My first reaction to the new Leo's description of his namesake is to wonder how much of AI will be the DotCom bust of the 90s... (A much greater portion than anyone blabbing seems to think, imo).
However, even the internet was transformative, so I don't dismiss that things will be different. More importantly we are in a new mess of political, economic and religious change, so a Pope with a steady hand and wide eyes is a boon to us all. Especially if he knocks laissez faire capitalists down a peg or three.
This made me laugh:
"Ever wonder why Catholics tend to have anti-capitalist sentiments, even if they’re conservative about other issues?"
I do not know how others feel. I listen to all the "intellectualism" during news broadcasts. I hear pundits speak about the latest Trump-associated attack on sanity, and I read a lot of stuff about the new Pope. But it feels to me, and maybe others, that as we watch our proverbial ship run aground, we are more focused on "what's for dinner?" In other words, WTF happened to clear sight and priorities? A short but true story follows.
My wife and I moved to a house in a new development—nothing fancy, but the only homes available three years ago. A neighbor, Neal, was excited to meet a medical professional, and we would go to coffee and/or breakfast. Neal was concerned about other neighbors parking cars and trucks on the street, or even in their driveways, rather than in the garage. He wanted to send letters gently nudging neighbors to put out their garbage bins, not the day before but the morning of the collection, and remove them within a few hours of the garbage pickup. Political signage for Neal was to be removed within a few days after the election. He asked if I would mind removing my “Democracy versus Dictatorship" sign since the election had already been decided. I told him how absurd his priorities were when there were other issues (e.g., light toxicity due to so many street lights; waste of water because developers were putting in grass instead of attractive stones along the median strip of each house; weed abatement not being addressed, and the risk of fire). I finally opted out of the relationship because I viewed Neal’s concerns in our neighborhood context as petty, short-sighted, and irrelevant, given high priority vs minimal priority. I see this with the many communications in the mainstream media, in discussions with others in real time or via email, and often in forums such as this.
To use George Orwell’s words (Such, Such Were the Joys, 1950), “we are tightroping across a cesspool.”
To use another Orwell quote: "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." —Orwell, 1984
This is what our focus should be on. Our "pants" have fallen to our knees, and we are thinking about issues such as tariffs, transgender sports, attempts to buy Greenland, take over Gaza, make Canada a State. All of this is deflection while Trump has accomplished in 100 days what Erdoğan took a decade to do. Jesus, man, we have lost so much of our Democracy. I share with you an exact quote from a colleague in the Netherlands:
"The important difference is this: Europe now sees the growing authoritarianism in the U.S. for what it is. In the 1930s, too many failed to recognize the warning signs from Germany."
He also used AI (Perplexity) and asked this question: "Is the USA still a democracy in 2025?"
“In Law: The United States is still, by its Constitution and formal structures, a representative democracy.
In Practice: There is broad expert consensus that the quality and substance of U.S. democracy have degraded sharply. Some organizations and scholars now classify the U.S as of 2025: “no longer a democracy”, with concrete examples of authoritarian practices and erosion of democratic norms.
Our focus as cognitive, concerned, and caring beings for the future should be on the appalling reality of what IS- the truth- in the United States of America. We have a FASCIST administration that has violated the US Constitution multiple times. The question is, can we do something to convince the GOP in Congress to abandon their greed and power lust for integrity and legacy?
If so, then there is a need to Impeach Trump and many members of his Cabinet for violating the Constitution.
Yes, violating the Constitution can be grounds for impeachment and removal from office. The U.S. Constitution specifically mentions "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” as reasons for impeachment and removal of federal officials. While "other high crimes and misdemeanors" is not explicitly defined, it generally refers to offenses against the government or the Constitution, grave abuses of power, or violations of the public trust.
I will not stand by and stand down. I will raise my voice as loudly as possible and scream in clear words that Trump and his Fascist regime need to be removed from office. We need to return to Dylan Thomas’s words and Bob Dylan’s songs. We are blowing it for all who come after us. We are blowing it for the world.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at the end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning, they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Fantastic Monday note
My first reaction to the new Leo's description of his namesake is to wonder how much of AI will be the DotCom bust of the 90s... (A much greater portion than anyone blabbing seems to think, imo).
