Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sanctity
I don't know if women keeping their vote secret from their husbands is a big thing, but to the extent that it is, guys like Watters are the reason.
Lock Him Up!
Only thing to do!
PHILADELPHIA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Elon Musk did not show up at a Pennsylvania court hearing on Thursday to consider his $1 million giveaway to voters ahead of the Nov. 5election, which could put him at risk of being held in contempt of court.
Effective Canvassers
Aside from the "Christ, what an asshole" issue, imagine thinking this was an effective way to get people to do this job.
In Michigan, canvassers and paid door knockers for the former president, contracted by a firm associated with America PAC, have been subjected to poor working conditions: A number of them have been driven around in the back of a seatless U-Haul van, according to video obtained by WIRED, and threatened that their lodging at a local motel wouldn’t be paid for if they didn’t meet canvassing quotas. One door knocker alleges that they didn’t even know they were signing up for anything having to do with Musk or Trump.
All The Worst People In The World
Observing how horrible the inner circle of MAGA is - and hardcore Trumpers generally - I regularly think about how this is all they know. They are all horrible people surrounded by the worst people in the world and they have no idea that not everybody is that horrible.
An internal whistleblower complaint at Trump Media calls for CEO Devin Nunes to be fired, alleging he has “severely” mismanaged the company and opened it to “substantial risk of legal action” from regulators, according to a copy reviewed by ProPublica.Corruption and spite all the time. Nothing else.
The letter also says that former President Donald Trump’s company is hiring “America Last” — alleging that Nunes imposed a directive to hire only foreign contractors at the expense of “American workers who are deeply committed to our mission.”
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
The Moral High Ground
Losing it on everything, including that "rule of law" thing.
The Biden administration has received nearly 500 reports alleging Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons for attacks that caused unnecessary harm to civilians in the Gaza Strip, but it has failed to comply with its own policies requiring swift investigations of such claims, according to people familiar with the matter.Can't expect people to make the case for their own prosecution in the war crimes trial!
Just Calling Balls And Strikes, Nina
Speaking of ruthlessness...
There has to be some plan other than "win elections, always, everywhere" because they're making that harder to do!
Washington — The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Virginia to move forward with its removal of roughly 1,600 alleged noncitizens from its voter rolls just days before the 2024 election.Kudos to CBS for being very clear here.
The high court granted a request from state officials to pause a lower court order that blocked Virginia from continuing its systematic voter removal program that was launched in August, exactly 90 days before Election Day. A provision of the National Voter Registration Act requires states to complete programs aimed at purging ineligible voters from registration lists up to 90 days before federal elections.
There has to be some plan other than "win elections, always, everywhere" because they're making that harder to do!
Ruthlessness As A Superpower
As I age, I grow filled with rather banal observations about how the world works, and one is that a little bit of a problem with our imaginary "meritocracy" is that a willingness to fuck people over confers a nontrivial advantage to people.
That's a skill, of sorts, but perhaps not one The Market should be rewarding. More than that, it's the kind of thing which undermines the the holy market itself.
That's a skill, of sorts, but perhaps not one The Market should be rewarding. More than that, it's the kind of thing which undermines the the holy market itself.
I Wish The Democrats Had An Enemies LIst
Not really, but I do think the Democrats could use a little bit of that LBJ spirit. They should play a bit of hardball sometimes, at least, and not just against Rashida Tlaib.
Abortion Is Health Care
Not that I needed to be convinced, but I did come to understand just how fucked up health care would be if abortion was illegal when observing that Mrs. A had to get a pregnancy test practically every time she walked through the doctor's office door, just in case something might nudge an unknown embryo.
There is no way for abortion to be illegal and for HYSTERICAL PRO-ABORTION EXTREMISTS to be incorrect about the fact that the "life" of a fetus - even a nonviable one - will take precedent over the life of the mother.
There is no way for abortion to be illegal and for HYSTERICAL PRO-ABORTION EXTREMISTS to be incorrect about the fact that the "life" of a fetus - even a nonviable one - will take precedent over the life of the mother.
The fetus was on the verge of coming out, its head pressed against her dilated cervix; she was 17 weeks pregnant and a miscarriage was “in progress,” doctors noted in hospital records. At that point, they should have offered to speed up the delivery or empty her uterus to stave off a deadly infection, more than a dozen medical experts told ProPublica.
But when Barnica’s husband rushed to her side from his job on a construction site, she relayed what she said the medical team had told her: “They had to wait until there was no heartbeat,” he told ProPublica in Spanish. “It would be a crime to give her an abortion.”
For 40 hours, the anguished 28-year-old mother prayed for doctors to help her get home to her daughter; all the while, her uterus remained exposed to bacteria.
Three days after she delivered, Barnica died of an infection.
WHO RUNS THE SPOTLIGHT, MOTHERFUCKER???
A "funny" thing about political coverage is that the reporters are aware of the ridiculous game, but can't help being players anyway (because they want to be).
You don't have to privilege lies and liars.
But regardless of his intent, Mr. Biden’s words sparked backlash against his party and effectively moved the spotlight — at least temporarily — away from Vice President Kamala Harris on the evening in which she delivered the closing argument of her campaign.You don't have to put nonsense into print just because conservatives are telling you to! The spotlight is you!!!
You don't have to privilege lies and liars.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
I Believe I Can Fly
If my public persona was Phony Stark, owner of a spaceship company, commander of the Mars mission, I think I would pull a stunt of going up in one of my rockets.
I don't remember ever seeing anyone ask Elon why he hasn't.
I don't remember ever seeing anyone ask Elon why he hasn't.
How Dare They
There have been some journalists - Tapper, Trip Gabriel - who have argued that this is Hurting Journalism somehow, and readers should do something more productive like, I dunno, subscribe twice to show their support.
For decades some journalists have operated under the belief that if only there were a few more subscriptions, then journalism would be saved. The industry has certainly faced some genuine challenges, which were met with gross mismanagement (including outright looting by owners) much of the time!
...The Aristocrats!
Of course Messianic weirdos believe in purification through suffering (of others).
The View In The Mirror
I wouldn't say I'm especially down on myself, but I definitely don't look in the mirror, so to speak, and think that the future human gene pool would be improved by planting my seed everywhere possible. What reflection do guys like Elon actually see?
