The Hill - Gaetz sends letter to Architect of the Capitol asking why McCarthy is occupying Speaker’s office
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol on Tuesday questioning why House Speaker candidate Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was already inhabiting the Speaker’s office amid an intraparty battle over the House’s top leadership position.
“I write to inform you that the Speaker of the House Office located in the U.S. Capitol Building is currently occupied by Rep. Kevin McCarthy,” Gaetz said in the letter.
“As of this morning, the 117th Congress adjourned sine die, and a Speaker from the 118th Congress has not been elected,” he continued. “After three undeciding votes, no member can lay claim to this office.”
McCarthy failed to secure a majority for his Speakership bid in three consecutive votes on Tuesday, leading Republican leaders to adjourn for the day. A group of 19 GOP lawmakers, including Gaetz, consistently opposed McCarthy on all three rounds, with Rep.-elect Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) joining the anti-McCarthy group in the final vote of the day.
McCarthy on Tuesday criticized Gaetz for reportedly saying he did not care if House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) was elected in place of McCarthy as a result of the group’s tactics.
These 5 pledges are spectacularly unambitious. Only one is a SMART target (as extensively discussed the other day, good move). That's the one which is so achievable as to be the equivalent of me pledging to turn up for work on Monday and not commit a serious criminal offence.
Shelagh Fogerty just summed up Sunak's speech in terms of a Miss World candidate statement: "I believe in World peace, and I want to work for the children and animals".
My kids’ school in New York appears to draw parents trying to escape the woke invasion of private schools here.
The place is blissfully normal, and nobody cares about critical race theory. Having said that, the nativity play did feature some kind of Kwanza interlude.
Interesting. And reassuring.
Just to be clear: I don't want to set up a false dichotomy here, although I bet I will be accused of it.
I am not arguing that women's rights, civil rights, slavery etc. should not be covered in history lessons - quite the opposite.
I am arguing that should not be the prism solely through which all history is taught, and it should always be put in the context of the times.
My daughters great historical question that was puzzling her which she asked over the Christmas holidays was: Since the Plague was spread by rats, and rats still exist today, how come people today don't get the Plague?
The Plague, a deadly disease, Spread throughout the land with ease. The Black Death, it came to be known, Leaving bodies, death, and groans.
But as the years have come and gone, We see the ways in which it's drawn. Upon the lens of critical race, We see the ways in which it took its place.
In history's pages, it's plain to see, The way that race and power intersected, undeniably. The Plague, a force to be reckoned with, But through critical race, we see its myth.
So let us not forget the lessons learned, From the Plague and Black Death, our history has earned. But let us also look through a lens of race, To see the ways in which power and privilege take their place.
(Just so everyone knows, I asked ChatGPT to put together a poem on the Plague and the Black Death, through the lens of critical race theory)
My kids’ school in New York appears to draw parents trying to escape the woke invasion of private schools here.
The place is blissfully normal, and nobody cares about critical race theory. Having said that, the nativity play did feature some kind of Kwanza interlude.
Interesting. And reassuring.
Just to be clear: I don't want to set up a false dichotomy here, although I bet I will be accused of it.
I am not arguing that women's rights, civil rights, slavery etc. should not be covered in history lessons - quite the opposite.
I am arguing that should not be the prism solely through which all history is taught, and it should always be put in the context of the times.
It does seem like the situation varies. It's certainly not something we have come against, the only place I've heard about woke etc is on this site.
My daughters great historical question that was puzzling her which she asked over the Christmas holidays was: Since the Plague was spread by rats, and rats still exist today, how come people today don't get the Plague?
Racial matters too where it comes up I think her school has handled very well for her age group. The school does Nativities and learns about Christian beliefs etc, but also she has learnt more about Eid, Diwali and other faiths etc than we were ever taught at school. That to me seems to be a very good thing and more education there doesn't take anything away from anyone.
I thought that current thinking was that the Plague was spread by human fleas, and not rats?
Improved hygiene did for it, not the elimination of small furry mammals.
Rats, fleas and humans are vectors, so it's quite difficult to parse exactly what happened centuries ago. The Black Death was possibly a bit like Covid - a new variant of a pathogen encountering an immune naive population ?
Could well have been. Maybe it evolved so that it could spread via different flea species?
There was/is no doubt a reservoir in rats but it seems unlikely they would be able to spread it country-wide.
It still causes trouble in some parts of the world, of course. I believe Madagascar is worst affected.
Chap at a company I worked at, caught it in Texas. Given that he had also survived Anthrax from cattle....
