The Man Who Would Be King*

Every American schoolchild learns the story. This country was founded by brave colonialists rebelling against an evil king. After somehow defeating the king’s army, they came together to set up a system of government to prevent the rise of any more kings, and for the past 250 years, roughly speaking, that system has been pretty darned successful.

Throughout that history there have been several men who wanted to attain king-like powers, but the American form of democracy with its system of checks and balances has successfully prevented them from doing so.

That’s the story.

But the story doesn’t have an ending — yet. It keeps going. We have a man in our midst today who would be king if he could be, and millions of Americans have swallowed his claim that he embodies their sense of grievance and deserves to be returned to power.

The first time he tried to be President, helped by foreign interference, a racist reaction to the rise of the first black President, and a deep-seated fear of the emergence of a diverse, globalized society that seemed to replacing what was familiar and romanticized as a golden age, he snuck into office with a minority of the popular vote.

That was one of the lowest moments in American history. But there was worse to come.

When this man lost both the popular vote and the all-important electoral vote by a wide margin four years later, for a brief moment, it seemed that democracy had triumphed again.

Rather than skulk away in defeat, however, this would-be despot desperately tried to undermine the outcome in every way he could, ultimately inciting a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol in an insurrection.

This was the lowest point in our history, at least since the Civil War.

The mob was repelled and democracy survived, but very badly battered.

Next year will mark this terrible man’s third attempt to seize power and by now he is both more desperate and much better prepared for the battle. The legal system is strained to the breaking point trying to hold him accountable for his crimes to date, but his fierce army of zombie followers believe that it is the system that is wrong, not him.

That’s the prelude to the present political moment. God help us and God help America. The story of democracy hangs in the balance.

* (With apologies to Rudyard Kipling for stealing his title.)

HEADLINES:

• Ex-Trump attorney admits statements about 2020 election were false and is censured by judge (CNN)

• Double blow of inquiry and indictment create tough stretch for Biden (WP)

• Biden's chances of re-election are being jeopardized by voters' concerns over his age, the economy and crime, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, creating an opportunity for Donald Trump to return to the White House. (Reuters)

• McCarthy Pulls Back Pentagon Spending Bill, Inching Closer to a Shutdown (NYT)

• America’s Battle With Shoplifting Is Getting Dangerous for Workers (WSJ)

• Why Stellantis could face a longer strike than Ford or GM (CNBC)

• An architecture CEO says there’s too much focus on return-to-office rates. The real conversation is the future of hybrid work (Fortune)

• Contract talks to resume between striking Hollywood writers and studios (WP)

• Walter Isaacson on his Elon Musk biography and what motivates the controversial tech CEO (PBS)

• Google Sheds Hundreds of Recruiters in Another Round of Layoffs (NYT)

• Hurricane Lee's path and timeline: Meteorologists project when and where the storm will hit (CBS)

• 'Unimaginable' Libya floods a reminder of climate threat - UN (BBC)

• Chinese defence minister under investigation for corrupt procurement (Reuters)

• Inside China’s Property Crisis (Bloomberg)

• Zelenskyy is expected to visit Washington as Congress debates $24 billion in aid for Ukraine (AP)

• Shuffle of Russian military chiefs preceded death of Wagner boss Prigozhin (WP)

• 50 Years Ago, a Bloody Coup Ended Democracy in Chile (NYT)

• Google Nears Release of Gemini AI to Challenge OpenAI (The Information)

• Chuck Schumer says he asked Musk, Gates and others about whether to regulate AI: ‘Every single person raised their hands’ (Fortune)

• A.I. and the Next Generation of Drone Warfare (New Yorker)

• Is That a Model or AI? (WSJ)

• Area Man Could Have Made Same Meal At Home But Worse (The Onion)

 

Strike

DETROIT (AP) — About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a giant gap between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay.

Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.

It is the first time in the union’s 88-year history that all three companies were targeted simultaneously.

