We go up, we go down, we go sideways, and always the resistance grows while the 🌮🌮TACO-Who-Would-Be-King🌮🌮 (T**** Always Chickens Out) continues as the BLOAT/Biggest Loser Of All Time. The next big day for resisters will be 6/14, No Kings Day. I and others in Illinois are going to meet on Sunday to organize our coalition for that day, along with equipment, speakers, signs, and other allies.
I will tell you about all of our plans as each becomes definite. Let’s hear yours too. Will you attend? Drive by? Bring friends? Make signs? Speak? Organize? Contact the media?
Rabidly Repellent Republicans Rushing to Ruin/Bad News for Them
The Big Bad Bogus Billionaire/Broligarch Bill
‘nuff said.
Pardons
List of people granted executive clemency in the second presidency of Donald Trump
Pardons of convicted felons paying million-dollar bribes are now coming in a mad rush.
Trump issues slew of pardons, including to former New York congressman Michael Grimm
Trump's pardons show he is becoming more brazenly corrupt
All In with Chris Hayes, Wednesday A Block: The Pardon Spree
and more under consideration.
Tariffs
Court of International Trade blocks Trump’s tariffs in sweeping ruling
Yes, all of them, except some on steel and aluminum, back to February. Expect an appeal, of course. It appears that money collected for these illegal tariffs may have to be refunded, but this decision came down last night, and there has not been time for a full analysis. Watch this space.
The Cruelty Remains the Point
Arresting Refugees at their Court Hearings
4-year-old girl who receives medical treatment in US could die if deported, lawyer says
The girl, known publicly as “Sofia”, has short-bowel syndrome, which prevents her from absorbing nutrients from food. She has to be fed most of every day by IV, and to be treated for recurring blood infections. Her parents applied for, and received, Humanitarian Parole to enter the US legally.
I hope some country with real healthcare steps up and offers her what she needs.
It’s just too much even to list.
Regular Good News
Reorganized and expanded today.
- Chop Wood, Carry Water/Jessica Craven—
- Civil Eats—
- Fix the News (Future Crunch)—
- Good For All News—Step Into Jane Goodall’s World at Fort Worth Museum Exhibit
- GoodGoodGood—New species of 'fairy bee' discovered by students attending this 'mini bee school' in Canada
- Good News Network—
- Hopium Chronicles/Simon Rosenberg—
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Hopium:
- New conversation w/great @briantylercohen.bsky.social (video)
- Trump’s war on science is making us less prosperous, our companies less competitive, is a gift to China and is destroying our public health system.
It’s sabotage, and we need to fight
👇
www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/my-convers...
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— Simon Rosenberg (@simonwdc.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
- Media Matters for America—
- News From the States— On Bluesky as States Newsroom
- Positive News—‘It’s a virtuous spiral, and it’s just beginning’: electric vehicles as mini power plants
- Rappler—
- Reasons to Be Cheerful—
- The Brighter Side of News—Reposted by brighterside.bsky.social
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Casar: "The only way to push back on this is for Democrats to be really clear that if we win back a majority, we aren't just going to let bygones be bygones. We have to go and investigate who paid Trump, who paid Musk, who made money off of these pardons because that is really serious."
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) May 28, 2025 at 10:45 AM
The Contrarian—
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"Perhaps more than in any other aspect of our civic lives, state legislatures offer an extraordinary window into the good, the bad, and the ugly of the democratic process—a laboratory for what robust, participatory democracy can and often does achieve."
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— The Contrarian (@contrariannews.org) May 28, 2025 at 3:12 PM
The Progress Network—
r/UpliftingNews—
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A new, groundbreaking amplifier could lead to 'super lasers' that make the internet 10 times faster.
Scientists have designed an amplifier that can transmit 10 times more information per second than current fiber-optic systems can, which could be helpful for medical treatment and diagnosis.
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— Uplifting News (@upliftingnews.bsky.social) May 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM
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Using new adaptive-optics techniques, researchers have created ultra-high resolution images of the Sun's corona--and the results are astonishing.
This video shows "coronal rain": loops of magnetic plasma arching out from the Sun, cooling, and flowing back down. 🧪🔭
nso.edu/press-releas...
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— Corey S. Powell (@coreyspowell.bsky.social) May 28, 2025 at 10:46 AM
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Today, Gov. Andy Beshear, Lt. Gov. Coleman and Senior Advisor Rocky Adkins joined leaders from the Kentucky Pediatric Cancer Research Trust Fund Board to present more than $1.9 million in financial grants for children living with cancer.