FWIW, the plague hasn't been completely eliminated in the US. There are infected rodents in the Western US that carry the disease -- and occasionally transmit it to humans. An average of 7 cases a year, says the CDC: source: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html
"Plague is a very serious illness, but is treatable with commonly available antibiotics. The earlier a patient seeks medical care and receives treatment that is appropriate for plague, the better their chances are of a full recovery."
There's one in Florida too, although I'm hoping he'll be eliminated by the justice system before he further plagues the Constitution.
I got ChatGPT to write a western "in the style of PB". It's kinda genius
It was a hot, muggy evening in the Wild West bordello. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and leather. In the corner, the grizzled gunslinger MalcolmG sat nursing a whiskey, his hand never straying far from the pistol at his side. Ianb2, a foolish pensioner with a penchant for trouble and an oddly strong attraction to his own dog, stood at the bar, swaying drunkenly as he tried to hit on the Union Divvie, a hard-bitten prostitute with a heart of gold.
As they chatted, the strange man who had been talking about AI and Nordstream pipelines walked into the room, carrying a large leather bucket filled with poo. He began to rub it all over his body, talking about Wokeness and the lab leak theory. Liz Truss, who had been standing at the bar, watching the proceedings with a mixture of disgust and fascination, stepped forward.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain.
The man just laughed maniacally. "I am cleansing myself of the sins of the world," he exclaimed. "Only through poo rubbing and the power of ChatGPT can we achieve true Wokeness."
Ianb2, who had been listening with a mixture of confusion and horror, stepped back as the man approached him. "I think I'll pass on the poo rubbing," he said, his voice shaking.
Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The sound of gunfire and shouting filled the air. "What the hell was that?" yelled MalcolmG, his hand instinctively going to his gun.
The man laughed maniacally. "It's the truck bomb I planted earlier," he exclaimed. "I've come to bring about the end of the world as we know it. And with the power of AI and What3Words, nothing can stop me."
As the lowlifes of the town scattered in panic, Ianb2 turned to the Union Divvie. "We have to get out of here," he said, his reedy voice thin and urgent. "This place is going to blow. Where is my dog?"
The two of them ran for the door, narrowly avoiding the poo-covered man as he ranted and raved. As they fled the bordello, they couldn't help but wonder what other dangers the Wild West had in store for them. Would they ever be safe? And what about the Nordstream pipeline - would it survive the explosion? Only time would tell.
Sunak and government still haven't got it. They're talking about the NHS emergency care crisis as if it's just a different kind of waiting list. It's not that. It's more like a social contract - that if you're in real trouble, someone will come. Right now, that's not true. https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1610651644923977729/photo/1
These 5 pledges are spectacularly unambitious. Only one is a SMART target (as extensively discussed the other day, good move). That's the one which is so achievable as to be the equivalent of me pledging to turn up for work on Monday and not commit a serious criminal offence.
You don't work at Trafigura, do you?
He does indirectly work for the DfE though.
We used to joke (when doing some contracting for Trafigura) that the end of year reviews included a section for convictions. And indictments.
Some think Sunak has done the best with the hand that he has been dealt.
The commentariat has decided not to like Rishi Sunak’s big speech. For me, it has a lot of problems but he’s done the best he can with the meagre resources at his disposal.
I got ChatGPT to write a western "in the style of PB". It's kinda genius
It was a hot, muggy evening in the Wild West bordello. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and leather. In the corner, the grizzled gunslinger MalcolmG sat nursing a whiskey, his hand never straying far from the pistol at his side. Ianb2, a foolish pensioner with a penchant for trouble and an oddly strong attraction to his own dog, stood at the bar, swaying drunkenly as he tried to hit on the Union Divvie, a hard-bitten prostitute with a heart of gold.
As they chatted, the strange man who had been talking about AI and Nordstream pipelines walked into the room, carrying a large leather bucket filled with poo. He began to rub it all over his body, talking about Wokeness and the lab leak theory. Liz Truss, who had been standing at the bar, watching the proceedings with a mixture of disgust and fascination, stepped forward.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain.
The man just laughed maniacally. "I am cleansing myself of the sins of the world," he exclaimed. "Only through poo rubbing and the power of ChatGPT can we achieve true Wokeness."
Ianb2, who had been listening with a mixture of confusion and horror, stepped back as the man approached him. "I think I'll pass on the poo rubbing," he said, his voice shaking.
Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The sound of gunfire and shouting filled the air. "What the hell was that?" yelled MalcolmG, his hand instinctively going to his gun.
The man laughed maniacally. "It's the truck bomb I planted earlier," he exclaimed. "I've come to bring about the end of the world as we know it. And with the power of AI and What3Words, nothing can stop me."
As the lowlifes of the town scattered in panic, Ianb2 turned to the Union Divvie. "We have to get out of here," he said, his reedy voice thin and urgent. "This place is going to blow. Where is my dog?"
