Why this Indictment of Donald Trump is the Right Indictment

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Against all expectations, one of the many grand juries that have been convened to review the evidence of the crimes of Donald Trump have voted to indict and to our amazement an actual district attorney did so.  The Republicans are going nuts and many Democrats are too. "Oh how awful, if only they had indicted him for homicide or attempting to overthrow the government of the united states.  Now we are doomed!" 

Actually I think this is exactly the right crime to indict Donald for because it is somewhat banal.  Yes instead of our failed justice system getting him for something huge, like killing American citizens, they are getting him for misrepresenting the accounting records of his hush payments to a former mistress.  Trump is banal and so is this.  Symmetry is preserved.

There is no dignity in the US government justice system and you shouldn't expect any.  We should be grateful for what we get.

 

 

Cartoon Realism and the Issue of Internet Censorship

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I think that pretty much everyone, except maybe Republicans, understand that the  internet can not be allowed to self-regulate. The world contains malign actors that will attempt to steal money, steal elections, and destabilize the country in many different ways.  How that will all work out, whether with legislation or merely secret cabals of justice loving cyberwarriors or something else is unknown at this point. I have no reason to have any hope that a reasonable system will come into place.  In the meantime, there are some ad hoc systems that claim to enforce community guidelines but maybe have the real purpose of protecting otherwise swine-like gangster capitalist companies from litigation.

As you know, this blog has been whacked several times by these guardians of all that is "good about our great country".  Although they cant tell me what they object to either specifically or generally, I am supposed to accept their judgment and go away and die or something.

One problem that we may be having is that the software used to make this judgment doesnt seem to have a sense of humor or a sense of irony or sarcasm.  I am pretty sure that is because the companies that implement this software dont have a sense of humor either.  

If I say that a certain former president with dyed orange hair should have a piano dropped on his head, will I be referred to the FBI because I am making a threat against someone's life? How about a safe?  An anvil? Ripe tomatoes? Nothing?

For more on the importance of the anvil in fiction, see:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AnvilOnHead

Democratic Party of SB

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I am trying to contact my local SB party to tell them that it is unacceptable for my congressman to vote in support of the republican nonsense about the "horrors of socialism".  First of all, in this country, socialism has been what we called such things as minimum wage, the 40 hour work week, sick leave, etc.  Second, what the heck is he doing supporting a nutty boy republican bill.  He should as a matter of course oppose the republican efforts to destroy the rest of america as they have destroyed, for example, our judicial system.

WTF?

Carbajal should resign at once.  I certainly wont vote for him in another election, and I dont care what republican  jerk they run against him.  Its time for the Democratic party to wake up and listen to  their constituents.

Why ChatGPT Will Cause Major Hardship

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Here is why I think ChatGPT will cause major hardship.

When globalization happened our government said: "Lowered cost of transport and new communications technology enables a new approach to how things are built and who builds them. Each country contributes what it does best and most efficiently, and overall the world improves because we reach a "new equilibrium" (*) and everybody is richer.  People who formerly did manufacturing, for example, could now work in offices in "information technology" or "the service industry" whatever that may mean.

But either hindsight, or some would say, a few minutes forethought, would show this was nonsense.  Workers were cheaper in some countries because they were wildly exploited.  Companies used this to bust unions in their own countries.  In some cases it wasn't about efficiency, it was about government subsidies to move an industry from one country to another.  When manufacturing or another industry left, the economic structure of cities would collapse as families became unemployed and left town.  Furthermore there was no money for retraining workers for these different industries which may already be oversubscribed.  Would a 50 yr old worker want to work as a secretary for 1/10th their former salary?  Who would train them?  Who would hire them? So formerly middle class families would slip into poverty. They would lean on their savings assuming they had any. Families would need new sources of income, perhaps a spouse would have to work.  Mothers would have to work so children would have to go to day care with a variety of long term implications for development. Remember the Republican emphasis on the traditional American family? Well, not so much it would appear.   Retirement would be affected as less money could be saved or put into social security.  A family might not be able to support sending a child to college, certainly not an elite one. The restaurants and stores that relied on these workers for customers would go out of business because their customers could not afford to eat out or would have to move away to find work.  There would be less tax revenues for the local community and the local schools.  No doubt large corporations made money, but as always in most countries they dont pay taxes.  The so called shareholders made money, yes, perhaps the top 10% of society, but again the rich dont pay taxes.  And politically we got more extremism, either right or left but mostly right (for reasons that are not so clear to me).

I have anecdotal stories about how this played out in the traditional animation industry, in glamourous digital visual effects and in the community of Culver City. 

Now with ChatGPT a big chunk of the middle class who make their living in part by being able to write competent essays will be disenfranchised and impoverished. What percentage of the population in developed countries am I talking about?  A few percent?  More?  Public relations, marketing and advertising come to mind.  Maybe Hollywood screenwriting (ha ha, thats a joke). If government was actually good at helping people find new careers and training them this might be different.  But our government doesn't even pay for education or pay the expenses of a real family while someone learns a new trade, or prevent ageism in the work place, for example.

