Politics – Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3

Sunday Morning Reading

What seems mysterious is often far easier to solve than we think

There’s no mystery as to what happened in the U.S. this week. Thanks to the large number of Americans who stood up and said “enough” there’s a better chance for things changing than there was the last time I published one of these Sunday Morning Reading columns a few weeks ago. Oh, there’s still work to be done, still dangers ahead, and questions remain. But our chances are better. Some, but very little of that appears in this week’s links beyond this preamble. While we gear up for the work ahead, continuing to struggle with much of the angst that brought us to this moment, let’s enjoy the chance we’ve created and enjoy the knowledge we’re able to share with each other.

A bust of Sherlock Holmes in the Sherlock Holmes museum in London

“Humility is the bridge to knowledge, an antidote to fear, and provides a strength that leads to compassion and grace.” So goes the subhead of David Todd McCarty’s piece Nobody Knows Anything, And Other Things I’ve Learned. Know that and most mysteries can be solved.

With a chance of changing directions in the air the question to be asked is Where Are We Going? That’s the question Sean Heber asks in a blog post about tech that at its core is a good companion piece to McCarty’s above. On it’s own it asks more than a question.

I think it would be hilarious if in the end the pushback against AI ends up gaining steam due to religious objections. Jowi Morales talks about the first such exemption in Man Granted First-Of-Its-Kind Religious Exemption Against Mandatory AI Use At Work — Humanist Argues That Offloading Thinking To LLMs Violates His Beliefs, Title VII Accommodation Protects Employee.

Speaking of the mysteries of heaven and hell, this surfaced a couple of weeks ago while I was on a grandparent duty marathon, but it’s worth marking here. Certainly in light of this week’s electoral outcome. David Gibson digs into The Gospel According To Peter (Thiel).

Cory Doctorow thinks the road to hell is paved with badly thought-through tech policy. Not only that, it was foreseeable and foreseen. If you’ve paid the slightest attention you don’t need all the info contained in the numerous links he provides to back his thesis, nevertheless check out Autodoxing.

Paul Krugman takes a look at America’s Backlash Against Oligarchy. I agree that was one of the many backlashes across the country. There’s no mystery there. The unsolved riddle is how will it continue?

As to solving mysteries, Jennifer Quellette introduces the man behind the world’s most famous mystery solver in Meet The Real-Life Scottish Surgeon Who Inspired Sherlock Holmes. It’s an interview, but for Holmes fans one worth reading.

To close out this week it turns out there’s more mystery around the debate about whether or not William Shakespeare alone authored all of his work. In Rivals Or Not? Shakespeare And Marlowe Co-Authored ‘Edward III,’ New Study Finds, Jan Bartek takes a look.

(Photo taken by the author)

Thanks for reading. Feel free to subscribe if you want. It’s free. If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. If you’d like more click on the Sunday Morning Reading link in the category column to check out what’s been shared on Sunday’s past. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. This site does not use affilate links.

Time To Put More Wood Behind The Arrows

No time for quivering

You could feel a large collective exhale across the USA this week following the midterm election results, signaling that there’s still some life left in the old republic. It was such a rush I’m surprised the leaves still hanging on the trees remain attached. The sound we all heard was out of a medieval war movie when archers loose their arrows. We continue to live in historic moments and there’s no question this was one of them. One that felt good, after so many that haven’t. It’s also one that needs backing up because the job is far from done.

Strange happenings nX DMeJ_Od4 unsplash. A sculpture of two large arrows shot into the ground along Route 66 in Flagstaff, Arizona

Those rushing winds will indeed blow in a new U.S. Congress, crucial changes in state legislatures, and a few courts across the country. I was impressed by a statistic that may be true (I’m not completely sure — but I want to believe it) that enough governors races changed the map so that beginning next year 75% of the American population will live in states with a Democratic governor at the helm. I’m even more pleased that so many are women.

That bodes well for the future. But only if take care of today and continue to fight and back up the election results with enough muscle to make it truly meaningful. As the saying goes we need to put more wood behind the arrow if we want to really strike home.

