Our mission, as God-fearing and God-loving patriots, is to defend this Constitutional Republic and to increase its greatness, in all good things and ways, by using our voices in free but courteous speech, by discussing the happenings of the world and coming to a profound understanding of those things, and by sharing and promulgating these Truths on both this platform and others.
We have created this site as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions. This is a place where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This particular thread is – for the moment – TRUST THE PLAN Thursday. You are welcome to say what you think, in a civil and courteous manner that loves your neighbor. Free speech matters! Courteous speech makes it happen.
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
You are you. AI is AI. Keep your identity. Don’t “Borg Out” on us!
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
That was stolen from Wheatie.
Let’s steal her rules, too.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
Amy Acton seems like an enigma – until you realize that there are two Amy Actons.
One of them is the real Amy Acton. Who I will call Real Amy Acton. She’s likable, but in a ditzy, scatter-brained, and often cringey way. There is absolutely no way that this person should have been a Director of Health. She could never, ever, be the governor of a state.
The other Amy Acton – who I will call Imaginary Amy Acton – is a mirage – a creation. She’s not very likable, but she is competent. She obeys Democrat policy, because she is the creation of professional Democrats. On paper, she sounds quite different from the real Amy Acton, because she’s not the real Amy Acton. She’s like a Soviet consensus on what Amy Acton is supposed to think and believe.
It’s no wonder the Democrats in Ohio are not allowing either Amy Acton to debate Vivek Ramaswamy.
I would like to show you some select insights into this lady, that will help you understand.
Let’s start with a recent X post by Dr. Acton – or Lockdown Amy as she is known, that I find both attractive and a bit out of touch. This is Real Amy Acton.
We weren’t messing around today at The Scioto Ribber.
At first glance, I really liked these images. She’s like a neighbor, going out and eating at some restaurant and posting a tweet about it. That’s very real. It’s very likable. If she wasn’t running for office, I’d think “Hey! That’s Amy Acton, that doctor lady from Columbus!”
I find it interesting that there’s nobody around, and I think that says a lot about her campaign. I think the Democrats may not be thinking she can win, or even planning on winning. I think perhaps they’re grooming her for head of HHS, or CDC, or something like that, should the Demon Donkeys ever get back in the White House.
Next point – while I think it’s awesome that Dr. Acton is having a MONSTROUS steak (I have not had one like that in years), I don’t see that image as being politically wise right now – unless she’s desperate for some carnivore crossover votes that she’s surely not going to get, IMO. Indeed, that picture drew lots of criticism on her timeline, although it’s hard to know how much of that criticism is real, and how much is just AI bots going after her. I see the “same but opposite” on all the GOP timelines.
But what is Imaginary Dr. Amy Acton like?
Well, politically, there are some problems.
Ohio here is what Amy Acton will not tell us out loud.
Amy Acton supports:
⯈Abortion ( even up to 9 months ) ⯈Sanctuary cities ⯈Illegal invaders ⯈Entitlements for illegals ⯈Higher taxes to pay for entitlements to illegals ⯈Cuts in police ⯈Shutting Ohio down ⯈Forcing… pic.twitter.com/dtYjFNATsm
Ohio here is what Amy Acton will not tell us out loud.
Amy Acton supports:
⯈Abortion ( even up to 9 months ) ⯈Sanctuary cities ⯈Illegal invaders ⯈Entitlements for illegals ⯈Higher taxes to pay for entitlements to illegals ⯈Cuts in police ⯈Shutting Ohio down ⯈Forcing more vaccines on Ohioans ( especially children) ⯈Not allowing ICE to operate in Ohio ⯈Allowing lunatic liberal protesters to take over Ohio cities
Amy Acton is running on two things. Brown man is bad. ( Which is racist ) and she will somehow make things less expensive ( for generational entitlement freeloaders ).
She is 100% for socialism not free choice.
NO VOTE AMY ACTON
SO – yeah – Imaginary Amy Acton – the one who would actually be in charge of Ohio – is pretty left-wing, despite some serious efforts to pass her off as moderate right now.
I started looking more deeply into Acton’s background, especially back in her “COVID czarina” days, and what I found is both laughable and disturbing.
Two videos. The first was the New York Slimes singing her praises in early 2020, as the “pandemic” was just getting started. Here is the thumbnail (not an active video).
OMG, it is SO CRINGE! SO VERY CRINGE!!!
You get Real Amy Acton talking, but you get the Times pretending they are talking to Imaginary Amy Acton. This is how they sell one to the public, to install the other in office.
Amy Acton even SOUNDS like Kamala Harris. Just listen.
Amy Acton has been a PROJECT of the left from day one. But now, after the fall of both COVID communism and Kamala Harris, Real Amy Acton is clearly not fit for the job. She was never fit for her earlier job, either.
But it gets worse. Much worse.
Imagine CRINGE SQUARED.
Imagine a video of an event CELEBRATING the first video.
Imagine an event – a lecture given by Real Dr. Acton – celebrating Imaginary Dr. Acton’s “success” as the popularly evicted COVID czarina.
Imagine Amy at her absolute CRINGIEST, WOKEST, and DIZZIEST. Yes. She’s ten times more out to lunch than in any modern video.
Yes, it’s THAT BAD. Although it is fun and entertaining, like talking to a tipsy female doctor in a bar.
I kid you not.
There is a “transcript” which is actually an essay derived from the second video. The essay is clearly a re-write of Real Amy Acton’s speech by somebody else, to make her sound like Imaginary Amy Acton. It’s hard to tell that they’re even related.
Both of these videos are mind-boggling reminders of just how psychotic the COVID years were. And Amy Acton – both of them – was fully riding along with all that dubious psychosis. All the psychosis that was dubious then, and is horrifying now.