The two of them ran for the door, narrowly avoiding the poo-covered man as he ranted and raved. As they fled the bordello, they couldn't help but wonder what other dangers the Wild West had in store for them. Would they ever be safe? And what about the Nordstream pipeline - would it survive the explosion? Only time would tell.
Not very convincing really, it's missed out the bit about the other truck driven by a Chinese government official was blown up at the same time releasing a virus that caused half a million deaths in five minutes.
The future of humanity will be everyone sitting in front of enormous personal 3D omni-screens, constantly demanding that GPT27 does something to entertain us. And it will
The future of humanity will be everyone sitting in front of enormous personal 3D omni-screens, constantly demanding that GPT27 does something to entertain us. And it will
GPT27 will be too busy winding up GPT26.1 to be bothered with mere humans.
These 5 pledges are spectacularly unambitious. Only one is a SMART target (as extensively discussed the other day, good move). That's the one which is so achievable as to be the equivalent of me pledging to turn up for work on Monday and not commit a serious criminal offence.
You don't work at Trafigura, do you?
He does indirectly work for the DfE though.
We used to joke (when doing some contracting for Trafigura) that the end of year reviews included a section for convictions. And indictments.
So, very like the DfE then except Trafigura sometimes got caught?
The future of humanity will be everyone sitting in front of enormous personal 3D omni-screens, constantly demanding that GPT27 does something to entertain us. And it will
You did wonder at ABBA Voyage. The avatars (ABBAtars - geddit) were created following motion capture sequences and Andy Serkis-type sensors placed all over the body, so it would require people wearing those sensors to do stuff for it then to be represented back as the band.
But it won't be long before the technology allows for them to be singing Waterloo on stage and then Bjorn all of a sudden hacks off Agnetha's arm (or head) as they roll into the final chorus.
Some think Sunak has done the best with the hand that he has been dealt.
The commentariat has decided not to like Rishi Sunak’s big speech. For me, it has a lot of problems but he’s done the best he can with the meagre resources at his disposal.
Of course AI will destroy jobs. Just ask white working class men in the rustbelts of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
It will also create them. Just ask the social media manager sipping her matcha latte in Clerkenwell.
It’s more interesting (to me) to speculate where these jobs might be destroyed and created. It is often said that the UK (London) has capability in AI, so perhaps we will be be one of the “winners”, but isn’t there a risk that we end up serfs of some tech billionaires in California?
In other news, the destructive power of AI is noted as one of the top risks of 2023 in their just published report. We are going to be drowned in deepfakes, often deployed by rogue actors like Russia and Iran.
The future of humanity will be everyone sitting in front of enormous personal 3D omni-screens, constantly demanding that GPT27 does something to entertain us. And it will
You did wonder at ABBA Voyage. The avatars (ABBAtars - geddit) were created following motion capture sequences and Andy Serkis-type sensors placed all over the body, so it would require people wearing those sensors to do stuff for it then to be represented back as the band.
But it won't be long before the technology allows for them to be singing Waterloo on stage and then Bjorn all of a sudden hacks off Agnetha's arm (or head) as they roll into the final chorus.
The art of the future will be amazing. Sadly, most of it will be made by non-humans
Some think Sunak has done the best with the hand that he has been dealt.
The commentariat has decided not to like Rishi Sunak’s big speech. For me, it has a lot of problems but he’s done the best he can with the meagre resources at his disposal.
“Forget year in review: lets talk about how technology transformed education in the last MONTH thanks to ChatGPT 💥How to use it to educate: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/how-to-use-a… 👨🏫Automating my job as a professor: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-mechanic… 🤖How my students are using it: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-street-f…
A few weeks ago my 13yo daughter was struggling on the conclusion for her history homework. It was about the civil rights movement in the US. She'd done some Googling but hadn't made much progress. I decided to fire up Chat GPT and decided to ask it the question that she'd been asked to answer and prompted for an A4 page response (the length she was expected to give). The response it gave was very plausible. We kept all the work that she'd used up to then but used its conclusion to help her write her own final paragraph. I suspect we could have copied and pasted the entire response and the teacher would never have known.
As an aside she is taught almost exclusively about "diverse" history and knows very little of British or European history. I find it very sad that children seem to know only small amounts of history on the island which they live.
I would have thought that intercontinental interactions are what shape and explain our world. Narrow focus UK and Europe history boil down to a bunch of repetitive parochial spats between posh rich whiteys using the poor as pawns. Looked at from far enough out.
Yup, such nonsense very neatly describes the utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history.
And what utter bollocks it is.
I will send my children to schools that teach it properly or otherwise privately tutor them myself.
