If robots could vote

Dear Friends,

THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM, WITH CHARLES GOLDMAN AND ED FALLON

Unrelated to my discussion with Charles, but very much related to the program’s general content:

Monday, April 20, I’m reading the part of journalist Doremus Jessup in SINCLAIR LEWIS’S IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE -- a play about America’s imagined (but frighteningly realistic) descent into fascism in the 1930s. The reading is at The Little Book, 520 Euclid Ave in Des Moines at 7:00 pm. There’s no charge and you can BYOB.

Monday is also Hitler’s birthday, but that’s just a weird coincidence.

(01:56) - IF ROBOTS COULD VOTE, we’d surely land our first AI president in 2028. Wait, never mind. The Tech Bros found an easier way to take over the government: pay Congress to kill efforts to regulate AI.

For fun, and because I enjoy irony, I searched “tech industry donations to Congress“ and AI gave me this:

“The technology industry has heavily increased its financial influence in Washington, with top firms and executives pouring hundreds of millions into lobbying and campaign donations to shape regulations regarding artificial intelligence, antitrust issues, and data privacy. Major tech firms spent over $260 million on federal lobbying from 2020 through 2024, with spending in 2024 alone reaching $61.5 million, a 13% increase over the previous year.”

Ok, so I’ll give AI an A+ for transparency -- and Congress an F for failing to place guardrails on what has truly become an existential threat.

(18:32) STEPHEN MILLER’S WAR against immigrants is based on the lie that America must rid itself of the millions of criminals crossing our border. The truth is, well, slightly different. A recent analysis by the libertarian Cato Institute found that 93% of those arrested last year by ICE had no violent convictions, and 65% had no criminal convictions whatsoever.

A word on Miller. I see him as more dangerous and diabolical than either Donald Trump or J.D. Vance. Miller is the monster behind the curtain, the puppeteer, the mad maestro. When Trump is gone -- and I predict he’ll be out before his term expires -- Miller will continue to pull the strings.

Make no mistake: Miller’s public statements are consistent with the classic definition of fascist. The Origin Story podcast says Miller has been “described as Trump’s prime minister, the shadow president, the intellectual engine behind MAGA fascism, and a real-world version of Tolkien’s Grima Wormtongue. To understand the Trump administration, you need to understand Stephen Miller.“

(37:31) NO SHARKS ON THE MOON. Well, as far as we know. The third segment of this week’s program is, kinda sorta, a catchall. Mostly, I wanted to frighten Charles away from the idea of moving to the moon, given his galeophobia (not a made-up word), a.k.a, fear of sharks.

(53:43) FOOD IS MEDICINE. But you knew that, right? Kathy and I discuss the concept’s history and its current standing.

Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. And if you’re a central Iowa resident, remember to support the local businesses and nonprofits that help underwrite this platform.

Ed Fallon

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