I thought a good way to start out this Sunday morning would be with a few of the week’s most spot-on political cartoons, followed by a humorous monologue by one of my favourites, Seth Meyers. I’ll get back to you later with the serious stuff, but for now, have a few chuckles with your morning coffee or tea …
This is my favourite of the lot!!! So very apt, don’t you think?
A few nights ago I stumbled across this video of one of my favourite comedians, Seth Meyers …
A few days ago I posted about my experiment with Artificial Intelligence and concluded that it’s not something I have any desire to use. But, since I had a 5-day free trial, I figured I’d play around with it just a bit for kicks. David wondered what it would give me if I asked it to write a ‘good people’ post for me, so I asked it to …
Write a blog post about good people doing good things
And this is what it gave me …
In today’s world, it can be easy to get caught up in the negative news stories and forget all of the good people out there who are doing great things. We often hear about all of the bad going on around us, but we don’t always take time to recognize those individuals who have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in their communities and beyond. From everyday acts of kindness to extraordinary feats that change lives, there are countless examples of good people doing good things everywhere. In this blog post, we’ll highlight some inspiring stories from around the world that will remind you just how powerful one person can be when they decide to make a positive impact.In the midst of all the chaos and negativity in the world, it’s easy to forget about those who are making a positive difference. Whether it’s through small acts of kindness or greater efforts that have an impact on many lives, there are countless stories of good people doing good things everywhere. This blog post will highlight some inspiring examples from around the world that prove just how powerful one person can be when they choose to make a positive contribution to their community and beyond. From single individuals taking action for causes close to their heart, to groups working together towards a common goal – these stories show us what is possible when we come together with love and compassion as our driving force. So let’s take a moment to recognize these amazing individuals and celebrate the power of human connection!
- Introduce the story of a good person who has done something remarkable
- Describe why their actions are inspiring and how they have impacted others
- Provide examples of how this individual has made a positive difference in their community, country or even the world at large
- Explain what we can learn from this person’s example and how it could help us make our own contributions to society
- Conclude by emphasizing that one person can make a powerful impact when they choose to do something for the greater good with love and compassion as their driving force
Ummmm … not quite as inspiring as reading about an actual person or people doing good things for others, is it? Perhaps I should have been more specific? Hmmmm … so next I asked it to …
Write a blog post about Republicans vs Democrats
And the result was …
The two main political parties in the United States are the Republican and Democratic Parties. Republicans are generally associated with conservative values, such as reduced government spending, lower taxes, and stricter immigration laws. Democrats tend to advocate for more progressive policies like increased social services spending and environmental protections.
Both parties have their strong supporters and detractors, but there is no denying that each party has a distinct set of beliefs that sets them apart from one another. While both believe in democracy and capitalism, Republicans often prioritize fiscal responsibility while Democrats are known to be proponents of social justice initiatives. Furthermore, when it comes to foreign policy, Republicans typically take a more hawkish approach than Democrats do.
One major area of disagreement between the two parties is taxation. Republicans generally advocate for lower taxes, while Democrats tend to support progressive taxation systems that raise taxes on wealthier individuals. Similarly, the two parties hold opposing views when it comes to spending. Republicans are typically in favor of austerity measures and reducing public services, while Democrats believe in investing more resources into social welfare programs and infrastructure projects.
On the environment, Republicans often oppose regulations aimed at curbing climate change. In contrast, most Democrats are fully behind implementing policies that ensure a sustainable future for generations to come. From immigration to healthcare reform, there is no shortage of issues where the Republican and Democratic parties differ significantly from one another.
The differences between these two unique political ideologies can be seen across all aspects of American life. Ultimately, the choice of party affiliation is an individual one, and often based on a person’s core beliefs. As time passes, both parties are consistently working to address the issues that matter most to American citizens. In this way, Republicans and Democrats continue to challenge each other in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for the country as a whole.
No matter which side of the aisle you may be on, it is important to recognize that both parties ultimately have shared goals—namely, delivering a better life for all Americans. Working together towards these common objectives is essential if we want to see continued progress made in our society. After all, no one political ideology has all of the answers; it’s only through mutual respect and dialogue that we can arrive at the solutions that will truly benefit our nation as a whole.
