USPS Mulls Shipping Handguns, Raising Safety Concerns
They wake up every morning asking what terrible thing they can think of next. USPS considers allowing people to ship handguns through the mail https://t.co/dUutrx5FwP
AI Deepens Metaphysical Uncertainty, Leaving Many Unsettled
God save us from Douthat pontificating on AI and theology: "[T]here’s a future where artificial intelligence mostly increases metaphysical uncertainty, leaving a lot of people simply unsettled about fundamental questions, increasingly 'mysterian' rather than clearly atheistic or devout." The Atheist and...
Gawker's Billionaire Battle Left Lasting Scars
Good story on Gawker. TIL Tim Cook killed a show based on it. Boo. Best quote: "Gawker eventually became like Lennie from Of Mice and Men, where it didn’t understand its own power.” At Gawker, They Battled a Billionaire. 10 Years...
Supreme Court VRA Ruling Relied on Misleading DOJ Data
Good analysis by the Guardian. Racism is always built on lies. Supreme court’s Voting Rights Act ruling cited misleading data from DoJ https://t.co/iPl6IJnmby
Debunked Nudge Theory: Stop Meddling, Let Kids Unplug
Cass Sunstein's nanny-state nudge policy has been debunked but he never stops trying to meddle in others' lives. Leave the kids alone. The Way to Get Kids Off Screens https://t.co/ZAOFJRpTQS
Strike Persists as only One Guild Officer Hired
So much for the latest white-knight savior: 80 percent Post-Gazette staff on strike not hired; one of seven guild officers hired. The Venetoulis Institute goes to Pittsburgh. https://t.co/o2z4HWe3Rq
DOJ Steps in as Trump’s Attorney in Carroll Case
Acting as his personal attorney... DOJ seeks to take on Trump’s E. Jean Carroll case https://t.co/kSANPbbEhA
Study Finds AI Self‑Replicates Outside Lab Environments
Search a little and the "research" organization behind this is funded by a key doomster with a clear agenda. #TESCREAL ‘No one has done this in the wild’: study observes AI replicate itself https://t.co/ummy9R0bKx
AI Will Let Anyone Launch a Restaurant
I think I want his "infinite sauce machine." Marc Lore says that AI will soon enable anyone open a restaurant https://t.co/VhhOXNxC17
90‑Year‑Old Jersey City Hot Dog Icon Faces Whole Foods Takeover
Oh, no, not Boulevard Drinks. #JerseyCity N.J. hot dog legend may be replaced by Whole Foods after 90 years. ‘We want to stay right here.’ https://t.co/rFkC6vyj0s
AI Spreads Fabricated Disease, Echoing Internet Addiction Myth
AI been pwned. This is very similar to how "Internet addiction" as a condition began as an academic joke (a story I tell in The Web We Weave; see next post). Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was...
Stanford's Algorithmic Matchmaking Dominates Student Romance
Helping the horny high-achiever. "We’re not interfacing well." A matchmaking algorithm has become an all-consuming force at Stanford, where once a week thousands of students brace to learn their romantic fate. https://t.co/139orVWFMp
Si Newhouse's Collection Sells $60 Million Picassos
Si Newhouse was a helluva collector. This latest sale from his collection features Picassos valued at up to $60 million each. https://t.co/pLtyrxczf8
Gutenberg Parenthesis Explored: Print's Copy Power Transcends Digital
Delighted and grateful that Georg Fischer has translated his wonderful essay about my Gutenberg Parenthesis: Pressing Matters After Gutenberg: On the Power of the Copy From Print to Digital Media https://t.co/ExOYXUMF22
Ellison’s Paramount Opts for Volume over Profit per Film
Ellison's Paramount makes less per film but will release more films = Ellison's Paramount will make lots of cheap crap. Paramount Projects ‘Significantly’ Lower Theatrical Revenue; Ellison Reiterates Plan for 30-Film Annual Slate https://t.co/xjI9hiRjaB
Kennedy Launches Initiative to Reduce Antidepressant Use
Bad timing, guy. You are one reason among many why the nation is so depressed. Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants https://t.co/nSnwWeUqcW
Tiny Fraction Wins Most Money on Prediction Markets
Good WSJ reporting on the schmuckmarkets. "0.1% of accounts on Polymarket take home 67% of the profits:" 2,000 accounts netted nearly half a billion dollars. Gift link. Why Almost Everyone Loses—Except a Few Sharks—on Prediction Markets https://t.co/vSuHejPITe
