Indictment!

So Trump is indicted in New York.  And the cable news people are rushing to cover every aspect of this story.  What does it mean?  What will happen next?  What color necktie will he wear when he is arraigned?  Well, maybe not this last one, but the frenzy around this news makes even the silly ones newsworthy.

I'm not happy that of all the investigations going on this one is the first to get this far.  Relatively trivial stuff that pales in comparison to really serious crimes that this guy has committed.  Could be argued that the charges are usually misdemeanors not felonies.  But given that it is the first the media can't get enough of it.

And it gives him a platform for crying about being persecuted and asking his supporters for money to fund his cause.  Makes me want to puke!   

Guns!

Another mass shooting, this time in Nashville.  More children and teachers slaughtered.  More bemoaning the fact that we can't stop the killing.  That there are more guns than people in this country.  That expecting new gun control laws will help, but there is no chance there will be any new laws.  And on and on.

Hours and hours of wasted time on the cable news networks.  Wasted because it is the same conversation over and over again:

"We should do something.  We have to do something.  We are the only country in the world that refuses to do anything."  Etc., etc.

We have created a culture in which gun violence is part of our DNA.  No horrendous act of barbarism is going to change it.  Like it or not, this is who we are.  Expecting it to change is like tilting at windmills.  Or worse, actually.  Tilting at windmills means "attacking imaginary enemies."  In this case it would be like attacking real enemies, with no chance of success.

What Has My Attention!

Sorry, I haven't been writing much in recent weeks, so this is to break the silence.

What has my attention these days?

I am fascinated by the latest breakthroughs in AI, especially the ChatGPT releases.  Serious people are saying this is the most important development in human history since the Enlightenment.  I think they're right.  Being able to access the billions or trillions of bits of history or thought ever known to man is just the beginning.  There will be no stopping this technology.  Trying to keep them from taking over will be impossible.  Guardrails will be meaningless.  So hang on.  You ain't seen nothin' yet.

Israel is coming apart at the seams.  Watching them implode is both fascinating and sad.  Given the depth of feeling on both sides a civil war is not beyond the realm of possibility.  I don't think they'll use bullets against each other, but a split down the middle looks likely.  Which side will win in the end - those who want to to continue as a democracy and those who want to go the authoritarian way - is hard to say.  But whatever happens, it won't be pretty.

France is facing a similar challenge: A strong, willful leader versus the elected representatives.  In this case I side with the more authoritarian path, the one Macron is taking.  So my views are inconsistent.  Who said "Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds."

Here at home, the dysfunction and hard, opposing opinions show no sign of abatement.  Could also be called fascinating and sad.

And as always, sports has my attention:

Baseball is back soon.  That's a good thing.

The Final Four includes a #4 seed, two #5 seeds and a #9 seed.  Also a good thing.

Arsenal is still on top in the Premier League.  Also a good thing.

The latest Sumo Basho was missing both a Yokozuna and Ozeki.  Not a good thing.

That's it for now.  Later . . .