. Anbar argues that, in its current state, it likely is. He makes three main points in his article:
- LLMs do not “understand” anything in the ways humans do, but rather identify statistical patterns.
- Platforms that display “likes” and view counts tap into adolescent desires for social acceptance and status.
- Children who spend too much time on AI-driven apps may fail to adequately develop critical brain pathways.
Follow the link for a detailed exploration of each.