A proponent of in vitro fertilization, Mr. Musk believes strongly in increasing the world’s population. He has even offered his own sperm to friends and acquaintances, including the former independent vice-presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan, according to two people familiar with his offer. Ms. Shanahan turned him down.
We Did Not Know The Richard Spencer Protege Would Be A Big Racist
Lots of crosstalk but the key line is "Hope your beeper doesn't go off."Absolutely insane moment on CNN
— Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social) October 29, 2024 at 2:48 AM
[image or embed]
Hezbollah and Hamas, and, of course, Hasan, have all become one here.
I suppose it's good CNN has said they wouldn't invite him back, and that "joke" does actually cross the line, but why is a guy who used to work for a fucking Nazi on there in the first place? Of course the beeper joke has become a thing, people just aren't supposed to say it when too many people can hear them.
While we're on the subject of beeper jokes https://t.co/lxb3uyeoES
— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) October 29, 2024
Monday, October 28, 2024
That's A Big Number
Both the NYT and WaPo marketed themselves explicitly to Trump-fearful liberals post-2016 and well...
T
he Washington Post has been rocked by a tidal wave of cancellations from digital subscribers and a series of resignations from columnists, as the paper grapples with the fallout of owner Jeff Bezos’s decision to block an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for president.No Wordle to make them stick around!
More than 200,000 people had canceled their digital subscriptions by midday Monday, according to two people at the paper with knowledge of internal matters. Not all cancellations take effect immediately. Still, the figure represents about 8% of the paper’s paid circulation of 2.5 million subscribers, which includes print as well. The number of cancellations continued to grow Monday afternoon.
Speaking Of Election Shenanigans
VANCOUVER, Wash. — KATU was on the scene at Fisher's Landing Transit Center in Vancouver early Monday morning, where heavy smoke was seen coming from inside a dropoff ballot box.
Looks Good... But Then
It's good to see news outlets can describe things accurately when they are in the mood to.
Or so it seemed!
The ex-president’s blistering anti-migrant rhetoric ranks alongside the most flagrant demagoguery by a major figure in any Western nation since World War II. But it was also complemented by a sharp economic argument that represented the second leg of Trump’s closing pitch and targeted the frustration of many Americans who are struggling with high grocery prices despite cooling inflation.[no argument identified]
“I’d like to begin by asking a very simple question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” Trump asked. “I’m here today with a message of hope for all Americans: With your vote in this election, I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country, and I will bring back the American dream.” He also said he would push for a tax credit for “family caregivers who take care of a parent or a loved one” – after Harris unveiled her own platform proposing that Medicare cover home health care.
“If Kamala Harris gets four more years, our economy can never recover. If I win, we will quickly build the greatest economy in the history of world,” he said.
Brain Points
Tucker's just doing "acceptable racism" a bit crassly here.
You can't disentangle the belief in "meritocracy" from this kind of racism.
“It’s going to be pretty hard to look at us and say ‘you know what? Kamala Harris, she got 85 million votes because she’s so impressive as the first Samoan-Malaysian, low I.Q., former California prosecutor ever to be elected president. It was just a groundswell of popular support, and anyone who thinks otherwise is just a freak or a criminal,’” Carlson said, facetiously.Pick someone at an elite publication over 50, at random, and there's a pretty good chance they fully embrace "scientific racism" and various forms of IQ nonsense. Who was signing Andrew Sullivan's checks for years?
You can't disentangle the belief in "meritocracy" from this kind of racism.
Endorsement
If there's any kind of thought behind what they're doing here, other than the belief that it will help them win, it's to make clear that, if they do win, The American People have endorsed this.
The huge rally was billed as the launch of the final stage of Trump’s bid to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in American political history after trying to overturn the result of the last election and leaving office in disgrace in 2021. Before he spoke, some of the ex-president’s top supporters flung race-based and vulgar rhetoric. Former congressional candidate David Rem called Harris the “antichrist” and “the devil,” while others lashed out at Hillary Clinton, “illegals” and homeless people. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.”
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Lindsey Graham: On Background and Off The Record
You know he never shuts up. You know he has spent 25 years having "private" conversations with journalists in and out of the green room. My bet is he bullshits them just enough so that they think he doesn't mean the worst of it. Probably he claims that he stays close to Trump to restrain him, or some shit like that.
I don't really care about Lindsey Graham, but it is like that with all of the Beltway's favorite Republicans.
Is Merrick Up
We know the feds are capable of leaping into action - rightly or wrongly - when they choose to, and I would like to suggest that the way to stop the election shenanigans which we all think are likely is to do just that.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Learn Something New Every Day
Apparently when you subscribe to the Washington Post, that money all gets thrown into a pool of money for journalists, so when you unsubscribe they get paid less.
While there have of course been some changes to the news industry, for decades the biggest problem has been management, even as some journalists kept on blaming their customers for not subscribing hard enough.
Rich people are weird and the billionaire problably does care if it makes or loses a trivial (to him) amount of money, but it still isn't the reason he bought it.
I dunno, man, if the business model is guilting liberals into paying out of some sort of civic duty, then perhaps they (and I include many journalists in this, not just management) should stop shitting on those liberals.Punishing the great, hard working reporters at the @washingtonpost for the decisions made by ownership is staggeringly misguided.
— Glenn Thrush (@GlennThrush) October 25, 2024
Also reflects the all-too-common misunderstanding of the wall between the journalism and opinion sections in cornerstone outlets like
The Post.
While there have of course been some changes to the news industry, for decades the biggest problem has been management, even as some journalists kept on blaming their customers for not subscribing hard enough.
Rich people are weird and the billionaire problably does care if it makes or loses a trivial (to him) amount of money, but it still isn't the reason he bought it.
Friday, October 25, 2024
I'll Tell You A Secret
Everyone in the business pretends otherwise, but the guy who owns the editorial page is the same guy who owns the news page.
NEWS: The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement in this year's presidential race, the editor of the editorial pages has told colleagues at a tense meeting this morning
— David Folkenflik (@davidfolkenflik) October 25, 2024
THREAD AND LINK: https://t.co/papQiStKDC
Baddies
One feature of The Discourse is that people and organizations and governments get slotted in as designated baddies which everyone must furiously denounce regularly. Do you denounce them? Do you denounce them standing on one leg? Do you denounce them while juggling? Have you denounced them since breakfast?
Sometimes, somehow, a baddie gets off that list. Often we see SOME people need not denounce them, SOME people can be associated with them, while others are disqualifed by their (often tenuous) association.