HEADLINES:

• Workers strike at all 3 Detroit automakers (AP)

• Hurricane Lee churns toward Maine: Strong winds, coastal flooding expected (ABC)

• Biden brushes off House impeachment inquiry and says Republicans want to shut down the government (AP)

• Impeaching Biden is a desperate Republican gamble that will backfire (Guardian)

• McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry will go nowhere. But it’s still a crisis. (Edit Bd/WP)

• Judge declares Biden version of DACA illegal (Politico)

• Hunter Biden indicted on firearms charges (CNBC)

• Kevin McCarthy dares hard-right Republicans to try to oust him as speaker (WP)

• Thousands of striking actors, writers swarm Hollywood in massive solidarity march (ABC)

• DeSantis took undisclosed private flights and lodging through wealthy donors (WP)

• What Republicans are doing to Wisconsin is a warning sign to all Americans (Guardian)

• Aging dams and missed warnings: A lethal mix of factors caused Africa’s deadliest flood disaster (CNN)

• Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say (NYT)

• Russia’s Home Port in Occupied Crimea Is Under Fire (FP)

• Taliban welcomes China’s new ambassador to Afghanistan in lavish ceremony (CNN)

• The importance of handwriting is becoming better understood (Economist)

• Clean data must be as much of a right as clean water (FT)

• Newsom ‘intrigued’ about billionaire-backed futuristic city (The Hill)

• Canada is experiencing its worst wildfire season on record. This year’s fires have tripled the record high for carbon emissions in a wildfire season and burned the largest land area observed in the country, (WP)

• Senate starts to fracture over how to govern AI (Politico)

• We just got another glimpse at Apple’s AI ambitions (Fast Company)

• OpenAI launches office in Dublin with nine job listings (Reuters)

• Senate AI co-chairman says action this year unlikely (The Hill)

• How AI can revolutionise science (Economist)

• Bizarre AI-generated products are in stores. Here’s how to avoid them. (WP)

• Suburbanites Baffled By Person Outdoors Who Isn’t Delivering Something (The Onion)

Domestic Pleasures

When I was inside hospitals and rehab centers for four extended stays in 2019 I had a lot of strange thoughts. Some were silly, some were scary. One of them, when everyone seemed to be convinced I wouldn’t recover was simply “Oh no. I won’t ever cook dinner again.”

Of course, cooking dinner night after night is a chore, one that can feel overwhelming at times. But my situation was unusual. As the single Dad of three teenagers three nights a week, I only cooked meals on two of those nights — on the third one we’d order food or go out for dinner.

Finding something easy to prepare that all three would eat was sometimes a challenge, so I eventually settled on good old spaghetti as a most reliable option. I had to cook large amounts of it because they were growing teenagers.

When in season, I’d cut up green onions from the garden, garlic cloves, basil leaves, and other herbs from the store.

I loved serving it to them. 

Anyway, since I basically lost that whole year in 2019, I’ve gradually returned to cooking on occasion. Last night, thinking about all this, it was a platter filled with the meal pictured above.

I cooked enough for six and I believe that’s how many eventually ate it. Maybe seven. But schedules are complicated around here on Wednesday nights for everyone but me and I ended up eating my meal alone.

It tasted good.

HEADLINES:

• Ukrainian missiles strike Russian warships in Crimean naval base (CNN)

• Ukraine says serious damage to Russian naval targets in Crimea attack (Reuters)

• North Korea’s Kim vows full support for Russia’s ‘just fight’ after viewing launchpads with Putin (AP)

• Georgia judge shuts down DA’s effort to try Trump and co-defendants together (CNN)

• Anyone 6 months or older should get the updated coronavirus shot, CDC says (WP)

• UAW will strike against Detroit automakers if deals aren’t reached by Thursday, union boss says (CNBC)

• White House sends letter to news execs urging outlets to ‘ramp up’ scrutiny of GOP’s Biden impeachment inquiry ‘based on lies’ (CNN)

• Senior FBI agent disputes some whistleblowers’ claims about Hunter Biden probe (WP)

• 'You're about to see another gold rush': Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff on remote work, 'solving SF' (MSNBC)

• Google exploited exclusive search engine deals to maintain its advantage over rivals, DOJ argues (AP)

• ‘He Really Is a Control Freak:' Elon Musk’s Biographer on the Tesla CEO (WSJ)

• Rep. Lauren Boebert was escorted out of 'Beetlejuice' over reports of rude behavior (NPR)

• Trump embraces Putin’s sympathetic comments to claim political persecution (WP)