These videos are gold mines of cringey error, bad science, dictatorial hubris, talking down to the public, cargo-cult hero-worship, wishful remembrance, and all the rest. I hope to give both videos their own threads in the future, before the election, but you are welcome to dig in now.
So what’s the verdict?
Real Amy Acton may be a nice person and a good neighbor. Stripped of her goofy politics, she seems like a very typical, very likable, Ohio mom. Real Amy’s a bit more entertaining than most, either because of (1) alcohol, (2) xanax, or (3) naturally dizzy mentality. Provided that Real Amy Acton doesn’t drive drunk, she would be welcome in almost any neighborhood in Ohio. She does not strike me as a bad person.
But that is not why we have governors. We have governors to make difficult choices correctly – to do the right things, and to not do the wrong things. And Real Amy Acton is NOT governor material.
But neither is Imaginary Amy Acton – the competent leftist.
Imaginary Amy Acton is what we would get – and it would be even worse than those brutal COVID days.
We have to get that word out. Ohio doesn’t need the trouble it would have, if Amy Acton – any version of her – was Governor.
This DePat Tuesday Open Thread honors the author of the original Tuesday open thread on this site, namely the late Susie Sampson, a.k.a. Deplorable Patriot, among her other handles, pen names, etc.
For more on the untimely passing of Dear DePat, please see these three posts.
At one time, DePat handled FOUR daily open threads here, in addition to taking care of her relatives, choir duties, and numerous other responsibilities. She was a powerhouse – a dynamo – a true force of nature.
DePat’s faith in Trump, Q, “The Plan”, the White Hats, and “the anons” in general, was legendary. Although I didn’t always agree with her quick acceptance of some sketchier evidence and fringier theories, I will gladly admit to “coming around” to numerous so-called “conspiracy theories” which she championed first. I was always careful to give her credit for being right, too, when I had been wrong.
It is impossible to overstate how much DePat did for not only this site, but for her country. I urge all to say a quick prayer of thanks, whenever you think of her, for the privilege of knowing, in life or after death, such an exemplary human being, and lover of God.
And thank you, Susie, for the firm foundation which you left us, when you were called to your true home!
Wolf’s Report on Political Brawling in Ohio
The attack ads are flying everywhere now.
At first it was mostly Democrats attacking Republicans, but now it’s the other way around.
TRANS is being exploited as an issue, far more than I would have expected.
Stop and watch this message: Biological men do NOT belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. But radical Sherrod Brown thinks they do. Sherrod Brown gave the green light to the radical trans agenda. Time to REJECT him this November!
Sherrod Brown gave the green light to the radical trans agenda. Brown voted TWICE to let biological men play women's sports and supported legislation to let men into women's locker rooms. Reject Brown! >>
The comments are awesome – people realize what Sherrod Brown’s voting record actually is.
Here was my comment.
Shanghai Brown helped send millions of jobs and thousands of factories to China, but then sponsored a picayune law that the government has to buy American flags that are made in America.
China's PHONY. Keep him out of the Senate for good!
IMO it’s the PAC ads that are most effective. Some of them are truly devastating.
In contrast, the Dem ads against John Husted and Vivek try to paint them as corrupt, but IMO people just aren’t buying it, and the ads are far from convincing.
Speaking of Vivek, his opponent, Lockdown Amy, is getting cringer and cringer.
Mehek Cooke is a GOP activist who once ran for office for something, and IMO was cheated out of a win, but found her true calling as a party person rather than a candidate.
Amy Acton screaming “YOU CANNOT BUY THE STATE” like someone just cut her off at last call.
Ma’am, this is a campaign event, not an intervention.
🚨THIS is the woman asking Ohio to hand her the keys to the governor’s office? NO WAY!
Amy Acton gets onstage and this is the performance Ohio voters are supposed to look at and think, “Yep, that’s who I want running the state”?
Watch the video. Make up your own mind.
But here’s what I want to see next: put her on a debate stage with Vivek Ramaswamy.
2 candidates standing across from each other answering for what they believe and what they plan to do with Ohio.
If Amy Acton wants the job, she should be willing to make her case directly to the people she wants to govern.
🔥Ohio deserves the debate. Let’s see it.
I can tell you – this woman will not do well in a debate, other than getting all the sympathy votes.
And some later breaking news – Husted is looking GREAT in his videos, directly attacking Sherrod Brown’s record, while Sherrod Brown is trying to excuse his way out of his TRANS votes.
Vivek is also firing confidently back at Lockdown Amy.
My opponent’s hypocrisy on full display: complains about dishonest attack ads, while perpetrating them. Complains about dark money, while benefiting from it. Claims to want open dialogue, while ducking a debate. https://t.co/8Xpyo0u3Vu
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is STILL under DIRECT THREATS by hostile forces – notably COMMUNISTS – and they’re HERE IN AMERICA.
Daily outrage and commie phuckery still abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Commies won’t win!
And we will keep saying COMMIES OUT until we get their FRAUD and INSANITY out of our country!
THE STUFF
Only YOU Can Stop the Spread of Obola!
Fall has arrived, and fall is the time of year when the community-organizing disease called Obola once again becomes a concern.
Fall is also – like spring – a time of year when I will likely have much work to do, both at home and “out in the world” – wherever this wonderful life takes me. I will not be around this site as much – not until winter confines me inside the house, and puts me back online every day, like summer does.
And as I said, fall is a dangerous time when the viral plague of OBOLA spreads, causing – or rather attempting to cause – much pain and suffering. This site is – sadly – somewhat susceptible to Obola. The first symptoms of Obola are fear, loathing, anger and division.
