Happy Hour

get happy

The Priesthood

I hate that once upon a time I bought into, somewhat, the vision of the Supreme Court propped up by decades of mainstream media coverage. None of us are immune from propaganda, and the idea of the Supremos as high priests was drilled into me for a long time. The secrecy is not ok.

Seems Bad

I've made some errors of judgment, but being Tulsi-curious was never one of them.

WASHINGTON—A U.S. intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a whistleblower complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter WASHINGTON—A U.S. intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a whistleblower complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter.

Does Anybody Remember Laughter

I know that likely demolishing the Kennedy Center, or ornamenting it with giant tributes to dear leader, isn't actually funny, but of all the things that our "elites" are just letting Trump get away with, his building grotesque monuments to his corpulent ego is at least worth a chuckle.  

They will either be lasting monuments to all of their failures, or be dynamited on Jan 20, 2029. It will most likely be the former, of course, which is sad but ultimately appropriate.

No Art For You

I admit I find this mostly funny, except for the orchestra any other resident companies that are fucked because Trump is pouting about something.

The Kennedy Center in Washington DC will be closed for a two-year renovation beginning in July, US President Donald Trump has announced.

Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that the centre would close on 4 July this year "in honour of the 250th Anniversary of our Country".

Appropriate way of honoring that anniversary at this moment, I suppose. It's closing time.

Converging Crises

I suppose the novel version has a civilization threatening plague originating in the concentration camps being filled by the mad king, whose adviser prevented the population from being vaccinated against it.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement halted "all movement" at a detention center in Texas for families and quarantined some migrants there after medical staff confirmed two detainees had "active measles infections," the Department of Homeland Security said Sunday.

This is, of course, horrible and neither the situation broadly nor the individuals affected will get the attention they require. 

Morning

 late start

Sunday Evening

Enjoy

America's Worst Humans

Jesus Ochoa and Raymundo Gutierrez.

Yeah

 

He Admit It

Biden guy:

Nazi Cosplayer Has Nazi Views

It has been, uh, interesting to watch the media-political class work themselves into a frenzy over the antisemitism of being against genocide, while pretending not to understand what actual Nazis were about.

A day before six career federal prosecutors resigned in protest over the Justice Department’s handling of the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis, lawyers in the office had a conversation with Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol field leader, that left them deeply unsettled.

According to several people with knowledge of the telephone conversation, which took place on Jan. 12, Mr. Bovino made derisive remarks about the faith of the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, Daniel N. Rosen. Mr. Rosen is an Orthodox Jew and observes Shabbat, a period of rest between Friday and Saturday nights that often includes refraining from using electronic devices.

Mr. Bovino, who has been the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, used the term “chosen people” in a mocking way, according to the people with knowledge of the call. He also asked, sarcastically, whether Mr. Rosen understood that Orthodox Jewish criminals don’t take weekends off, the people said.

Nazis weren't only about genocidal antisemitism, of course, but it was kind of a big thing! Maybe they should read a book about it before their hero, Trump, the bringer of peace to the Middle East, burns them all.

Morning

Sunday funday

Saturday Afternoon

 Doing some weekending.

Some Of Our Faves

A very big and influential Dem donor who everyone has long known is Epstein adjacent is, in fact, in the Epstein files with some stuff that doesn't look good!

I suspect the chips will not fall from above so it is time for another woke uprising.

Phone Addiction

I heard stories for years from some academics about how The Kids Today were worse than The Kids Of Yesterday and they were mostly bullshit (and plenty of other older academics agreed that nothing important had changed). Still, between "AI" and the phones, I suspect these stories are no longer bullshit.

I have a rule, mostly followed, that if I'm deliberately watching something (as opposed to background noise TV, which as an old I still do sometimes), I don't look at my phone. If I really feel the need to, I will pause whatever I am watching (again, mostly followed).

I won't deny the addict's urge exists, though I will blame my job and the current state of affairs for that, somewhat. It wasn't so bad a million years ago in the Biden era.

Beyond the classroom, it's a bit hard to have interests and hobbies if you can't put your phone down occasionally. Go watch a movie, kids!

But They'll Be Safer Than Humans!!!

This was an evidence-free article of faith among autonomous vehicle boosters. I've never really doubted that to the extent that they work, they'd be reasonably safe, but how safe they are in practice won't just depend on the technology, but on how safe they are told to be. 

By accounts, Waymos are being set to drive more aggressively than they had been previously.  They had been safe, in part, because they were programmed to be cautious.  Maybe overly cautious, but it is risky to turn the dial the other way.

Elon's technology was always trash. His commitments to safety and honesty are, of course, what you would expect.

Tesla’s nascent robotaxi program is off to a rough start. New NHTSA crash data, combined with Tesla’s new disclosure of robotaxi mileage, reveals Tesla’s autonomous vehicles are crashing at a rate much higher than human drivers, and that’s with a safety monitor in every car.

Morning

Slacker Saturday

Happy Hour

Get happy.

In Her Defense, She Needs The Money

Welp.

Mrs. Clinton’s take was somewhat more subdued. She said, nonetheless, that she had been impressed by the development that had taken place since her last visit more than a decade ago, when she was secretary of state.

“The example that the kingdom is setting for the right kind of development — ambitious, audacious, but organized, focused, bringing people, men and women together to move into the future — that is a very strong model for other parts of the world,” she said.

Mrs. Clinton met with the crown prince, and with Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi ambassador to the United States whom she called a “very valued friend.”

“I can’t wait to call Bill and tell him that I got to see you,” she said of her husband.

Ah, Prince Turki al-Faisal, let's learn a bit about him.

From 1979 to 2001, Prince Turki was director general of Al Mukhabarat Al 'Ammah, Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, resigning from the position on 1 September 2001, ten days before the September 11 attacks in which 15 Saudi nationals hijacked commercial American airliners.

Fascinating stuff!