Political Theatre category archive
Normalization Nation 0
Methinks the Rude One makes some good points.
Aside:
I gave up on television news, whether broadcast or cable, a long time ago. (Except if there’s a snow storm, and, as the climates they are a-changing, it’s been several years since we had even a little one of those.)
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Writing at the Des Moines Register, Bruce Lear argues that we have become an uncivil society and will suffer–are suffering–for it. Methinks he has a point.
A tiny bit:
. . . we seem to have forgotten how to be civil or to compromise.
Follow the link for context.
Responsible Fiscals 0
Some Republican Congresspersons want to go all in on the Crypto Con.
Republican Family Values 0
Thom talks with Jacob Soboroff about the film, Separated, which documents Donald Trump’s policy of ripping children from the arms of their parents.
It would appear the “suffer the children” is a Republican family value.
You can learn more about the film at this link.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Jonah Blank, writing at the Washington Monthly, reports hearing a rhyme echoing from far across the sea. He writes of the recent abortive coup attempt in Korea. Here’s a bit:
Follow the link for the rest of the cadence.
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*Mark Twain.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
Thom and Heidi Siegmund Cuda hear some very scary rhymes. A quote:
It can happen anywhere where you can get a mob together over fear and othering and have them become your foot soldiers for fascism.
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*Mark Twain.
If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0
Afterthought:
Do I think Biden should have pardoned his son? No, not after promising not to.
Do I understand why he did? Yes
Hunter Biden was not being prosecuted. He was being persecuted, solely because his father is Joe Biden.
If his last name were, oh, just to pick one, Kushne–oh, never mind.
Field Work 0
Does this remind you of anyone in the news?
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A mixed bag. Most definitely.
Bruce Schneier and Nathan Sanders look at how AI may affect politics. Here’s a tiny bit of his most excellent article:
At the national level, AI tools are more likely to make the already powerful even more powerful. Human + AI generally beats AI only: The more human talent you have, the more you can effectively make use of AI assistance. The richest campaigns will not put AIs in charge, but they will race to exploit AI where it can give them an advantage.
But while the promise of AI assistance will drive adoption, the risks are considerable. When computers get involved in any process, that process changes.
The Disinformation Superhighway 0
Dick Polman is fed up, or perhaps, more accurately, tired out. In his article bidding farewell to the political column he has written (and I have followed) for two decades he notes, almost in passing, the damage done by the disinformation superhighway:
I commend his entire piece to your attention.