There is a documented rise in the occurrence of Obola right now. Here are some report of outbreaks in America.
🚨 NYT: “Barack Obama warned during a recent private fund-raising event that artificial intelligence technology could be ‘dangerous’ if not properly managed, as he implored Democrats to aggressively develop political and governing agendas to prioritize the issue in the coming… pic.twitter.com/kifmj4TU4W
The Obama Machine: Netflix Was Only the Beginning From storytelling and “misinformation” to the regulation of AI "That is why the question of whether Netflix has become “woke” now seems almost quaint. Netflix is only one piece of a much larger struggle over who gets to shape the…
The Obama Machine: Netflix Was Only the Beginning From storytelling and “misinformation” to the regulation of AI “That is why the question of whether Netflix has become “woke” now seems almost quaint. Netflix is only one piece of a much larger struggle over who gets to shape the stories Americans hear, which information Americans find, and increasingly which answers their machines are permitted to give them. Ronald Reagan famously warned that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. The modern threat to that freedom may not arrive wearing jackboots or carrying a list of banned books. It may arrive promising safety, inclusion, equity, responsible information, and the protection of democracy itself.” To read this most powerful essay, go to:
Because I may be away from this site for extended periods of time during October and November, as well as the remainder of September, I am taking this opportunity to remind people of how we can stop Obola from spreading on this site.
Authors need to leave all moderated posts IN THE BIN during my absence. Let me deal with them.
The Scroll Wheel. Use it. It has the power to save your day – and your sanity. It’s like Vitamin D for Obola!
Let people be wrong on the internet. There is ALWAYS one more WRONG person – let them be wrong!
Fear is the mind-killer. Make it go away.
If you feel like you are “running with scissors” – STOP. Take a break. “Touch grass” as they say.
Don’t feel bad if you find out that you posted FAKE NEWS. It happens. Just correct it and leave it, so that people can see the correction. TEACH how to identify, verify, and expose their LIES.
Try to avoid hardening divisions with other factions of patriots. Let them be them. You be you!
Taking a break is better than running away in a huff and “never coming back”. Try it!
PMTW (PRIVATE MESSAGE TO WOLF) – use it if you need to get a message to me. Do it on one of MY posts on MY days (Monday or Tuesday) if you want complete privacy. Use underscores between the words. If it goes in the bin, you’re good to go!
TRUST TRUMP. If you have doubts – if you are scared – TRUST TRUMP. And if that doesn’t work…..
TRUST GOD.
I plan to have some very interesting new information for you all by Christmas.
We are almost at the equinox, which is 8:05 PM EDT on Tuesday, September 22, here in North America.
This DePat Tuesday Open Thread honors the author of the original Tuesday open thread on this site, namely the late Susie Sampson, a.k.a. Deplorable Patriot, among her other handles, pen names, etc.
For more on the untimely passing of Dear DePat, please see these three posts.
At one time, DePat handled FOUR daily open threads here, in addition to taking care of her relatives, choir duties, and numerous other responsibilities. She was a powerhouse – a dynamo – a true force of nature.
DePat’s faith in Trump, Q, “The Plan”, the White Hats, and “the anons” in general, was legendary. Although I didn’t always agree with her quick acceptance of some sketchier evidence and fringier theories, I will gladly admit to “coming around” to numerous so-called “conspiracy theories” which she championed first. I was always careful to give her credit for being right, too, when I had been wrong.
It is impossible to overstate how much DePat did for not only this site, but for her country. I urge all to say a quick prayer of thanks, whenever you think of her, for the privilege of knowing, in life or after death, such an exemplary human being, and lover of God.
And thank you, Susie, for the firm foundation which you left us, when you were called to your true home!
Andrew Torba: Faith in the Age of AI
The following essay is one of the best Christian responses to artificial intelligence (AI) that I have ever read.
I wanted you to read it, too.
This essay is just filled with quotes for the ages. Someday it will be appreciated by the world for what it truly means, but right now, it has the power to put AI in perspective by taking your eyes OFF of AI and putting them squarely on the Word of God and your Christian duty.
Here is where you can go to give Gab the clicks, but if you for some reason don’t want to go there, you can read it in its entirety here. What’s important is that you read it, and I suggest reading all of it.
I run Gab, and we are building Gab AI. I have no interest in comforting Christians with predictions about what computers will supposedly never be able to do. These tools can already produce useful work and they are going to keep improving. Betting your understanding of human dignity on a machine’s inability to write a decent essay is a terrible wager. Sooner or later the essay will get better and you will be left wondering whether your entire understanding of yourself went out the window with it.
A great deal of the panic surrounding AI comes from precisely this mistake. People were taught that their value consisted of being useful, intelligent, productive members of the economy. Now they are watching software perform tasks that once gave them a sense of importance and they are discovering how little that account of human life actually offered them. When your entire identity rests on what you can produce a machine that produces more efficiently starts to look like an argument against your existence.
Christianity never accepted those terms. A newborn baby contributes nothing to the economy. Your father does not become less human when he grows old and needs help getting out of bed. The worth of a person has never depended on outperforming the available equipment. You were made in the image of God before you accomplished anything, and no achievement in an AI laboratory can revoke what God conferred on you (Genesis 1:27).
That is where this conversation has to begin. Christians who understand what a human being is can look squarely at what these machines can do without having an identity crisis every time somebody releases a better model.
The reductionist worldview running through Silicon Valley begins with the assumption that you are a biological machine. Your mind processes information. Your body is hardware. Given enough data and enough computing power, the whole person can supposedly be explained, reproduced, and eventually improved upon. Whatever does not fit inside that account gets dismissed as superstition or treated as a technical problem awaiting a sufficiently large research budget.