I remain most "amused" by the Saudi government and its relevant important persons. Even after they bonesawed Kashoggi, the Saudis only briefly became baddies and then they become good again. There is certainly no cost to being associated with them.
Sometimes, somehow, a baddie gets off that list. Often we see SOME people need not denounce them, SOME people can be associated with them, while others are disqualifed by their (often tenuous) association.
I remain most "amused" by the Saudi government and its relevant important persons. Even after they bonesawed Kashoggi, the Saudis only briefly became baddies and then they become good again. There is certainly no cost to being associated with them.
Consider how rotten the core DC political-journalism culture is that their dear colleague was bonesawed and they all quickly decided it was best to forget about it!
Of course that could change tomorrow! These things are indeed funny like that.
Of course that could change tomorrow! These things are indeed funny like that.
The Gods Are Having A Laugh
I don't really have Main Character Syndrome, but it is hard not to think the tricksters up in the clouds are having a bit of fun with me by making Elon a major character in politics.
Speaking Of Elon
This was never going to work, and one of his many scams was "pre-selling" it to his fanboys, just collecting money for nothing.
I know I'm pessimistic about the technology generally, but my pessismism isn't required to understand that Elon's "camera only" (no LiDAR) approach can't possibly work.
(ht reader R)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has finally said the quiet part out loud: he's worried that the vast majority of Tesla vehicles currently on the road won't be able to actually drive themselves after all, even if buyers paid extra for hardware that he claimed at the time would allow them to do just that.narrator: there was no free upgrade, which didn't matter as the upgrade didn't provide FSD either.
...
Translation: all the times Tesla has vowed that all of its vehicles would soon be capable of fully driving themselves may have been a convenient act of salesmanship that ultimately turned out not to be true.
The good news is that existing customers who shelled out $8,000 for the Full Self-Driving package would get an upgrade "for free," Musk promised during the call. "And we have designed the system to be upgradable, so it’s really just sort of switch out the computer thing — the cameras are capable."
I know I'm pessimistic about the technology generally, but my pessismism isn't required to understand that Elon's "camera only" (no LiDAR) approach can't possibly work.
(ht reader R)
Hi Vlad, It's Me, Elon
I'm reasonably sure of two things:
1) If I were regularly having chats with Vlad, the FBI would show up at my door.
2) If I were regularly having chats with Vlad, I would become radioactive in that if I did happen to have any relationships with anyone important, those people would have to denounce me and distance themselves.
1) If I were regularly having chats with Vlad, the FBI would show up at my door.
2) If I were regularly having chats with Vlad, I would become radioactive in that if I did happen to have any relationships with anyone important, those people would have to denounce me and distance themselves.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a linchpin of U.S. space efforts, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022.And I don't have a security clearance. I'm also not a player in space and defense programs!
The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions.
But, again, Dems need to learn how to play that game. The Dem "Lindsey Graham" needs to be on TV shrieking "treason!" That kind of thing. OK, not really "treason." I don't like that. But...
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Advice From Losers
I doubt (hopefully correctly!) the Harris campaign really did anything but pretend to listen to this clown
That's from awhile back, but newly relevant given this.
Trump's charge is silly, but it's also likely that it didn't occur to the chucklefucks in Labour that they'd better be a bit careful with the expense accounting for this stuff.
18th August, 2024, 9:42 amFor context: Ashworth lost what should have been a very safe Labour seat in a *landslide Labour election* to an independent candidate because he couldn't even fake pretending to be concerned about Gaza for 5 seconds, and kept running to the press and whining about how his suspiciously brown constituents were mean to him (this is the one trick the Labour Right knows, but it isn't good for all occasions!).
2024 US election: Jonathan Ashworth to meet with Kamala Harris team to share campaign tips
That's from awhile back, but newly relevant given this.
Donald Trump's campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against the UK's Labour Party, accusing it of "blatant foreign interference" in the US election in aid of the Harris-Walz campaign.
Trump's charge is silly, but it's also likely that it didn't occur to the chucklefucks in Labour that they'd better be a bit careful with the expense accounting for this stuff.
Sure Why Not
what the absolute fuck https://t.co/NDgyTtDqsz
— hannah gais (@hannahgais) October 24, 2024
Very Much Like The Time Sarah Huckabee Sanders Was Politely Asked To Leave The Restaurant
I hope people get the point of this "joke," that our elite political journalists care about themselves and their social circles, along with making a point about who is in those circles.
The kids today, spending all their money on avocado toast and 200 guns (he is 60, not a kid, joke).
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona prosecutor said the man arrested in the shooting of a Democratic National Committee office in suburban Phoenix had more than 200 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, leading law enforcement to believe he may have been planning a mass casualty event.Where are the calls for Donald Trump to tone down his dangerous rhetoric? Those calls wouldn't influence him, of course, but they make a point to others about what is and isn't acceptable.
Maricopa County prosecutor Neha Bhatia said at Jeffrey Michael Kelly’s initial court appearance on Wednesday that federal agents told her about the large seizure made after Kelly’s arrest. Scopes, body armor and silencers were also found, she said. A machine gun was discovered in the car he was driving.
The kids today, spending all their money on avocado toast and 200 guns (he is 60, not a kid, joke).
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Wednesday Night
Rock on.
The Weird Al movie with Daniel Radcliffe is actually pretty funny, especially for people roughly my age who remember it all.
The Sound Of Freedom
Nobody could have predicted.
Tim Ballard, the anti-trafficking activist whose wildly exaggerated missions abroad were the basis of the hit 2023 film Sound of Freedom, is facing a new legal action from six women who last year sued him for sexual exploitation — leading Ballard to sue them for defamation earlier this month.
The women once again lay out a narrative of being recruited by Ballard and OUR to take part in rescue missions of trafficked individuals, only to then be “groomed” to become physically intimate with the married Ballard as part of what he called a “couples ruse,” intended to fool traffickers into believing they were romantically involved. They claim they were coerced into “performing sex, labor, and services for [Ballard’s] personal benefit and the benefit of OUR,” and sometimes endured violent sexual assault, or had sex with Ballard while Cooper was present, always with the assurance that it was “necessary to rescue children.” The plaintiffs further claim that Ballard and his associates laundered money in order to hire sex workers while on missions abroad, and that “OUR actively participated in the solicitation, recruitment, and exploitation” of female operatives.
