Courting Disaster 0
Robert Reich argues that the current Supreme Supremacist Court has gutted the legal concept of “standing,” that is, of who under the law has the capacity to bring suit in court. Here’s a bit of his article:
Bad enough that three of the justices now in the majority were appointed by a man who lost the popular vote, who was impeached twice, and who promoted an insurrection against the United States. And two others were appointed by a man who also lost the popular vote and led the nation into war in Iraq under false pretenses.
Now that the court has obliterated the guardrail on what it can consider, there are no limits to what this least democratic branch of government — and its extremist majority — might do.
And Now for a Change of Pace 0
Afterthought:
I’ve always enjoyed Henry Mancini’s music, ever since the first time I heard the theme from Peter Gunn.
I finally got to watch Charade, which we taped from the Movies TV Network, which offers some excellent viewing. I quite enjoyed to film (though, I must say, we found the very last scene just a wee bit chintzy).
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools moves to whitewash (I choose that term advisedly) Oklahoma’s history.
Establishmentarians 0
Farron argues that the Republican Party in no longer a political party in any traditional sense, but rather has become little more than a tool of right-wing evangelical they-call-themselves Christians.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Yet another “responsible gun owner” chooses to settle a dispute with his politeness.
And yet another child is sacrificed upon the NRA’s altar of lead.
None So Blind . . . . 0
The Rollback Continues 0
Now comes the persons that filed the suit that the Supreme Supremacist Court used to overturn affirmative action based on race on their next campaign.
They want to put women back in their place.
Geeking Out 0
Magiea v. 8 with the Fluxbox window manager. The wallpaper is from my collection.
If I had to pick one thing that keeps me using Fluxbox, it’s the right-click menu.
Anywhere the mouse pointer is on the screen, as long as its not on an application window, a right-click brings up the menu.
The Graham Cracker 0
(Warning: Mild language.)
The Crypto Con 0
In our newest episode, the Crypto Con meets the Brady Bunch.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
How did the attendant receive this photo, you might inquire.
Via Apple AirDrop, which means someone on the plane thought this was a good thing to do.
We are a broken society.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
An oxymoronic “responsible gun owner” chooses to celebrate the Fourth with his politeness.
We are a failing state.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Matt Grawitch argues that one of the effects of the growing use of artificial “intelligence” has been paradoxically to highlight the importance of human expertise and research. A snippet:
(snip)
Fast-forward to today and the increasing availability of AI-driven tools for research and decision-making. While many of these tools are very confined in terms of the scope of their capabilities, the introduction of broader AI, like Bard and ChatGPT, makes it possible for people to by-pass the process of researching a topic and building an argument and head straight to the conclusion or decision. The dangers of this, though, have been on full display recently, such as when a professor incorrectly flunked all his students for cheating (because ChatGPT told him they had) or the lawyer who used ChatGPT for legal research only to find that the cases he had cited didn’t exist (he was subsequently sanctioned).
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
Again, politeness becomes child’s play.
And again we are reminded that “accidental” and “negligent” are not synonyms.