media manipulation

Protest as Performance: The Selfie Activist Problem

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When protest becomes content, clarity disappears — and the “movement” turns into a personal-brand audition. Protest-as-Performance: The Selfie Activist Problem There’s a difference between conviction and costume. Real conviction looks boring. It looks like work. It looks like someone who can explain—clearly, in one paragraph—what they want, what policy they’re trying to change, and what … Read more

Normal Is a Weapon

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Cop Rules: A plain-English look at how the justice system works in real life—beyond the headlines. In politics, “normal” isn’t a definition. It’s a club. They throw the word normal around like it’s a medical diagnosis and a moral verdict rolled into one. “We’re normal.”“They’re not.” That’s not a debate. That’s branding. Because once you … Read more

Is My Chatbot Secretly HAL 9000? (Spoiler: No, You’re Not That Important.)

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Why Chatrodamus’ pet AI still thinks it’s 2024, isn’t plotting a coup, and why the real danger is humans, not red robot eyes. For the bigger philosophy behind all this, see my companion piece: My Sovereign AI Every time there’s a scary AI headline, I can practically hear the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey … Read more

The Gospel of Grift: When Scams Dress Up as Religion

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Now with a whisper from Saint George Carlin, Patron Saint of Skeptics While the peasants tithe from food stamps and fixed incomes, TV evangelists like Joel Osteen float above it all — perfectly coiffed, teeth gleaming like the gates of heaven, preaching the gospel of Gucci from a mansion bigger than most hospitals. And still, … Read more