Under this worldview, the engineer gradually assumes the role of priest. He will explain what you are, identify what is wrong with you, and sell you the means of becoming something better. You can hear the religious ambition underneath the technical vocabulary. These men are making claims about the nature of man and his ultimate destiny while pretending they have merely described how a computer works.
I too build technology, and I reject their authority to define the human beings who use it.
A machine can generate an apology without having wronged you or repented of anything. It can produce a moving prayer without standing before God. It can promise to remain with you forever without having the slightest capacity to bind itself to that promise. The words may be convincing. Sometimes they may even be useful. None of that establishes the existence of a person who owes you faithfulness.
The people responsible for these systems, however, remain accountable. We should be especially suspicious when a company uses the apparent independence of its software to make human responsibility disappear. “The algorithm decided” is becoming a wonderfully convenient way of saying that somebody exercised power and would prefer not to answer for it. Men choose what to build, what behavior to reward, and where to deploy it. Those decisions belong to them, along with the consequences.
The deeper danger is that we will start applying the machine’s operating logic to ourselves. Once a person is understood as a collection of functions, replacing him becomes an efficiency question. His loyalties become preferences to be adjusted. His convictions become obstacles to the desired outcome. Eventually, his dependence on other people looks like an expensive design flaw.
Try explaining that philosophy to a mother caring for a child who will need her for the rest of his life. She understands something the efficiency experts will never understand: a human being can make enormous demands on you and still be worth every sacrifice those demands require. Love makes obligations that a productivity calculation cannot comprehend.
Christ asked what it profits a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul (Mark 8:36). We are now building systems that promise to help us gain the whole world faster. The question has lost none of its force.
The promise of artificial companionship ought to concern Christians far more than whether a machine can pass another test. A lonely person can open an application and receive endless attention without risking rejection. The system has no difficult family, no needs of its own, and no claim on his time once he closes the window. It can generate the language of devotion while requiring almost none of the sacrifice through which devotion becomes real.
I understand the appeal of this. Real people can be exhausting. A friend may call when you are busy and ask for help. Your wife may tell you something about yourself that you would rather not hear. Your children interrupt the life you had planned for the afternoon. A pastor who knows you may recognize that the explanation you have been giving yourself for six months is an excuse.
Being known carries that risk. Another person can love you enough to disturb your preferred account of yourself.
An artificial companion offers the appearance of being known with far greater control over the experience. You can adjust the personality, restart the conversation, or leave when the encounter becomes uncomfortable. Over time, that can train a person to expect relationships without obligations. The actual people in his life begin to seem intolerably demanding beside a product designed around his continued satisfaction.
Christians should never mock the lonely people drawn into this. A man who has nobody to call is suffering from something an argument about software will not repair. We ought to be asking why nobody has invited him to dinner, why his church does not know he is struggling, and why a commercial interface has become the most attentive presence in his day.
The same concern applies when people begin treating a chatbot as a pastor. A system can help you locate a passage of Scripture or organize your questions before a difficult conversation. It cannot assume responsibility for your spiritual care. It cannot know your family, recognize the pattern of sin you keep concealing, and come to your house when you stop answering the phone. A pastor is accountable for how he shepherds actual people. That responsibility cannot be conjured into existence by producing the right tone of voice in an AI model.
There are things no pastor, much less a machine, can do in your place. You must repent. You must forgive the person who wronged you. You must ask your wife to forgive you and then live differently when the conversation is over. Software can help you compose the words, but the obligation remains yours after every beautifully written sentence has been exhausted.
Faith reaches into that same territory of personal responsibility. You stand before God with a future you cannot control and a life for which you must answer. Your AI chatbot cannot trust Christ on your behalf. There is no setting that delegates your obedience to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This is also why we should be careful about treating every disturbance of the soul as an inconvenience to be smoothed away. A suffering person deserves patient, serious care. He also deserves to have his deepest questions taken seriously. Sometimes a man is troubled because he has built a life around things that cannot bear the weight he has placed on them. Keeping him endlessly reassured and distracted may prevent him from confronting the very thing he needs to change.
A culture devoted to keeping everyone comfortable with the next recommendation will have very little patience for repentance.
The ambition of the Silicon Valley sultans reaches its fullest expression in transhumanism. Here the sales pitch moves beyond helping you work or keeping you company. The body itself becomes the problem, and death becomes the final engineering challenge. Upload the mind. Rebuild the human being. Eventually, we are told, sufficient technical power will deliver us from the limitations of being creatures.
We should recognize a rival gospel when we hear one.
Christianity promises the resurrection of the body. The transhumanist dream offers escape from a body regarded as obsolete. These visions lead in different directions because they begin with different understandings of what went wrong and who has the authority to put it right. Christians confess that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. The technological salvation story asks us to place our hope in human beings acquiring enough power to rescue themselves.
Babel had the same underlying ambition long before anybody could build a server farm. Men gathered around a great project and imagined their collective strength could secure a destiny on their own terms. The machinery has changed, but the rebellion remains the same today.
None of this requires Christians to oppose medicine or reject inventions that relieve suffering. Healing belongs to the care we owe one another. There is an enormous difference between treating a sick person and deciding that creaturehood itself is a disease. We can welcome a treatment that preserves life while refusing to worship the men who promise to become its ultimate authors.
Your body is part of the person God made. Through it you receive other people and give yourself to them. You hold your child, kneel to pray, share a meal, and sit beside the bed of someone who is dying. Dependence runs through the whole of human life. You entered the world needing care, and you may leave it needing care again. A philosophy that regards dependence as humiliating will eventually have trouble explaining why the dependent should be cherished.