So what do I recommend? No, ChatGPT is not about real intelligence or eliminating the great writer, but it is about a lot of real hardship in America and the rest of the developed world.  As usual, our government is useless, except for the rich.  But at the very least we should expect the three minimum requirements mentioned above.  1. Pay for education and retraining.  Seriously pay for it, and remember I am not just talking about junior college or a trade school here.  Think Harvard and Princeton.  2. Pay real expenses of a family, perhaps $50-100K / year.  And 3. Make serious efforts to reduce ageism in the work place which is rampant and about which the government does nothing.

The Republicans will say this is socialism.  But then they said that about the minimum wage, the 40 hours work week, and social security.

 

 

 * Economists get all hot when they talk about "equilibrium".

The Tragic Kingdom in 2023

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This is a report on the current status of the Disneyland Park (and to a lesser degree the Disneyland Resort) from a visit on January 25, 2023.  My partner in this adventure was Jill Fraser.  There is a lot to go over here from the lowest levels to the highest.  Jimini Crickett said to emphasize the positive but this review will have some negative as well.  Its up to you what order to read it in.  Topics will include the trivial (food at the Magic Kingdom), to the highest levels of aesthetics in theme parks, including the new Star Wars land and the dismaying decay and abandonment of Tomorrowland.

1. Timing and pricing.  We chose to go on a Wednesday when school is in session and the weather is cold(er).  For these days, Disney lowers prices for each park to $104/person but the park also closes earlier and does not have its big shows.  Everything else seems to be there.

2. The food was dreadful and expensive.  As bad as I have ever had there.  I recommend you pack some trail mix, eat like you were backpacking, rehydrate regularly and then eat something better when you get home or leave the park.

3. Perhaps the highlight of the park was, for me, three so-called cast members.  We had Xavier at the Magic Store on Main Street, some unknown people at the Penny Arcade and best of all "Mike" at one of the Adventureland emporia across from the Jungle Cruise.  Xavier demonstrated what could be done with the trimmed cards.  I asked Mike if they still had the shrunken heads you used to be able to find there.  He not only knew what I was talking about, he was able to remind me of the old Jungle Cruise exhibit/joke in which a Witch Doctor wants to trade two of his heads for one of yours.  I loved this guy and plan to look for him again the next time I am at the park.  Its the people who matter.

4. I am also happy to say that the Magic Shop and Mickey's theatre on Main Street are both there.

5. But what happened to the horse drawn carriages on Main Street?  And even if you get rid of them, you should replace them with "in period" motor driven vehicles.  Dont just drop transportation.  Not everyone wants to walk the 200 - 300 yards distance from the entrance to the castle.

6. That castle is looking a little small in context with everything else, maybe it is time to refurbish and enlarge it.

7. The new Star Wars land is spectacular.  It is very large, where did all that land come from?  The two main attractions are both amazing and I am curious to know how they pulled off some of those things.  No I could not figure out what our guides were saying most of the time, but that was OK.  

 

 

8. Genie Plus was worthwhile occassionally. But we had to pay an extra $25/person to get the "Lightning Line" feature at Rise of the Rebellion.  We felt that they were being overly greedy.

9. The food was a disaster.  Bring your own food.  Oh did I mention that before.

10.  Getting hooked up with the app was painful.  

11. Tomorrowland was a sad wreck of a land, once so filled with promise and optimism, now fallen into decay, a parody of itself.  The Carousel of Progress is a gigantic wreck in the middle of everything.  The decayed PeopleMover just has its track laid like pointless linguini on the land with the obnoxious wreck of what used to be a peoplemover terminal rusting in the middle.  One of the main attractions, the CircleVision 360 film about America is now a trivial shoot em up with several Pixar characters.  This is fun but very, very minor.  Where is the vision?  None to be seen.

Carousel of Failure

The Former People Mover

12.  The Tiki Room was as enchanted as ever and they should just keep it.  But the Jungle Cruise!? Forget about it, tear it down and do something else with it.

13. I always wanted to check if the entrances to back stage were really hidden in plain sight, and yes they were.  How amusing.

 

14. Perhaps the biggest failure is the disastrous parking system.  Really, Disneyland?  You want to make customers walk a mile or two after parking and wait for trams while trying to go to your park?  This is the best you can do?

 

15. I think it would be worthwhile to use one of these discount days to go to California Adventure.  Bring  your own food, etc. 

You Never Know Who These People Will Turn Out to Be

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Long ago and far away, I used to be able to amuse my friends by giving them tours of various glamourous and rewarding entities, facilities, and/or studios in the motion picture or related industries.  Sometimes I cant be there and so the tour happens without me.  Once I sent a relatively young colleague to REDACTED for a tour by my friend REDACTED.  He told me later that he thought it was a waste of his time for which I apologized.  Little did he know who she was or who she would be.  So recently I sent him an update.