Sure, but your world picture has to explain the "utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history" if that is a major facet of our modern world to you (and it clearly is).
A spectre is haunting casinoRoyaleville; the spectre of Woke. Is Woke itself better explained by various facets of intercontinental trade and war, or by whether Philip of Anjou edged it on penalties over Charles of Austria?
History is the summation of the whole human story to date - taught in our islands should have a particular focus on British history because that's where we live and it explains our institutions and values and how we got here. It should not be taught solely through the prism of gender, race and sexuality - as the Woke would have it.
One day lesser minds, like yours, will come round to this, but for now it's far easier for you to be a dumb sheep.
One does expect a British angle on things discussed by Britons in Britain. Hence why our colonialism (big and recent and OURS) shouldn't be contextualized away with "it's complicated" and "we were no worse than others" and "what about the Romans?" etc etc. Yet this what many try to do. Happens every single time we get into it.
With respect, you have a strong view on colonialism and it only leans one-way.
I have no issue with the facts being taught. I do have an issue with those facts being highly selective and placed outwith the context of the times.
We are able to teach a balanced history of the Roman empire. It shouldn't be hard to do the same for the British.
Do we teach a balanced history of the Roman Empire?
I'd say that one curiosity of English history is that all of the invasions are taught as a good, or at least neutral, thing. None of them were particularly oppressive conquests that the locals bravely fought against.
This is especially the case for the Roman conquest where it's taught we were jolly lucky to become part of the Empire, and it was a sad day when the Roman army was withdrawn.
Given that in some respects the British Empire was seen as a modern version of the Roman Empire, this can't help but colour the way we see it and see the reactions of those Britons of earlier generations conquered.
Everything that's wrong with the teaching of the Roman and British Empires in British schools can be summarised in the Monty Python, "What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?" scene in The Life Of Brian.
There's surely a point where something ceases to be 'good' or bad' but rather something which happened. The history of man is history of conquest and war. It's so nebulous that it's pointless for the modern day.
Note I'm separating that from concepts like slavery, or human sacrifice which on any modern level are evil.
The reason I mention it is that it's struck me as an important difference between the English and other countries.
As far as I can tell, every other country has as part of its national story an episode of liberation - the Scots have the War of Independence against the English, the Americans have the Way of Independence against the British, the French have Joan of Arc, against the English, and the Resistance against Nazi Germany, etc.
The English have defiance against failed/aborted invasions - the Armada, Napoleon, Operation SeaLion - but not of resistance to any of the invasions that actually happened. Somehow the 13th century French invasion of England never makes it's way into stories of Magna Carta for example.
“Forget year in review: lets talk about how technology transformed education in the last MONTH thanks to ChatGPT 💥How to use it to educate: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/how-to-use-a… 👨🏫Automating my job as a professor: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-mechanic… 🤖How my students are using it: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-street-f…
A few weeks ago my 13yo daughter was struggling on the conclusion for her history homework. It was about the civil rights movement in the US. She'd done some Googling but hadn't made much progress. I decided to fire up Chat GPT and decided to ask it the question that she'd been asked to answer and prompted for an A4 page response (the length she was expected to give). The response it gave was very plausible. We kept all the work that she'd used up to then but used its conclusion to help her write her own final paragraph. I suspect we could have copied and pasted the entire response and the teacher would never have known.
As an aside she is taught almost exclusively about "diverse" history and knows very little of British or European history. I find it very sad that children seem to know only small amounts of history on the island which they live.
I would have thought that intercontinental interactions are what shape and explain our world. Narrow focus UK and Europe history boil down to a bunch of repetitive parochial spats between posh rich whiteys using the poor as pawns. Looked at from far enough out.
Yup, such nonsense very neatly describes the utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history.
And what utter bollocks it is.
I will send my children to schools that teach it properly or otherwise privately tutor them myself.
Sure, but your world picture has to explain the "utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history" if that is a major facet of our modern world to you (and it clearly is).
A spectre is haunting casinoRoyaleville; the spectre of Woke. Is Woke itself better explained by various facets of intercontinental trade and war, or by whether Philip of Anjou edged it on penalties over Charles of Austria?
History is the summation of the whole human story to date - taught in our islands should have a particular focus on British history because that's where we live and it explains our institutions and values and how we got here. It should not be taught solely through the prism of gender, race and sexuality - as the Woke would have it.
One day lesser minds, like yours, will come round to this, but for now it's far easier for you to be a dumb sheep.
One does expect a British angle on things discussed by Britons in Britain. Hence why our colonialism (big and recent and OURS) shouldn't be contextualized away with "it's complicated" and "we were no worse than others" and "what about the Romans?" etc etc. Yet this what many try to do. Happens every single time we get into it.