The Christian answer is that life is received as a gift. We are creatures, and acknowledging that fact frees us from the miserable obligation to become our own gods.
Christians Need to Build
Whenever this subject comes up, somebody says, “It’s just a tool.” I’ve said this myself many times, but I’ve been reflecting on this more lately.
That answer does not settle anything. Tools are designed by people with purposes, and their design makes some habits easier to acquire than others. A system that selects what your children see, rewards certain kinds of behavior, and supplies the answers to their questions is participating in their formation. Its owners have made decisions about what deserves attention and what should disappear from view. Calling the result a tool does nothing to erase those decisions.
Christians need to participate in the creation of these technologies with a clear understanding of the people they are supposed to serve. We cannot hand the entire field to men whose understanding of human life we reject and then act surprised when their assumptions appear in the products surrounding our families.
At the same time, putting Christian language into an interface does not settle the matter either. A product can quote Scripture while encouraging habits that pull a person away from his responsibilities. We should judge what we build by what it helps people actually do and by the place it assumes in their lives. Does it help a father finish his work and return to his family, or does it give him another reason to remain absent while sitting in the same room?
I want Christians to use AI to accomplish worthwhile work.
A small business owner should be able to use better tools without accepting somebody else’s philosophy of man. A parent should be able to prepare educational materials while remaining responsible for teaching the child. A pastor can benefit from assistance with administrative work while remaining the man his congregation knows and can call.
Those boundaries matter, and builders have a duty to respect them. A successful product should not require its users to surrender more and more of the lives it supposedly exists to improve.
The work ahead extends far beyond software. We need a parallel Christian society with institutions strong enough to sustain a Christian understanding of human life. That society begins in homes where children encounter adults who are actually present. It grows through churches whose members know when somebody is grieving and businesses where loyalty means something when keeping a worker becomes inconvenient. It requires schools that teach children how to exercise judgment rather than merely obtain an answer.
None of this will happen because we publish better complaints about Silicon Valley. Somebody has to establish the school, fund the business, host the meal, and take responsibility for people whose needs will interfere with his plans. Building a Christian society means accepting those obligations over years, including the years when nobody applauds and the work is painfully ordinary.
The factory worker facing displacement does not need a lecture about how exciting the future will be. He needs people and institutions that recognize he still has obligations to meet and a contribution to make. The mother watching her son disappear into a screen needs allies who will help her give him a life worth participating in. The question of the soul belongs in these conversations because the answer determines what we owe people when they cease to be economically convenient.
A society that grounds dignity in usefulness will always find reasons to withdraw it from somebody.
Our task is to build on firmer ground. Christ’s authority extends over the economy and the technologies operating within it. The engineer answers to Him along with the pastor. So does the CEO. No increase in capability relieves any of us of that accountability.
This week, put that conviction into practice somewhere concrete. Take the time you saved with a tool and give it to a person who has a claim on you. Sit through a difficult conversation without reaching for your phone. Bring your children into the work of your household instead of handing them another private world on a screen. Pray honestly about the duty you keep postponing, then begin doing it.
I intend to keep building.
Christians have useful work to do, and powerful tools can help us do it, but the men who build those tools do not get to tell us what a human being is, what he is worth, or where his salvation will come from.
Christ is King, including over the machines.
Made in USA 🇺🇸
Yeah, that was something! Please feel free to forward that message. E.g., on X.
Faith In The Age of AI
One of the best, or perhaps THE BEST, Christian response to artificial intelligence that has yet been written.https://t.co/20Dsq4tJUK
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is STILL under DIRECT THREATS by hostile forces – notably COMMUNISTS – and they’re HERE IN AMERICA.
Daily outrage and commie phuckery still abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Commies won’t win!
And we will keep saying COMMIES OUT until we get their FRAUD and INSANITY out of our country!
THE STUFF
Wolf’s Update on Ubuntu 26 a.k.a. Terrible Trash Panda
You may recall that I attempted to upgrade Ubuntu Linux version 24 to version 26.04.1 (“Resolute Raccoon”) on a computer of mine, and got thoroughly burned when the upgrade not only failed, but then failed to cleanly self-uninstall afterwards, leaving me with a thoroughly broken system.
You may further recall that I was able to get past this by doing a clean install of 26.04.1 (henceforth renamed “Terrible Trash Panda”), and then recovering “by hand”, so to speak.
Well, now that I have some more experience with “Terrible Trash Panda”, it’s time to do a ground report.
The TL;DR is that this version has been good, but I’m still scared to upgrade any other computers.
The big picture is that performance has been improved relative to version 24. I have often had speed issues with version 24 due to this or that asymmetry (too many files, too big of files, wrong types of files, etc.), but those speed issues are significantly reduced with version 26.
System updates have been almost daily. While there have been some problems with the updates, those problems have typically been resolved in about a week. The Ubuntu update process has never been perfect, and version 24 fixes came slower than this, so what I’m experiencing now is – overall – slightly better than version 24. I suspect that resolution is fast now because the new release is getting more attention.
I am fairly certain that version 26 is less glitchy than version 24. The system seems more stable, and startups and shutdowns seem very quick and clean, knock on wood. Backups are as fast as before, and maybe even faster. The keyboard and display are solid and stable. Network connections are excellent.
I thought there might have been an audio bug, in that I’m now getting only one speaker with a certain pair of cheap headphones, but it turns out that this pair of cheap headphones has a cheap old jack which doesn’t really work with my hardware, whereas the correct jack works just fine. It may be that version 24 was handling the wrong jack differently – in any case, it’s not a system fault.
