Last October, Donald Trump sued CBS claiming (falsely) that a “60 Minutes” interview of Kamala Harris had been “deceitfully edited” to her benefit (they simply shortened some of her answers for brevity, as news outlets often do). As Mike explored, the lawsuit tramples the First Amendment and editorial discretion. At the same time, Trump FCC boss Brendan Carr […]
My project thus far has been to educate you, to help you renormalize history from a common ethical center. To show you what should be abundantly clear: that simple truths, all around us, reveal things that are blatantly obvious. That we are now ruled by liars, cheaters, and men with an unbounded appetite for power. […]
It is almost difficult to believe this is a real thing that happened with the President of the United States, but here’s what actually happened on Tuesday. In the morning, Donald Trump threatened to imprison protesters and defund any university that allows certain protests. Then, that same evening, he stood before Congress and declared — […]
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I don’t know if Trump believes this is what will finally score him a Nobel Peace Prize for him to wave around as proof of his impeccable deal-making skills, but while we wait for the world to get even worse, things are going to get a little less secure here in the United States. Here’s […]
Late last year we wrote about how LA Times billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong confidently announced that he was going to use AI to display “artificial intelligence-generated ratings” of news content, while also providing “AI-generated lists of alternative political views on that issue” under each article. After he got done firing a lot of longstanding LA […]
Trademark disputes where it is very clear that the complaining party is actually concerned about something other than customer confusion are always fun. All the more so when the target is a work of fiction, with the supposedly offending content also being fictional. We saw an example of this when a software company sued Warner […]
Okay, people. You keep asking me, “Mike, but what should we do?” I am going to condescend to you now, about what you should do. The only resistance worth a damn is the one where you stop calculating the odds and start living your truth without reservation. What separates the merely clever from the genuinely […]
Support us on Patreon » We’re finally getting back into the rhythm of things, and in fact right at this very moment Mike is recording a brand new original episode for next week on the podcast — but this week, we’ve got a cross-post and a special extra treat. Mike recently once again joined Andy Levy […]
While political reporters are still doing their view-from-nowhere “Democrats say this, Republicans say that” dance, tech and legal journalists have been watching an unfortunately recognizable plan unfold — a playbook we’re all too familiar with. We’ve seen how technology can be wielded to consolidate power, how institutional guardrails can be circumvented through technical and legal […]
The recent book “Character Limit” exposes a perfect case study in destructive arrogance: Twitter was already building more sophisticated versions of everything Musk claimed he wanted. But Musk and his sycophants were so convinced of their own brilliance, and so certain everyone at Twitter was an idiot, they didn’t even bother to understand what was […]
To completely understand computer security, it’s vital to step outside the fence and to think outside the box. Computer security is not just about firewalls, Intrusion Prevention Systems, or anti-viruses. It’s also about tricking people into doing whatever a hacker wishes. A secure system, network, or infrastructure is also about informed people. The All-in-One Super-Sized […]
Trump’s second term has elevated a bunch of people who have no idea what they’re doing to positions of power where every blunder is just considered to be the acceptable outcome for an administration that likes breaking things even more than it likes moving fast. The Department of Government Efficiency still isn’t an official government […]
Like many big companies, Verizon eagerly signed up for Trump 2.0 excited to get tax cuts, rubber stamped merger approvals, attacks on organized labor, and oodles of unaccountable subsidies. But as is often the deal with authoritarian zealots (and force-wielding intergalactic warlords with deep-rooted mommy issues), the deal you think you struck can and will […]
We talk a lot here about the concept of “ownership” of what we spend money on, particularly as it relates to purchases that are digital or have some reliance on internet connectivity. Despite being related, those two categories are actually quite distinct. On the one hand, you have situations where a company may go out […]
At a time when Section 230 faces unprecedented threats from all sides — with both major political parties gunning for it, albeit for opposite reasons — understanding this crucial internet law has never been more important. That’s probably why our “Hello! You’ve Been Referred Here Because You’re Wrong About Section 230” post remains one of […]
You never think the worst thing imaginable can actually happen. But sometimes it does. And when it does there is not a moment to lose coming to terms with it so you can start to do what needs to be done to deal with it. Because whether you are suddenly facing being diagnosed with a […]
The Party of Mooks has ascended to the top tier yet again. We’re all going to pay the price for this, even the mooks that think electing mooks will elevate them from their own mook-hood. Republicans have spent most of the past decade complaining about things like diversity, inclusion, and equitable treatment of American residents […]
Look, I’m no rocket-building super-genius*, but I have this weird idea that if you want to make an organization more efficient, you might start by talking to the people who are… already making it efficient? A crazy idea, I know. (*Neither are some other people who pretend to be). But Elon Musk had a different […]
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