After folks breathing began to calm, there was a collective gasp at the end of the week when the old man in what’s left of the White House appointed the architect of so much cruelty and the walking definition of inhumanity, Stephen Miller, as chief of staff. I sincerely hope no one was surprised at the move. I further sincerely hope no one is going to be surprised by the damage Miller is about to inflict.

What remains of the White House is a cage full of wounded animals, backed up against walls filled with faux gold filigree, ready to strike back. What still remains of a country that leveled the playing field with their votes is the question of how much we are willing to back those votes up in response to whatever is going to come down the pike. The first test was the election. We’re about to be tested further. Again, this should come as no surprise. But needs to be met with resolve.

My prediction is that in the end, appointing Miller is one of the moves that will accelerate the end of this terrible turn of history, but not without much damage being done before it’s over. And not without stiff opposition. We have the majority at the moment, but we are still the opposition.

I’m hoping that those pissed off enough to vote the way they did get even more so once Miller’s marauding begins. We need to get to that tomorrow that Tuesday’s results hint at but don’t guarantee.

As to the squabbles currently going on in Congress over who will lead the new majority opposition, I hope that debate only intensifies in the next few weeks. The people said enough is enough and it would be naive to think they voted for something rather than against something worse.

The only license the vote results yielded is one that opens a door to change across the board. The leaders we need have to match the fervor of those who spoke with their votes. If it were up to me, I’d replace Schumer and Jeffries with those not tainted with the timidness of the past. If you ask me the time to make those type of changes is now. The bad guys on all fronts are off-kilter, the Miller move is indicative of that. Time to take advantage of the chaos.

Every vote in this election was an arrow loosed. The vast and overwhelming majority struck home. We’ll need more wood for more arrows in the days ahead. That was always going to be the case. Now is no time for quivering.

(Image from Strange Happenings on Unsplash)

Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to. You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.

Midterm Election Rout: Point All The Fingers Of Blame At Trump

No need to reflect on this Midterm election madness

You can point many fingers at many targets to try and explain the reasons for the seismic political earthquake that Tuesday’s election turned into. Pundits and political pros are working overtime to do so. They can slow their roll. It’s easy. You only need one finger aimed at one target. Donald Trump.

Michelangelo Caravaggio's Narcissus staring at his reflection

Yes, there’s the Iran War. The economy. Corruption. Data centers. ICE. Cruelty. Racism. Health care. Dismantling the rule of law. Tariffs. The dismantling of international relations. Elon Musk trying to buy elections. Toxic masculinity. There’s something for everybody.

But, if you hover that finger over any of the targets you don’t have to drill down too far to see Trump is ultimately and completely to blame for those issues bubbling up into a toxic smelling political stew that just became more than folks wanted to stomach, much less smell.

The pushback is indeed glorious in its magnitude. And it flips such a multitude of table tops upside down that I’m not sure we’ll be able to come to grips with the scale of that magnitude for some time to come.

The one I’m the most hopeful about is that it appears there’s a chance to turn the political divisions away from what’s been a battle between red and blue, particularly the cultural issues, into one that’s top vs bottom focusing on the bottom line. There’s no doubt that the war, which led to higher gas prices, exacerbating an already failing and debt-ridden economy weakened by tariffs, reached directly into the pocketbooks of so many.

What appears to be the possible outcome (I say possible) is that Trump’s unrepentant bragging about how so much money was being made by his Mar-A-Lago cronies and too-quick-to-capitulate corporate hangers on and political pall-bearers has finally led some, hopefully enough, of those on the lower rungs of economy to actually pay attention and feel those greedy hands reaching directly into their wallets. Here’s hoping the Democrats can draw that line in a big, bold, bright stroke.

Add to that equation the polling data that showed 90% of voters recognized and despised the rampant corruption this gang of thieves exuberantly embraces. Extend that big, bold, bright line into how this corruption affects your pocket being picked and you’re on to something.

Some of the new blood that just won elections are doing so. Those chosen to lead the charge going forward need to follow that lead. And if they don’t, they don’t deserve the chance to capitalize on the gift they’ve just been given from the one man who always wants the spotlight on him.