• 'Don't give an inch on this': Lawmakers argue over book bans in heated hearing (USA Today)

• Mitt Romney says he will not seek a second term in Senate (WP)

• Planet in ‘habitable’ zone could have rare oceans and a possible sign of life, Webb data reveals (CNN)

• A Who’s Who of Silicon Valley Is Convening With Lawmakers on A.I. (NYT)

• Artificial Intelligence May Be Humanity’s Most Ingenious Invention—And Its Last? (Vanity Fair)

• The AI Hype Train Has Stalled in China (Wired)

• Apple’s iPhone 15 launch focused heavily on AI — even though the tech giant didn’t mention it (CNBC)

• Department Of Transportation Announces $1 Billion Investment In Horses (The Onion)

Impeaching Ghosts

 My initial reaction to the news that the Speaker of the House had launched an “impeachment inquiry into the President was to laugh. The “case” against Joe Biden for corruption is laughable because it is non-existent. 

To be clear this is not yet an impeachment. It is an inquiry. More or less what several GOP House committees have been doing ever since the party took control in the 2022 midterms. Just more official now.

Despite years of rhetoric and rumor-mongering, the Republican Party has failed to uncover one piece of evidence tying Biden to his troubled son Hunter’s questionable business practices.

For that matter, even though Donald Trump set a special prosecutor on Hunter Biden’s trail years ago, nothing like a “high crime or misdemeanor” required for impeachment has emerged from that direction either.

As best as I can determine, this entire impeachment drama is a political soap opera, complete with the usual cast of conspiracy theorists and extremists who have polluted our public life ever since the Trump era began.

As I said, my first reaction to this news was to laugh. But when I think about the damage being done to our society by this kind of farce, it probably should have been to cry.

HEADLINES:

• McCarthy calls for formal impeachment inquiry into Biden (CNN)

• How Far Will McCarthy Go to Satisfy Ultra-Conservative Republicans? (Bloomberg)

• We should not be surprised by the next government shutdown (The Hill)

• Trump Moves to Quash Most Charges Against Him in Georgia (NYT)

• Up to 10,000 people feared dead after devastating floods sweep Libya (NBC)

• Morocco’s reluctance to accept quake aid baffles foreign governments (WP)

• Google Antitrust Trial (WSJ)

• It’s Google versus the US in the biggest antitrust trial in decades  (AP)

• Wall Street sees potential UAW strikes as manageable, with upsides (CNBC)

• F.D.A. Approves New Covid Shots (NYT)

• Why is Kim Jong Un in Russia? (Economist)

• Counterterrorism Fatigue (NR)

• America Gave Up on the Best Home Technology There Is — The death of the landline was premature. (Atlantic)

• Elon Musk Has Crossed a Line (NYT)

• Adobe, others join voluntary US scheme to manage AI risk (Reuters)

• How industry experts are navigating the ethics of artificial intelligence (CNN)

• Robots that learn as they fail could unlock a new era of AI (MIT)

• Why Human Writing Is Worth Defending In the Age of ChatGPT (LitHub)

• Generative AI in production: Rethinking development and embracing best practices (VentureBeat)

• Powered by A.I., Company Aims to Make Selling Easier for Retailers (NYT)

• Mother Trying Her Best To Project Same Amount Of Insecurities Onto All Her Daughters (The Onion)

Managing AI

The chair of UC Berkeley's history department has spoken out about the threats and promises of artificial intelligence and what we collectively need to do to avoid repeating mistakes in regulating technological changes in the past.

Others have compared the challenges of AI to those of nuclear power but Cathryn Carson says a better comparison might be plastic. 

According to an article in Berkeley News, Carson said that plastic ”improved lives in countless ways, (but it) is also posing serious problems in the form of pollution. These kinds of unanticipated downstream problems are how we should be thinking about AI.”

Carson described the need to essentially democratize the new technological frontier of AI. “If we want a world in which AI works to serve people more broadly — besides those actors who have the resources and the power to create it — that means figuring out how things can shift away the concentrations of power and resources in the hands of people who already have it, or who can purchase AI-based services and use them for their own interests.”

She also recognizes that none of this will be easy.

