Strive to have your own social and political commitments that do not hinge on someone in power telling you what to do.

Trump is burning capital. Not just financial capital, but social capital, diplomatic capital, intellectual capital. Capital that other, qualified people, spent decades building, which he "inherited" and instantly threw in the toilet. He takes other people's work, leverages it, and loses it.

What an honor & privilege to pay taxes this year. Rather than spending my $ on scientific research, healthcare, forestry management, alternative energy, infrastructure, or int'l development, I get to support what I've always wanted: the complete annihilation of a civilization. #blessedtobeAmerican

A reminder from the great E. Stanley Jones:

Remember when gambling used to be frowned upon? 63 million Americans just bet on the Super Bowl. Trump has encouraged it, and he's all in on prediction markets like Kalshi. One more reason he's a national disgrace and must be ejected from public life to either prison or the moon.

Trump is basically a zombie. If you haven't been bitten, you can see how thoroughly despicable and dangerous he is. If you can't, it's because you're a zombie, too.

Why Should We Just Accept AI? Against digital technological determinism

Today's free post argues that our history of passively adopting digital technology has led to negative unintended consequences to us and our children which we only now are beginning to reckon with. Let's not make the same mistake with AI. newsletter.oalannoble.com/p/why-should...

Morning read while I wait in line for Brandi Carlisle tickets.

That's what abusers say.

But...the money before was going to scientists and poor people. Can't have that.

Pro SAVE Act folks talk about Real ID all the time. But do you know how long it took to roll that out, from law to enforcement? 20 years. Yes, 20 freaking years. This kind of change would need a similar timetable. Anything else is voter suppression.

Whew. Spent some time over on Twitter/X and if you are still on that site you are likely either:
1) a white nationalist, or
2) someone who wants to keep tab on white nationalists

Brick — Take Back Control of Your Screen Time Brick helps you focus and live intentionally. One tap locks your phone so you can reclaim time for what matters most. Works with iPhone & Android.

I don't often promote products. But I want to give a shout out to Brick. I use it all the time now, and I'm grateful for how it helps me reclaim my time. Smartphones are a nightmare, and brick gets my phone, well, back to being a brick (when I need it to be). getbrick.com

Re-reading @kkdumez.bsky.social Jesus & John Wayne, and this is the most important statement in the book:

"Evangelicalism must be seen as a cultural and political movement rather than as a community defined chiefly by its theology."

AI is ripping students' competence & confidence away from them. It is an addictive substance. It is a drug. They come to rely on it and don't believe they can work w/o it. Sam Altman plans to paralyze Americans' confidence, then demand them pay him for "intelligence."

I spent 12 hours inspecting a student's paper b/c I suspected AI plagiarism. I was right & the student finally confessed. If your kid goes to a school where faculty WON'T go to this length to protect academic integrity, they are not getting an education worth the name.

Michael Emerson lecture This is "Michael Emerson lecture" by Westmont College on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

It was a pleasure to host Dr. Michael Emerson at Westmont these past few days. His talk, "Why Won't Racial Division Go Away: The Religion of Whiteness as a Barrier to Authentic Christian Community" is eye-opening and informative. Check it out here: vimeo.com/1173026373

New 🔥 from Matthew Taylor coming in October. Buckle up!

In case you need a daily reminder, you don't have to apologize for not wanting to use AI.
And, when many people hold this position, it continues to be a socially viable position to take.
Freedom from AI relies on people saying "NO."

It's tempting as a Christian to throw in the towel when your faith is overrun by morally vacuous gremlins and vampiric hucksters, but then I remember faith was never supposed to be easy, and it is in fact a privilege to be alive, succoring truth in the rubble they've left behind.

I don't think the average American Christian realizes how lost and un-Christlike the vast majority of "Christian" influencers are.

Let me be clear. If you are making money betting off whether we attack other countries, you are a disgusting moral failure. You're not a pariah, because we apparently lack the social will to make you one. But a failure? Yeah, you're a failure.

People who *want* AI to "take all the jobs" are significantly deceived. What happens then? Even with UBI, we lose the societal interdependence that comes with belonging to a complex division of labor. The likely result is people with too much time on their hands and social conflict.

"Those who can, do; those who can't, teach."

That was the old conventional wisdom. Now we have a bunch of lazy faculty using AI to teach and grade their students. Here's the new idiom:

'THOSE WHO CAN, DO. THOSE WHO CAN'T, USE AI."

Check out that ratio👀

Imagine being proud of deregulation that will cause real harm to people and the planet. We are governed by deranged, sociopathic clowns.

Almost this entire class of GOP legislators is going to be known forever as the Trump-Epstein Republicans.

"They're real losers" says D.C. area man of Olympic athletes who himself can't walk 18 holes of golf.