Republicans want I.D.’s, proof of citizenship, paper ballots, simple clean verifiable elections.
Democrats want machine tabulation, drop boxes, ballot harvesters, early and late voting, mass unsolicitated ballot mailings, voter rolls with dead people (in one known case, a dog), and counting shut down, to recommence after Republican observers have left.
…Guess which side is committing election fraud?
Me:
I often consider our times to be unique, potentially on par with the Reanaissance. From what you know, where would you rank our current historical period in significance?
Chat GPT:
If I were ranking historical periods by their potential to transform human civilization, rather than simply by their artistic or cultural achievements, I’d put our present era remarkably high.
But there’s an important qualification: we may be living through a transformation whose historical significance we aren’t yet equipped to understand.
Let me explain how I’d approach that comparison.
The great historical turning points
If I were selecting the periods that most fundamentally changed the human experience, I’d identify five.
1. The Agricultural Revolution Roughly 10,000 years ago. Humanity transitioned from predominantly nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities. This fundamentally changed population, economics, politics and civilization itself.
2. The Renaissance (14th–16th centuries) A remarkable transformation in art, science, philosophy, architecture and individual thought. The rediscovery of classical knowledge, humanism and the development of printing helped reshape Western civilization.
3. The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions Approximately 16th–19th centuries. Science became a systematic engine of discovery, while industrialization transformed production, transportation, population and the nature of work.
4. The Atomic and Space Age (20th century) Humanity acquired the ability to destroy itself on an unprecedented scale, while simultaneously escaping the confines of Earth. Genetics, electronics, aviation and computing transformed our understanding of nature and ourselves.
5. The Digital and Artificial Intelligence Revolution The late 20th and early 21st centuries. Information became globally accessible, communication became instantaneous, and now machines are beginning to participate in intellectual work itself. I would put our current period in the company of the first three, with the possibility of eventually surpassing them. 2. Why I think this period is particularly extraordinary There are three developments that distinguish our era. A. The democratization of knowledge The printing press was revolutionary because it allowed information to circulate beyond the control of traditional institutions. The internet took that process enormously further. Today, someone living in a relatively small Japanese town can access university lectures, historical archives, scientific publications, museums and libraries around the world. The geographical limitations on intellectual exploration have diminished dramatically. B. The emergence of artificial intelligence This is potentially the most consequential development. For practically all of human history, technological advances extended our physical capabilities. * The wheel extended transportation. * Machinery extended physical labor. * Electricity extended our ability to manipulate energy. * Computers extended calculation and information processing. AI introduces something different: technology that can participate in reasoning, language, analysis and creative processes. I don’t mean that AI necessarily possesses consciousness or genuine understanding in the human sense. That’s another question entirely. But the practical implications are enormous. C. The convergence of scientific disciplines We’re seeing developments in genetics, neuroscience, quantum computing, robotics, materials science and biotechnology. These aren’t isolated developments. They increasingly interact. A breakthrough in one discipline can accelerate progress in several others. That creates the possibility of technological change occurring at a pace that previous generations would have found difficult to imagine. 3. But there’s a darker side The Renaissance produced extraordinary beauty and intellectual achievement, but it was also an age of religious warfare, political intrigue, exploitation and disease. Our period has its own contradictions. We possess: * More scientific knowledge than any previous civilization. * The ability to communicate instantaneously across the planet. * Medical capabilities that would have seemed miraculous a century ago. * The ability to produce enormous quantities of food and material wealth. Yet we also have nuclear weapons, increasingly sophisticated surveillance, political polarization, institutional distrust and potentially disruptive technologies whose consequences remain uncertain. Our technological sophistication has arguably advanced faster than our collective political and philosophical maturity. That concerns me more than the technology itself. 4. One comparison I find particularly interesting Consider Leonardo da Vinci. He was simultaneously an artist, anatomist, engineer, inventor and student of nature. He represents something I find particularly important about the Renaissance: the dissolution of boundaries between disciplines. I think we’re approaching another such period. The most interesting people of the coming decades may be those who can connect philosophy, science, technology, history, art and psychology rather than confining themselves to one specialty. In that respect, the Renaissance analogy is particularly appropriate. 5. My ultimate assessment I’d offer this ranking, with the understanding that we’re judging historical potential rather than outcomes already established: Historical transformation Significance Agricultural Revolution Civilizational foundation Scientific/Industrial Revolution Transformation of material existence Current digital/AI revolution Potential transformation of intelligence itself Renaissance Transformation of cultural and intellectual identity Atomic/Space Age Transformation of humanity’s power and perspective The order is debatable, of course. These developments also overlap considerably. But here’s my personal observation. The Renaissance changed what humanity believed it could accomplish. The Industrial Revolution changed what humanity could physically accomplish. The AI revolution may change what humanity is capable of thinking and creating. That last possibility is extraordinary. And perhaps a little unsettling. One final thought: I wonder whether people living in Florence around 1500 understood that they were participating in a transformation that would still be discussed five centuries later. We have the advantage of historical hindsight when looking at them. We don’t have that advantage when looking at ourselves. Perhaps that’s the most fascinating aspect of living through a potentially historic age: we are simultaneously its observers and its participants.
the differences between sane conservative objectivity and bat shit crazy Democrats.
I can honestly say that the topic of abortion was never a big issue with me -- I could kind of understand both sides. The skillful style of Brandon Gill could change my mind.
There is a new massive "caravan" headed to the American southern border (not many women -- of course).
No doubt there are the usual band of leftist NGO's prodding them on.
If you really want to start a civil war, this is it. When they arrive, the new "Democrat" (are they really Democrats anymore?) governor of Texas will of course lay the welcome mat down for these new replacement leftist voters. The federal government and executive branch (the president and law enforcement departments) will continue to enforce the laws passed by congress and defend against literal invasion. At some point there will be an inevitable confrontation. Adding fuel to the fire, mobs of well organized leftists, funded and directed from several socialist/communist organizations (and probably some UN assistance). "Sombody could get hurt." Actually, somebody will get hurt -- or worse. The leftists will consider this collateral harm...for the cause.
Voila, Fort Sumter.
Is there a single individual to blame?...yes, after Biden, senator John Thune has facillitated a possible demise of America. In the end, we may have to count on all those "good ole boys" in the heartland who have the means to defend.
...Fireworks.
