I’M HAVING WAY TOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS: Platner Down but Not Out. “Every second Platner clings to his nomination like Hitler in his bunker is another second his replacement won’t have to run against Collins, and he knows it.”
Author Archive: Stephen Green
July 8, 2026
I’M NOT SURE, I’D HAVE TO CONSULT WITH CHATGPT: Is AI making us dumber?
Researchers called this the “Google effect.” They found people recalled where to find specific information better than they remembered the information itself when they knew they could easily find it again. “We are becoming symbiotic with our computer tools, growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found,” the researchers wrote in 2011. Some worried that cognitive offloading to Google was “making us stupid,” a possibility raised by an Atlantic cover story. Others argued Google was democratizing access to information and let us trade hours spent scouring library stands for supercharged thinking.
You don’t need to Google any of this to know why it sounds so familiar. Early research into how generative AI affects our brains has resurfaced the same talking points: overreliance on AI will weaken mental persistence, flatten creativity, atrophy our critical thinking skills, and degrade our relationships. Experts in machine learning, creativity, social behavior I spoke to said we can glean some insight from the fallout of past innovations, but the totalizing pervasiveness of AI is unparalleled.
AI could pose a bigger risk to our brains than past innovations because “the tool is completely different in nature,” says Nataliya Kosmyna, a researcher at MIT who published one of the most widely cited pieces of research on AI and cognitive decline last year, showing that people who had access to gen AI for writing essays performed worse over time than those who used Google or had no aid. Kosmyna says the widely circulated comparisons of AI to a calculator, which has also been used by Sam Altman, is a fallacy. “You don’t fall asleep and wake up with a calculator. You don’t talk to the calculator about everything you have in your mind.”
Somebody should write a book about Seductive AI.
THEY CERTAINLY OUGHT TO BE: Socialists Are Disqualified for Office Simply by Being Socialists.
UM…: ULA’s last six Atlas Vs can’t launch anything besides Boeing’s Starliner.
There are six more Atlas Vs in ULA’s inventory to launch Boeing’s Starliner crew capsules to the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA. But it is not certain today that Boeing will use all six of those Atlas Vs. Last year, NASA reduced the number of guaranteed missions in Boeing’s commercial crew contract from six to four after chronic delays in the program. The next Starliner flight will haul cargo to the ISS, expending one of the remaining Atlas Vs.
So what happens to the Atlas Vs left in ULA’s inventory if Boeing doesn’t need to use them all? One idea would be to repurpose the rockets for other missions, perhaps to add launch capacity for the Amazon Leo network. But there’s a catch.
The Starliner spacecraft flies in an exposed configuration during launch, meaning the launch last week was the last time an Atlas V will fly with a payload fairing. Even if Boeing gave up some of the Atlas Vs under its contractual control, ULA would not be able to easily retrofit any of the leftover Atlas Vs for other missions.
A ULA spokesperson confirmed to Ars that the payload fairing now in production for the company’s newer Vulcan rocket—the replacement for the Atlas V—is “not interchangeable” with the out-of-production Atlas fairing.
If — when? — NASA ditches Starliner, it has to be cheaper and smarter to fabricate new fairings than throw away a handful of perfectly good Atlas rockets, right?
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: I Keep Missing the ‘Cease’ Part of All These Ceasefires With Iran. “Iran is continuing its run as ‘The Country Least Likely to Stick to Any Agreements That Don’t Allow It to Be Unhinged.’ Not the most clever prize title, but one that Ayatollah Whomeverisincharge seems to really covet.”
ANALYSIS: TRUE.
I don’t listen to podcasts or conservative media at all. But it sounds like a few have gone completely whackadoodle. And if you believe some grand conspiracy about Charlie Kirk let me help you…
He was shot by a gay tranny with severe emotional issues and terrible parents. https://t.co/UlsM8Lq74H— EducatëdHillbilly™ (@RobProvince) July 8, 2026
Mostly true, anyway: “His parents could’ve been much worse. They turned him in right away.”