“Systemic change is hard, not just because it's complex, but because it's resisted. I would think about the challenges that are in front of us, when it comes to changing how our society allows data to circulate, as being in a way comparable to other challenges, like challenges around fossil fuel use and climate change. Or challenges around our dependence on plastics and the impacts downstream that we're now seeing. Just because problems are hard doesn't mean we don't get started.”

There’s much more in the article, which is called “UC Berkeley historian of science ponders AI's past, present and future.”

HEADLINES:

• Everything we know about Putin and Kim Jong Un's planned meeting (CBS)

• The Three Roadblocks Keeping Ukraine Mired in War (WSJ)

• US makes deal with Iran to swap prisoners and release $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds (AP)

• Morocco earthquake toll nears 2,700 as rescuers search for survivors (Reuters)

• In Quake-Battered Mountains, Many Moroccans Must Fend for Themselves (NYT)

• Hurricane Lee forecast to get larger and slow down ahead of decisive turn to the north (CNN)

• Former Marine Corps general says the Taliban’s relationship with al-Qaeda is ‘far stronger’ than with US (The Hill)

• As US East Coast ramps up offshore wind power projects, much remains unknown (AP)

• Sucking carbon dioxide out of the sky is moving from science fiction to reality (NPR)

• Why the United Auto Workers union is poised to strike major US car makers this week (AP)

• Seven arrested in protest at House speaker’s office over HIV program (WP)

• Speaker McCarthy announces impeachment inquiry into President Biden (ABC)

• ‘Perfect storm’ brewing in House, Colorado Republican says (Politico)

• Mark Meadows’s failed removal spells trouble for Trump’s defense (WP)

• Gavin Newsom on calls for him to run for president against Biden (Today)

• The unofficial end of summer marked the beginning of freak-out season for some Democrats as two polls showed President Joe Biden in a tight race with his most likely GOP opponent, Donald Trump, more than a year before the election. [HuffPost]

• Beware the False Prophets of War (Atlantic)

• UC Berkeley historian of science ponders AI's past, present and future (UC)

• Sundar Pichai on Google’s AI, Microsoft’s AI, OpenAI, and … Did We Mention AI? (Wired)

• AI 'godfather' warns of threat to humanity (CNN)

• Gathering the news for the AI-powered future (Axios)

• Man Arrested After Attempting To Cross Atlantic In ‘Human-Powered Hamster Wheel’ (The Onion)

 

Faridah (Afghan Report 67)

(This the latest in a series of confidential reports I am receiving from a friend inside Afghanistan.)

Dear David:

I know people in America care about what is happening with the education of girls in Afghanistan. Let me tell you the story of one girl I will call Faridah.

One week ago, the results of Kankur (the examination to enter the public universities of Afghanistan) were announced. 

It has been two years since Faridah graduated from school and during her twelve years of schooling, she scored 100 in all subjects. In addition, she completed more than five English language courses and obtained the highest grade in her class in her exams. Before finishing school, she studied day and night to prepare for the Afghanistan National Entrance Exam for her chosen field, which was medicine.

At the beginning of the Taliban regime, she still hoped that her dream would come true and she would be able to attend the medical university and continue her education. But in quick succession the Taliban first closed the schools for girls above the sixth grade, then the university, then the entrance exam, all educational courses, work in international institutions and finally even women's hair salons. 

Faridah’s wish, like an ice cube in the heat, began to melt. She says now that she has nothing to do. Her energy is gone. She doesn't think about anything except passing the days and nights. It's been two years since girls were allowed to participate in entrance exams. (BTW the number of male participants in the entrance exam has also decreased by half, as under the Taliban their interest in continuing their education is disappearing.)

Previously, when girls were also allowed to participate, for three consecutive years a girl had taken the top number among 300,000 participants. They also had remarkable success in university classes.

But now girls and women of all ages are having a very hard time in Afghanistan.They spend their days bored or by sewing, painting, social media or housework. Young girls ask their fathers every night when the schools will be open again.

