2025 archive
Behind That Curtain* 0
David notes that, thanks to Elon Musk’s new feature on Xitter (a feature which I suspect Musk now regrets), a number of MAGA “influencers” have been revealed to be–er–less than veracious (but most definitely voracious). (And this surprises you how?)
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
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*With apologies to Earl Derr Biggers.
American Stasi 0
Via the Las Vegas Sun, law professor Noah Feldman explores why ICE is being allowed to run rampant over the legal rights of immigrants–properly documented or not–and American citizens.
He is somewhat less than sanguine. Here’s a snippet:
I commend the piece to your attention.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A willing accomplice? Philadphia’s WPVI reports that scammers are using AI to hype their holiday scams.
Short Attention Span Theatrics 0
We keep hearing claims that each new stunt by the Trump maladministration is a “distraction” to make us forget the last stunt.
I don’t buy it, that is, I don’t buy that a worst thing is a good strategy to take attention from a worse thing to take attention from a bad thing and so on. Rather, I think that it’s a collection of lots of bad things happening at the same time, so many bad things it boggles the mind. To quote Steve M.,
Follow the link. His entire post is worth the couple of minutes it will take to read it.
All the News that Fits 0
David points out that facts are not opinions, despite what Fox News seems to want us to believe.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Kim Shinkoskey considers the subservience of today’s Republican Party to their Dear Leader and hears a rhyme from over a century ago. Here’s a couplet:
Follow the link for the rest of the verse.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A competent therapist? From Albert Wong, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, we learn that “(a) chatbot designed to prevent eating disorders gave a recovering patient detailed advice to develop one.”
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Another one of those “responsible gun owners” practices self-politeness.
American Stasi 0
The Portland Oregonian reports on the Trump maladministration’s mean for the sake of mean. Here’s a tiny taste of the terrorism; follow the link for a big indigestible serving of sadism.
“People have stopped going to work, stopped taking their kids to school, stopped going to their doctor’s appointments,” said Rodriguez.