Seems Bad
I used to be more sanguine about the impacts of climate change than I should have been. I don’t mean that I didn't think it was very serious, just that I thought the time scale of its progress seemed to allow for slow adjustment. I'm sure this was partly because when you're 30, "30 years from now" seems like forever and, uh, it isn't!
But aside from the general speed of warming and effects we could think of as being more linear, the possibility of fast tipping points exists. Those are scary!
Rome is at about the same latitude as Chicago.
But aside from the general speed of warming and effects we could think of as being more linear, the possibility of fast tipping points exists. Those are scary!
In an open letter published online Monday (Oct. 21), University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann and other eminent scientists say the risks of weakening ocean circulation in the Atlantic have been greatly underestimated and warrant urgent action.The Gulf Stream - which brings lovely warm water to the very northern continent of Europe - is part of AMOC.
The currents in question are those forming the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a giant ocean conveyor belt that includes the Gulf Stream and transports vital heat to the Northern Hemisphere. Research shows the AMOC is slowing down and could soon reach a tipping point due to global warming, throwing Earth's climate into chaos.
Rome is at about the same latitude as Chicago.
It Reminds Me Of That Time Howard Dean Made A Funny Scream
I don't think these decisions are made at some central Political News Media Headquarters, but it is nonetheless the case that the media can do overwhelming levels of coverage of something, or not.
It's an editorial choice to write, for example, "Joe Biden, facing questions about his mental capacity..." in every single story, or to not do that.
Similarly, every story about Donald Trump from now until the election could read, "Donald Trump, who praised Hitler's generals..." or not.
I'm not even saying that is the right thing to do (and maybe they will do this!), just that sometimes that is how the coverage goes and sometimes it isn't, and this has nothing to do with lofty ideals of journalistic practice.
Similarly, every story about Donald Trump from now until the election could read, "Donald Trump, who praised Hitler's generals..." or not.
I'm not even saying that is the right thing to do (and maybe they will do this!), just that sometimes that is how the coverage goes and sometimes it isn't, and this has nothing to do with lofty ideals of journalistic practice.
What I Got Wrong About Rudy Giuliani
Just occasionally I'd like to see some journalists acknowledge their roles in promoting people who turn out to be the worst shits in America, especially when, as in Rudy's case, that wasn't exactly a secret at the time!
Political journalism runs on beat sweeteners and access journalism, and for a time being one of Rudy's unpaid (by Rudy) PR agents was a pretty sweet gig.
America's Mayor, explain once again how amazing you are!
There is an inherent contradiction between the supposed balanced model of journalism and the acknowledged practice of writing up favorable copy for your preferred sources to cultivate your access to them, but, according to many journalists, that's the type of thing an unhinged partisan would say.
Political journalism runs on beat sweeteners and access journalism, and for a time being one of Rudy's unpaid (by Rudy) PR agents was a pretty sweet gig.
America's Mayor, explain once again how amazing you are!
There is an inherent contradiction between the supposed balanced model of journalism and the acknowledged practice of writing up favorable copy for your preferred sources to cultivate your access to them, but, according to many journalists, that's the type of thing an unhinged partisan would say.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
UK Pundit Watch
As complicit, as key F35 parts are manufactured there, and here is your premier liberal outlet (Guardian) there.
Pundit Watch
I mean, is it normal that the Middle East is blowing up and they're all going "LALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!"
(click to embiggen)
Again, I am not saying they are obligated to write about it, nor am I imagining that most of them have sage guidance to offer the country. I am just saying that it is fucking weird!!!
Rudy!
What is happening to this fine man is so so sad.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered former Donald Trump attorney and New York mayor Rudy Giuliani to turn over all his valuable possessions and his Manhattan penthouse apartment to the control of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the Georgia election workers he defamed and to whom he now owes $150 million.
Which Do You Prefer
That photo. Christ.The fun part is that if you take the guy at his word and assume he isn’t just a monstrous liar, then he’s one of the most comically incompetent public officials in US history. pic.twitter.com/PXdDxBW7x2
— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) October 21, 2024
Today @IsraeliPM Netanyahu and I talked about the importance of seizing this opportunity to end the conflict in Gaza, return all hostages, and chart a path to lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike. pic.twitter.com/FVaJYdtg8P
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 22, 2024
Speaking Of David Dayen
In that fucking newspaper today.
It’s true that Project 2025 is meticulously focused on eliminating obstacles to far-right policy, and Mr. Trump could deport immigrants in mass quantities. But the narrative that a second Trump term would be more confident and devious than the first neglects what Mr. Trump and friends were good at last time around. They manipulated government like a private-equity firm manipulates a new acquisition, squeezing it for personal benefit. If we expect another Trump term to be better at authoritarianism, it will likely also be better at stealing. The election is a referendum on whether Americans find such con artistry acceptable.
FALL 2024 FUNDRAISER DAY 1!!!
This hasn't been the easiest year for toiling away in the blogging mines, for various reasons. Toiling away in the blogging mines is obviously a much easier slog than serving up hamberders, as President Trump, working man that he is, does, but, like any job, it has its occasional stresses and challenges.
One is, of course, that it is an endless slog. I have to wake up every day and ask, "Fucking hell, what now? and I rarely get to tune out all the nonsense.
Blogging is the easiest job in the world, for a few days! 22 years later...
Just remember that, as the wise Canadian man said, everything I do, I do it for you.
Consider contributing a bit if you spend some time here and think I occasionally manage to provide some value!
3 ways!
"Bias"
There's a certain kind of justthefacts journalism that can fit nicely into the "fair/balanced/objective/unbiased" journalism model, and, rightly or wrongly, that model can be applied more broadly, if much more imperfectly.
However, when journalists do profiles and longer feature writing - amusingly, the kind of thing journalists often hold in high esteem - the entire point is they bring valuable perspective. These things do not fit that model very well at all!
It's completely ridiculous for the specific issue, of course. She had some sort of affair with a presidential candidate she was profiling and promoting! But even aside from the specific issue, how could the type of work she did ever lack "bias?"
However, when journalists do profiles and longer feature writing - amusingly, the kind of thing journalists often hold in high esteem - the entire point is they bring valuable perspective. These things do not fit that model very well at all!
