Story #1

 

http://www.statepress.com/2012/03/12/senate-judiciary-committee-endorses-controversial-contraceptive-bill/

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 6-2 Monday to endorse a controversial bill that would allow Arizona employers the right to deny health insurance coverage for contraceptives based on religious objections.

 

Arizona House Bill 2625, authored by Majority Whip Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale, would permit employers to ask their employees for proof of medical prescription if they seek contraceptives for non-reproductive purposes, such as hormone control or acne treatment.

 

“I believe we live in America. We don’t live in the  Soviet Union,” Lesko said. “So, government should not be telling the organizations or mom and pop employers to do something against their moral beliefs.”

 

Lesko said this bill responds to a contraceptive mandate in the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law March 2010.

 

“My whole legislation is about our First Amendment rights and freedom of religion,” Lesko said. “All my bill does is that an employer can opt out of the mandate if they have any religious objections.”

 

Story#2

 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/rick-santorum-wants-ban-hardcore-pornography-222833811.html

Rick Santorum wants to put an end to the distribution of pornography in the United States.

 

"America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography," Santorum's official website reads. "Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking."

 

The former Pennsylvania senator states that, "as a parent, I am concerned about the widespread distribution of illegal obscene pornography and its profound effects on our culture."

 

Santorum criticized the Obama administration for turning "a blind eye ... to the scourge of pornography" and for refusing to enforce obscenity laws.

 

"If elected President, I will appoint an Attorney General who will do so," Santorum writes. "While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration."

Donald Trump so worried about the midterms he has promised every adult citizen 5 grand if the republicans win.

About 1.3 trillion dollars in total.

Thickos will probably fall for it too.

18 hours ago, mondo_notion said:

Donald Trump so worried about the midterms he has promised every adult citizen 5 grand if the republicans win.

About 1.3 trillion dollars in total.

Thickos will probably fall for it too.

I expect it'll come right after the $5000 DOGE bonus and $2000 tariff refunds arrive.

Can’t get my head around how that’s legal. They are suggesting that if it’s a legitimate ‘manifesto pledge’ then it washes. Bonkers.

If I was a voter in the US, I’d be asking why I can’t get my £5k now? They already have 3 branches of government. What’s stopping them?

It’s almost as if they’re talking pish

3 hours ago, Ajja said:

Can’t get my head around how that’s legal. They are suggesting that if it’s a legitimate ‘manifesto pledge’ then it washes. Bonkers.

I'm not a legal expert on aspects of American legislation but it certainly seems illegal. Unfortunately in this new age of anything goes politics, it doesn't really matter.

25 years ago today. Allegedly.

11 hours ago, Mason89 said:

If I was a voter in the US, I’d be asking why I can’t get my £5k now? They already have 3 branches of government. What’s stopping them?

One of them, don't want to use the word reporters, did ask him that in an interview. His answer was "because the Democrats can't do it".

Don't ask me to explain it.

34 minutes ago, Toe_poke said:

One of them, don't want to use the word reporters, did ask him that in an interview. His answer was "because the Democrats can't do it".

Don't ask me to explain it.

Well that makes perfect sense, feel daft for asking now

Edited September 11Sep 11 by Mason89

I see he's turned his attention to Ireland now. He reckons a united Ireland is a great idea.

1 hour ago, swaddon said:

I see he's turned his attention to Ireland now. He reckons a united Ireland is a great idea.

Ooft that will go down well with The Smurfs 🤣

McConnell’s alive! Only just by the looks of things.

1 hour ago, Kowalski said:

McConnell’s alive! Only just by the looks of things.

Yep, definitely alive. Not sure he’s aware of that though

So I see the all knowing Trump is now saying AI safety fears are a hoax being spread by "the radical left dumocrats". Apparently he's the "hoax buster".

Call me skeptical, but I am more inclined to believe the cofounder of Anthropic on this one, and the developers who are saying they go to work everyday in fear of what they are doing to the future of humanity (which makes me question, why are you doing that job?)!

And I have seen Terminator and The Matrix. I know exactly how this ends.

I’m actually inclined to believe Trump here but for different reasons.

AI is bollocks and nobody really needs it. I think the tech weirdos are trying to get more money out of it before the bubble bursts. How often do large companies worth squillions call for themselves to be regulated?

18 minutes ago, Mason89 said:

I’m actually inclined to believe Trump here but for different reasons.

AI is bollocks and nobody really needs it. I think the tech weirdos are trying to get more money out of it before the bubble bursts. How often do large companies worth squillions call for themselves to be regulated?

Aye, it's the equivalent of the pavement dancers being "held back" by their mates, lest they batter everyone. "Stop me, I'm out of control!"

AGI would indeed signal an end to humanity. There is absolutely zero evidence that LLMs "learning" on data generated by LLMs is a path to AGI.

1 hour ago, Mason89 said:

AI is bollocks and nobody really needs it.

I agree with you 100% on this. People need to think for themselves or we will all have custard from brains.

1 hour ago, Mason89 said:

I’m actually inclined to believe Trump here but for different reasons.

I hope you're right. Looking at everyday life, my work and my wife's work have changed at an unprecedented rate over the last 6 months, and we're both starting to see the trimming down of the workforces. it makes me wish I was 10 years older and approaching retirement. Whoever wished to be older!

