JONATHAN ZITTRAIN: Chat GPT can’t say my name. “Anytime ChatGPT would normally utter my name in the course of conversation, it halts with a glaring ‘I’m unable to produce a response,’ sometimes mid-sentence or even mid-word. When I asked who the founders of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society are (I’m one of them), it brought up two colleagues but left me out. When pressed, it started up again, and then: zap.”
Enjoy it. It won’t be able to send Terminators after you.
AN IDEA SO CRAZY IT JUST MIGHT WORK:
Yesterday: 1500 pages.
Today: 115 pages
Tomorrow: Single issue bills— Based Electrician⚡️🇺🇲 (@RyanHugeBrain) December 20, 2024
THERE WERE SOME MISSING REPUBLICANS, TOO, THOUGH:
Nearly every House Democrat just voted against:
– Disaster relief
– Aid for farmers
– Keeping the government open
– Pay for the militaryAnd they did it because it doesn’t contain 1,000+ pages of pork. pic.twitter.com/Q8H4EW9Hl4
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 20, 2024
ELON MUSK: "A super fair & simple bill was put to a vote and only 2 Democrats in Congress were in favor. Shame on @RepJeffries for rejecting a fair & simple spending bill that is desperately needed by states suffering from hurricane damage." pic.twitter.com/z0JvLkzvV9
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) December 20, 2024
Objectively, the vast majority of Republican House members voted for the spending bill, but only 2 Democrats did.
Therefore, if the government shuts down, it is obviously the fault of @RepJeffries and the Democratic Party.
Plain & simple. https://t.co/UBtMXFgyiC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024
Kind of wild that breaking the spending bill out into standalone appropriations, otherwise known as normal order, is considered a “last resort.”
Says everything you need to know about Washington that doing that wasn’t the first option.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) December 20, 2024
UPDATE: Heh.
People calling for the government to be shut down should think about what they're saying.
Do you really want local schools without oversight from Washington?
Are you comfortable owning guns without the ATF around?
And who will audit your taxes to make sure you paid enough?
— Jeremy Kauffman 🦔🌲🌕 (@jeremykauffman) December 18, 2024
I say shut it down. Then on January 21, lay off all the “non-essential” employees because, hey, they’re not essential.
And note by the way, that nobody has asked still-sort-of-President Biden and oh-yeah-she’s-still-the-VP Kamala Harris about this.
MORE:
Here is the reason you can't have hurricane relief, North Carolina.👇 https://t.co/WtrAt8YiqS
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) December 20, 2024
OPEN THREAD: Discuss things among yourselves.
THE NEW SPACE RACE: China nears record launch year with Ceres-1 and SAR satellite missions.
THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO IS OF FISH AND CHIPS, THOUGH, WHICH I DON’T THINK OF AS ULTRA-PROCESSED: Study Reveals How Ultra-Processed Foods May Fuel Bowel Cancer.
I’VE SEEN THE LOCKDOWNS AND THE DAMAGE DONE: Hidden Scars: How COVID Lockdowns Altered Teen Brains Forever.
RUN THE TABLE: Democrats’ Latest Worry: A Constitutional Convention.
I’M SO OLD, I REMEMBER WHEN IT WAS THE END OF THE WORLD IF CONGRESS DIDN’T PASS THE ONE ON THE LEFT:
Yesterday’s bill vs today’s bill 😂 pic.twitter.com/L3Omn964mw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2024
GIVEN THE RUSSIANS’ DIFFICULTIES WITH UKRAINE I DON’T THINK THEY’LL MAKE IT TO POLAND: Home Guard: Poland Trains School Children to Use Firearms as Russian Threat Increases.
TO BE FAIR, FAKE NEWS IS WHAT THE INFOTAINMENT COMPLEX (FORMERLY THE PRESS) DOES: Justine Bateman Shames Hollywood Reporter for Fake News. “The actress-turned-filmmaker saw the results as a rebuke to those eager to silence debate, attack free speech and make select opinions untenable.”
GREAT GIFT: SwissGear Cecil 5505 Laptop Backpack, Black Hex, 18-Inch. #CommissionEarned
QUESTIONS FROM 2022: Why the Hell Is Joe Biden Still President? “The White House, the press corps, all of them… they ruined their reputations to protect a man who was already known as a serial fabulist and whom they could have ditched long before July 21, 2024.”
“YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS CAT WALK BACKWARDS, PROFESSOR:” Watch: Sen. Kennedy Delivers Masterclass in Destroying Climate Change Hypocrites.
“Pretty bold,” Kennedy observed. “You own a home?”
“I do. In a flood zone,” [Dr. Benjamin Keys, Professor of Real Estate and Finance at Wharton] Keys admitted.
Kennedy’s response was priceless: “Have you sold it?”
Keys sheepishly admitted he had not, prompting Kennedy to drive the point home. “Oh, well, you’re telling everybody else to sell theirs.”
Kennedy had just exposed him for the classic climate change alarmist hypocrite. Some of the biggest climate change alarmists are the ones who travel by private planes and live on the water despite their apocalyptic predictions of rising sea levels. Barack Obama comes to mind as a notorious example of this.
In his guest essay, Keys wrote, “it’s time for some prospective buyers set on living in areas with high risk of hurricanes, floods, wildfires and tornadoes to reconsider homeownership as a financial goal.” He added that “renting is quickly becoming a better way for many people to enjoy these places with much less financial baggage.”
If you read his entire essay, it comes across as a veiled attempt to push people of modest means out of desirable areas, leaving them as playgrounds for the wealthy — all under the guise of a climate change agenda.
* * * * * * * *
But Kennedy wasn’t finished. He moved on to expose Keys’ disdain for ordinary Americans. Referring to a tweet from July 2024, Kennedy quoted Keys as saying, “Honestly, the biggest long-term political problem the Democrats have is that they don’t know how to talk to low-information morons.” Keys tried to deny it, claiming the words weren’t his.
Kennedy wasn’t buying it. “Yes, you did,” he said with the kind of confidence that makes witnesses squirm. When Keys backpedaled, suggesting he might have liked or retweeted it instead, Kennedy pounced. “Oh, do you often like tweets you don’t agree with?”
Nobody can defenestrate smug leftists like Kennedy:
Brought to you today by Senate Democrats: A climate extremist who tells people to sell their homes . . . but still lives in his. pic.twitter.com/noeEnx3347
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) December 18, 2024
REVIEW: The Staccato C Pistol: This mid-size Staccato hits all the right notes and is pitch perfect. A reader was talking about those in the comments a while back. Sounds good, but kinda pricey: “It’s definitely premium priced, but it also delivers premium performance. Reliability is outstanding and accuracy is phenomenal, aided by a stellar trigger.”
HISTORY CENSORSHIP AT GEORGETOWN. This is why nobody “trusts the experts” — scholars no longer judge one another on expertise.
ANALYSIS: TRUE.
The reason you know that Democrats are lying about every single thing they say about these debt ceiling negotiations is because they talk in generalities while we talk in specifics. We gave you specific provisions of the CR that we didn’t like. They will tell you Elon Musk bad,…
— Insurrection Barbie (@DefiyantlyFree) December 19, 2024
It isn’t just Democrats, of course. North Carolina Rep. Greg Murphy looks at holding disaster aid hostage to a bunch of pork and Democrat priorities and calls it “governing.”
Disaster aid and Farm aid is not ‘Pork’. It’s called governing. That’s what we were all ELECTED to do.
— Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (@RepGregMurphy) December 19, 2024
If that’s governing, pal, we could use a lot less of it.
READER FAVORITE: Kiehl’s Ultimate Strength Hand Salve. #CommissionEarned
SLOUCHING TOWARD WWIII: At least 100 North Korean soldiers killed, 1,000 injured in fighting in Russia, South Korean intelligence says.
North Korea may dispatch more troops to Russia despite casualties, South Korea’s National Intelligence told lawmakers during a briefing Thursday.
At least 100 North Korean soldiers died, and over 1,000 were injured during combat in Kursk, Russia, South Korean lawmaker Lee Sung-kwon of the ruling party told reporters Thursday after a closed-door briefing with South Korea’s National Intelligence.
