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INAUGURATION 2029

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Tuesday
Nov282023

Readings for the Trump Library

Last week, Charles Hollon, a court official of New York State's Judicial Threats Assessment unit, entered into the record (see Exhibit E) of the state's civil trial against the Trump Organization & certain of its officers, a selection of emails and telephone messages from Donald Trump supporters directed at Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk. Monday night, Lawrence O'Donnell read aloud a few of the written and oral messages.

Marie: I thought it would be nice to share some of the Trump backers' contributions to give the Trump Presidential* Library (currently empty, as far as I know) a sampling of authentic, certified, pro-Trump literature. I do apologize for all the asterisks; according to a footnote in the exhibit, "The software used to transcribe the voicemails censors profanity. The asterisks contained in the transcriptions are used in place of the profanity."

You know. I'm not going to. Call you too many names. Today, I mean, it's clear. You're you're little fruit cake. You like to abuse children, I'm sure. And your shirtless pictures. Very inappropriate. I mean, you're so inappropriate. But you're clearly. A ******* dork. 1 Massive quant. I mean everything about you screams little fagot dork. So again. I hope they. ******* bury your ugly ***. You and that fat ******* ***** ******* planet of the apes ******* star letisha the ******* ****. Little ******* Jews and. Filthy little Jews and. That's you. And I hate that word. And I hate. Putting people under group but you are filthy little Jews and. And you make everything about. This ****, you ******* hateful, divisive. I mean, honestly, you should be assassinated. You should be killed. You should be not assassin executed. You should be executed. But on trial executed for your crimes. You sick ******* pig and yOU shut it there and laugh as you ******* abuse this system because you abuse people you. ******* tyrant. And play this for the FBI and you can all **** yourself, you little *******. Please call me, you ******* losers. ******* stupid *****. I mean, it's. Clear. I've talked to. A bunch of you ******* dumb *************. J mean the stupidity. I mean, if we ever want to come for you. But Ebi will be eliminated in a ******* day. Bunch of ******* morons. To listen if any of you silly little **** want to talk, go ahead and call me, you ******* * ****

Yes, Arthur, you are a corrupt Nazi and one of the ugliest people to ever walk the face of the earth. And your clerk, who's also corrupt Nazi is a fat ***** who blew Chuck Schumer and everybody knows it. You are such a lowlife. No one would ever want to sleep with you. You look like ****. You're corrupt. You're going to get overturned and I hope you get gonorrhea from letisha James the fat grimace ************

Resign now, you dirty, treasonous piece of trash snake. We are going to get you and anyone of you dirty, backstabbing, lying, cheating American. You are nothing but a bunch of communists. We are coming to remove you permanently.

Trust me. Trust me when I say this. I will come for you. I don't care. Ain't nobody gonna stop me either. I'll send every hacker in the world after every little file on you. And they will expose you. Any little dirty secret you have, you will not hide from me. I do not stand with Joseph Biden or what you are doing. I stand with the 12 houses of Israel. And in Good we trust. Is the American way. Know that the blood runs red.

You little ******* dork with your little ******* Jew girl. ******* helper, *****. You ******* stupid ****. God, I hope you ******* die. I hope they ******* come for you and ******* string you up. All you little *******. Watch you **** your pants and **** yourself before it happens. You think you're untouchable. God, I hope they ******* come for you again. Not a threat. I don't hurt anybody. I don't have. A voice other than to. ******* call and tell you that I'll be rooting for the people that come for you. I'll be cheering on your death or your demise. And because to the point where you forced us, I'll ******* bite you. But you'll have to make it so I'm starving, and I'll again be the ones telling people how to **** with you because. 1 believe in God. I don't believe in hurting people, but you've made it to the point where I hope you get hurt because you're ******* pathetic. You look so *******. What a little fagot. You don't realize what a dork you are, do you? Probably wasn't fun on the school ground for little. Egghead and a little Jewish *****. But that chick is fat and ugly and you're. Very offensive of her. She stuck your. ****, but she sucks your little ******* micro penis, doesn't she, judge ******7 Look, ******* bunch of losers. By losers? Geeks, freaks. *******. And dirty Jews. And I love Jewish. People. But there's dirty Jews like you. Just like 4 there's dumb. I love black people. But you know what? You guys want to make it all about. Identity and you know. What dirty Jews and stupid? Go die. I hope you all die. We're not going to kill you. I'm not going to kill you. I don't want anybody else to kill you because I don't want them to get in trouble. I just hope you die of like. You're stupidity. We'll probably get you killed, you lazy ******* filthy ****. Goodbye, 1 hope you. Have another horrible day? Ohh Trump made you. Look like a *****. What a little ******* whiny. Did she eat? Understand. Everybody sees what a little fagot you are. A little dork and freak Trump owns you, *****. I'm sure your aid. Would love to get that daddy Trump ******* planting that **** right up her ***. Freaky ******* ***** Your little ******* clerk. Humors, you know, was it her boyfriend? Probably just sucked his balls too. F. Oh, and Allison, you are. I mean, there's nothing you can do. About that ugly face. But he look at his raeli women, Israeli Jews and beautiful in shape. And then there's ******* pig. Jews like you. Fat ******* stupid *******. 1 mean, lay off the Twinkies, you *****. You're clearly a ***** and a child molester. You ******* pedophilic *****. Anyway, listen. You look like ****. You're ******* filthy. Ugly. Dirty. I bet your ***** smells like a ******* garbage disposal. Guaranteed. Anyway, lose some ******* weight. Have a little pride in yourself, you fat *****. G. Arthur, you lowlife ***** ** ****. Violating people's civil rights. You ******* scumbag ***** ** ****. You and lalita. James with your witch hunt. The funny thing is, once this or with remember, for every action there's a reaction. So don't get mad when you come. ******* hunt down. ******* we witch hunt. You and your family. We're going to take you to court. Take your kids, drag them in ******* court. How your parents are probably turning over in their ******* grave. ******* liberal ***** ** ****. You should be more worried about your ******* city and all the ******* robberies and ******* stabbings and then ******* murders and carjackings, but you're jealous of Donald Trump, you ******* scumbag. Pieces of ******* ****. You're ******* low. Like Arthur. I'll be calling you back again, you ******* ***** ** **** You ******* scumbag ************ Qfo yeah, you're ******* clerk Alison ******* Greenfield. She's a ***** ** **** Yfiat's that ***** too. Lilita. James, you fat ******* **** You can't even ******* make sense when you go, girl. Girl, girl, Merrill, Merrill. Peril. We got real peril. Meryl guy. You're a ******* ******** ***** (Oo, you fat ****....

Jesus! What a bunch of ********, and *******. Who expresses themselves like that? They're *************. -- Forrest M. in today's Comments

Reader Comments (3)

Jesus…what do these people eat?

November 28, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

AK, they're eating the crap that Trump and the MAGA movement feed them and regurgitating it seasoned with their own personal prejudices. IOW, verbal diarrhea in, verbal diarrhea out.

November 28, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterBobby Lee

Jesus! What a bunch of ********, and *******. Who expresses
themselves like that? They're *************.

November 28, 2023 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris
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