Okay, that’s a pretty fair assessment of the two parties, or of the way they were a few years back, anyway, but it lacks that personal touch, lacks fire. Still, a decent primer for someone who genuinely doesn’t know what the two parties, at least in theory, stand for.
I did one final experiment with it that I probably won’t bother to post, and now my free trial has run out. My conclusion is that … it may be factually smarter than I am, but it lacks the personal touch that I think sets each of our blogs apart. So, rather than spend $490 to let this AI thing do my work for me, I shall just keep writing my own posts, for better or for worse!
Question for you: Why do you write a blog? No, it’s not a trick question … you’ll understand in just a minute.
To answer my own question, I write my posts mainly because I think I have something to say. Others might disagree with that, but that’s okay … enough people read my posts to make me want to keep writing. We all, I think, have something to say that is important to some people, and that’s what all writing, whether fiction or fact, a novel or a blog, is about. It comes from our minds and our hearts, we write our thoughts and views, and what we write is unique to us. A blog is a lot of work … research, writing, editing, responding to comments … but it is rewarding in its own way. We learn from each other and ‘meet’ new people, make new friends, share ideas.
Akismet does an excellent job of filtering ‘spam’ comments out, only occasionally sending a legitimate comment to the ‘spam’ folder or letting an illegitimate one through. I don’t get a lot of ‘spammy’ comments these days, maybe 2 or 3 a day, but I always review the spam folder at least once a day before permanently deleting them. Below is the one I found in my spam folder this morning …
Hello, jilldennison.com I hope you are doing well with managing your website
And I Know How much it is time-consuming to write a good blog post for your website but Did you know you can automate your website with a robot?
You can write a blog post automatically without writing a single paragraph. For example, let’s say you want to write a blog about Art.
In the software write ( write me content about The best Art ideas for 2023)
Done, the robot gives you an entire blog post, and it is plagiarism-freeAnd you can try it here for free: [link deleted] I hope you enjoy it, have a nice day.
My first inclination was simply to send it into the virtual trashbin, for I enjoy writing my own posts, sharing my own views, thoughts and ideas. Why on earth would I want a computer to do the thinking for me??? But then, I thought it might be fun just to try it out. Note that in no way will I use this to write my posts – when the day comes that I’m too lazy or witless to write my own posts, I’ll sign off and that will be the end of Filosofa’s Word! But, I did think it would be fun to try, just to see what this “artificial intelligence” thing came up with. And so, I chose a simple topic: The gun problem in the United States. In just under 20 seconds, this is what it came up with …
The Growing Gun Crisis in the United States
Gun violence has become an increasingly pressing issue in the United States, with gun-related deaths and injuries on the rise. From mass shootings to everyday violence, guns have been used to cause immense harm to individuals and communities across the country. But why is this happening? Let’s explore what is causing the gun crisis in America and how we can work towards a solution.
Where Are Guns Coming From?
The U.S. has some of the most lax gun laws in the world, making it easier for guns to be obtained than in other countries. In fact, there are an estimated 393 million civilian firearms in circulation in America—almost one gun per person! This means that even those with criminal records or mental health issues have access to guns, leading to an increase in gun-related crimes and deaths.
What’s Being Done To Address It?
Fortunately, groups like Everytown for Gun Safety are working hard to pass legislation that would make it more difficult for people who should not have access to guns from obtaining them. These organizations advocate for policies such as universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), and red flag laws that would prevent those at high risk of gun violence from getting their hands on firearms. So far, they’ve had success—39 states now have a form of ERPO law on the books!
Gun violence is an epidemic in our country that needs immediate attention—and we all play a role in addressing it. By supporting initiatives like universal background checks and ERPOs, we can help reduce gun-related deaths and injuries by ensuring that only those who should have access to firearms actually get them. It may seem daunting but together we can make a difference—a difference that could save lives! Let’s join forces and create a safer future for everyone!