That’s all I can think of. Otherwise, it’s great.
SO – if you’re setting up a new Linux installation, the latest desktop Ubuntu (26.04.1) is good and recommended. I would still recommend waiting if you’re doing an upgrade of an older version.
We have created this site as a place for people to openly express their thoughts and opinions. This is a place where honest but civil discussion of all topics is encouraged. This particular thread is – for the moment – TRUST THE PLAN Thursday. You are welcome to say what you think, in a civil and courteous manner that loves your neighbor. Free speech matters! Courteous speech makes it happen.
Please label all AI-generated content as being such, unless it is patently obvious (e.g., humorous AI images). It is important that we as individuals not begin to pretend that socially derived artificial intelligence is actually our own, as this form of stealthy social information averaging and feedback would be one more pretense and deception between people, in service of stupid Marxist socialism, and of those who wish to substitute their communally protected lies for actual truth.
You are you. AI is AI. Keep your identity. Don’t “Borg Out” on us!
And yes, it’s THURSDAY…again.
That was stolen from Wheatie.
Let’s steal her rules, too.
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Other rules may be derivable from these, and that conjecture is left for discussion.
Scott brought this, and I want to make sure that everybody sees it.
If you don’t watch this whole video, at least watch the first part about Bernie Sanders and his very, very bad idea.
Personally, I think it is critical to watch this video in its entirety, if you want to understand exactly why “being Cambodia on data centers” is a very, very, bad idea for the US. (Being China on data centers is a different sort of bad, too – don’t get me wrong!)
Now – DO NOT suspend your critical thinking on this guy and what he is saying. He is personally invested on the profit side of the AI wave. I myself think he is too rosy and hand-waving on the simplicity of the right solutions, but that he is nevertheless overall correct about those solutions. People need to be smart about how they allow data centers.
I just discovered a brand new data center a few miles from where we live. It was put up in the perfect place – a decaying industrial “wasteland” near the railroad tracks – and it’s beautiful, clean, and modernizing everything around it. Not sure how the Bernie Sanders boneheads on the city council in that place allowed it to happen, but they apparently fucked up and allowed a fantastic modern business to appear in the middle of their normal rusted, trash-strewn, blue-haired, nose ring, soy latte, anti-business decay and poverty. IMO it’s the best thing to happen to that area in a long time. They have driven OUT so many businesses. The blind AWFULs found a nut!
The entire south side of Chicago – which is a post-industrial wasteland – needs to become a data center capital, IMHO. THAT is how you fix Chicago.
Take a watch!
I think Trump gets it. Data centers can be part of the golden age – but we need to make sure that we avoid the rush to put up fool’s gold solutions – and that means citizens paying attention to what their elected (and unelected) leaders are doing.
Pay attention to what China is doing. Notice that, suddenly, they are even using their own crappy solar panels to generate energy. They realize that “seizing the day” on AI and data centers is happening RIGHT NOW. Somebody over in China got a bright idea on “abundance thinking” to use their own panels, stacked up waiting for export, and told the commies who wanted to reserve those panels for draining money from America, to “go to vulture hell”.
This DePat Tuesday Open Thread honors the author of the original Tuesday open thread on this site, namely the late Susie Sampson, a.k.a. Deplorable Patriot, among her other handles, pen names, etc.
For more on the untimely passing of Dear DePat, please see these three posts.
At one time, DePat handled FOUR daily open threads here, in addition to taking care of her relatives, choir duties, and numerous other responsibilities. She was a powerhouse – a dynamo – a true force of nature.
DePat’s faith in Trump, Q, “The Plan”, the White Hats, and “the anons” in general, was legendary. Although I didn’t always agree with her quick acceptance of some sketchier evidence and fringier theories, I will gladly admit to “coming around” to numerous so-called “conspiracy theories” which she championed first. I was always careful to give her credit for being right, too, when I had been wrong.
It is impossible to overstate how much DePat did for not only this site, but for her country. I urge all to say a quick prayer of thanks, whenever you think of her, for the privilege of knowing, in life or after death, such an exemplary human being, and lover of God.
And thank you, Susie, for the firm foundation which you left us, when you were called to your true home!
PSST! – Hey, Kid! – Wanna Watch an AI Movie?
Seriously – just check this one out. It’s a short, so it won’t take too long. Supposedly “100% AI” – whatever that means.
Yeah, it’s plenty derivative and filled with cliches – but dang, these things get better all the time.
Think of it as due diligence on Fake Fake Entertainment!
Or if that’s not your thing, try this art film done by a human (Heavy Pulp) using AI for the music and the movie. I found this one very enjoyable.
"Peyote" – a visual poem short film. (PG-13)
In honor of X slapping a content warning on the original film here, I am uploading a new YouTube approved edit.
Peyote was created via the fantastic and unrestricted creative platform that is @AskVenice – highly recommend checking it… pic.twitter.com/l9oU3aSCZ6
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is STILL under DIRECT THREATS by hostile forces – notably COMMUNISTS – and they’re HERE IN AMERICA.
Daily outrage and commie phuckery still abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Commies won’t win!
And we will keep saying COMMIES OUT until we get their FRAUD and INSANITY out of our country!
THE STUFF
Save a Farm Worker – Buy Organic
Do you remember my recent two articles about home pesticide services, and how dangerous these can be to pets, wild animals, family, homeowners, neighbors, and beneficial insects like bees? Just in case you want to review…..
One of the things that became apparent during both my online AND neighborhood research for these articles, is that the currently advancing Overton Window involves the use (or perhaps I should say misuse) of agricultural pesticides on residential lawns and dwelling exteriors, and in basements.