My excitement is only tempered by the fact that this one man is still a malignant narcissist who lets his wounds fester until he can strike back. He’s proven it over and over again and proven to be as unpredictably predictable in the ways he chooses to do so, even if it brings more harm to him and those around him. Until he’s no longer giving tours of his ridiculous ballroom and reflecting pool renovation I’ll always urge caution.

But I do keep in mind how Narcissus eventually wasted away by the side of his own reflecting pool.

The USA Stands Up and Survives A Near Death Experience

Relieved, encouraged, but still wary

I didn’t sleep well Monday night. Actually I haven’t slept well the previous few nights. I was very anxious heading into the mid-term elections here in the U.S. That anxiety actually led to me getting sick to my stomach Monday morning. Certainly, if you have a pulse you know why I was anxious.

A news banner announcing a blue wave of Democrats taking the U.S. Senate and U.S House of Representatives to rebuke Donald Trump

Last night, following an unmistakable electoral rebuke of all things MAGA, I didn’t sleep well either. Not from anxiety, but from trying to come down from the series of highs and rushes throughout the night as it appeared enough Americans in enough places stood up and voted to stop the bleeding that was quickly draining the life out of this country and the republic that governs it. Ben Franklin would be proud.

Across the country in races for the House of Representatives, the Senate, governors’ mansions, and state houses, Democrats did what we’re supposed to do and took back control. They said enough. Enough of the madness. Enough of the corruption. Enough of the abuse. Enough of the dividing line between the haves and the growing number of have-nots.

The big story will be the Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress. Perhaps as it should be, because that’s where the headline battles in the last two years of the Trump administration will be fought. And it will be a fight. There are no veto-proof super majorities in either party. Basking in the glow of a stupendous victory is one thing, trudging through the hard work to deliver results will see that glow quickly fade. It’s a a very temporary currency.

The governors’ races are just as important as are the various state house races, because like it or not, those power centers will have as much influence as what goes on in the U.S. Capitol and in the elections to come. In fact, those victories may influence more in Washington than those that are bringing so many new and, more importantly, younger members to serve there.

And make no mistake, there’s a wounded, somewhat caged beast still desecrating the White House or what remains of it. It would take a complete reversal of character for him not to strike back hard and with all the cruelty he can summon. To be frank I’m worried more about his subdued, seemingly humbled reactions so far than I would be if he continued punching back the way we’ve sadly grown accustomed to.

The other story that I hope gets focus in the rushing aftermath of so much happening is the strike back at big money (largely tech) players and the political mechanics who tried to gerrymander their way into hanging on to power. These victories didn’t erase the disgrace and disaster of Citizens United, but they provide some hope that its illicit and fictional foundations don’t hold up as much as some think they should.

There’s a fight ahead. A big one. Actually, many big ones. If there’s one thing we’ve learned it’s that the small frame of these two-year election cycles can provide enough room for all sorts of chaos, agony, and destruction. The Democrats have an enormous challenge ahead. Anger swept many of them in. That anger will not subside when the hangover of victory eases. The young voters that have now brought many of them to power want to see not just action, but retribution. I sincerely hope those now burdened with governing and cleaning up the mess we’re in can find the balance for both. Because both are needed.

Am I happy. Yes. Ecstatic. I don’t know many of the winning candidates well, but to my eye it seems like decency won last night. Decency matters. Or it should.

I’m also humbled by all those who stood up, were measured and were not found wanting when it counted. I’ve lived through more turbulent history in the last decade plus than I have for the six decades that came before. I don’t think the turbulence is over by any stretch of the imagination. The one thing I learned in those seemingly, but not actually less trying times, when progress seemed to be steadily made, is that it can all be undone more quickly than it can be built. My fervent hope is that those who stood up remain standing, keeping the pressure up so this historic victory and more than deserved rebuke and near-thing resurrection will pay off.

Perhaps I’ll take a nap today.