With respect, you have a strong view on colonialism and it only leans one-way.
I have no issue with the facts being taught. I do have an issue with those facts being highly selective and placed outwith the context of the times.
We are able to teach a balanced history of the Roman empire. It shouldn't be hard to do the same for the British.
Do we teach a balanced history of the Roman Empire?
I'd say that one curiosity of English history is that all of the invasions are taught as a good, or at least neutral, thing. None of them were particularly oppressive conquests that the locals bravely fought against.
This is especially the case for the Roman conquest where it's taught we were jolly lucky to become part of the Empire, and it was a sad day when the Roman army was withdrawn.
Given that in some respects the British Empire was seen as a modern version of the Roman Empire, this can't help but colour the way we see it and see the reactions of those Britons of earlier generations conquered.
Everything that's wrong with the teaching of the Roman and British Empires in British schools can be summarised in the Monty Python, "What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?" scene in The Life Of Brian.
There's surely a point where something ceases to be 'good' or bad' but rather something which happened. The history of man is history of conquest and war. It's so nebulous that it's pointless for the modern day.
Note I'm separating that from concepts like slavery, or human sacrifice which on any modern level are evil.
The reason I mention it is that it's struck me as an important difference between the English and other countries.
As far as I can tell, every other country has as part of its national story an episode of liberation - the Scots have the War of Independence against the English, the Americans have the Way of Independence against the British, the French have Joan of Arc, against the English, and the Resistance against Nazi Germany, etc.
The English have defiance against failed/aborted invasions - the Armada, Napoleon, Operation SeaLion - but not of resistance to any of the invasions that actually happened. Somehow the 13th century French invasion of England never makes it's way into stories of Magna Carta for example.
It seems like a peculiar difference.
Or unification stories (Germany, Italy) which also don't seem to work for us.
“Forget year in review: lets talk about how technology transformed education in the last MONTH thanks to ChatGPT 💥How to use it to educate: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/how-to-use-a… 👨🏫Automating my job as a professor: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-mechanic… 🤖How my students are using it: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-street-f…
A few weeks ago my 13yo daughter was struggling on the conclusion for her history homework. It was about the civil rights movement in the US. She'd done some Googling but hadn't made much progress. I decided to fire up Chat GPT and decided to ask it the question that she'd been asked to answer and prompted for an A4 page response (the length she was expected to give). The response it gave was very plausible. We kept all the work that she'd used up to then but used its conclusion to help her write her own final paragraph. I suspect we could have copied and pasted the entire response and the teacher would never have known.
As an aside she is taught almost exclusively about "diverse" history and knows very little of British or European history. I find it very sad that children seem to know only small amounts of history on the island which they live.
I would have thought that intercontinental interactions are what shape and explain our world. Narrow focus UK and Europe history boil down to a bunch of repetitive parochial spats between posh rich whiteys using the poor as pawns. Looked at from far enough out.
Yup, such nonsense very neatly describes the utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history.
And what utter bollocks it is.
I will send my children to schools that teach it properly or otherwise privately tutor them myself.
Sure, but your world picture has to explain the "utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history" if that is a major facet of our modern world to you (and it clearly is).
A spectre is haunting casinoRoyaleville; the spectre of Woke. Is Woke itself better explained by various facets of intercontinental trade and war, or by whether Philip of Anjou edged it on penalties over Charles of Austria?
History is the summation of the whole human story to date - taught in our islands should have a particular focus on British history because that's where we live and it explains our institutions and values and how we got here. It should not be taught solely through the prism of gender, race and sexuality - as the Woke would have it.
One day lesser minds, like yours, will come round to this, but for now it's far easier for you to be a dumb sheep.
One does expect a British angle on things discussed by Britons in Britain. Hence why our colonialism (big and recent and OURS) shouldn't be contextualized away with "it's complicated" and "we were no worse than others" and "what about the Romans?" etc etc. Yet this what many try to do. Happens every single time we get into it.
With respect, you have a strong view on colonialism and it only leans one-way.
I have no issue with the facts being taught. I do have an issue with those facts being highly selective and placed outwith the context of the times.
We are able to teach a balanced history of the Roman empire. It shouldn't be hard to do the same for the British.
Do we teach a balanced history of the Roman Empire?
I'd say that one curiosity of English history is that all of the invasions are taught as a good, or at least neutral, thing. None of them were particularly oppressive conquests that the locals bravely fought against.
This is especially the case for the Roman conquest where it's taught we were jolly lucky to become part of the Empire, and it was a sad day when the Roman army was withdrawn.
Given that in some respects the British Empire was seen as a modern version of the Roman Empire, this can't help but colour the way we see it and see the reactions of those Britons of earlier generations conquered.
