Jim Brown's Website

A place to record occasional thoughts and notes about what I read on the Internet. You may comment using my email address at the bottom of the page.

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"When the tyrant first takes power, there is a “rush into servitude” as great swarms of sycophants suck up to the great man. The flattery must forever escalate and grow more fawning, until every follower’s dignity is shorn away. Then comes what you might call the disappearance of the good, as morally healthy people lie low in order to survive. Meanwhile, the whole society tends to be anesthetized. The relentless flow of appalling events eventually overloads the nervous system; the rising tide of brutality, which once seemed shocking, comes to seem unremarkable."
—David Brooks in the NY Times, writing about Trump, paraphrasing Tacitus, Roman historianPosted: 202601230824

Be careful with AI chatbots. I recently used ChatGPT to help me think through some future retirement funding scenarios. Nothing complicated. Just several options for saving and disbursing future costs. ChapGPT constantly forgot assumptions I had previously asked it to incorporate and could not produce a correct Excel spreadsheet to summarize the calculations. Posted: 202512220835

Finn Brunton, who has studied cryptocurrency since its inception, writing in the New York Times:

"Mr. Trump seems to have understood something that escaped generations of libertarian politicians and philosophers: Rather than dissolving the power of the state totally, he could do so selectively, to put himself and his allies above the law, while using the full force of the state to punish his adversaries; to promote crypto, while also insisting he be in charge of the Fed; to pardon allies, while having his enemies charged."

Wonder how much taxpayers money is being wasted on all these name changes? Posted: 202509291636

Everyone who uses the Internet or AI should read this. Posted: 202509280916

Today marks the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene's devastating arrival in the Upstate of South Carolina. She proceeded northward to do even more damage in western North Carolina. Posted: 202509270259

Peggy Noonan with another great column. This time on how to weather what's going on in our society today. Posted: 202509200722

With the errors in AI chatbots being spread widely by social media, amplified by those who seize upon any information, whether true or not, supporting their point of view, it is becoming nigh impossible to get the true story of anything happening in the U.S. Posted: 202506110932

Trump and Musk <shakes head>. Posted: 202506060828

Hard to believe that Trump would appoint someone to head DHHS who does not believe that germs (aka bacteria, viruses) cause disease. Actually hard to believe that RFK Jr. could believe that, but that's what he says in his book. Posted: 202505041242

Hard for me to believe I turned 80 years old today. I've seen the entire revolution that personal computers and the Internet have wrought. Posted: 202504200755

I fervently hope that America has a presidential candidate in 2028—assuming Trump does not bully his way to a third term—whose sole focus is debt reduction and national welfare. Posted: 202503040950

Americans, please do not elect Trump president. If you do, America as we know it (land of the free, land of opportunity) may not survive. Posted: 202411030840

First sentence of the report from the Commission on the National Defense Strategy: "The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war." All Americans should read this report. Posted: 202409231008

Even if you are a lifelong baseball fan, I'll bet you've never seen this. Posted: 202405261024

We are NOT in a recession. In fact, the economy is growing. You can test your understanding of the facts here. Posted: 202405230659

Shouldn't it give Trump supporters pause that both China and Russia are taking steps to help him win the presidency in 2024? Posted: 202404091725

I love Peggy Noonan's writing and most of her opinions: "I’m not saying once we had Henry Clay and now we have Marjorie Taylor Greene but—well, I guess I am saying that. And I think it’s dangerous." Posted: 202404271027