I wrote a piece in the @mainemorningstar.com on data centers and the AI debate in Maine- and why political leaders should catch on to the growing pushback to big tech #mepolitics

Calling it a fancy spellcheck instead of AI is both a great mockery and it’s descriptive and actually helpful in explaining what large language models actually ARE which are prediction machines and not at all intelligent

There are some pretty scary political applications of AI, especially with video. But as someone who has worked in the churn n' burn political biz, I think AI's largest impact won't be in the realm of persuasion but rather in further eroding the legitimacy of the entire process

I've noticed a new trend where the for-profit utility companies (spectruminternet, CMP electricity) are starting to send customer emails that make it seem like they are being proactive and responsive, like "we're letting you know that we're monitoring the storm"

Joseph Weizenbaum wrote that, "The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience," and one thing I'm thankful for today is everybody working together to fight the myths of inevitability.

And even in the actual "news" sections, the headline is "Dems are angry at Angus, in an unexpected and new development" as though it's just whiny partisans who are pissed their healthcare premiums are doubling.

Candidates whose whole politics amounts to “let’s just all be reasonable and sit around a table and calmly solve our differences” are a fascist’s ideal politician.

Has anyone in Maine done a search for George Mitchell in the Epstein trove yet? Elite impunity isn’t just in Washington.. #mepolitics

Angus King is a businessman and he leads with that perspective. Time to get back to work, everyone. Solidarity? Leverage? Fight? Foreign concepts to a guy whose entire career is one long train of forgettable, pro-corporate policies sprinkled with self-serious speeches. #mepolitics

Worth noting that the same ways Susan Collins is repeatedly given the fluff treatment by the Maine press (something covered in excellent detail by @collinswatch.bsky.social) is how King is treated, too. Today's Press Herald headline: "Shutdown end in sight as Maine’s King helps break stalemate"

Angus King and Janet Mills both could have retired comfortably and retained their reputation as fairly respected politicians. Instead both decided to cling to power into their 80s and show the entire nation their true colors. #mepolitics

Increasingly clear that more people need to understand what the cloud is and the basics of how it works. Having the entire web hosted on Amazon Web Services is a huge vulnerability - not to mention a consolidation of power and loss of democracy when AI is brought into the picture.

The enthusiasm for @grahamformaine.bsky.social is refreshing. It will be interesting to see the Maine Dems finally reckon with the deadweight corporate class that's led it to run many a campaign into the ground. Just wait to see how long it takes for some to get on board.. and take notes

Left off much of this coverage is that Graham gave his comms team the greelight to say "join the grahampaign" on his website and it made it to the official launch. Impressive.

Fun fact: I changed my name :)

Covering this like it's some novel campaign tactic to break out of a crowded field is nasty work. Irresponsible journalism.

The software Maine police are quickly adopting is designed to intentionally skirt transparency measures #mepolitics New report from @eff.org raises major red flags www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

It's been a long time coming and I cannot wait to see more centrists with terrible politics fall from grace. It's both hard and entirely possible to out organize campaigns that think they can buy their way to the top.

Remnants of the wholesome, deranged 1990s - back of an old NYNEX telephone book from 1994.

The press herald reporting on king making a speech or doing otherwise symbolic actions: "challenges trump admin" "raises red flag" "sounds the alarm" The press herald when king confirms Trump appointees, throws zero procedural blocks to the trump agenda, and votes for the GOP budget: *crickets*

"The establishment elite preferred to see democracy die rather than risk its wealth, power, and privileges." - Historian Benjamin Carter Hett on how the Nazis took power.

Media really carrying the water for the christian nationalists on this one by calling it voter ID. This would be one of the most restrictive ballot suppression laws in the country, restricting absentee voting + removing the ability for caregivers to deliver ballots for loved ones.

CFPB's former chief technologist issues an urgent warning to the court that several years' worth of sensitive data is about to be destroyed, with damaging consequences storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Tentacles of tech dominance aren't just creeping into gov by 20-yr old Musk programmers. Local police depts + county gov are buying more and more police tech with little to no oversight, siphoning off more public money into the hands of Axom & co The arguments will be "staffing" + "efficiency"

Tech in the modern neoliberal age is so insidious because you can look up the bowels of the least tech savvy gov institutions and find elected officials who have been in the same office uncontested for 10+ years asking if AI can solve problems they have never built the political will to change.

Writing is so special. Why do we want to all sound like the same amalgamated water-gulping robot? See! Chat gpt could never write that sentence. Less focus on good writing and bad writing, more on unique voice. We all have one.

Are we really going to continue pointing out the inconsistencies between both parties? What's the point? It's not a useful way to analyze what's happening.

Tech CEOs are saying "social contract" a lot recently in interviews. Many imagine themselves as political philosophers, while also thinking they are remakers of society, nerd gods. For some, it's merely marketing products as powerful, for others, they're true believers. For both- it's narcissistic

OpenAI: China stole our tech!! Luddites: Oh weird how'd you make your tech in the first place OpenAI: 😡

Incredible reporting by @bangordailynews.bsky.social on evictions in Maine uncovering the abysmal eviction rates at public housing agencies. Sad that it takes an investigative team to analyze data about our paper-based public court systems in the year 2025. www.bangordailynews.com/2024/12/12/m...

The last time Susan Collins was up for re-election, nearly every Democratic elected official & org in the state made sure there was no primary in who deciding would contest the nation's least popular Senator. There's a great opportunity for real primaries & big shifts in power in 2025. #mepolitics

Finally made the switch.. looking to follow organizers, housing/tenant justice folks and people in Maine