Last month, the magazine enlisted the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine to review Olivia Nuzzi’s work during the 2024 campaign. They reached the same conclusion as the magazine’s initial internal review of her published work, finding no inaccuracies nor evidence of bias. Nevertheless, the magazine and Nuzzi agreed that the best course forward is to part ways. Nuzzi is a uniquely talented writer and we have been proud to publish her work over her nearly eight years as our Washington Correspondent. We wish her the best.I get that this is attorneyspeak, but in the context of Nuzzi's general work what can "[no] evidence of bias" possibly mean here?
It's completely ridiculous for the specific issue, of course. She had some sort of affair with a presidential candidate she was profiling and promoting! But even aside from the specific issue, how could the type of work she did ever lack "bias?"
I've decided that increasingly all those descriptions are just euphemisms for "in the club."
Someone like David Dayen of The American Prospect is an "activist" whose work can be ignored, while "we" are Proper Journalists doing proper journalism. Why? Because we say so.
Someone's lover? NOT BIASED! The perspectives that POC bring? BIAS!
Monday, October 21, 2024
Fertile Teen Wombs
Imagine what their private conversations must be like.
“Remote dispensing of abortion drugs by mail, common carrier, and interactive computer service is depressing expected birth rates for teenaged mothers in Plaintiff States,” the attorneys allege in the complaint, which was filed before forced birth enthusiast Judge Matt Kacsmaryk in the Northern District of Texas’s Amarillo Division. They claim that decreased births constitute “a sovereign injury to the state in itself,” and causes downstream injuries like “losing a seat in Congress or qualifying for less federal funding if their populations are reduced.” In other words, uteri are state slush funds, and girls owe the state reproduction once they are capable of it.What the fuck is wrong with these people
Triggers
Armed conflict is hell for everyone involved, but in an article centering sympathy for an Israeli soldier/bulldozer driver who committed suicide, it is jarring that this is the only warning:
Editor’s note: This story includes details about suicide that some readers may find upsetting.when the article also contains things like this:
The former soldier has spoken publicly about the psychological trauma endured by Israeli troops in Gaza. In a testimony to the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in June, Zaken said that on many occasions, soldiers had to “run over terrorists, dead and alive, in the hundreds.”
“Everything squirts out,” he added.
Explaining The Joke
On the off chance it's necessary, the point here is that there is a ridiculous amount of sympathy demanded for powerful people who face mild social opprobrium for their actions, especially if they are friendly with powerful journalists, and very little offered to lower level people.
There is often a political imbalance too, in part because journalists will run with any shit conservatives tell them, with The Left being regularly portrayed as unruly and violent despite little reason to do so.
This was part of her response (and how media outlets covered it):
There is often a political imbalance too, in part because journalists will run with any shit conservatives tell them, with The Left being regularly portrayed as unruly and violent despite little reason to do so.
This was part of her response (and how media outlets covered it):
Sanders began her press briefing Monday reading a statement reacting to the incident.Fear of harm? What? This is all just crybullying and flopping around, pretending to be injured to the worst referees in existence.
“We are allowed to disagree but we should be able to do so freely and without fear of harm, and this goes for all people regardless of politics,” she said.
“Healthy debate on ideas and political philosophy is important, but the calls for harassment and push for any Trump supporter to avoid the public is unacceptable,” Sanders added.
President Donald Trump on Monday insulted a small Virginia restaurant that recently asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders to leave."[A] controversy" (how did it become one) ... "seized on by conservatives" (a daily event)... "an example of harassment" (was this really harassment? are there any actual examples of this AT ALL?).
...
The tweet serves to amplify a controversy that has been seized on by conservatives as an example of harassment of Trump officials by progressives.
This Reminds Me Of The Time Sarah Huckabee Sanders Was Politely Asked To Leave A Restaurant
Though that was much more chilling as she was someone who matters (a friend of Maggie Haberman).
PHOENIX—As Nov. 5 looms, the election headquarters in the most populous county in the crucial battleground state of Arizona has become a fortress.“You’d have to be a psychopath to say you enjoy this,” said Maricopa County’s top election official for voting by mail, Stephen Richer, a Republican. The building has added metal detectors and armed guards. On Election Day, as workers tabulate ballots behind new fencing and concrete barriers, drones will patrol the skies overhead, police snipers will perch on rooftops and mounted patrols will stand ready.
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Campaign Money
An incorrect assumption embedded in a lot of discussion of campaign finance issues is that, for example, if you support an increase in the minimum wage, then business interests will run ads about your position on that policy.
But that isn't actually what happens. Mininum wage increases, for example, are fairly popular, so that money is used to fund ads that suggest you are a pedophile.
This is a version of that. Musk isn't using his money to support a position, he is using it to nuke a candidate any way he can.
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Normal Stuff
The worm has almost finished eating.
DETROIT (AP) — Donald Trump paced his rally stage in silence for nearly 20 minutes Friday night in Detroit after his microphone cut out.
The Republican nominee and former president was about to wax on about one of his favorite subjects, tariffs, working up to naming it by first teasing “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” Very quickly afterward, the sound went down.
The crowd chanted “USA” and “We love Trump” in support. But with no microphone, Trump simply wandered around the stage. Looking frustrated, his back was turned to most of his audience at times.
Friday, October 18, 2024
"Lying Spree"
Here is a novel approach to politics coverage: attempting to describe things accurately.
Fact check: Debunking Trump’s October lying spree about immigrationIt's Daniel Dale who has long been good at this, unlike most of his colleagues.
Elon, This Is Your Lawyer, I Encourage You To Keep Saying This Shit
Dominion's lawyers probably just flew back from the islands they recently purchased.
FOLSOM, Pa. — Billionaire Elon Musk promoted debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud Thursday at the first of a series of planned campaign events across Pennsylvania meant to rally support for former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
At a town hall hosted at a high school outside Philadelphia, Musk referred to the false conspiracy theory that Dominion Voting Systems was part of a plot to rig U.S. elections in recent years.
Silly Matthew, You'll Never Run Out Of Hamas #2s
Gotta get them all!
If Mr. Sinwar truly was the obstacle to a cease-fire agreement that U.S. officials — including President Biden — have claimed, that obstacle is now gone. The United States and its partners have a window to halt the downward spiral to regional conflagration. The Biden administration must press the Netanyahu government and remaining Hamas officials to end the war in Gaza, return hostages to their families, surge humanitarian aid into the territory and urgently take other steps to ensure that Gazans have adequate shelter, supplies and security as winter approaches.I joke, but to the extent that there is a logic behind what Israel is doing, it is this: Hamas must be completely destroyed, and all Palestinian males are potential Hamas.