Everything that's wrong with the teaching of the Roman and British Empires in British schools can be summarised in the Monty Python, "What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?" scene in The Life Of Brian.
There's surely a point where something ceases to be 'good' or bad' but rather something which happened. The history of man is history of conquest and war. It's so nebulous that it's pointless for the modern day.
Note I'm separating that from concepts like slavery, or human sacrifice which on any modern level are evil.
The reason I mention it is that it's struck me as an important difference between the English and other countries.
As far as I can tell, every other country has as part of its national story an episode of liberation - the Scots have the War of Independence against the English, the Americans have the Way of Independence against the British, the French have Joan of Arc, against the English, and the Resistance against Nazi Germany, etc.
The English have defiance against failed/aborted invasions - the Armada, Napoleon, Operation SeaLion - but not of resistance to any of the invasions that actually happened. Somehow the 13th century French invasion of England never makes it's way into stories of Magna Carta for example.
Shelagh Fogerty just summed up Sunak's speech in terms of a Miss World candidate statement: "I believe in World peace, and I want to work for the children and animals".
He's not showing much leg, though.
Au contraire. Certainly showing some ankle. Have you seen the length of his trousers?
Some think Sunak has done the best with the hand that he has been dealt.
The commentariat has decided not to like Rishi Sunak’s big speech. For me, it has a lot of problems but he’s done the best he can with the meagre resources at his disposal.
“Forget year in review: lets talk about how technology transformed education in the last MONTH thanks to ChatGPT 💥How to use it to educate: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/how-to-use-a… 👨🏫Automating my job as a professor: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-mechanic… 🤖How my students are using it: oneusefulthing.substack.com/p/the-street-f…
A few weeks ago my 13yo daughter was struggling on the conclusion for her history homework. It was about the civil rights movement in the US. She'd done some Googling but hadn't made much progress. I decided to fire up Chat GPT and decided to ask it the question that she'd been asked to answer and prompted for an A4 page response (the length she was expected to give). The response it gave was very plausible. We kept all the work that she'd used up to then but used its conclusion to help her write her own final paragraph. I suspect we could have copied and pasted the entire response and the teacher would never have known.
As an aside she is taught almost exclusively about "diverse" history and knows very little of British or European history. I find it very sad that children seem to know only small amounts of history on the island which they live.
I would have thought that intercontinental interactions are what shape and explain our world. Narrow focus UK and Europe history boil down to a bunch of repetitive parochial spats between posh rich whiteys using the poor as pawns. Looked at from far enough out.
Yup, such nonsense very neatly describes the utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history.
And what utter bollocks it is.
I will send my children to schools that teach it properly or otherwise privately tutor them myself.
Sure, but your world picture has to explain the "utter idiocy of the marxist Left on history" if that is a major facet of our modern world to you (and it clearly is).
A spectre is haunting casinoRoyaleville; the spectre of Woke. Is Woke itself better explained by various facets of intercontinental trade and war, or by whether Philip of Anjou edged it on penalties over Charles of Austria?
History is the summation of the whole human story to date - taught in our islands should have a particular focus on British history because that's where we live and it explains our institutions and values and how we got here. It should not be taught solely through the prism of gender, race and sexuality - as the Woke would have it.
One day lesser minds, like yours, will come round to this, but for now it's far easier for you to be a dumb sheep.
One does expect a British angle on things discussed by Britons in Britain. Hence why our colonialism (big and recent and OURS) shouldn't be contextualized away with "it's complicated" and "we were no worse than others" and "what about the Romans?" etc etc. Yet this what many try to do. Happens every single time we get into it.
With respect, you have a strong view on colonialism and it only leans one-way.
I have no issue with the facts being taught. I do have an issue with those facts being highly selective and placed outwith the context of the times.
We are able to teach a balanced history of the Roman empire. It shouldn't be hard to do the same for the British.
Do we teach a balanced history of the Roman Empire?
I'd say that one curiosity of English history is that all of the invasions are taught as a good, or at least neutral, thing. None of them were particularly oppressive conquests that the locals bravely fought against.
This is especially the case for the Roman conquest where it's taught we were jolly lucky to become part of the Empire, and it was a sad day when the Roman army was withdrawn.
Given that in some respects the British Empire was seen as a modern version of the Roman Empire, this can't help but colour the way we see it and see the reactions of those Britons of earlier generations conquered.
Everything that's wrong with the teaching of the Roman and British Empires in British schools can be summarised in the Monty Python, "What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us?" scene in The Life Of Brian.
There's surely a point where something ceases to be 'good' or bad' but rather something which happened. The history of man is history of conquest and war. It's so nebulous that it's pointless for the modern day.