THAT ABOUT SUMS IT UP: The Expert Class Created a Perfect System: They Accuse, They Censor, and They Never Have to Prove a Damn Thing. “A point of amusement for me a week back on Twitter/X was a situation surrounding a volcanoes enthusiast going off topic by asserting the European heat deaths were ‘blood on the hands of people behind Big Oil-funded lies’ – meaning industry deception campaigns, no doubt. The famous Tom Nelson replied by pointing out how there was no evidence to back up the claim. I’ve detailed that problem right here at GelbspanFiles since 2013. Meanwhile, an environmentalist decided to counter Tom with ‘proof’ that ‘deception campaigns’ happened by recommending him to read the ‘a bit dated’ Naomi Oreskes Merchants of Doubt book, implying the book compared Big Oil ‘misinformation mechanisms’ to ‘pro nuclear weapons / pro tobacco mechanisms.’ The comment there – likely well-intentioned and certainly believed by the person posting it – is a classic example of intellectual dishonesty – a person essentially lying to the public and to themself. I own a copy of that book, nowhere within it is evidence of skeptical climate scientists advocating use of nuclear weapons or even remotely being pro-tobacco. My response to that commenter was to read my SPM on Oreskes, to comprehend just how much disinformation Oreskes generates. But my recommendation goes much farther – the same basic accusation may end up in some form when the Supreme Court takes up a discussion about the Boulder v Suncor lawsuit.”
Much more at the link.
CORN, POPPED:
Stay strong king you got this https://t.co/DNGWQcIH28
— The Drunk Republican (@DrunkRepub) July 8, 2026
ALEX, I’LL TAKE “ARGUMENTS I’VE MADE SINCE I WAS A YOUNG AMERICAN” FOR $400: Don’t Lock Young Americans Into Social Security.
Rather than dragging younger workers through years of uncertain taxation, policymakers should give them a choice. Americans who are decades away from retirement should be allowed to opt out of Social Security and pursue retirement planning through private alternatives.
The freedom to decide how to spend and save one’s income is deeply ingrained in American culture. Some people rent apartments, rely on public transportation, and prioritize international travel. Others buy homes, raise families, and invest heavily in property or small businesses. The diversity of lifestyles that defines the United States is made possible by economic liberty.
Social Security’s mandatory payroll tax limits that liberty, particularly for younger generations who are unlikely to receive the same value from the program as their parents and grandparents. Every dollar directed to Social Security is a dollar that cannot be used to pay down debt, purchase a home, invest in education, build a business, or save independently for retirement.
Private retirement accounts also offer greater opportunities for long-term growth.
Virtually any growth would be an improvement.
July 7, 2026
AN IMPORTANT REMINDER:
Former Gov. Ralph Northam was appointed to a college board by Gov. Abigail Spanberger this year after refusing to resign in 2019 in the face of party-wide demands in the wake of a blackface/Klan hood picture scandal and another admitted blackface incident. Everyone just shut up… https://t.co/mdaB963vpQ
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) July 7, 2026
More:
Everyone just shut up and he served a full term. Now, one of the reasons they didn’t force him out is bc their next two in the line of succession were an AG, who also had a blackface scandal, and a Lt. Gov. named Justin Fairfax who had faced sexual assault allegations and fast-forward, just recently murdered his wife. So, maybe Ds in Maine can find someone besides Platner who doesn’t have a racist pic or tattoo and/or violent history with women, but their record thus far not great, and the Virginia Dems don’t offer a template for that.
But Virginia Dems do offer a template of a cushy life after politics, no matter the offense.
FORGET IT, MARK — SHE’S ROLLING:
What Republican has faced credible rape allegations? Because it’s not Trump or Kavanaugh. https://t.co/LZfQrPq00K
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) July 7, 2026
HE’S CERTAINLY LEAVING ON A HIGH NOTE: Artemis II crew member Jeremy Hansen says he’s stepping down from astronaut role.