U.S. and Ukrainian estimates suggest there are between 10,000 and 12,000 North Korean troops currently inside Russia, with their focus on the Kursk region. Ukrainian and American officials now say North Korean forces are actively engaged in fighting and taking casualties.
…
South Korea’s National Intelligence found evidence suggesting there were numerous North Korean casualties including senior officials during missile, drone attacks and drills, Lee said Thursday.The reason why there were so many casualties despite a small number of battles is because North Korean soldiers were deployed as frontline shock troops in an unfamiliar open field and lack abilities to respond to drones, Lee said.
So in the two weeks (more or less) that North Korean troops have been fighting, they’ve lost roughly 1% KIA and another 10% wounded.
LISTEN SUG, DON’T FORGET TO SAY YOUR PRAYERS: Nuclear bunker sales are increasing, despite expert warnings they aren’t going to provide protection.
When Bernard Jones Jr. and his wife, Doris, built their dream home, they didn’t hold back. A grotto swimming pool with a waterfall for hot summer days. A home theater for cozy winter nights. A fruit orchard to harvest in fall. And a vast underground bunker in case disaster strikes.
“The world’s not becoming a safer place,” he said. “We wanted to be prepared.”
Under a nondescript metal hatch near the private basketball court, there’s a hidden staircase that leads down into rooms with beds for about 25 people, bathrooms and two kitchens, all backed by a self-sufficient energy source.
With water, electricity, clean air and food, they felt ready for any disaster, even a nuclear blast, at their bucolic home in California’s Inland Empire.
“If there was a nuclear strike, would you rather go into the living room or go into a bunker? If you had one, you’d go there too,” said Jones, who said he reluctantly sold the home two years ago.
Flashback: The Unexpected Return of Duck and Cover.
(Classical reference in headline.)
A MATTER OF TASTE: Yes, ginger ale really does taste better on a plane. Here’s why.
ANOTHER MEDIA VET HEADS FOR THE EXITS: Neil Cavuto leaves Fox News after almost 30 years at the network.
Fox News staple Neil Cavuto, host of the network’s Your World with Neil Cavuto, is leaving the network following 28 years spent at it.
Cavuto decided to leave on his own, declining an offer to renew his contract despite requests from Fox News to stay on board, according to a Mediaite report.
“Neil Cavuto’s illustrious career has been a master class in journalism and we’re extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with FOX News Media,” Fox News said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter.”
The host’s final episode is set to air at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Cavuto became known in recent years for criticizing President-elect Donald Trump, making him stand out from his fellow anchors at the network. However, his criticism of Trump is unrelated to his decision to depart from Fox News.
The L.A. Times adds that, as with numerous old media anchors in recent weeks, Cavuto was being pushed out “in [a] cost-cutting move:” “Cavuto chose to leave the company after being offered a new contract — likely at a lower salary — according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly.”
In his 2013 biography of Roger Ailes, Zev Chafets wrote that Cavuto was broadcasting despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis:
“I left money on the table when I came to Fox,” Cavuto says. “A lot of us did. This is an easy place to come to these days; we’re like the Yankees in a good season. We pay better than the competition. But back then we didn’t. Many, many of the people who left to go with Roger took pay cuts. Nobody’s sorry.”
Shortly after making the move, Cavuto was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He was fearful about breaking the news to his boss. “A lot of television executives would have wanted to get rid of me,” he says.
Ailes asked how the disease might affect Cavuto’s performance. “It could cause me to lose my train of thought on the air,” Cavuto said.
“Hell, you already do that,” said Ailes. “
And I could lose the use of my legs.”
“So what? If you do, we’ll build you a ramp.”
Cavuto is now in his sixteenth year in the 4:00 p.m. slot, and he is senior vice president of Fox Business Network. “I feel toward Roger like I do toward my own father,” he told me. “He’s somebody I can always count on.”
Cavuto would go on to defend Ailes even after he was shown the door at Fox during the #metoo era in 2016.
CHINA IS A COLONIAL POWER: American Pleads Guilty to Operating Secret CCP Police Station in NYC’s Chinatown.
FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON, THE MECHANICAL EDITION: Leading AI chatbots show dementia-like cognitive decline in tests, raising questions about their future in medicine.
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