HEADLINES:

• Afghanistan women suffer 2 years after Taliban takeover (WP)

• Afghanistan is the fastest-growing maker of meth, U.N. says (NBC)

• Getting Bin Laden (New Yorker)

• US and Vietnam ink historic partnership in Biden visit, with eyes on China (Reuters)

• Russian minister says G20 summit a success after criticism over war blocked (Guardian)

• Biden finds himself on the defensive after G20 leaders fail to rally around Ukraine (USA Today)

• President Biden Keeps Hunter Close Despite the Political Peril (NYT)

• Hurricane Lee is forecast to restrengthen as East Coast faces hazardous beach conditions this week (CNN)

• Why The U.S. Won’t Pay Down Its Debt (CNBC)

• More than just words: How language is tied to gender equality (WP)

• J.F.K. Assassination Witness Breaks His Silence and Raises New Questions (NYT)

• Scientists in China may have just reinvented the toilet bowl (BGR)

• How high are the clouds? Scientists worry climate change is affecting the answer. (WP)

• As Colorado River shrinks, California farmers urge ‘one-dam solution’ (LAT)

• Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote (Guardian)

• Bite Taken Out Of Nerf Football (The Onion)

 

What If?

 'What' and 'if' are two words as non-threatening as words can be, but put them together side by side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life. What if? What if? What if? -- (Letters to Juliet)

__________________

I'm not sure that there is anything more intoxicating to a journalist than speculation. By training and obligation, we work within the world of what can be proven -- the facts -- about any given situation, so "wishful thinking" or any such speculative endeavor is strictly out of bounds.

But of course we do speculate, endlessly, and that is ultimately how we end up getting some of our biggest stories. When that happens it starts with a hunch, then a theory, that slowly takes on the shape of reality as the evidence comes in.

There is no better feeling for a reporter than to have such a hunch come true, except for later when you can tell yourself that it actually made a difference in the world.

Naturally, this sort of experience is not confined to journalists; nothing of value is. Entrepreneurs pitch "what if" scenarios all the time, as in "what if we could disrupt this industry, it would be a multi-billion-dollar market!"

After that, go down the list. When scientists speculate, it's called a hypothesis, which like journalists they cannot publish until they've developed enough evidence to convince their peers that it is a plausible explanation for observable phenomena.

Political analysts dream up various scenarios whereby candidates can win close elections based on multiple factors, most of which boil down to voter turnout.

I'm sure you could add dozens of other professionals to this list -- sportscasters, doctors, weather forecasters, grandparents, space explorers. And, of course, what novelists do is speculation.

When it comes to me, I rarely indulge in speculation when considering the past, as in "what if I had taken that job offer, bought that house, listened to my heart with that relationship?" The reason is that it is all pointless now, and in many cases would only lead to regret at opportunities missed.

The future, however, is another matter, and about that I speculate constantly. That's the one part of life that remains open to speculation, unlike the past or even the present.

Positive speculation, which you also might call day-dreaming, frees my mind of the all-too-real constraints of my present situation to allow something else to happen.

In my dreams.

(This piece is from two years ago.)

HEADLINES:

• 13 former presidents of the U.S. have issued a joint statement in support of democracy (NPR)

• Foreign reactions and offers of aid in response to Morocco earthquake (Reuters)

• The juror who backed Trump and other Georgia grand jury takeaways (BBC)

• The group that won Trump the election in 2016 may win it for him again in 2024 (CNN)

• Newsom says it’s time to ‘move on’ from 2024 speculation, Harris ‘lined up’ after Biden (The Hill)

• Elon Musk Is a Threat to Democracy (The Nation)

• At G20 in India, Biden Looks to Fill a Hole Left by Putin and Xi (NYT)

• Our Big Brains Have Shrunk. Scientists Might Know Why. (WSJ)

• 3 Reasons Why Hurricane Lee Is Stunning Meteorologists (Forbes)

• Streaming Has Reached Its Sad, Predictable Fate (Atlantic)

• New report finds employees were happier during the pandemic than they are now (CNBC)

• What happens when AI replaces the traditional ‘first’ jobs? (Fast Company)

• Microsoft offers legal protection for AI copyright infringement challenges (Ars Technica)

• Adding generative AI systems may change your cloud architecture (InfoWorld)

• Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa -- with a lot of water (AP)

• As states move on AI, tech lobbyists are swarming in (Politico)

• AI-powered killer robots poised to shape U.S.-China rivalry (Reuters)

• Man Inspects Perimeter To Find Most Vulnerable Entry Point To Hamburger

  (The Onion)