Interesting to review this essay from the archives in light of current insecurity about AI. I was struck particularly to be reminded that in 2020 Biden was the one voters looked to for a sense of stability. I recall a casual friend who, in a discussion about Warren (my preferred candidate in 2020), clasped her arms to her chest as if trying to ward off danger and said "she's too bold." Well, right now, in the face of the terrible mess we are in, I tend to think bold—so long as it is smart and strategic—is exactly what we need, and I'm not at all sure we will get it even if the Democrats succeed in taking Congress. As one example, both of my Senators (Schumer and Gillibrand) appear to be compromised when it comes to regulating AI, and from what I see, they are far from alone.
Actually no, and it's a key distinction: Biden was preferred as a known and controlled figurehead by the DNC who intervened in South Carolina using the single Democrat there, representative Clyburn, to suppress and push aside less controlled nominees: in the earlier primaries Biden finished 3rd and 4th, not even making second place until the party eliminated the public's choices.
Biden was never the choice of the people, who correctly saw him as old and out of touch and not particularly talented. He was the choice of the party elders, which is why very few now trust the party.
p.s. I was a Warren fan as well. I too was a bit baffled why she didn't do better, but then again, I too like bold.
Hmmm 🤔 Let’s imagine what Democrats have to offer - open borders, with the associated flood of illegals into the US, boys playing against girls in all sports, young children having gender transition treatments/surgery, wind and solar energy debacles, use of lawfare to prosecute any political opponents, resurgence of DEI (didn’t earn it) policies, dilution of working class incomes, etc. Yeah, that all sounds like something sane people would embrace! 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Add to your list, Medicaid fraud, documented in MI, CA, ME reimbursing criminals to fund their hearts desire, at working Americans expense. Oh yes the Democrat party should run on giving us more income transfers, from the needy to the criminals.
WE DO NOT HAVE AI. We have Large Language Models. LLMs are NOT AI. They are SOFTWARE. CLOUD SOFTWARE. We do NOT have artificial intelligence. WE DO NOT HAVE THINKING MACHINES.
The idea that "AI" - chatbots that wake up, "set their own goals," and "simultaneously" start hacking servers - is fake. It doesn't have "a 10% chance of ending the human race." The Hugging Face hack isn't a mysterious, supernatural occurrence. It's a Python Loop and a chatbot. The people responsible didn't accidentally create god: they created autonomous malicious software and then failed to closely monitor it, resulting in it doing something both foreseeable and bad.
If you believe the polls, the they/them ad was the most effective piece of political propaganda of all time. Moving 2-3 points in a locked down race (and country) is no small thing. That wasn't about strength but about whose side are you on.
The ad was actually about change because it presented voters with a choice between the side in favor of the previous status quo (us) and the side in favor of social change (they/them).
The chart showing a large number of people believe that we are currently politically unstable reminds me that change is hard, even when things are going to get better. It's like the abused spouse who is terrified of change; better to stay and get slapped around than go into the unknown.
I'm not looking for much to actually occur politically until Jan of 29, when whoever wins is inaugurated. Dems will win the midterms, maybe by a lot, maybe by less, whatever happens it will be gridlock with one possible exception.
Yesterday both parties agreed on an infrastructure permitting bill by both adding things they wanted rather than taking out things they didn't like. It was too good for both parties to pass up. We will need to make much more electricity, AI or not. Electric cars, busses, and trucks are becoming cheaper than gas. Battery storage is making solar a possibility for that crucial peak generating time of day.
An actual bill has to wait until after the midterms, and god knows what extremists on both sides can do before a bill actually passes, but at least there are a lot of people agreeing.
It's only natural that Democrats and the media who are the new conservative party reject AI. AI is new, and a big threat to people who might not be as bright as their phones. 15% of journos now work for the NYT, and they are very replaceable.
I think it's much simpler: we, the voters, detest being lied to so often even the dimmest among us realize and resent it.
Th GOP has endlessly lied about having an alternative to current healthcare laws and requirements, and, after more than a decade of this, even the least tuned in voters know it.
Democrats have endlessly lied about supporting the working class while selling us all out (remember the government option carved out of the ACA by Joe Lieberman, who shamelessly betrayed his party and nation to help corporations?). By the time of the dimwitted and senile Biden and the DEI caricature Harris this had become too obvious for any to keep ignoring.
Voters want stability and strength and the current Democrats are still horribly weak on these essential values. The GOP is corrupt, but does project power and strength, the father figure to the Democrats' scolding mommy image.
While there are other, underlying issues, such as voters caring far less, even minorities, about racial representation than the DNC does, inverting MLK's famous lines about content of character being more worthy of judgment than color of skin, at its heart the Democrats have morphed into servants of the elite rather than fighters for the working class and the working class knows it.
I care much more that Hakeem Jeffries is a corporate lawyer for the elite than he is black. I'd much rather see a labor leader of any shade or either gender as House Speaker than a lobbyist for the rich, but the Democratic leadership much prefers their looming symbolic victory to actual progress or aid for any of us not on their donor lists.
We need a party that supports the majority of Americans. Neither of the current choices do. That's the essence of our discontent.
It is interesting to me to see the focus on how things feel, rather than whether the economy is growing or declining, whether employment is increasing or declining, and whether wage income is growing or declining. Democrats might also focus on economic factors and attract voters who respond more to facts than feelings.