Unfixable
The options are do nothing, agree to pretend that whatever Elon "fixes" is actually a fix, or shut down the whole thing.
Tesla faces a new investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, concerning issues with its “Full Self-Driving” systems, and whether they are safe to use in fog, glaring sun or other “reduced roadway visibility conditions.”The middle option is that Tesla announces a "recall" that is actually just some OTA software update which can't solve the problem because the problem is Tesla has no LiDAR.
The probe follows an incident in which a Tesla driver who had been using FSD, struck and killed a pedestrian, and other FSD-involved collisions during reduced roadway visibility conditions.
Better
The anti-trans stuff is important to people who would never vote for Harris and for about 50 of the leading editors/columnists/journalists of our finest news outlets.
Walz discussed positive legislative actions, such as codifying hate crime laws and increasing education, while emphasizing the importance of using his platform to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. He then addressed the role of judges in safeguarding medical care for queer youth: “I also think what Abby, your point is on this, and I was just mentioning, we need to appoint judges who uphold the right to marriage, uphold the right to be who you are, making sure that’s the case, uphold the right to get the medical care that you need. We should not be naive. Those appointments are really, really important. I think that’s what the vice president is committed to.”The Chaits of The Discourse project their bigtory onto imagined voters, and dress it up as Electoral Concerns. "I'm not a bigot, but those voters in Ohio...".
He didn’t stop there. Instead, he directly pivoted to calling out national anti-transgender attack ads which have flooded the airwaves across the United States, often airing besides NFL football games and other major sporting events. The Trump administration has spent upwards of $20 million on such ads, with outside organizations spending $80 million on various races.
“We see it now; the hate has shifted to the trans community. They see that as an opportunity. If you’re watching any sporting events right now, you see that Donald Trump’s closing arguments are to demonize a group of people for being who they are,” Walz said. He continued, “We’re out there trying to make the case that access to healthcare, a clean environment, manufacturing jobs, and keeping your local hospital open are what people are really concerned about. They’re running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives.”
Thursday, October 17, 2024
The Good Republicans
Mace's brand was "centrist" not all that long ago.
CNN's Brianna Keilar: Do you think Trump's rhetoric on Haitian immigrants in Ohio is helpful?
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 16, 2024
Nancy Mace: I have no qualms with it.
Keilar: But it's false and endangered people. You have no qualms with that?
Mace: I'm worried about rhetoric that puts me in danger.
Keilar: Do… pic.twitter.com/TlqLfs8zuz
I'm Starting To Think These Journalists Are Not Entirely Honest
If the New York Times has no impact on the world, why do its political journalists think it's so vital that they get an interview with Harris?
They have been running so many pieces about why she needs to do interviews , followed by pieces about how the interviews aren't with the right outlets, and it's understood that this is because they are pissed that she's shut them out.
I've always had my problems with the NYT, but they increasingly behave like a British tabloid - give us what we want or we will make you look bad.
They're getting worse.
They have been running so many pieces about why she needs to do interviews , followed by pieces about how the interviews aren't with the right outlets, and it's understood that this is because they are pissed that she's shut them out.
I've always had my problems with the NYT, but they increasingly behave like a British tabloid - give us what we want or we will make you look bad.
They're getting worse.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh, your opinion, man.
Line in @nytimes piece about roads. "Israel’s government has encouraged Jewish civilians to move to settlements in the enclave, which most of the world considers illegal under international law." They are illegal under international law. It's not a matter of opinion.
— Laila Al-Arian (@LailaAlarian) October 16, 2024
And Why Did It Take So Long
Just the worst guy.
NEW YORK (AP) — An outspoken pro-Israel professor at Columbia University has been temporarily barred from campus, a university spokesperson said Wednesday.He also harassed students, but that is in line with Columbia's policies.
Shai Davidai, an assistant professor at the Manhattan university’s business school, had his campus access restricted effective Tuesday after repeatedly harassing and intimidating other employees, according to university spokesperson Ben Chang.
Breaking
These "rules" were insane, and "we" can't rely on good judges being appropriately positioned among a sea of Trump-friendly judges.
A judge in Georgia has struck down a slate of controversial new election rules passed by Donald Trump allies, including two that Democrats say would inject post-election “chaos” into the critical battleground state.
...
Among the rules Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox said violated state law are two that would require county election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them and allow them to “examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections prior to certification of results.”
Welp
This is not a surprise to me, but it is more proof that there's a rot inside the entire party that won't easily be cured.
The top U.S. official working on the humanitarian situation in Gaza told aid groups in August that the U.S. would not consider withholding weapons from Israel for blocking food and medicine from entering the enclave — a rare admission by someone in the administration.
Wednesday, October 16, 2024
Pundit Watch
Blob Whisperer Ignatius tells us about Hamas's hopes and dreams from a year ago, but otherwise no one is touching what is happening (click to embiggen).
A Novel Approach To Covering Donald Trump In The Newspaper
Philip Bump prints what he says instead of continuing to cover "Donald Trump," a largely fictional creation of our finest newspapers.
Still, as our wise New York Times journalist has informed us (below), it doesn't matter how they do their jobs, so just play your Wordle and shut the fuck up.
“Like my fellow Americans,” the woman said, “my grocery bill has not gone down. Everything is still so very expensive. What steps will your administration take to help American families suffering from this inflation?”It continues at the link.
What follows is Trump’s response in its entirety. Some audience feedback is indicated, and we’ve added some footnotes for clarification and correction. Paragraph breaks are placed approximately where Trump appeared to shift his train of thought. Trump’s answer
“So, you know, it’s such a great question in the sense that people don’t think of grocery. You know, it sounds like not such an important word when you talk about homes and everything else, right? But more people tell me about grocery bills, where the price of bacon, the price of lettuce, the price of tomatoes, they tell me. [1] And we’re going to do a lot of things.
“You know, our farmers aren’t being treated properly. And we had a deal with China, and it was a great deal — I never mentioned it because once covid came in, I said, that was a bridge too far because I had a great relationship with President Xi [Jinping]. And he’s a fierce man and he’s a man that likes China and I understand that. But we had a deal and he was perfect on that deal, $50 billion he was going to buy. [2] We were doing numbers like you wouldn’t believe, for the farmer. But the farmers are very badly hurt. The farmers in this country, we’re going to get them straightened out. We’re going to get your prices down.