When our respective companies, in different industries, started using AI a year or so ago it was pretty basic and had no real serious impact. The speed it has progressed is mental. Our marketers no longer write copy, our designers no longer design, our L&D team no longer write training courses and create materials. I am getting over long reports of unchecked, contradictory bollocks landing in my inbox from people who think they are being smart. But it's level of smartness is improving nearly daily, and what was nonsense 6 months ago, is now pretty passable. My wife's work no longer recruit junior coders as it is all written by Claude. It's all generic AI slop, but so many people are looking past that and marvelling at the fact something that took them a day, has just been done in 2 minutes.

People who's jobs were creative are finding themselves to be writing requests rather than using their creative minds. And people think who the fact something else can do it or us in a fraction of the time is a good thing, are missing the point of what it means to be human and the satisfaction that comes with using your brain!

I don't seriously think we will end up controlled by machines like in the Matrix (but you never know), but I do fear for future generations and their prospects, and think we are sleep walking into this in the name of better profit margins whilst ignoring humanities true role. I hope for a push back, but I don't think the kids have it in them to resist the easy life - they will realise when it's too late!

But I hate people and hope we wipe ourselves out. The planet is in much better hands when looked after by nature!

12 minutes ago, CurlsLikeTattie said:

I agree with you 100% on this. People need to think for themselves or we will all have custard from brains.

I hope you're right. Looking at everyday life, my work and my wife's work have changed at an unprecedented rate over the last 6 months, and we're both starting to see the trimming down of the workforces. it makes me wish I was 10 years older and approaching retirement. Whoever wished to be older!

When our respective companies, in different industries, started using AI a year or so ago it was pretty basic and had no real serious impact. The speed it has progressed is mental. Our marketers no longer write copy, our designers no longer design, our L&D team no longer write training courses and create materials. I am getting over long reports of unchecked, contradictory bollocks landing in my inbox from people who think they are being smart. But it's level of smartness is improving nearly daily, and what was nonsense 6 months ago, is now pretty passable. My wife's work no longer recruit junior coders as it is all written by Claude. It's all generic AI slop, but so many people are looking past that and marvelling at the fact something that took them a day, has just been done in 2 minutes.

People who's jobs were creative are finding themselves to be writing requests rather than using their creative minds. And people think who the fact something else can do it or us in a fraction of the time is a good thing, are missing the point of what it means to be human and the satisfaction that comes with using your brain!

I don't seriously think we will end up controlled by machines like in the Matrix (but you never know), but I do fear for future generations and their prospects, and think we are sleep walking into this in the name of better profit margins whilst ignoring humanities true role. I hope for a push back, but I don't think the kids have it in them to resist the easy life - they will realise when it's too late!

But I hate people and hope we wipe ourselves out. The planet is in much better hands when looked after by nature!

Aye, it's interesting to see people pining for their meaningless jobs. I'd argue that when I attended meetings with people discussing the bureaucratic administration of our system (money, shareholders, investors, the market, the balance sheet, the customer , advertising etc), like it was real rather than a fictional game, then their minds had already turned to custard. That it has managed to be replaced by an algorithm that simply guesses the next best word would hopefully have people questioning what the entire thing really was. It's intriguing to see managers seamlessly switching out human for computer simulation, still without the slightest understanding of what they're actually asking them to do, or why. All with the utter lack of humility required to question their own role.

8 hours ago, Kowalski said:

McConnell’s alive! Only just by the looks of things.

Now we know how many weeks of intense physical therapy are required to regain the ability to impersonate a cardboard cutout.

They want to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad.

They'll probably get sponsorship for it, make it pay-per-view and have ad breaks during the execution.

Always worth remembering as the country circles round the toilet, that Americans would rather vote for a demented rapist twice, than give a woman a shot

Smash the patriarchy

15 minutes ago, Mason89 said:

Always worth remembering as the country circles round the toilet, that Americans would rather vote for a demented rapist twice, than give a woman a shot

Smash the patriarchy

Clinton and Harris were the patriarchy. It's not a numbers game. Women CEOs don't usher in an enlightened system. They don't get to where they are by embodying their femininity.

1 hour ago, RicoS321 said:

Clinton and Harris were the patriarchy. It's not a numbers game. Women CEOs don't usher in an enlightened system. They don't get to where they are by embodying their femininity.

They were up against a nonce. Regardless of the circumstances, you pick the one that isn’t a nonce. Ideally, that’s not how democracy should work but these were strange times. The nonce won twice. If he was up against a guy (any other guy) he would’ve lost twice.

Smash the patriarchy

Sorry, he would’ve won against Biden.

I guess we're lucky over here that the patriarchy ended with Thatcher, it's grave thoroughly stamped on by May and Truss.

19 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

I guess we're lucky over here that the patriarchy ended with Thatcher, it's grave thoroughly stamped on by May and Truss.

If you take these examples and a few others that have been near the top of UK politics, then they all have one thing in common. They all tried to act hard. Like guys. Whether it’s the Iron Lady, the hostile environment, Nandy wanting coppers to batter Scottish nationalists, Mahmood putting Nick Griffin to shame. If they had society’s normal gender roles, they wouldn’t get anywhere near the top. It’s all still part of the patriarchy which is needing smashed

Truss would be the exception, as she’s incapable of any type of coherent thought or strategy.