Note I'm separating that from concepts like slavery, or human sacrifice which on any modern level are evil.
The reason I mention it is that it's struck me as an important difference between the English and other countries.
As far as I can tell, every other country has as part of its national story an episode of liberation - the Scots have the War of Independence against the English, the Americans have the Way of Independence against the British, the French have Joan of Arc, against the English, and the Resistance against Nazi Germany, etc.
The English have defiance against failed/aborted invasions - the Armada, Napoleon, Operation SeaLion - but not of resistance to any of the invasions that actually happened. Somehow the 13th century French invasion of England never makes it's way into stories of Magna Carta for example.
It seems like a peculiar difference.
It’s definitely a bit unusual. Not is there a great wrong inflicted by an evil peer that we can never forgive, or for which we dream of vengeance.
There is not really a national creation myth or any kind of father of the nation. The Italians have Garibaldi and the Risorgimento (or is that just like our early kings?), the Spanish have the reconquest, Russia the great patriotic war. The Greeks and Turks have both the national liberation moments and the never to be forgiven wrongs.
Who else doesn’t?
Germany: but their history is quite unique Portugal? The Anglo commonwealth (CANZ) Switzerland - but they do have William Tell
Rishi oddly now supportive of striking, is that because he saw the focus groups and polls and decided he would do an about turn?
The Daily Mail will be furious.
I think the sizeable political damage of a u-turn will be less damage than persisting with no talks on pay and negotiating strike ending deals. The insanity Sunak’s government are currently doing is linking themselves to income falls in minds of voters. It’s just plain bonkers. They are making fall in income look like deliberate Tory policy. Considering inflation has peaked and will drop now regardless of making deals with all the strikers, it really is the most stupid political decision ever to own the fall in incomes, that’s going to angst voters all up to and beyond the next election.
The history books will explain in hindsight, the massacre the Tory’s got in 2024 was created by this awful political mistake in the winter of 22-23
Can Sunak’s government limit the damage with a u-turn or is it too late?
I got ChatGPT to write a western "in the style of PB". It's kinda genius
It was a hot, muggy evening in the Wild West bordello. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and leather. In the corner, the grizzled gunslinger MalcolmG sat nursing a whiskey, his hand never straying far from the pistol at his side. Ianb2, a foolish pensioner with a penchant for trouble and an oddly strong attraction to his own dog, stood at the bar, swaying drunkenly as he tried to hit on the Union Divvie, a hard-bitten prostitute with a heart of gold.
As they chatted, the strange man who had been talking about AI and Nordstream pipelines walked into the room, carrying a large leather bucket filled with poo. He began to rub it all over his body, talking about Wokeness and the lab leak theory. Liz Truss, who had been standing at the bar, watching the proceedings with a mixture of disgust and fascination, stepped forward.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain.
The man just laughed maniacally. "I am cleansing myself of the sins of the world," he exclaimed. "Only through poo rubbing and the power of ChatGPT can we achieve true Wokeness."
Ianb2, who had been listening with a mixture of confusion and horror, stepped back as the man approached him. "I think I'll pass on the poo rubbing," he said, his voice shaking.
Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The sound of gunfire and shouting filled the air. "What the hell was that?" yelled MalcolmG, his hand instinctively going to his gun.
The man laughed maniacally. "It's the truck bomb I planted earlier," he exclaimed. "I've come to bring about the end of the world as we know it. And with the power of AI and What3Words, nothing can stop me."
As the lowlifes of the town scattered in panic, Ianb2 turned to the Union Divvie. "We have to get out of here," he said, his reedy voice thin and urgent. "This place is going to blow. Where is my dog?"
The two of them ran for the door, narrowly avoiding the poo-covered man as he ranted and raved. As they fled the bordello, they couldn't help but wonder what other dangers the Wild West had in store for them. Would they ever be safe? And what about the Nordstream pipeline - would it survive the explosion? Only time would tell.
Not very convincing really, it's missed out the bit about the other truck driven by a Chinese government official was blown up at the same time releasing a virus that caused half a million deaths in five minutes.
I would have taken my time and finished my whisky.
Comments
Spread throughout the land with ease.
The Black Death, it came to be known,
Leaving bodies, death, and groans.
But as the years have come and gone,
We see the ways in which it's drawn.
Upon the lens of critical race,
We see the ways in which it took its place.
In history's pages, it's plain to see,
The way that race and power intersected, undeniably.
The Plague, a force to be reckoned with,
But through critical race, we see its myth.
So let us not forget the lessons learned,
From the Plague and Black Death, our history has earned.
But let us also look through a lens of race,
To see the ways in which power and privilege take their place.