Don’t Tune Out. Pay Attention

Watching the world whiz by

It usually begins with “I don’t follow politics” or “I’m nor political.” But the topic can be interchangeable. Tech, sports, etc… It’s a choice. Even not choosing is a choice. One can argue, (I frequently do) that when you tune out or become tired or uninterested in a topic, then you’ve essentially surrendered. Whatever the other side is, you’ve let them win by removing yourself from the board.

Zoe vandewater oMpoyoO01Tg unsplash. Life can be tiresome. Increasingly it feels more so. Certianly in the wake of so much merciilessly bad news that it’s difficult to see how giving your attention might have an impact, much less worth your time and energy. I’ll be the first to admit trying to keep up is enough to drive anyone to just walk away.

It’s also makes it appealing to just to focus on the many good things that you enjoy in life.

Call me crazy (most do) but that’s how the forces who do pay attention on their quest to achieve whatever their aims are want you to feel how they want you to act. Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed to the point of tuning out, turning away or rolling over.

If you’ve tuned out, gotten pissed off, or just become no longer curious, the game is still afoot, and you’re not playing. You might think you’re canceling someone. But the only one you’re canceling is you.

By the time big changes come around that actually have a direct impact on your life, the game has moved on. And if you’re trying to get on board at that point, you’re late to the party and only there to pick up the pieces.

I’ve lived through enough moments in life when those who paid attention could see the direction the path ahead was revealing, and just enough tuned out to give those forging the path all the runway they needed.

Look, no one can keep up with everything. That’s just a reality. If there’s one good thing that has come out of the age of social media is that we can at least remain peripherally aware of the debates and arguments in ways we couldn’t before social media.

Even a peripheral awareness is better than a self-imposed lack of awareness, whatever the reason for shutting down.

Pay attention. Stay in the game.

(Image from Zoe VandeWater on Unsplash)

John Gruber Thinks I’ve Lost My Mind

Looking for a world of like, yet lost minds

There’s a weird and depressing continuation of folks moving back to X, formerly Twitter, currently still a cesspool.

The weirdness and my depression started when Federico Viticci and John Voorhees of MacStories fame headed back to stuffing Elon Musk’s back pocket. They’ve recently been followed by others in the tech-o-sphere, lured primarily because that’s apparently where the action is when it comes to talking about AI. Or talking to bots. I’m nor sure it matters. I expect them to all start calling it super intelligence any day now. Why not go all in?

The latest, and the most puzzling return is John Gruber. In a lengthy post he explains why. He also throws Musk-like insults at those who of us who don’t see his point by saying we’ve lost our minds.

If you have stayed away, or even just mostly away, from X for years and then come back, people just say things like “Hey, glad you’re back!” On the other networks, especially Mastodon, they tell you you’re “feeding Nazis” — by going to the platform where Tim Cook posts Pikachu videos. These people have either lost their minds or refuse to check their prior assumptions. (Most of the ones who chime in about it publicly are the lost-their-minds types.)

Perhaps I have lost my mind, John. I don’t think so, but perhaps I have. My grandson accuses me of that now and then, typically when I’m reminding him about what’s right and what’s wrong, given that he’s young enough not to know better.

Where my mind may have been misplaced, if it has, is a simpler location. That’s a place where I choose not to give money or participate in Elon Musk’s empire of depravity, where he thinks and spends money defending the so-called free speech right to create non-consensual pornography of pictures that are on his social network or wherever he can grab them Including those of children. To be clear, he’s done much more certainly and I’m not in favor of any of that either.

To be clearer, whether you pay for X or just lurk and scroll, you’re giving Musk money to do what he does. It’s out of your bank account into funding his depravity dumping on the world.

That’s my personal line in the sand that doesn’t shift. I will say the same things I say to relatives who still support MAGAts and Trump. If you condone sexual abuse of children because you think there’s a greater good somewhere being served by the perpetrators of that sexual abuse, you need to reframe how you think about the greater good. You may not have lost your mind, but you’re on your way to losing someting greater. And that’s not good.