Still, as our wise New York Times journalist has informed us (below), it doesn't matter how they do their jobs, so just play your Wordle and shut the fuck up.
Pinky Swear To Do Better
Or you'll only get 105% of the weapons you asked for!
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has warned Israel that it must increase the amount of humanitarian aid it is allowing into Gaza within the next 30 days or it could risk losing access to U.S. weapons funding.Awhile back I would have been less cynical and treated this as progress, but then, you know, the aid pier thing (and nothing subsequently) happened.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned their Israeli counterparts in a letter dated Sunday that the changes must occur. The letter, which restates U.S. policy toward humanitarian aid and arms transfers, was sent amid deteriorating conditions in northern Gaza and an Israeli airstrike on a hospital tent site in central Gaza that killed at least four people and burned others.
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
He Bop
Gramps is shutting down.
For 39 minutes, Trump swayed, bopped — sometimes stopping to speak — as he turned the event into almost a living-room listening session of his favorite songs from his self-curated rally playlist.
He played nine tracks. He danced. He shook hands with people onstage. He pointed to the crowd. Noem stood beside him, nodding with her hands clasped. Trump stayed in place onstage, slowly moving back and forth. He was done answering questions for the night.
Pundit Update
I continue to be struck by the incredibly loud silence. Click the pictures to embiggen.
Progress
I'm not right about everything, but I have had Musk's number for years. For a long time, correctly describing him and the likelihood of any his promises being realized was akin to suggesting Saddam Hussein wasn't actually a threat to the United States.
Elon Musk expands his empire of misinformation
Allison Morrow
Analysis by Allison Morrow, CNN
...
Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder, was famous for his “reality distortion field” that often sold less-than-stellar products on sheer charisma. But Musk’s reality distortion field is something else entirely — hardly limited to overly optimistic timetables or pie-in-the-sky projections for Tesla’s delivery schedule. Whereas Musk might actually face some pushback from shareholders or market regulators for stretching the truth or failing to deliver on his promises, he’s free to promote conspiracy theories and far-right talking points with impunity on his own personal social media megaphone, X.
That’s where Musk and others promote racist conspiracies and false rumors about federal hurricane relief to his more than 200 million followers, even as officials are pleading for help to stop the misinformation (which former President Donald Trump is also spreading).
That is far from harmless musing on the internet.
Wink Wink
Sure, Jan.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have assured the United States that a counterstrike on Iran will be limited to military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, according to a person familiar with the discussions.Israel has hit nothing but military targets in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon. They have investigated themselves and declared it to be true.
Monday, October 14, 2024
Notable
Notable that the NYT is publishing it.
An investigation by The New York Times found that Israeli soldiers and intelligence agents, throughout the war in Gaza, have regularly forced captured Palestinians like Mr. Shubeir to conduct life-threatening reconnaissance missions to avoid putting Israeli soldiers at risk on the battlefield.
Who Wants This
I don't understand.
The updated Copilot has new capabilities, including real-time voice interactions and the ability to interpret images and text on users’ screens. Microsoft also says it’s one of the fastest AI models on the market. But the most important innovation, according to the company, is that the chatbot will now interact with users in a “warm tone and a distinct style, providing not only information but encouragement, feedback, and advice as you navigate life’s everyday challenges.”
Clear For Many, Many Months
And what are we supposed to think of people who have been and are currently denying it? What are we supposed to think of a political project that enforces this denial on its club members?
According to senior defense officials, the Israeli government is not seeking to revive hostage talks and the political leadership is pushing for the gradual annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip.It isn't just Biden's actions. It's the complete corruption of everyone within the orbit.
Logistics
What makes buses go.
A Saturday evening campaign rally in Coachella by former president Donald Trump was punctuated by extreme heat, violent ideation, and reports of rallygoers stranded miles from their cars after the event ended.
The heat baked attendees at around 100F for hours on end as they waited for Trump to begin speaking, with accounts of multiple instances of heat exhaustion or heat stroke reported.
It Reminds Me Of That Time Sarah Huckabee Sanders Was Politely Asked To Leave A Restaurant
Both sides have a civility problem.
LAKE LURE, N.C. — Federal emergency response personnel on Saturday had employees operating in hard-hit Rutherford County, N.C., stop working and move to a different area because of concerns over “armed militia” threatening government workers in the region, according to an email sent to federal agencies helping with response in the state.Maybe somebody should do something, while they still can.
What Are We Doing Here
I can buy the argument for the Liz Cheney stuff, but...
And I am honored to have earned the Democratic nomination. I am honored to have the endorsement of people from every walk of life. You will probably find that I probably have a bigger coalition of people who couldn’t seem to be more different than each other, who have come together around my candidacy — from 200 Republicans who worked with and for both Presidents Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney; including Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman, and her father, the former vice president, Dick Cheney, who is supporting me; former members — very esteemed members, including generals, of the national security community. I have the endorsement and support of Alberto G- — Gonzales, most recently, who, of course, was attorney general.
I am sure the discussion went something like, "This is Univision, we need a Latino Republican name here" but uh....
Yes I take this stuff I a bit personally. My big life's work was helping convince people that George Bush sucked, and whether or not I can really claim any credit for helping with that, "we" were very successful in what seemed like an impossible project! "We" drove his approval rating down in to the 20s! And then...
Sunday, October 13, 2024
The Good Republicans
I have a lot of problems with appealing to bipartisan mush, but one is that it turns Donald Trump into a powerful force that stands alone, who doesn't need the support, which he has, of the entire Republican party.
Aside from being wrong and letting Republicans off the hook, it also appeals to a lot of people who think both parties are bad!
Aside from being wrong and letting Republicans off the hook, it also appeals to a lot of people who think both parties are bad!
No Obligation
I'm not hectoring the pundits to write about Israel/Gaza/Lebanon/Iran, I'm just observing the weird void in The Discourse. That post had the Times, this is the Post:
Click to embiggen
Is This Good
I have some very simple views about some things. One is war is bad and when the people in charge of these things keep doing more war that should be considered to be a failure.