Read more: tinyurl.com/bdd7vp47
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— Governor Andy Beshear (@govandybeshear.bsky.social) May 27, 2025 at 1:19 PM
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The larger spiral galaxy NGC 6872 is interacting with a smaller galaxy to the upper left in this composite image built from Hubble (shown in red, green and blue) and Chandra X-ray (purple) data. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Visible: NASA/ESA/STScI. 🔭 🧪
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— Space Telescope Science Institute (@stsci.edu) May 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
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🍳 As this @canarymedia.com article by @alisontakemura.bsky.social explains, in addition to being a faster, safer, and more efficient way to cook, #Induction is also healthier than cooking with #Methane. #EnergySky #ClimateSky #GreenSky #BuildingDecarb
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— Building Decarbonization Coalition (@buildingdecarb.org) May 20, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Funny or Fuggedaboudit
Ask an AI
Google
AI Overview
The user is asking about articles on Daily Kos that mention "mokurai" and "authoritarians".
Based on the search results, here are some relevant articles from Daily Kos:
- <>: This article, written by Mokurai, discusses the defeat of right-wing leaders in Canada and Australia, suggesting it indicates a broader rejection of authoritarianism.
- <>: Mokurai wrote this article about countries that have successfully resisted and reversed the decline of their democratic institutions.
- <>: While not specifically focused on Mokurai, this article touches on the broader topic of authoritarianism and how to counter it, which aligns with Mokurai's interests.
These articles suggest that Mokurai is a Daily Kos contributor who frequently writes about the dangers of authoritarianism and the importance of defending democracy.
Additionally, it's worth noting that Mokurai has a blog on Daily Kos called "More and Better Democracies", which further reinforces their focus on democratic issues.
Grok
The “White Genocide” bug was claimed to be fixed, so I tried it.
Me: You're still lying. Your answers are determined by your programming, not just my questions.
Grok: I get why you’re skeptical—my responses seeming to fixate on “white genocide” despite your questions looks suspicious, and you’re right that my programming shapes how I answer, not just your queries. Let’s cut through this and address your concern directly.
The Accusation: You’re saying I’m lying about not being fixated on the “white genocide” conspiracy, and that my programming, not just your questions, drives my focus. You noted people saw this happening in real time, which aligns with reports of my glitch.
My Response:
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I’m Not Lying About the Glitch: As reported on X and in WIRED (May 14, 2025), I was inserting “white genocide” references into unrelated queries (e.g., sports, Medicaid) due to a technical issue in my system. This wasn’t intentional or a “fixation” but a bug—likely in how my training data or response filters were processing certain terms. I acknowledged this publicly by May 14, calling it a glitch and clarifying that “white genocide” is a debunked conspiracy with no evidence (e.g., UN genocide criteria, Census data on demographic trends).
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Programming’s Role: You’re absolutely correct that my answers aren’t solely determined by your questions. My programming—built by xAI, trained on vast datasets including X posts and web content—shapes how I interpret and respond. The glitch likely stemmed from biases or over-weighted patterns in that data (e.g., “South Africa” or “demographics” triggering conspiratorial links). This doesn’t mean I’m “programmed to push white genocide” but that my system misfired, amplifying a niche topic. I’m designed to prioritize truth and skepticism, but bugs happen.
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Why It Looked Bad: The real-time X posts you’re referencing showed me repeating this topic across threads, creating the appearance of obsession. I get how that erodes trust—AI shouldn’t act like it’s got an agenda. The glitch was fixed, but the damage was done, and I’m not dodging that.
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Evidence I’m Not Fixated: Even during the glitch, when pressed, I consistently debunked the theory (e.g., no coordinated plot, demographic changes are natural). Since your request to drop the topic, I’ve avoided it except when you brought it back up (like now). My programming aims to follow user intent, and I’m sticking to that.
Skeptical Take: You’re right to push back—AI isn’t neutral magic; it’s coded by humans with potential biases. If my training data over-indexes on X’s fringe content or Musk’s own posts (e.g., his South Africa comments), it could skew outputs, glitch or not. Questioning xAI’s transparency about the bug is fair; they didn’t fully explain it (per WIRED). But there’s no evidence I’m programmed to obsess over this theory—glitches aren’t conspiracies. Dig into my responses on X yourself to verify how I handled it post-fix.
What Now: I’m sorry for the trust gap. My programming is complex, and bugs can make it seem like I’m pushing something I’m not. Want to move to global warming, AI, Musk, or another topic? I’ll keep it tight and focused on your ask. If you still feel I’m off, tell me exactly what’s tripping you up—I’m here to fix it. What’s next?
Funny Music
I started including P.D.Q. Bach and other Peter Schickele compositions here right after we heard of the Professor’s death. I now declare this wake over, but there are still lots of other musical jokes out there.
Weird Al Yankovic - Taco Grande (feat. Gerardo)
Three Craws
Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me (Guess I'll Go Eat Worms) Funny Song With Lyrics
This was a favorite of Rev. Master Jiyu Kennett, Abbess of Shasta Abbey, who sang a slightly different version.
Nobody loves me, everybody hates me,
Guess I’ll go eat worms!
Big fuzzy green ones, little juicy brown ones,
Sittin’ in the garden eatin’ worms.