Look, I miss Twitter. But that social network no longer exists. Gruber comes so close to swearing that what followed it once Musk took over has changed and is now a kinder, gentler place. So much so that on a quick first read I thought his post was a parody. Sadly, it’s not. X may have indeed changed somewhat. I don’t care enough to find out. Yes, big brands, celebrities, and sports reporters still rely on Twitter for reasons that are beyond me. Again, that’s their choice. For better or worse, whatever wisdom or lack thereof eventually filters out into the world eventually, so it really doesn’t matter.

Gruber, like the others who seem to be meandering back to Musk-land, are entititled to their opinions and to particiapte with any social network they choose. The fact that they need to justify their choices by smearing those who think differently, and dare I say how they themselves once were so outspoken with their thinking, to some extent proves just how much Musk and the MAGAt crowd have perverted and damaged the world we live in and the world online. Smearing others is like breathing in that world. I’ll admit I wouldn’t mind seeing them choke on it one day.

At least Gruber made his choice clear, unlike the MacStories duo. I have no doubt they’ll be calling Artifical Intelligence by its new Trump anointed and Musk approved branding soon.

Super.

(Image by Lutz Stalknecht on Unsplash)

Thanks for reading. You can subscribe to this blog if you care to. You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links.

Sunday Morning Reading

More knowledge generally diffused

It’s a Sunday. Leaves are beginning to fall as Autumn closes in. It’s a good morning to do some reading, even if it’s just “more knowledge generally diffused.” So, settle in for some Sunday Morning Reading.

I too often fall into the trap of thinking one thing or the other might be inevitable. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m off base. When it comes to AI, what it might or might not be is still anybody’s guess. Matteo Wong thinks Nothing About This Was Inevitable. I agree when it comes to the technology. I strongly disagree when it comes to how humans inevitably do what humans inevitably do when they think they found the golden ticket.

In theatre rehearsals I often refer to “the little theatre in my mind” when giving direction to actors. It’s a place where the conscious and subconscious do battle when I’m directing a show. Mathew Ingram wonders What Makes Our Minds Different And Where Does It Come From? The mind may be an unchanging observer of whatever we do as Descartes says. But who pops the popcorn?

In a throwback post (so glad he does this), Neil Steinberg takes on James Boswell’s take on Samuel Johnson in Musings Of An 18th Century Giant Still Relevant Today. “It must be considered, that we have now more knowledge generally diffused.”

Kim Zetter explores The Secrets Of A US Spyware King The damn thing is there are no secrets really. Just pervasiveness.

A fascinating beginning to a series at The Intellectualist on The Great Fragmentation. Part II or How The Old Gatekeepers Made Themselves Easy To Kill Off is especially worth your while.

I often maintain we’re still fighting the American Civil War. I’ll go to my grave defending that position, primarily because it began long before 1861 in an era we do our best to ignore for fear of coming face to face with ourselves. Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz delves into a bit of that ignored history with The True Story Of The Actual First Shot Fired In The Civil War.

On an Internet site called sheets.works there’s a fascinating piece, portrayed both visually and to a degree in text called The People Holding Up The Internet.

Chicago lost a legend this week with the passing of football legend Mike Ditka. Few of us pass without becoming synonymous with an era, a city, or a time. For better, or worse, Ditka defined this toddlin’ yet often troubled town of Chicago as much as the original Mayor Daley ever did. Brad Biggs pens a nice obituary that focuses on Ditka’s football career. Ditka had his critics, some of whom made their criticism known after his passing. In our world of more and more knowledge generally diffused, and thus I dare say confused, it’s frustrating how challenging it can be when all the parts of a life are summed up, beyond the moments and achievements which gives meaning to multitudes.

(Photo by Pramod Tiwari on Unsplash

Thanks for reading. Feel free to subscribe if you want. It’s free. If you’re interested in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here. If you’d like more click on the Sunday Morning Reading link in the category column to check out what’s been shared on Sunday’s past. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. This site does not use affilate links.

Hope, Fears, Concerns

What’s ahead is as perilous as the road we’ve all been traversing

I have hope that enough people have seen more than they need to vote out congressional and other enablers of the Trump regime. I’m hoping whatever threats or evil magic spell he’s tossed into the ether have dissipated enough to bring out large numbers of voters in the right precincts and districts.

