James Barrass

How far back in time can you understand English? An experiment in language change

If you liked this experiment, I published a full piece today in the same vein: a text that gets 100 years older with every section, from a modern blog post to a medieval chronicle.

It's a single story spanning 1000 years of English. See how far you get.

www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-far-ba...

one of the serious difficulties with how Citizens United is generally understood is that it let corporations give money to SuperPACs to influence campaigns, when it turns out big corps don't like to spend a lot of dough on candidate support. But very very rich individuals DO use the ruling!

Democracy Americana A newsletter on U.S. politics and history - and the ongoing struggle over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America

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What is “Un-American”? We must acknowledge America’s history of state authoritarianism and racial violence – but also dare to claim its aspirational tradition. Make MAGA un-American, finally.

Sunday reading: What is “Un-American”?

We must acknowledge America’s history of state authoritarianism and racial violence – but also dare to claim its aspirational tradition of egalitarian democracy.

Let’s Make MAGA un-American, finally.

Some thoughts from my new piece:

🧵

happening this morning in Minneapolis -- ICE agents drawing guns on observers. I reiterate again that it is only a matter of time before DHS kills more innocent people in Minnesota. Congress needs to shut this shit down right now.

YouTube video by DRM News FULL SPEECH: PM Carney’s Most Inspiring Remarks at Davos — Greenland, Trump Tariff Threats | AQ1B

Seriously, WHEREVER you are in the world, I recommend watching all of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s powerful & already famous speech at Davos.

Can’t underestimate its leadership importance.

Key line: “Middle powers must work together, because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

Elderly man wearing only shorts with a blanket over his shoulders is flanked by ICE officers on either side as he descends the front stairs of him home in the snow. “A man, whose family requested a Hmong interpreter, is detained after ICE agents and other law enforcement officers conducted an immigration raid at his home, days after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., January 18, 2026.REUTERS/Leah Millis” via @idreesali114.bsky.social on X

Hmong man detained by ICE today in St. Paul, Minnesota.

(Photo via Reuters)

Gingerbread house with Star of David over the doorway.

How to de-risk from America There is no precedent of a dominant power abandoning its primacy, as Trump is doing

LUCE: "..There is no historic precedent of a dominant power voluntarily abandoning its leadership ..

".. America’s allies are now at that hinge point between the past and the future. Trump is making their choice easier."

@edwardluce.bsky.social @financialtimes.com
www.ft.com/content/331e...

Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"

Threats in academe: "Bend to our will or we'll assign you to teach an 8:00 am class!"

What is Instagram’s Adam Mosseri really saying in his year-end memo? On the last day of 2025, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri posted a 20-slide memo on Instagram. It covered AI, fake content, reality distortion, and how the platform will c…

"Deep down, Instagram is frightened."
om.co/2026/01/01/w...

Opinion | The White House Is a Lost Cause

"The embrace of the unitary executive theory by both the president and the court has given us the worst of all worlds: an ultrapowerful presidency without an actual president at the helm."
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/o...

The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling 3697-3705 Apr 30, 2025 Education The Psychological Impact of Digital Isolation: How AI-Driven Social Interactions Shape Human Behavior and Mental Well-Being Felix Eling Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacy, Gulu College of Health Sciences, Gulu City, Northern Uganda DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.90400265 Received: 13 March 2025; Revised: 22 March 2025; Accepted: 25 March 2025; Published: 30 April 2025 ABSTRACT The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in social interactions has transformed how humans experience companionship, communication, and mental well-being. This review examines the psychological impact of AI-driven social interactions, focusing on virtual assistants, AI chatbots, and digital companions. It explores the benefits, risks, and ethical concerns associated with AI companionship. A systematic review methodology was employed, detailing inclusion criteria, databases searched, and analysis techniques. Findings suggest that while AI can offer emotional relief and support, over-reliance may disrupt real-world social bonding. Ethical concerns such as data privacy, emotional manipulation, and regulatory gaps are highlighted. The study underscores the need for balanced AI integration in human socialization. The study also addresses gaps in previous literature by examining AI’s influence on different demographic groups and cultural contexts.

Let me tell you a story. Perhaps you can guess where this is going... though it does have a bit of a twist.

I was poking around Google Scholar for publications about the relationship between chatbots and wellness. Oh how useful: a systematic literature review! Let's dig into the findings. 🧵

The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not. | Blog of the APA Doubts about the wisdom of the masses are as old as philosophy itself. Yet interest in democracy’s “epistemic” merits has surged in the last decade—and it is no mystery why. Democracy is collapsing ar...

People do not use information to determine their social identities; they use their social identities to determine what counts as information. The climate fight is, and has always been, an identity fight. Gonna talk with @samuel-bagg.bsky.social about this soon.

They keep booking these guests thinking that they’re informing Americans by asking “tough questions” into the air, and having them ignored.

If you want answers, invite actual experts. Look some people up. Do some “reporting” and find someone knowledgeable. Come on, already.

Have you wondered what types of businesses Torontonians work in? The 2025 #TorontoEmploymentSurvey has the answers, showing that the largest share of employment continues to be in the Office sector with half of Toronto’s jobs.

See our very first #TorontoEmploymentSurvey:
https://ow.ly/igNY50Xzcgy

Watch this.
I swear your blood will boil.

Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:

Trump administration says it will fully fund SNAP while court appeal plays out The administration has asked a federal appeals court for an emergency pause on a judge's order to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

It's almost as if the White House *wants* Congress to exercise its authority. Who knew?

Ellis: "Requiring the government to comply with its obligations under the Constitution, in particular the Fourth Amendment, is simply not a harm."

Poster from 1936 says: Join the March to Old Age Security, with a long line of happy people

Poster with picture of old man holding pipe: More Security for the American Family (1939)

The Social Security Administration used to have an incredible communications arm, including even a film unit. This was crucial in helping people understand the program, and how it would work. From 1936, 1939.
www.ssa.gov/history/puba...

Mamdani: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him."

Powerful new antibiotic that can kill superbugs discovered in soil bacteria Surprise discovery could pave the way for new treatments against drug-resistant infections.

An antibiotic for superbugs? "They discovered an intermediate compound — called premethylenomycin C lactone — whose antimicrobial activity was 100 times stronger than that of the final product. Tiny doses of it killed strains of bacteria known to cause hard-to-treat infections"

centrists will tell you to your face that we all need to abandon identity issues, and focus on kitchen table issues instead and yet when a leftist candidate runs a generational campaign based on kitchen table issues, it's the centrists weaponizing identity politics to smear the leftist.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute learned that the Government of Ontario, Canada, created an ad campaign using selective audio and video of President Ronald Reagan delivering his "Radio Address to the Nation on Free and Fair Trade," dated April 25, 1987. The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address, and the Government of Ontario did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is reviewing its legal options in this matter. We encourage you to watch President Reagan's unedited video on our YouTube channel.

The post from the Reagan Foundation is just complete gibberish.

The ad did not, in fact, misrepresent Reagan's views. But the idea that anyone needs the Reagan Foundation's goddamn permission to use the publicly broadcast official remarks of a former president and/or edit them for brevity is crazy

Mike Johnson doesn't know sh*t