What makes Sauron evil is not that he has a ring of power, but that he, like Saruman, has a mind comprised only of metal and gears and is concerned only with domination and his own Ring is inherently constrained by his own hatred and vanity.⁠⁠

Jake Meador, How and Why We Do (and Don’t) Use Generative AI

This long article is, in my opinion, the best thing I’ve read on the licit and illicit uses of AI. I pulled the quote not because it summarizes (though it may), but because of non-AI applications.

Let him who has ears to hear, hear.

Dispatch from my son traveling in Rome:
The most Italian thing ever? Vespa in front of a coffee shop across from the Colosseum?

“In a world of Donalds, be a Dolly.” Wisdom picked up by my better half on Pinterest or somewhere.

28th anniversary of my dad’s death combined with prep for a colonoscopy. Just how much fun can a guy have in one day?

An “artifact” has been spotted in some shallow Pacific waters that’s a plausible candidate for Amelia Earhart’s plane. (I’ve seen images: sure looks like a plane.) An expedition is heading out from Purdue.

I’ve (temporarily) subscribed to National Review online. Most of the stories could be titled “Gotcha, sucka!”

I generally like Jonathan Rauch, but I can’t work up any enthusiasm for Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.

Democracy has no place treating religion as its handmaiden, grading its performance of a bargain it neither needed nor consented to.

Well, I guess that settles it. The Minnesota Lynx are more than just Olivia Miles. (And when the Fever breaks, it gets really cold.)

I’m old enough to remember Fulton Sheen and that, somewhat remarkably, my Evangelical parents (who got their Christian formation in a frankly fundamentalist church after the War) enjoyed watching Bishop Sheen teaching on TV.

I’m not quite old enough to remember any of his substance.

I must have set aside for later perusal a dozen interesting-looking columns and longer articles this morning, but when the smoke cleared, this one was the only keeper: What If Studying Christianity Is Keeping Us From Following Christ?.

My fair city recently legalized possession of chickens within the city limits. Today, we found four in our lawn, partially eaten. Then turkey vultures when we didn’t clean up perfectly.

I first saw it almost 6 months ago, but it’s a gut-punch every time I revisit it: America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State - The Atlantic. There’s a “Normative State” and a “Prerogative State.”

I listened to a novelty song (Title of the Song by Da Vinci’s Notebook) on Thursday and finally killed the earworm today by lunch at a smokehouse full of blues. Be warned.

The New York Times is 175 years old today.

O when the world’s at peace
and every man is free
then will I go down unto my love.
O and I may go down
several times before that.

Wendell Berry, The Mad Farmer’s Love Song, quoted in Mitchell, Mark; Schlueter, Nathan. The Humane Vision of Wendell Berry

Congress May Be Broken Beyond Repair. Lawmakers Told Us How It Happened (gift link) is a very long read, but boy is it good. (Though I object to saying Congress is supposed to be “co-equal;” it is supposed to be preeminent.)

Japanese convenience store chain Lawson announced it will begin selling products invented by artificial intelligence, including a pickle-flavored lemon tart. For years, experts have warned about the potential dangers of AI, but no one saw this coming.

The Morning Dispatch

I’m as pleased as punch to report that I’ve been banned from Truth Social. I’ve spent so little time there that I don’t know what I could have done to merit that distinction. Maybe the Panopticon knows the opinions I’ve expressed elsewhere?

Opinion | My Dumbphone Made My Life Better. It Made Everyone Else’s Worse. - The New York Times

The Ardbeg 23 year is tempting, but it would need to be, oh, like maybe $80, to be irresistible.

Continuing to listen to the audiobook of C.S. Lewis’ That Hideous Strength colors my reading of news and commentary. I keep picturing Mark Studdock cranking out agitprop for his colleagues at N.I.C.E.

My wife’s Church is trying to call a pastor from Indonesia (educated in the US and fluent in English) to fill their “vacant pulpit.”

I’m a sort of bystander, but it has become obvious to me that the Trump Immigration and Naturalization Service is acting in bad faith, obstructively demanding proof that her church is real (photos, financial records, etc.), then escalating their demands (e.g., independently audited financial records) when the church surprises them with compliance. (The list is much, much longer than this.)

The INS is betting that the Church won’t sue; that’s my take. I’d bet a substantial amount that they will not get this pastor unless they do sue or Trump has left office.

I suspect that there are a lot of Trump voters in that church (my wife not being one of them) because it’s chock-full of Republicans (many of them have been city and county officials).

Isn’t it swell having a jackboot in the White House to protect Christians?

Vacationing in Traverse City, Michigan this week, I was pleased to see that most of the marijuana dispensaries have gone out of business.

Can Maryland’s Jews protect their synagogues by armed security? Religion Clause: Court Enjoins Enforcement Against Synagogue’s Voluntary Security Team of Ban on Firearms in Houses of Worship

The Second Amendment is not my personal favorite, but I’m with the gun-carriers on this one.