Iran: The country has informed the United States that it will retaliate against any new attack by Israel, a source in Tehran told CNN on Saturday. Iran’s government has also been engaging in urgent diplomatic efforts with countries in the Middle East to gauge whether it can reduce the scale of Israel’s response to its missile attack earlier this month, and — if that fails — help protect the capital, sources say.
I know many of these guys believe in mass death as a purifying event, that there is therapeutic value in violence, and that reshaping the world through annihilation is their mission in life. In other words, they are complete fucking psychos.
Many psychos are good at explaining their behavior with charming tales, and many people in powerful positions think that believing these tales means they are clever. Certainly they are more clever than I am.
Amazing how silent the pundits are on possible war with Iran. It would have been a big deal, once.
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Is It Any Wonder The Monkey's Confused
“The Republican Party is a threat to Democracy, which is why you need to vote for Democrats. And as president, one of the first things I’ll do is make sure the Republicans get a say in my administration” is not a coherent argument for a campaign. https://t.co/q4XaYKzfGl
— Alex Fernie (@FernieCommaAlex) October 11, 2024
Totally
This is probably newsworthy.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley said former President Trump is "a fascist to the core," according to journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming book, "War," multiple outlets reported on Friday."Multiple outlets" includes links to just two British newspapers, though of course this link is to Axios. Neither the Times nor the Post found it newsworthy.
I Guess We Stopped Pretending There Is An Aid Effort
But some college student wore a keffiyeh in the library, so there is nothing to be done.
No food has entered northern Gaza since
the start of October, putting 1 million people at risk of going hungry, the World Food Programme told CNN on Friday.
Friday, October 11, 2024
Real Men Go To Tehran
Biden helping the neocons to realize their several-decade dream, by proxy anyway.
The path to the Iraq war was almost entirely a dialogue between people who wanted to invade Iraq [excited face] and people who wanted to invade Iraq [serious, sober, intellectual face], with some hippie-punching from both as a diversion, but at least the idea that war was a Big Deal managed to come through.
Pundits are barely touching this one. It's weird!!!
President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved closer to an understanding on the scope of Israel's planned retaliation against Iran during their call on Wednesday, three U.S. and Israeli officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: The Biden administration accepts that Israel will soon launch a major attack on Iran, but it fears that strikes on certain targets could dramatically escalate the regional war.
The path to the Iraq war was almost entirely a dialogue between people who wanted to invade Iraq [excited face] and people who wanted to invade Iraq [serious, sober, intellectual face], with some hippie-punching from both as a diversion, but at least the idea that war was a Big Deal managed to come through.
Pundits are barely touching this one. It's weird!!!
Gadgetbahns
Elon's forays into "public transportation" will suffer from the same problem that plagues so many imagined projects in the US: people who would never ride a bus imagine the kind of transportation that they either might take themselves, or that they think is cool like that monorail ride they took as a child.
So a "bus that looks like the future as imagined in the 1980s, but which is more like a taxi, somehow" is the kind of thing we get.
There probably is some future for driverless buses, but they will not be buses that are more like taxis. They will be buses that are more like trains, running on fixed routes. A "flexible bus" - that is, one that makes diversions based on demand, can't provide service on a reliable schedule, which about 15 different tech startups learned back in the last decade when they were all trying to invent buses.
I'm giving him more credit than he deserves, of course. This is likely totally fake.
So a "bus that looks like the future as imagined in the 1980s, but which is more like a taxi, somehow" is the kind of thing we get.
There probably is some future for driverless buses, but they will not be buses that are more like taxis. They will be buses that are more like trains, running on fixed routes. A "flexible bus" - that is, one that makes diversions based on demand, can't provide service on a reliable schedule, which about 15 different tech startups learned back in the last decade when they were all trying to invent buses.
I'm giving him more credit than he deserves, of course. This is likely totally fake.
Are We Doing This Again
A bit more skeptical than usual.
The product is a prototype of a self-driving taxi that Mr. Musk has been promising for years. And it will be shown at an invitation-only evening event at the Warner Bros. studio near Los Angeles. Mr. Musk has promised that the cab, which he calls the Robotaxi, will be able to ferry passengers to any destination without human intervention, a feat that other companies have achieved in just a few places, like Phoenix and San Francisco.He also finally got around to inventing the bus. All transportation bros do, eventually, though they remain incapable of understanding what a bus is for.
But many experts are doubtful that such Tesla taxis will hit the roads anytime soon. Mr. Musk has for several years claimed that the company was months away from starting a Robotaxi service. In addition, the autonomous driving technology Tesla offers today can make basic mistakes, requiring drivers to intervene to avoid accidents or violating traffic laws.
Elon Musk unveiled a prototype of Tesla’s Robovan on Thursday night during the company’s We, Robot event in Los Angeles. The Robovan will be an electric, autonomous vehicle roughly the size of a bus, designed for transporting people around high density areas. It will carry up to 20 people at a time and also transport goods, according to Musk.
“We’re going to make this, and it’s going to look like that,” said Musk on Thursday night as the Robovan rolled towards center stage. That’s about as much as Musk was willing to say, and we’re not even sure that much is true.
Dishonesty Rots Everything
A reminder that a year ago, Jake Sullivan published a piece in Foreign Affairs about how awesome Biden's Middle East policies were and then they let him "update" it.
You do not keep your career in the Democratic party industrial complex by being honest about what is happening right now.
Fetterman's golden, though I guess I can't say he's being dishonest, precisely.
Sullivan’s essay now exists in two forms: the print version, which can be found as a PDF here, and an online version available here. The online version carries this editor’s note: “Before this article was posted online, a passage in it about the Middle East was updated to address Hamas’s attack on Israel, which occurred after the print version of the article went to press.”It is not healthy when "everybody" happily pretends things that aren't true are, and that this tacit agreement is enforced through the threatened revocation of club membership privileges.
In truth, the article was more than just “updated.” It was substantially changed in ways that illustrate both the incoherence and bankruptcy of Biden’s foreign policy.
In the original print version, Sullivan boasted that the “disciplined” approach of the Biden administration to de-escalation and negotiation in the Middle East had borne fruit. According to Sullivan in the print version, “Although the Middle East remains beset with perennial challenges, the region is quieter than it has been for decades.”
You do not keep your career in the Democratic party industrial complex by being honest about what is happening right now.
Fetterman's golden, though I guess I can't say he's being dishonest, precisely.