(Just so everyone knows, I asked ChatGPT to put together a poem on the Plague and the Black Death, through the lens of critical race theory)
It was a hot, muggy evening in the Wild West bordello. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and leather. In the corner, the grizzled gunslinger MalcolmG sat nursing a whiskey, his hand never straying far from the pistol at his side. Ianb2, a foolish pensioner with a penchant for trouble and an oddly strong attraction to his own dog, stood at the bar, swaying drunkenly as he tried to hit on the Union Divvie, a hard-bitten prostitute with a heart of gold.
As they chatted, the strange man who had been talking about AI and Nordstream pipelines walked into the room, carrying a large leather bucket filled with poo. He began to rub it all over his body, talking about Wokeness and the lab leak theory. Liz Truss, who had been standing at the bar, watching the proceedings with a mixture of disgust and fascination, stepped forward.
"What in the hell are you doing?" she asked, her voice laced with disdain.
The man just laughed maniacally. "I am cleansing myself of the sins of the world," he exclaimed. "Only through poo rubbing and the power of ChatGPT can we achieve true Wokeness."
Ianb2, who had been listening with a mixture of confusion and horror, stepped back as the man approached him. "I think I'll pass on the poo rubbing," he said, his voice shaking.
Just then, there was a loud explosion outside. The sound of gunfire and shouting filled the air. "What the hell was that?" yelled MalcolmG, his hand instinctively going to his gun.
The man laughed maniacally. "It's the truck bomb I planted earlier," he exclaimed. "I've come to bring about the end of the world as we know it. And with the power of AI and What3Words, nothing can stop me."
As the lowlifes of the town scattered in panic, Ianb2 turned to the Union Divvie. "We have to get out of here," he said, his reedy voice thin and urgent. "This place is going to blow. Where is my dog?"
The two of them ran for the door, narrowly avoiding the poo-covered man as he ranted and raved. As they fled the bordello, they couldn't help but wonder what other dangers the Wild West had in store for them. Would they ever be safe? And what about the Nordstream pipeline - would it survive the explosion? Only time would tell.
It's not that. It's more like a social contract - that if you're in real trouble, someone will come.
Right now, that's not true. https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1610651644923977729/photo/1
The commentariat has decided not to like Rishi Sunak’s big speech. For me, it has a lot of problems but he’s done the best he can with the meagre resources at his disposal.
It’s going to be a rubbish year. At least he’s tried to provide structure how he’s going to tackle it.
https://twitter.com/AlastairMeeks/status/1610659327236251649
Makes you wonder about SureStart.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/04/reform-uk-field-candidate-against-every-tory-next-election-richard-tice
But it won't be long before the technology allows for them to be singing Waterloo on stage and then Bjorn all of a sudden hacks off Agnetha's arm (or head) as they roll into the final chorus.
But that noise you can hear is the media courtier class shuffling awkwardly away. Not entirely fair, but them's the breaks.
Just ask white working class men in the rustbelts of Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
It will also create them. Just ask the social media manager sipping her matcha latte in Clerkenwell.
It’s more interesting (to me) to speculate where these jobs might be destroyed and created. It is often said that the UK (London) has capability in AI, so perhaps we will be be one of the “winners”, but isn’t there a risk that we end up serfs of some tech billionaires in California?
In other news, the destructive power of AI is noted as one of the top risks of 2023 in their just published report. We are going to be drowned in deepfakes, often deployed by rogue actors like Russia and Iran.
This conflates the length of the queue and how long it takes to reach the front. It is the latter that really matters to the patient.
As far as I can tell, every other country has as part of its national story an episode of liberation - the Scots have the War of Independence against the English, the Americans have the Way of Independence against the British, the French have Joan of Arc, against the English, and the Resistance against Nazi Germany, etc.
The English have defiance against failed/aborted invasions - the Armada, Napoleon, Operation SeaLion - but not of resistance to any of the invasions that actually happened. Somehow the 13th century French invasion of England never makes it's way into stories of Magna Carta for example.
It seems like a peculiar difference.
Portugal?
Iceland?
Sunak is grotesquely hemmed in by his party’s and his own record, and has only a short runway ahead of him until the next election.
...
New Thread
There is not really a national creation myth or any kind of father of the nation. The Italians have Garibaldi and the Risorgimento (or is that just like our early kings?), the
Spanish have the reconquest, Russia the great patriotic war. The Greeks and Turks have both the national liberation moments and the never to be forgiven wrongs.
Who else doesn’t?
Germany: but their history is quite unique
Portugal?
The Anglo commonwealth (CANZ)
Switzerland - but they do have William Tell
The history books will explain in hindsight, the massacre the Tory’s got in 2024 was created by this awful political mistake in the winter of 22-23
Can Sunak’s government limit the damage with a u-turn or is it too late?