Dear REDACTED

It's completely possible that I've told you this already and if I have I apologize for the repetition. But I find it so entertaining that I want to elaborate on it just a little bit. Remember that young woman you gave a tour to at REDACTED, and which you basically thought was kind of a waste of your time for which I apologize. In retrospect yes I see your point of view. But I can also tell you that with the exception of one or two people at the Rand corporation who move in circles of power of our great dysfunctional nightmare of a country, that person that you gave a tour to is possibly one of the more powerful people that I know in the area of international and global economics. Although of course that wasn't true then. Later, however,  REDACTED was able to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland, that elite confab of the most evil globalists which has certainly worked very hard to destroy the American economy and the ability of American workers to get a fair wage. I adore REDACTED for who she is and I'm very proud of her. She's also been very involved in various not for profits working to help control disease in REDACTED. The one time I went to a United Nations black tie event she sighted me which is what you want, of course.  To be seen.  Of course it is the case that she's there regularly and it was just accident that I was there even once.  This was so long ago that my tuxedo still fit.  Anyway I just want you to know that I have your interests at heart and that I wouldn't send just anybody or intentionally waste your time. I have asked REDACTED to possibly introduce me or even induct me into some sort of secret society so that I can also help conspire to destroy Western democracy but she just laughed at me and said well if I told you then it wouldn't be secret anymore. Yeah yeah I know we've all heard that before. Well my life is fucking miserable I hope you're doing well.
 

Sincerely,

 

                                                                                 Klaus Schwab at Davos

Happy New Year or We May as Well be Optimistic

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Looking back at 2022 is complicated for me.  There is reason for hope, or at least the slope of the curve seems to be positive.  I dont believe that positive thinking necessarily results in a more positive outcome but at least it can make things more pleasant.

 

The problem is, or one of the problems is, that I have worked very hard to look at the world as realistically as I can and that was a bad idea.  Long ago, when the world was a different place, I was ... well ... deluded about how the world works. And because of luck and timing and a few other things, I got a lot done.  Fools may go where wise people fear to tread.  And yet it was painful and I was broke so I decided to spend some time figuring out what this "reality thing" was all about and that may have been a mistake because reality can be really unpleasant and not very charming or fun.  And I had forgotten to get a "trust fund" and that was another mistake.

 

So a middle ground is sought.  On the one hand, yes, its true we are really f*cked, and in so many ways.  And I contributed to my situation today.  The question becomes what can we do with the resources at hand, and that is problematic. So much easier to worry about institutional racism or war in europe or the bizarre beliefs of some of our fellow citizens.  These are things of great importance and also things I couldn't possibly do anything about. 

 

The world is just going to have to take care of itself while I try to make some progress on this "life" thing.

 

Minimum Govt Protection of Civil Rights

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If there is one thing that the events of the last few years has proven, it is that our government is hopelessly either incompetent or corrupt when it comes to protecting our citizens from being oppressed by the government, or republican nuts, or tech bro stupidity.  What can we do to protect ourselves against the kind of overreach we have seen time and time again?  Not much actually, the government of the US was deliberately set up to be immune to the beliefs of the citizens.  But still it does not hurt to ask, well except that if you ask you will be put on various lists and have your life destroyed.  

 

But why not?  Unless you are wealthy, your life has been destroyed anyway.

 

Here is a short list of things we could demand and of course not receive.

1. In every movie, we always see that the US govt has complete access to all our private records, transactions, credit cards, driver licenses, etc.  We can see that they do not have such access and any violation of this law requires that the law enforcement officials be indicted and tried for a crime that requires jail time.

 

2. Time and time again, some internal security force, whether DHS or FBI or other, deliberately underestimates the threat of white, racist organizations but inflates the threat of innocent non-organizations such as Antifa.  When this becomes public knowledge, as it has in the case of the Portland demonstrations of a few years ago, the agents and management involved must be indicted and tried, and if found guilty, have minimum jail time.

 

3. The US can prohibit facial recognition systems used in this country and against American citizens.  Those organizations that violate that rule and their management and agents must be indicted, and if found guilty, be sentenced to some minimum jail time.

 

4. The Republicans have perverted the law by filing baseless lawsuits over and over again.  Fix this.

 

5. Any law enforcement official of the federal, state or local government who violates these laws must be prohibited from serving in any similar capacity in the government or in private industry.

 

6. Any tech company that violates the rights of its users or its employees should be nationalized without compensation and those who committed the crimes, if found guilty, serve jail time.  

 

7. The DOJ must be required to indict members of government who are obviously criminals such as Trump and his minions.  Failure to do so should result in dismissal and jail time.

 

This is minimum.  More will be added later.  Not all that interested in why you think morons like Trump should be exempt.

 

Yay! Global Wahrman is a "Hate Site" !

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The swine-like arbiters of all that is good and right, Boingo, an ISP for chrissake, has determined that this blog is a "hate site" and that their customers must be protected from me.  A greater compliment I can not imagine.  

 

I tried telling them that I am in reality a "contempt site" but it went over their heads.

 

Yes, global wahrman must be a "hate site" as I hate injustice and hypocrisy and, horrors, I am willing to write about it.

 

Happy Hanukkah

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Jill Fraser sent me these pictures of important new types of Hanukkah candle holders.  I think they speak for themselves.