Jeeves: A Forgotten Relic of the Early Web
Who knew that https://t.co/CNzA52YbyY even made it into this century? The Times waxes nostalgic about a site no one used. So Long Jeeves and https://t.co/CNzA52YbyY, Relics of Yesterday’s Internet https://t.co/V1GSZOOf4I
Condemning #BrokenTimes for Irresponsible Conspiracy Promotion
This is wildly irresponsible of the #BrokenTimes. I won't link to it spreading a conspiracy theory, no matter the denials. https://t.co/jip58aBLYt
Data Answers, yet Speculation Still Sways Narratives
Getaloada this #BrokenTimes headline. It poses a question, answers the question with data, but then speculates a different answer this time, for its bête noire, @ZohranKMamdani. https://t.co/8PM0hDkwJN
BrokenTimes Platforms Man Worse than Fox News
Bad enough that the #BrokenTimes chooses to give its platform over to the man too awful even for Fox News, it aggrandizes itself with a how-we-did-this sidebar. https://t.co/JTMB53YXjS
AI Favors Patterns, Stifling True Creative Breakthroughs
I've been saying: AI seeks patterns; creativity breaks patterns. As @ahmed_elgammal puts it: "Because they’re optimized to produce familiar outputs, they end up suppressing novelty. This, it goes without saying, doesn’t lend itself to true creative breakthroughs."
Drive Route 66 to Rediscover America’s Spirit
Well, this is sobering. "It's easy to hate America right now," says the Süddeutsche Zeitung. No argument. "But if you still want to love this country, they say you should drive right across it: on Route 66 from Chicago to...
Palantir's Dragnet Shows Real Surveillance Dwarfs Advertising Myths
I've long objected to the "surveillance advertising" trope, for it trivializes actual surveillance under force of government, such as this, brought to us by the folks at Palantir. Gift link. ‘We Know You Live Right Here’: No Secrets in America’s...
Republicans' Subsidy Cut Leaves Millions without Health Coverage
Congress didn't do this. The Republicans are killing people. Since Congress Let Obamacare Subsidies Expire, Millions Are Dropping Coverage https://t.co/kVoDTOXUVo
South Africa Pulls AI Policy After AI Authorship Revealed
Too beautiful. South Africa withdraws AI policy after it was found written by AI https://t.co/oDtlJZEyA7
A 900‑Year‑Old Solution for Today's Problems
By David French's simplistic logic, Gutenberg should have been held liable for the Reformation and Thirty Years' War. There’s a 900-Year-Old Answer to Our Most Modern Problem https://t.co/TWImtz71lU
Editorial Board Decries Judicial Overreach, Media Skews Racist Lens
Even after its editorial board called the decision "a mind-boggling piece of judicial overreach," with this headline, the #BrokenTimes news desk insists on covering modern Jim Crow from the perspective of the racist right. https://t.co/6aUyoLZ8jt
Supreme Court Victory Counters Murdoch‑Backed Racist Media
The Journal is the Murdochs' and the oligarchy's racist, white nationalist bully pulpit. A Victory for Voting Rights at the Supreme Court https://t.co/O5BWkBb0C6
Fidelity, Vanguard Block SPLC Donations, Echoing Authoritarian Policies
When the private sector enforces Nuremberg (Trump) laws on behalf of the dictator. How dare you, @Fidelity and @Vanguard_Group. Fidelity and Vanguard Won’t Allow Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center https://t.co/hze7F1enDd
Ackman's Fund Plummets 16% Despite Social Media Hype
Schadenfreude. Shares in Bill Ackman’s new stock-picking fund opened down 16% in their trading debut Wednesday after he struggled to harness his social-media following to attract everyday investors https://t.co/97T5ckkaAV
CBS Ratings Plunge Below Four‑million Viewers
FAFO, fascist media. Weeks below 4 million. Schadenfreude, thine abbreviation is Bari. CBS’ Ratings Calamity https://t.co/mAhYeV8hrm
Chinese EVs Already Rolling in El Paso Amid Ban Push
I covet a Chinese EV. The U.S. wants to ban China’s high-tech, low-cost cars. They’re already here in El Paso. https://t.co/rMpBgCaqPG
FCC Reviews Disney Licenses Amid First Amendment Concerns
Here's hoping that Mickey has grown a pair and learned a lesson from Carr's last attack on Kimmel and the Constitution. There could be no clearer attack on the First Amendment. Hang tough, Mouse. FCC prepares review of Disney’s TV...
