Everything Everywhere All At Once

     Did you ever wake up an ungodly hour and find yourself muttering “It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it” — ? Has that happened to you lately? It’s been happening to me rather frequently.

     I tried my best, Gentle Reader. Really and for true. I got up, lit the lights, fed, watered, and walked the dogs, made coffee, made the bed, showered, shaved, and dressed, ate the ritual cup of yogurt, and compelled myself to smile – and it changed nothing. The Future Columns folder is still overflowing. And you know what that means.

1. Future War.

     Some technologies are purely benevolent in application. Others, not so much:

     Approximately 60 drones were launched from Ukraine overnight to attack the Russian capital city of Moscow. This is the largest escalation of drone/missile attacks into Russia so far.
     […]
     Hitting Moscow with a wave of 60 drones is a major escalation, because face-to-face meetings with U.S and Ukraine officials are at a critical inflection point. Each uptick in the offensive action from Ukraine is directly proportional to the increased seriousness of the peace talks.

     Let’s leave aside the politics of the situation for the moment. What does the use of drones as combat instruments portend? Some have claimed that it will ultimately remove humans from the battlefield. I find that to be unsupported by either logic or experience. Whatever the case, today’s combat drones are precursors to something more frightening: combat drones guided by artificial intelligence.

     Warfare in the Information Age implies that such drones would not merely inflict damage on things. Rather, they would target important strategists and tacticians. By removing the guiding intelligences of enemy forces, they would create disorder and reduce enemy efficacy. As the strategic / tactical pyramid always has the political leadership at its pinnacle, such drone swarms would attack heads of state.

     Does that strike you as a stabilizing change?

2. It’s Out In The Open Now.

     This news is frightening even by recent standards:

     The website “Dogequest” reportedly doxes Tesla owners and employees of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), listing personal information and Tesla dealership locations.
     The site encourages vandalism of Tesla vehicles, stating it supports “creative expressions of protest.”
     Recent incidents include vandalism at Tesla dealerships, gunfire attacks in Oregon, and harassment of Cybertruck owners.

     David Strom notes:

     We have already seen a huge spike in terrorism from trans activists. Many of the attacks on Teslas and Tesla showrooms were done by trans “women,” and a number of mass shootings have been as well. “Kill TERFs” has become a common slogan as well.
     Relatively normal AWFLs are fantasizing about violent resistance, and while they won’t do it themselves, they have already cheered it on, up to an including endorsing Luigi Mangione’s cause and helping fund his very expensive defense.
     As far as I can tell, there is no backlash among Democrats to the increasing violence, which instead has inspired a bunch of “I don’t endorse violence, but…” tut-tutting. That is, in fact, a tacit endorsement of violence, and we know that the Democrat-controlled ActBlue is raising money for the extremist wing of the Party that commits these terroristic acts.

     We’ve been wondering when the sotto voce civil war would burst out into the open. I submit that it has. This puts us to the test: What are we willing to do about it?

     Ace suggests that we treat the militant Left like an American chapter of HAMAS:

     The antifa left needs to be dealt with, like Hamas — once and for all.

     I concur.

3. Chaos Is The Goal.

     Lincoln Brown spells it out:

     Encouraged and protected by teachers, legislators, social media, and, for that matter, the press, the chaos of the day has been a long time coming and is practically institutionalized. These miscreants have appointed themselves the marshalls of a dystopian Dodge City. They have no problem violating social contracts, such as not burning things that do not belong to them, because they recognize no social contracts other than their own. They have the right to do as they wish to administer their version of justice. In return, you also have the right to do as they wish. Or face the consequences. Consider the irony of fascists calling people fascists. When it comes to such people, the revolution will not only be broadcast, it will be promoted, lauded, and bankrolled. By way of reminder, one of the reasons for all the violence is to remind us that none of this would have been necessary if we had only voted for Giggles McPantsuit and Uncle Fester. This isn’t just intimidation; it’s a warning about how you better vote next time.

     Remember, Gentle Reader: It takes only about 2% of the population of a society to destroy all pretense of order in that society. Is the insane, destruction-minded component of the Left is that numerous? I don’t know… but I think we’re about to find out.

4. Alternate Outcomes.

     Sundance at The Last Refuge highlights a recent speech by Vice President J. D. Vance:

     During a speech to the American Dynamism Summit, JD Vance outlines his optimism for the future of the U.S. economy, as boosted by the technological advances in artificial intelligence.
     Within his remarks, Vance correctly notes some voices are saying there is going to be a major fracture between the “Techno-optimists” and the “populists.” However, Vance defines that chasm, and then refutes that fear/concern around jobs, advanced AI, automation, innovation and the economy. He misses what will be the root cause of the fracture completely.
     Vice-President Vance notes there is nothing to fear from innovation, artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced industrial application of emerging technology. Indeed, all facets of economic growth through the use of all the aforementioned enterprises are correctly framed by the vice president.
     There is nothing to fear on the economic front from the technological advancements currently underway.

     But economics are only a part of the picture:

     It is not the economic side of the AI system Vance supports on behalf of his benefactors that is problematic; it’s the creation of a compliant surveillance state that flows as a natural outcome of advanced and automated AI systems within a highly weaponized government. That’s the problem. That where the fracture will occur.
     […]
     The problem for Americans is how advanced AI will be deployed under the guise of efficiency to create a comprehensive DHS surveillance state.
     The predictable system will automate, connecting every aspect of our lives to our compliance in living that life in the manner approved by those who control the system.

     In his darkest nightmares, George Orwell could not have imagined such a world. Yet the union of inexpensive video cameras, high-bandwidth Internet, facial recognition software, government databases, and artificial intelligence makes it perfectly plausible.

     Really now, Gentle Reader: how much longer do you intend to tolerate the obscenity we call the State?

5. For Your Perusal.

     In light of all the above, I’d like to suggest a review of some previous essays:

• The Fraying
• The Fraying Part 2
• The Numbing
• A Walking Corpse

     Is their pessimism still justified, given the segments above? Or are we really making progress back toward a free and peaceful America?

6. On A Lighter Note.

     Populism, in essence, is about the rising of previously neglected (or suppressed) voices. It appears to be ascending throughout the Western world. Peoples in nations across the water are feeling abused in several ways that are already familiar to Americans. One such people, the Irish, have an unexpected spokesman in martial-arts figure Conor McGregor – and the Irish mainstream media are incensed:

     It was a ‘dismal’ sight, cried the Irish Times. It was ‘beyond distressing’. It was ‘enough to curdle many a pint of stout’. ‘The shamrock bowl lies wilting’, the paper wailed, like one of those be-shawled auld women who once stalked the lanes of Ireland issuing dark prophecies to all and sundry. What has happened to stir up such fright and foreboding at Ireland’s newspaper of record? Have the Brits returned? Is a new potato blight afoot? Are the Magdalene laundries reopening? Nope – Conor McGregor went to the White House.
     […]
     The meltdown over McGregor’s jaunt to Washington, DC has been equal parts hilarious and terrifying. No sooner had the UFC braggart done his ‘billionaire strut’ outside the White House than Ireland’s scribes were pounding their keyboards in fuming disapproval. ‘The Irish image abroad took a hit’ when this ‘MMA fighter was given the microphone in the White House’, said one at the Irish Independent. They really can’t believe a Crumlin boy was allowed to speak in public. The horror!

     Please read it all. After the segments prior to this one, I’m sure you could use a laugh.

     That’s all for the nonce, Gentle Reader. Enjoy your Thursday, if that’s possible.

     “This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.” – Arthur Dent.