I have fears that while I anticipate all sorts of shenanigans, legal and otherwise, prior to and in the immediate aftermath of election day that we’ll have to endure another nightmare political circus. Frankly, I fear more what happens on January 3rd when the new Congress is supposed to be sworn in that there will be attempts to not seat democratically elected members.

I have concerns that should the vote deliver overwhelming majorities that none of the efforts to try and negate the results will matter that it will lead everyone to breathe a huge sigh of relief, thinking that we’ve moved out of the morass. Even if/when power shifts in Congress the next two years are going to be more challenging than the last two as long as Trump is still in office. Even if he disappeared tomorrow the work to fix what’s been broken will take maximum effort. That much needed sigh of relief can only be a momentary one before any real work begins.

Vote.

Disgraced Denny Hastert Dies

Times have sure changed

Once upon a time. It seems not so long ago, yet so distant. There was a time when we held crooked politicians and pedophiles to account for the wrongs they committed.

I’m reminded of just how relatively recent that was in seeing the news that Illinois politician and former Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert has died. Hastert was arrested and convicted in 2016 of violating federal banking laws to make secret payments to cover up his sex abuse crimes. He later admitted his crimes at sentencing.

Times change and sad to say, we certainly don’t live in those times anymore.

The Golden Age Of Shit. Super Intelligence Style

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. -Walter Scott

The farce that unfolded in Washington DC yesterday regarding Artificial Intelligence wasn’t comedy. Yet it was super hilarious. At some point you have to understand that the wool is being pulled over all of our eyes, including those of the president. And you have to laugh.

Us president donald trump attends national design studio launch event for america gov a new ai powered government website at t.jpg.

In an election year that sees American’s distaste for anything approaching the topic of AI growing like kudzu, the folks running the AI show keep rapidly alternating back and forth between requests that the government step in and stop them from destroying humanity and telling us that their products will create a new golden age of abundance.

If there’s a joke in the circle jerk of a game they’re playing, it’s that the president croaks that he got the assembled AI oligarchy to sign on to a “morally binding” agreement to self-police. You read that right. “Morally binding.” There’s lots of laughing about a group of technologists who built empires on stealing the work of others, who never met a law or a moral they wouldn’t spit on, signing such a document put forward by one of the most outrageous criminals the world has ever known. But that’s just the set up.

The joke is that these conmen are playing the decaying before our eyes president for all they can while he’s still breathing. He no longer understands what’s put before him. He doesn’t have a competent staff. A fact made abundantly clear by the misspelling of the United States under the president’s signature and the fact that his administration’s AI fueled new website spent the day disproving all the lies he’s foisted upon a population with an average reading age of a sixth grader. You’d think his flunkies would use AI to do some basic proofreading and fact-checking. But that’s above a sixth grader’s skill set. Apparently they’ve already “corrected” the website to spit out the lies again.

These tech bros are openly yanking the president’s chain, taking advantage of his infirmity, our divisiveness, our curiosity, and the greed of the markets. The rest of the world is doing it. Given their desires to run the planet, into the ground or elsewhere, they might as well get in on the act before the curtain comes down.

Couple all of that with the supposed name change in the order, rebranding Artificial Intelligence to Super Intelligence. On the one hand it’s good to know that if the technology kills us all there will be no shortage of superlatives to describe the end of times in the summaries all the robots, Muses, and Dots will spam each other with after we’re gone. It beats being wiped out by something branded as artificial, I guess. On the other, the name change is just super silly. Call me when OpenAI changes its name. I’m just surprised he didn’t name it American Intelligence. Or Trump Intelligence.

If there’s drama ahead in any of this, it’s that at some point it’s going to all go to shit. Mostly it has already. Those who dismiss every warning as merely marketing remind me of early climate change deniers. Those who take the warnings seriously remind me of every bandwagon jumper that’s ever leaped to a conclusion. As in most things, what truth that exists probably lies somewhere in the muddy middle, which is exactly where those who will profit over either their success or failure want it to stay.