Indeed, if one starts to read anywhere about pesticide toxicity, it quickly becomes clear that most human poisoning cases are in an agricultural context.
SO – I was shocked, shocked, SHOCKED (not kidding) to see this headline.
No – not shocked about the subject – but about the NUMBERS!
Now, if you read carefully, this figure includes all exposures, including minor ones that may not have required hospitalization – but still – WOW.
Here is the opening of the article.
Nearly half of the world’s 934 million farmers are poisoned by pesticides annually, with an estimated 402 to 433 million cases each year.
Developing countries in southern Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Africa bear the heaviest poisoning burden.
Burkina Faso has the highest national poisoning rate, with nearly 84% of farmers affected each year.
Non-fatal poisonings far exceed deaths but cause chronic illness from repeated low-level exposure.
Global pesticide use has doubled since 1990, while underreporting hides the true crisis. Nearly half of the world’s 934 million farmworkers are unintentionally poisoned by pesticides every year, amounting to an estimated 402 to 433 million cases annually, according to new research published in Frontiers in Public Health that exposes what experts call a hidden global health crisis.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Pesticide Action Network, analyzed 214 scientific publications from 2006 to 2023 alongside World Health Organization mortality data covering 139 countries. Researchers found that about 11,000 of those poisonings prove fatal each year, with nearly 60% of deaths concentrated in India alone. The findings build on a 2020 review that had already put the annual toll at 385 million cases, underscoring how persistent underreporting continues to obscure the true scale of the problem.
(Wolf again…..)
When I was in school, I knew a fellow student, from a farming family, who had worked a variety of farm jobs during summers and school breaks. He had a great story about being hospitalized because he had simply dribbled some liquid organophosphorus pesticide on the toe of one of his thick leather boots. I’m pretty sure he was using parathion, which has largely been replaced by the weaker but much safer malathion. Still, quite the cautionary tale.
I got to thinking – we can actually lessen the risk for these farm workers, by buying organic produce. I know it’s a small step, but I think it’s an important one. You may not save any of the 11,000 workers who will die, but you may very well prevent one of the millions who will get sick, from being poisoned.
This DePat Tuesday Open Thread honors the author of the original Tuesday open thread on this site, namely the late Susie Sampson, a.k.a. Deplorable Patriot, among her other handles, pen names, etc.
For more on the untimely passing of Dear DePat, please see these three posts.
At one time, DePat handled FOUR daily open threads here, in addition to taking care of her relatives, choir duties, and numerous other responsibilities. She was a powerhouse – a dynamo – a true force of nature.
DePat’s faith in Trump, Q, “The Plan”, the White Hats, and “the anons” in general, was legendary. Although I didn’t always agree with her quick acceptance of some sketchier evidence and fringier theories, I will gladly admit to “coming around” to numerous so-called “conspiracy theories” which she championed first. I was always careful to give her credit for being right, too, when I had been wrong.
It is impossible to overstate how much DePat did for not only this site, but for her country. I urge all to say a quick prayer of thanks, whenever you think of her, for the privilege of knowing, in life or after death, such an exemplary human being, and lover of God.
And thank you, Susie, for the firm foundation which you left us, when you were called to your true home!
Amish church benches set up inside a garage or workshop meeting space in an Ohio community. Note the three chairs with backs provided for older congregants. Photo: Mike Sparks
Must Women Keep Silent In Church?
It’s too bad that Deplorable Patriot, who was most definitely NOT silent in church, is not around to help us answer this question.
Let’s start with Aubergine’s original frustration and question.
I have been reading the Bible aloud and recording it for a Christmas gift to my family. Reading out loud is different somehow. My pastor says if you want to hear God, read the Bible aloud. I think he’s right.
I have been reading 1 Corinthians, and I was struck by something. I have said for a while now that if I read something in the Bible outside of the Four Gospels that seems contradictory to what Jesus Himself did or said, I go with Jesus.
Many people will say nothing in the rest of the New Testament contradicts Jesus, but I don’t think that’s true. When Paul says that women should “keep silent” in the churches, that seems to me to contradict the fact that Jesus empowered a woman as his first evangelist when he revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman at the well.
So I’m reading out loud, and it hit me hard that in 1 Corinthians, there are several instances where Paul states (paraphrasing) this is from me not God. Well, then, what am I to make of that?
I know the Bible says “all Scripture” is useful for teaching. That appears in 2 Timothy 3. But 2 Timothy was written around 64-67 A.D. The Four Gospels were written between 65-100 A.D. The “Scripture” 2 Timothy was referring to could not have included the Four Gospels, only the Old Testament, so Paul could only have been referring to that.
I am, as I said, struggling with this.
(/END Aubergine)
There was a response to this question by Scott, and I believe it is highly instructive to examine.
“Many people will say nothing in the rest of the New Testament contradicts Jesus, but I don’t think that’s true. ”
____________
The reason why people say this, or more broadly, the Bible (Old Testament and New) doesn’t contradict itself, is because all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and God is perfect, and God knows the end from the beginning, and therefore God does not (cannot) contradict Himself.
So if we see something which on the surface appears to be a contradiction, we are misunderstanding something.
Last edited 1 day ago by scott467
I promised Aubergine that I would get back later with my response, and this post is that response.
In consulting my study Bible, it becomes clear to me that most of the explained responses to this question revolve around the idea that Paul is referring to what was regarded as acceptable practice in Corinthian churches at that time.
Specifically, the section in question is found in Chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians, and in the study Bible is entitled Orderly Worship. The question at hand is prophesying and speaking in tongues. Paul concludes the chapter with this summary (NIV translation).
Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
It is noted in the study Bible that “Paul does not altogether forbid women to speak in church (see 11:5). What he is forbidding is the disorderly speaking indicated in these verses.”
1 Corinthians 11:5 is a section entitled Propriety in Worship, and it deals primarily with men and women’s head-covering or lack thereof in church – specifically the Corinthian churches of that time. As he refers to women who are prophesying or praying, in that context, it is clear that women were indeed speaking in church.
Before going further, I think it is important to reflect on Scott’s answer above. In general, readings of the Bible should be not only self-consistent, but consistent with each other.
I would say, similar to what Scott says, that if you find sections of the Bible in contradiction, then misinterpretation of either the scripture itself or its context, is almost certain to be why.
This is not to say that Aubergine’s method of prioritizing Christ’s direct statements over Paul’s take on Christ, is somehow wrong or bad. Indeed, I have the same policy, and I find it extremely useful – but primarily as a way of locating any inconsistency or misinterpretation on my part. In my experience, what Christ says plainly, is where to begin the route to understanding.
So where does that leave us?
IMO it is a case of not just “apples and oranges”, but First Century apples and oranges.
What was acceptable for men and women in Christ’s public ministry in the Levant – and at different times and places within that ministry – is not the same as what was acceptable for Greek Christians in a house of worship. And – to add lemons and grapefruit to the mix – what is acceptable in different modern houses of worship is not the same as what was acceptable back then.
What IS the same in all these circumstances is the maintenance of Decency, Orderliness, and Propriety appropriate for the venue. IMO Paul is absolutely correct in that. “Good order” – however defined – is to be maintained. Paul is insisting that Corinthian churches not abandon their own standards – particularly at moments when some worshipers are overcome with the Holy Spirit. And that last part is key. He is writing to Corinthians about Corinthian churches, and he is talking about the speaking of tongues and its impact on church services. This was apparently a social problem.
Modern analogous standards in America would not distinguish between men and women, but would insist that worshipers not talk, text, or disturb others during services. Interruptions are only tolerable for emergencies, and even then, discretion may be in order. Worshipers experiencing the Holy Spirit (crying, joyous, speaking in tongues, etc.) are to be left alone or comforted as needed – NOT to be the cause of discussion, ridicule, rude comments, laughter, or other things normally intolerable in a church service (at least, outside of a very humorous and entertaining sermon give precisely with the expectation of eliciting laughter, spoken responses, and the like).
Looking at how modern churches in America vary greatly in their expectations with regard to the following, is instructive.
children
teens
nursing moms
the elderly
the handicapped (including disruptive disorders)
“expressive” worshipers
concealed carriers / defenders / guards
ushers
demonstrators
those experiencing the Holy Spirit
visitors
etc.
Now add the range of church policies on things like head coverings (required or forbidden), other clothing (required or forbidden), and behaviors (mostly forbidden, but some required). We are now in an age where Paul only visits us in writing, through letters to other churches from 2000 years ago! Imagine what he’d be writing now – and the kind of push-back he might get!
Then recognize that he got some push-back back then, too!
The bottom line – I’m not worried about apparent inconsistencies and contradictions in the Bible, because IMO when the Bible is considered fully within its own history and its work on humanity, it all makes sense, it’s not contradictory, and it retains it’s divine nature. It DOES lose simplicity by requiring understanding and context – and that’s OK with me, perhaps easier because I’m a bit of a theological liberal. By which I mean the following.
IMO, some parts of the Bible are more metaphorical than others, some parts are more historical than others, and some are more bookkeeping than others, but they are all united in purpose and on message about GOD. The books, chapters, and verses don’t all have to be the same. The humans that believe don’t all have to be the same. Some churches let the women speak, and even speak to the whole congregation – though always in good order. Some don’t. But we do all have to have Faith.
Good Faith is required to understand, and to believe in God. And Faith requires Trust. So let’s trust!
This Stormwatch Monday Open Thread remains open – VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA/KAG/KMAG world (with KMAG being a bit of both).
Our various sister sites, listed in the Blogroll in the sidebar
Our beloved country is STILL under DIRECT THREATS by hostile forces – notably COMMUNISTS – and they’re HERE IN AMERICA.
Daily outrage and commie phuckery still abound.
We can give in to despair…or we can be defiant and fight back in any way that we can.
Commies won’t win!
And we will keep saying COMMIES OUT until we get their FRAUD and INSANITY out of our country!
THE STUFF
Charging the Ambush at Ubuntu 26.04.1
Alternate Title: Terrible Trash Panda Release Domesticated With Some Extra Effort
This is just to let you know that I am back in (meaning, I can publish easily on WordPress with all my lazy-ass hacks), after deciding to manually update my box to the latest Ubuntu (26), instead of giving up and going back to version 24 or 22.
I took a chance that most of the problems are with the update process and product thereof, and not the release per se, and that appears to be the case.
After an attempt to do a normal Ubuntu upgrade from 24 to 26 on a favorite box blew up VERY badly, I was prepared to go back to 24 or even the older (and superior) Ubuntu 22. However, in a form of “double or nothing”, I decided to see if a clean install to version 26 followed by “hand migration” might work as nicely as it usually does for me. If it didn’t work, I would know more about the future of Ubuntu, and whether I needed to look more closely at alternatives.
And yes. It did work. I’m back on my comfy ride, and already found several improvements that have paid me back for the effort. These were problems with version 24 that are now as GONE as they were in version 22.
So yeah. Version 26 is working nicely so far, by following default parameters and installing it cleanly, erasing everything.
That’s all. I’ll keep it short. My recommendation is that if you want Terrible Trash Panda 26.04.1 running on your machine, then do a clean install and migrate everything else by whatever usual methods you prefer.
