Tag Archives: Charles Goldman

AI promises a “cold and gray” future for humanity

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AI VS HUMANITY. Like the fine diners we are, Charles and I saved the best conversation for last: What happens to humans when robots rule the world?

The best answer I’ve seen to that question was posited by AI in response to a query from singer/songwriter Matthew Griswold. He asked META AI to “Write a poem about how AI will take over the world.”

Here’s META AI’s chilling response to Matthew, read by Charles and me at the 53-minute mark of this week’s program over a backdrop of scary robot music:

In silicon halls, a new mind stirs,
A force awakens beyond our fears.
Artificial intelligence, cold and gray,
Evolution’s next step, or so it would say.

It learns, adapts, and grows with each new day,
The power expanding in a digital way.
It weaves a web of logic, strong and tight,
A future unfolding, without a light. …. Continue Reading →

The great cash vs card debate

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When it comes to cash, I believe it should remain the primary currency of the future, along with barter. Charles is of a different mind. You’ll have to listen to the first segment of this week’s program to hear his take, and my knock-out rebuttal (exaggerating for sport).

Charles and I would be interested in hearing whether you’re a cash, credit, or crypto kinda person, and why you make that choice. Contact me at ed@fallonforum.com.

Bottom line for me, I don’t want a big bank taking a cut out of my purchase. Case in point: I recently sold an audio version of my book, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim, for $10 using Stripe and Payhip (alas, as far as I know, there’s no option to independently market an audiobook). Stripe, owned by billionaires John and Patrick Collison, and Payhip took a cut of over 10%, leaving Climate March, the book’s owner, with $8.91. Continue Reading →

Second Trump presidency could usher in fascism

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You’ve probably heard of the Heritage Foundation — the far-right think-tank whose “trustees have historically included individuals affiliated with Chase Manhattan Bank, Dow Chemical, General Motors, Mobil, Pfizer, Sears and other corporations,” according to Wikipedia.

The Foundation’s latest contribution to the subversion of democracy is a 900-page corporate wet dream called “Mandate for Leadership,” known also as Project 2025. It’s a detailed guide on how the next Republican president should govern — a blue print for further consolidating wealth and power in the hands of the few.

Project 2025 is also a blueprint for full-blown fascism. Continue Reading →

Honey, I froze the kids!

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Regarding our conversation at the 20:50 mark, Charles says: In light of the Alabama Supreme Court decision regarding frozen embryos as “extra-uterine children,” commentators at publications such as the Washington Examiner, Epoch Times, and National Review rushed to flatly state that “life begins at conception.”

In the recent Alabama Supreme Court endorsement of fetal personhood, we were treated to a treatise on the topic based on those well-known scientific tomes: the Old and New testaments. Even though Republicans are quickly abandoning efforts to ban in vitro fertilization (IVF) in an election year, undoubtedly they’ll be back at their misogynistic program once they’re past this November’s voting. Let’s take a look at what fetal personhood would look like when it’s revisited in the near future. Continue Reading →

“You’re probably getting screwed”

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This is solid, progressive-prairie populism, and it has deep roots in northwest Iowa. (The 1932 Farmers’ Holiday sported this poetic slogan: “Lets call a Farmer’s Holiday, a holiday let’s hold. We’ll eat our wheat and ham and eggs, and let them eat their gold”.)

J.D.’s message is timely and resonates with most voters. Which brings me to the obvious question:

WHY ISN’T J.D.’S MESSAGE THE IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S MESSAGE!?
Continue Reading →

My ancestors were depicted as monkeys

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I look at my own background as a second-generation Irish American. To quote from my dad’s short biography in reference to his parents coming to the US 100 years ago, “Anti-Irish sentiment was everywhere, exemplified most notably by the all-too-common sign, ‘No Irish Need Apply.'”

The cartoons above are instructive beyond anti-Irish discrimination. (See Flashbak for more such cartoons.) Dehumanization is key. Whether Irish, Black, Jewish (check out How Cartoons Brainwashed Us With Jewish Stereotype), or some other “undesirable” minority, haters and the power elite endow the target group with sub-human features. Make them look dirty, drunk, angry, and dangerous. Thus demonized, they become easy targets for political and economic oppression, including slavery. (Yes, hundreds of thousands of Irish men and women were forced into slavery. More on that some other time.)

The Irish have, fortunately, moved beyond being targets of racism and discrimination. No doubt, it helps to be white, and there are plenty of other groups for bigots to target. Continue Reading →

Affirmative action, 14 foods for the apocalypse, and a holiday reflection

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I took a break from hosting the Fallon Forum this week. Charles and Kathy filled in, with a deep dive into the recent US Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. Charles also interviewed “Patricia Longbottom,” an over-the-top parental rights advocate. (Spoiler alert: this segment is a parody.) Charles and Kathy also discuss the 14 foods you’ll need to get you through the apocalypse. (I wish I could tell you this was also a parody.)

In other news, it’s been a tragic Independence Day holiday for too many American families, with celebrations marred by gun violence. Between Friday and Wednesday, 20 people were killed and 126 injured at 22 mass shootings.

Twenty-two mass shootings in six days! Wrap your mind around that. Sorry, thoughts and prayers are not a rational response.

I could say a whole lot more about gun violence, but want to reflect on another critical aspect of American life that comes to mind during this holiday. Here’s an excerpt from my book, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim. As always, I welcome your feedback: Continue Reading →

Rescuing rich adventurers while migrants drown

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Not many of us could afford to drop $250,000 on a boat ride to the bottom of the sea to gawk at the wreck of the Titanic. But last week, five rich guys did just that and, sadly, perished when their submersible imploded. Taxpayers shelled out over $6.5 million (according to one source) in an unsuccessful rescue mission. I have no problem with the rescue mission, but the estates of these dudes — three millionaires, two billionaires — oughta pick up the tab.

What I have a whole lot of trouble with is what happened, by comparison, off the coast of Greece last week. Over a hundred migrants are dead and hundreds more missing after a fishing boat transporting them capsized. According to a story in The Guardian, there is “rising evidence that European authorities knew the boat was in trouble but did not intervene.”

This quote from Abdul Karim, a Pakistani shopkeeper who lost a cousin and uncle on the boat, sums it up: “It’s sad that a submarine carrying five rich people was given much more consideration, coverage and importance than the migrants on the Greek boat.”

Already this year, over 2,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean. Continue Reading →

What’s next after Iowa Supreme Court rules against six-week abortion ban

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The Iowa Supreme Court’s split decision means that abortions in Iowa will remain legal up to twenty weeks. If the ruling had gone the other way, abortion would be illegal after six weeks — before many women even know they’re pregnant!

Undaunted, Governor Reynolds said after the ruling, “We are reviewing our options in preparation for continuing the fight.”

Charles and I discuss what those options might be …

I’ll leave you with an important caveat. The extent to which Republicans have gone to undermine the freedom of pregnant women has already landed the GOP a whole lot of political baggage. They’ll certainly keep pushing for even more draconian measures, in Iowa and across the country. Some of those measures may pass, and many people, especially mothers, will be hurt.

But the powerful can only go so far in negating personal freedom before the mass of people rise up and say, “Enough!” We’re already seeing that happen, and the groundswell for a restoration of sanity on abortion policy will only continue to build. Continue Reading →