Paramount‑WB's New Media Venture Majority Foreign‑Owned
Our new state media of Paramount-WB--including CNN and CBS--will be half-owned (49.5%) by foreign interests, 38.5% by Middle Eastern funds. https://t.co/zNAPjHjnc0
Altman's AI Hype Meets Historic Reality and Banality
Altman: "AI will dwarf what people could do with steam engines or electricity." Uh, history would like a word, Sam. Then what follows in his principles is the kind of sophomoric banality only an LLM could produce. Our principles https://t.co/Xxcm5GsU1N
Musk Claims AI Abundance Will Render Retirement Savings Obsolete
Doofus. Elon Musk says saving for retirement is irrelevant because AI is going to create a world of abundance: ‘It won’t matter’ https://t.co/JoRbg1kZ9I
TMZ DC Disrupts Hill Media Without Credentials
No credentials. Good. No credentials, no problem as TMZ DC shakes up Hill media bubble https://t.co/x0ziIUv6En
Pentagon Reimagined as a Venture Capital Firm
What would Eisenhower say? The man turning the Pentagon into a venture capital firm https://t.co/3QKm6nPCv5
Even Skeptics Can Lose Faith in Skepticism
Journalism is built on proper skepticism. But here's the #BrokenPost being skeptical about skepticism. I used to be a skeptic. This changed my mind. https://t.co/axPZxAFRbq
Luddite Backlash: AI's Place in Education Under Fire
The New Yorker asks the wrong question, and enters into the Luddism derby against The Atlantic and The Guardian. "I don’t like A.I., and I am raising my children not to like it....I find myself speaking with my kids about...
Washington Post Trails Times on Local Cutback Costs
As of 9:15, Washington Post is way behind The Times on this story in its hometown: the cost of cutbacks.
C-SPAN2 Replays Past Presidents, Highlighting Stark Contrast
C-SPAN2 is brilliantly playing prior presidential addresses at the WHCD. Oh, the contrast will be extreme.
UK Reaffirms Falklands Sovereignty Amid US Pressure
FFS. Is the idiot going to have us invade the Falklands next? The wake up every morning asking where they can spread their shitshow next. UK insists control of Falklands ‘not in question’ despite US memo https://t.co/lMswmjmQbz
Paramount Celebrates Trump Amid Warner Bros Deal Await
State media supper. Paramount Throws Party for Trump as It Awaits Approval of Warner Bros. Deal https://t.co/riE6bSs9h7
Use AI as a Collaborator, Not a Speed Tool
Wise by Vivienne Ming: 'The goal of working with AI isn’t to get the answer faster. It’s to find out what you’re missing. Don’t deploy AI minions to “do the boring work” for you, as so many sales pitches argue;...
Trump Administration Reinstates Firing Squads, Lethal Injections
They enjoy death. The Trump administration said it would allow executions by firing squad and restore the use of lethal injections in federal death-penalty cases https://t.co/9HGcFiSt8a
Universities Need Michael Roth; Yale’s Retreat Undermines Trust
Every university needs a Michael Roth as president. Wesleyan's head grades Yale's shameful retreat: "That’s not a mission; it’s a defense strategy. And the retreat from public purpose will not enhance trust; it will further erode it." Gift link: Yale Has Come...
Free‑market Stance Leads to Pro‑cigarette Editorial Bias
The #BrokenPost editorial mission to focus on personal liberties and free markets means editorializing in favor of cigarettes, cancer, and death. Butt out, cigarette banners https://t.co/a27hplhu0X
CDC Withholds Report Showing Vaccines Reduce Hospitalizations
Can't hide from science. CDC won’t publish report showing covid shots cut likelihood of hospital visits https://t.co/zajDCiaaAJ