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:
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
In the Las Vegas Sun, Richard Leman, argues that, despite their sounding so differnt, in many ways, Trump rhymes with Nixon, with one glaring exception.
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*Mark Twain.
War and the Mongers of War 0
Steve M. argues that the Trump maladministration’s war on Iran is all about the mean for the sake of mean. Here’s a bit of his article:
A Tune for the Times 0
Mangy mourns the passing of Robert Mueller.
The Privatization Scam Goes Postal 0
Farron discusses how the Republican Party is working, and has been working for a long time, to destroy the U. S. Postal Service, which was established according to the Constitution of the United States.
Today’s Republican Party is a vile and loathsome thing which no longer embraces the concept of the common good.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
As we all know, one must practice one’s politeness.
One more time, “responsible gun owner” is an oxymoron.
Stray Question 0
Is it not ironic that the very persons who have long claimed that the federal government can’t be trusted have given us a federal government that can’t be trusted?
But, as Professor Shade was fond of saying, “History is irony.”