Interesting to review this essay from the archives in light of current insecurity about AI. I was struck particularly to be reminded that in 2020 Biden was the one voters looked to for a sense of stability. I recall a casual friend who, in a discussion about Warren (my preferred candidate in 2020), clasped her arms to her chest as if trying to ward off danger and said "she's too bold." Well, right now, in the face of the terrible mess we are in, I tend to think bold—so long as it is smart and strategic—is exactly what we need, and I'm not at all sure we will get it even if the Democrats succeed in taking Congress. As one example, both of my Senators (Schumer and Gillibrand) appear to be compromised when it comes to regulating AI, and from what I see, they are far from alone.
Actually no, and it's a key distinction: Biden was preferred as a known and controlled figurehead by the DNC who intervened in South Carolina using the single Democrat there, representative Clyburn, to suppress and push aside less controlled nominees: in the earlier primaries Biden finished 3rd and 4th, not even making second place until the party eliminated the public's choices.
Biden was never the choice of the people, who correctly saw him as old and out of touch and not particularly talented. He was the choice of the party elders, which is why very few now trust the party.
p.s. I was a Warren fan as well. I too was a bit baffled why she didn't do better, but then again, I too like bold.
Hmmm 🤔 Let’s imagine what Democrats have to offer - open borders, with the associated flood of illegals into the US, boys playing against girls in all sports, young children having gender transition treatments/surgery, wind and solar energy debacles, use of lawfare to prosecute any political opponents, resurgence of DEI (didn’t earn it) policies, dilution of working class incomes, etc. Yeah, that all sounds like something sane people would embrace! 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Add to your list, Medicaid fraud, documented in MI, CA, ME reimbursing criminals to fund their hearts desire, at working Americans expense. Oh yes the Democrat party should run on giving us more income transfers, from the needy to the criminals.
Excellent additions! I suspect there are more that deserved to be listed, but I just can’t remember them all!
WE DO NOT HAVE AI. We have Large Language Models. LLMs are NOT AI. They are SOFTWARE. CLOUD SOFTWARE. We do NOT have artificial intelligence. WE DO NOT HAVE THINKING MACHINES.
The idea that "AI" - chatbots that wake up, "set their own goals," and "simultaneously" start hacking servers - is fake. It doesn't have "a 10% chance of ending the human race." The Hugging Face hack isn't a mysterious, supernatural occurrence. It's a Python Loop and a chatbot. The people responsible didn't accidentally create god: they created autonomous malicious software and then failed to closely monitor it, resulting in it doing something both foreseeable and bad.
If you believe the polls, the they/them ad was the most effective piece of political propaganda of all time. Moving 2-3 points in a locked down race (and country) is no small thing. That wasn't about strength but about whose side are you on.
The ad was actually about change because it presented voters with a choice between the side in favor of the previous status quo (us) and the side in favor of social change (they/them).
The chart showing a large number of people believe that we are currently politically unstable reminds me that change is hard, even when things are going to get better. It's like the abused spouse who is terrified of change; better to stay and get slapped around than go into the unknown.
I'm not looking for much to actually occur politically until Jan of 29, when whoever wins is inaugurated. Dems will win the midterms, maybe by a lot, maybe by less, whatever happens it will be gridlock with one possible exception.
Yesterday both parties agreed on an infrastructure permitting bill by both adding things they wanted rather than taking out things they didn't like. It was too good for both parties to pass up. We will need to make much more electricity, AI or not. Electric cars, busses, and trucks are becoming cheaper than gas. Battery storage is making solar a possibility for that crucial peak generating time of day.
An actual bill has to wait until after the midterms, and god knows what extremists on both sides can do before a bill actually passes, but at least there are a lot of people agreeing.
It's only natural that Democrats and the media who are the new conservative party reject AI. AI is new, and a big threat to people who might not be as bright as their phones. 15% of journos now work for the NYT, and they are very replaceable.
Hijacking turned out ok.
I think it's much simpler: we, the voters, detest being lied to so often even the dimmest among us realize and resent it.
Th GOP has endlessly lied about having an alternative to current healthcare laws and requirements, and, after more than a decade of this, even the least tuned in voters know it.
Democrats have endlessly lied about supporting the working class while selling us all out (remember the government option carved out of the ACA by Joe Lieberman, who shamelessly betrayed his party and nation to help corporations?). By the time of the dimwitted and senile Biden and the DEI caricature Harris this had become too obvious for any to keep ignoring.
Voters want stability and strength and the current Democrats are still horribly weak on these essential values. The GOP is corrupt, but does project power and strength, the father figure to the Democrats' scolding mommy image.
While there are other, underlying issues, such as voters caring far less, even minorities, about racial representation than the DNC does, inverting MLK's famous lines about content of character being more worthy of judgment than color of skin, at its heart the Democrats have morphed into servants of the elite rather than fighters for the working class and the working class knows it.
I care much more that Hakeem Jeffries is a corporate lawyer for the elite than he is black. I'd much rather see a labor leader of any shade or either gender as House Speaker than a lobbyist for the rich, but the Democratic leadership much prefers their looming symbolic victory to actual progress or aid for any of us not on their donor lists.
We need a party that supports the majority of Americans. Neither of the current choices do. That's the essence of our discontent.
I think that’s why their former TLP colleague (John Halpin) has been extolling cynicism as a virtue.
I often think he is not wrong.
It is interesting to me to see the focus on how things feel, rather than whether the economy is growing or declining, whether employment is increasing or declining, and whether wage income is growing or declining. Democrats might also focus on economic factors and attract voters who respond more to facts than feelings.