However, even the internet was transformative, so I don't dismiss that things will be different. More importantly we are in a new mess of political, economic and religious change, so a Pope with a steady hand and wide eyes is a boon to us all. Especially if he knocks laissez faire capitalists down a peg or three.
This made me laugh:
"Ever wonder why Catholics tend to have anti-capitalist sentiments, even if they’re conservative about other issues?"
- No, they're following Jesus, it's required.
I do not know how others feel. I listen to all the "intellectualism" during news broadcasts. I hear pundits speak about the latest Trump-associated attack on sanity, and I read a lot of stuff about the new Pope. But it feels to me, and maybe others, that as we watch our proverbial ship run aground, we are more focused on "what's for dinner?" In other words, WTF happened to clear sight and priorities? A short but true story follows.
My wife and I moved to a house in a new development—nothing fancy, but the only homes available three years ago. A neighbor, Neal, was excited to meet a medical professional, and we would go to coffee and/or breakfast. Neal was concerned about other neighbors parking cars and trucks on the street, or even in their driveways, rather than in the garage. He wanted to send letters gently nudging neighbors to put out their garbage bins, not the day before but the morning of the collection, and remove them within a few hours of the garbage pickup. Political signage for Neal was to be removed within a few days after the election. He asked if I would mind removing my “Democracy versus Dictatorship" sign since the election had already been decided. I told him how absurd his priorities were when there were other issues (e.g., light toxicity due to so many street lights; waste of water because developers were putting in grass instead of attractive stones along the median strip of each house; weed abatement not being addressed, and the risk of fire). I finally opted out of the relationship because I viewed Neal’s concerns in our neighborhood context as petty, short-sighted, and irrelevant, given high priority vs minimal priority. I see this with the many communications in the mainstream media, in discussions with others in real time or via email, and often in forums such as this.
To use George Orwell’s words (Such, Such Were the Joys, 1950), “we are tightroping across a cesspool.”
To use another Orwell quote: "Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." —Orwell, 1984
This is what our focus should be on. Our "pants" have fallen to our knees, and we are thinking about issues such as tariffs, transgender sports, attempts to buy Greenland, take over Gaza, make Canada a State. All of this is deflection while Trump has accomplished in 100 days what Erdoğan took a decade to do. Jesus, man, we have lost so much of our Democracy. I share with you an exact quote from a colleague in the Netherlands:
"The important difference is this: Europe now sees the growing authoritarianism in the U.S. for what it is. In the 1930s, too many failed to recognize the warning signs from Germany."
He also used AI (Perplexity) and asked this question: "Is the USA still a democracy in 2025?"
“In Law: The United States is still, by its Constitution and formal structures, a representative democracy.
In Practice: There is broad expert consensus that the quality and substance of U.S. democracy have degraded sharply. Some organizations and scholars now classify the U.S as of 2025: “no longer a democracy”, with concrete examples of authoritarian practices and erosion of democratic norms.
Our focus as cognitive, concerned, and caring beings for the future should be on the appalling reality of what IS- the truth- in the United States of America. We have a FASCIST administration that has violated the US Constitution multiple times. The question is, can we do something to convince the GOP in Congress to abandon their greed and power lust for integrity and legacy?
If so, then there is a need to Impeach Trump and many members of his Cabinet for violating the Constitution.
Yes, violating the Constitution can be grounds for impeachment and removal from office. The U.S. Constitution specifically mentions "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” as reasons for impeachment and removal of federal officials. While "other high crimes and misdemeanors" is not explicitly defined, it generally refers to offenses against the government or the Constitution, grave abuses of power, or violations of the public trust.
I will not stand by and stand down. I will raise my voice as loudly as possible and scream in clear words that Trump and his Fascist regime need to be removed from office. We need to return to Dylan Thomas’s words and Bob Dylan’s songs. We are blowing it for all who come after us. We are blowing it for the world.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at the end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning, they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.