OOF:
I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 45 minutes. He's so sharp. Just like always he let me do all of the talking. He's a great listener. After that we prayed…
— Rep. Jack Kimble (@RepJackKimble) July 7, 2026
MAYBE THE YOUTH VOTE NEEDS TO, YOU KNOW, GET OUT AND VOTE:
It's the H1Bs and immigrants and we all know this. Whether talking inflated costs for housing, healthcare and schooling, or a brutal entry and mid level job market is because of them.
And as far as I know, not a single 2028 candidate has committed to ending the H1B program
— Bill Marshal (@aethelamerican) July 7, 2026
DISPATCHES FROM THE BLUE ZONES: Drugged Transients Overrun Austin Library. “She brings up how the Austin City Council under Mayor Adler repealed the ‘camping’ ordinance, in effect telling drug addicted transients to come party in Austin. And come they did.”
FACTS ARE RACIST OR SOMETHING:
Sitting down?
Legacy Media increased the term “white supremacy” by 5,296% from 2009-2020.
Violent crimes 2009-2020:
Black on White: 1,162 per 100K Blacks.
White on Black: 38 per 100K Whites.30X more likely!
Dangers of “white supremacy” narrative is pure propaganda.
Facts.
— C3 (@C_3C_3) July 7, 2026
WELL, HE STILL HAS A WEEK TO MILK THIS BEFORE THE BALLOT DEADLINE: Platner Is the Democrat Camel Whose Back Couldn’t Be Broken, No Matter How Much Straw Was Piled On.
THIS KEEPS HAPPENING:
They told me if I supported Trump we’d end up with neo-Nazi rapists as Senate candidates, and they were right.
— Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry (@pegobry_en) July 7, 2026
SPACE: ‘Once-in-a-millennium’ asteroid flyby will be visible to much of the world in 2029.
Three years before the skyscraper-size asteroid Apophis makes its very close (but safe) flyby of Earth, scientists have already begun charting exactly when and where billions of people can watch it sweep across the sky.
Speaking at an “Apophis T-3 Years” workshop held earlier this month at the University of Padua in Italy, retired cartographer Michael Zeiler and astronomer Rick Fienberg shared detailed visibility maps charting the asteroid’s passage across Earth’s skies.
According to their calculations, roughly 90% of the world’s population — about 7.6 billion people — lives in regions where Apophis could, in principle, be seen with the naked eye on April 13, 2029. The actual viewing success will depend more on earthly considerations, however, including cloud cover and the extent of light pollution.
Known formally as 99942 Apophis, the space rock will not resemble a blazing meteor tearing through the sky. Instead, scientists say it will appear as a point-like speck of light gliding steadily across, which, at its closest approach, will appear to move by about the apparent width of the full moon every minute.
Maybe we should try taking a once-in-a-millennium opportunity to practice diverting a large asteroid.
SPOILER: IT DID NOT AGE WELL.
Here's @jodikantor, one of the NYT journos who broke the Weinstein story, naturally, an avid early proponent of MeToo, even had a movie made about her and Megan Twohey breaking the story—here she is writing off @lyndseyfifield for essentially partisan reasons. How's this aged? https://t.co/glPxae0bYF
— Neeraja Deshpande (@neerajadeshp) July 6, 2026
Plus this from Stephen L. Miller: “If journalists actually cared about their reputations and credibility, Jodie Kantor would be fired and out of a job this morning.”
Another spoiler: The only thing they care about is their diminishing ability to establish and maintain lefty narratives.
ANALYSIS: TRUE.
The great secret of the last hundred years is that Progressivism is an elitist, technocratic ideology crafted by academia. It has NO working-class foundations at all. This desperate search for a believable marionette is hopeless. https://t.co/67jlMdrSEr pic.twitter.com/jtKhtMxUDV
— Jeffrey A Tucker (@jeffreytucker) July 7, 2026