Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
In a longer article about some of the ways in which J. D. Vance tries to twist history, Yastreblyansky makes a telling observation: that, in attacking birthright citizenship, today’s Republican party, AKA the Party of the New Secesh, echoes the arguments of pre-civil war slaveholders.
The Golf Bull Lands in the Rough 0
Seth takes a closer look at why Donald Trump seems a bit grumpy after fleeing to Scotland to play golf, only to find himself confronted with questions about Jeffrey Epstein.
They’re Making a List and Checking it Twice . . . 0
. . . because they disapprove of how you’re living your life.
The EFF reports:
That’s what’s happening in Vero Beach, FL, where the Florida Attorney General’s office has subpoenaed a local restaurant, The Kilted Mermaid, demanding surveillance video, guest lists, reservation logs, and contracts of performers and other staff—all because the venue hosted an LGBTQ+ Pride event.
Details at the link.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
And another “responsible gun owner” feels privileged to discharge his portable phallus whilst proceeding along the nation’s highways.
Get Me Rewrite! 0
The Trump maladministration has rewritten Lady Liberty’s poem.
It now reads
- “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
And I will charge them a fee.”
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
At the Austin Statesman, Hannah Strong hears a rhyme echoing across the sea from eight decades ago. She refers to the movie The Zone of Interest, which IMDB describes as
and asks
I commend her article to your attention.
____________
*Mark Twain.
Freedom of Suppress 0
Farron discusses Donald Trump’s efforts to suppress voices that disagree with him.
Suffer the Children 0
In Lawrence County, Tennessee, it’s now against the rules for students to miss school because they are sick.
Under this policy, when I had measles (it was before the measles vaccine, when I was in the fourth grade, not after RFK Jr.), I could have been “referred to” the court for being home sick with a fever, for Pete’s sake.
We are a society in regress.
Hollow Days 0
If Donald Trump truly wants to eliminate some federal holidays, LZ Granderson has some suggestions for him.
Signs of the Times 0
Steve M suggests a revision.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A learning aid? Impediment, actually.
Timothy Cook (no relation to Tim Apple) argues that, rather than helping students learn, AI, with its built-in bias towards certainty (often based on stuff AI makes up out of thin air, I will add), will stunt their education. Specifically, it will inhibit their development of critical thinking skills.
He identifies four specific dangers.
Students lose the ability to sit with “I don’t know.” . . .
They learn intellectual dishonesty as a strategy. . . .
They develop intolerance for complexity. . . .
Most dangerously, they lose their authentic voice. . . .
Follow the link for a detailed discussion of this issue.