Mammon category archive
Unprecedented 0
Mona Charen argues that Donald Trump has raised the bar to heights previously unknown. Here’s a tiny bit from her article (emphasis added):
What Were the Odds? 0
I wonder whether anyone bet on this in those “prediction markets,” because it was pretty much a given.
More at the link.
This New Gilded Age 0
In the midst of a column about the somewhat surprising results of a recent poll in Alabama, Kyle Whitmire includes a quotation from Les Barnett, a member of Alabama’s public television commission, which pretty much sums up this new gilded age:
The Climates They Are a-Changing . . . 0
. . . and Antarctica it is a-thawing.
Here’s a fun fact from the report:
The frozen continent holds enough ice to raise global sea level by about 190 feet (58 meters).
Just think, the property in Richmond, Va., could be a beach again,
And, natch, the Trump maladministration wants to speed the melt.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
The end of human civilization? John M. Crisp is not sanguine. Here’s a bit from his article (emphasis added):
(snip)
Sometimes superintelligent AI is described as a new, entirely different species. And if AI’s “brain” is aligned with human values and goals, we’re probably in big trouble. As we humans have burned through our resources, we’ve given little thought to the preservation of other species that stand in our way. Many have perished in the process.
This New Gilded Age 0
According the Blue Cross Blue Shield, that it controls 84% of Alabama’s health insurance market doesn’t mean it’s got a monopoly.
Golly gosh gee no, Batman.
This New Gilded Age 0
Robert Reich finds a straw at which to grasp.
Follow the link for his reasoning.
The Art of the Steal 0
Mary Trump follows the money.
Emoluments 0
It appears that Donald Trump may be presidenting for profit.
The Climates They Are a-Changing . . . 0
. . . and the Trump maladministration seems to thinks that global warming is really cool.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A competent therapist? At the Psychology Today website, Marty Klein explains why, as a machine, it isn’t and can’t be. Here’s a bit of his article (emphasis added):
On the other hand, a more complex position is “AI is a consumer product designed by private businesses to make money. It isn’t objective (not to mention that it makes mistakes). It doesn’t know or care about me personally, although it “talks” to me as if it does (that’s the product).” As AI gets increasingly sophisticated, it becomes harder to remember this, which means it becomes increasingly influential in the user’s life.
Shills 0
Last night, an app on my phone prompted me to install Polymarket.
As I have no desire to find myself somewhere down the road attending GA meetings, I declined.
I find it saddening that this app, which I’ve used for years, is now shilling for sharks.
And this growth in online gambling does not cast a positive light on the perspicacity of the populace.
Barnum was wrong.
There’s more than one born every minute.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Jim Hightower hears some rhymes with history in this new gilded age. Here’s a couple:
Follow the link for the context of his remarks.
_________________
*Mark Twain.
This New Gilded Age 0
The bosses get the doughnuts, the employees get the holes.
Contaminated Clorox 0
That’s a phrase one would not expect to hear, but, in line with what Farron was talking about, it appears that contaminated Clorox is indeed a thing.