Okay, well … on the one hand, I was amazed by the accuracy of the information, as well as the coherency and error-free grammar and spelling, although it was rather generic and didn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know. But, it lacks that personal touch, it lacks the passion with which a human would write. It is not something I’ll be using hereafter, especially in light of the fact that to go beyond the ‘free trial’ would cost $490 per year!!! But mostly, I would feel like a cheat, and I wouldn’t have the personal satisfaction I get when I write what I think is a good post. If I were going to let a computer do my thinking and writing for me … why bother?
Good afternoon, friends, and welcome to an all-new episode of Snarky Snippets! I had really hoped to settle into a more in-depth post today, but for any number of reasons, it didn’t happen. One of those reasons is that every news site I visited this morning had an angst-inducing story right on their front page. So, here goes …
Oh goodie … something new to lose sleep over
The headline caught my eye:
This was in The Guardian, not some fly-by-night, off-the-wall website, so of course curiosity got the better of me and I had to delve deeper.
Laura Nolan is a former Google software engineer who resigned last year in protest at being sent to work on a project to dramatically enhance US military drone technology. Her position is that AI killing machines not operated by humans should be banned. For the record, I agree with her.
Nolan went to work for Google in Ireland in 2013 and became one of their top software engineers. Then in 2017, she was sent to work on Project Maven, which takes drone technology a step further, removing to a large extent, the human factor. According to the article in The Guardian …
Instead of using large numbers of military operatives to spool through hours and hours of drone video footage of potential enemy targets, Nolan and others were asked to build a system where AI machines could differentiate people and objects at an infinitely faster rate.
Nolan has predicted that autonomous weapons being developed pose a far greater risk to the human race than remote-controlled drones. She outlined how external forces ranging from changing weather systems to machines being unable to work out complex human behaviour might throw killer robots off course, with possibly fatal consequences.
What could possibly go wrong, eh? Plenty, according to Ms. Nolan …
“You could have a scenario where autonomous weapons that have been sent out to do a job confront unexpected radar signals in an area they are searching; there could be weather that was not factored into its software or they come across a group of armed men who appear to be insurgent enemies but in fact are out with guns hunting for food. The machine doesn’t have the discernment or common sense that the human touch has.”
It isn’t enough that we have nuclear weapons in the hands of madmen posing as world leaders, and that the earth’s atmosphere is being destroyed even as we speak, while greedy corporate executives and politicians pretend it isn’t happening, but soon we will have killing machines flying above us, deciding all on their own who or what to destroy in a given instant. Way to go, humans … see if you can’t find more ways to hasten the demise of all life on earth.
Two thumbs up to …
United Auto Workers (UAW), who will be going on strike nationwide at midnight tonight against General Motors over the usual – wages, healthcare and profit-sharing.
Here’s the thing, though. General Motors, in an effort to cut costs, has made healthcare more expensive for their workers. This might be understandable if General Motors was weren’t making profits hand over fist, but … they are. In fact, their revenue for 2018 was $38.4 billion, net income was $8.1 billion, and … with Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy, the company not only paid no taxes in 2018, but will be getting a tax refund of $104 million!!! But they cannot take care of the people doing the work to earn them those profits. SHAME!
This, my friends, is a classic example of capitalism run amok. Once again, this nation is putting the grotesquely bloated profits of the few ahead of the basic health and welfare of the many. And it is being supported and encouraged by Trump and Congress.
Pompeo wants war …
We may be rid of warmonger John Bolton, but there’s still Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, and he seems to see fit to start a brand-new war today. Yesterday, attacks on Saudi oil refineries knocked out an estimated more than half of Saudi oil output or more than 5% of global supply. Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility. But, apparently Mike Pompeo, with no evidence, has decided to blame his arch-nemesis, Iran.
“Amid all the calls for de-escalation, Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
What. An. Idiot.
An idiot and a dangerous fool. Iran is not taking this lying down. A not-so-subtle warning was issued by Senior Revolutionary Guards commander Amirali Hajizadeh …
“All American bases and their aircraft carriers in a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers around Iran are within the range of our missiles.”
Way to go, Mikey … start a bloody war sans cause. Oh, and by the way, folks. The destruction of all that oil has a price. It is expected that tomorrow the price of oil will rise from between $5 to $10 per barrel, so look for prices at the pump to jump.
Okay, friends … I now return you to your regularly scheduled Sunday activities.
Filosofa's Word 