William Cox

Deactivating my Bluesky account. It's as much a time-suck as Twitter is, and I'm not a Democratic partisan or a journalist so it's much more infuriating. It is tempting me to sin.

Had a lovely day offline.

Came online for no good reason, and, I have to say, for some reason a lot of people still seem to think the Democrats are an opposition party.

Worth a shot.

Whelm is a fun word. Imagine if Wycliffe had used the English instead of transliterating the Greek βαπτισμα, we'd speak of being overwhelmed rather than of being baptized.

And how wonderful would that be?!

Speaking of impactful, I just noticed that my Rhetoric teacher from Hampden-Sydney College, Victor N. Cabas, Jr. (1948-2018), passed a few months before his father, Brig. Gen. Victor N. Cabas (USAF) (1920-2018), did.

Did "Alexa, delete yourself" work?

FYI, overwhelm is a verb, not a noun.

I know language changes over time, but the jargon from corporate HR and post-modern academia has to be the most annoyingly impactful.

Except that from medicine. I don't have itch. I have an itch.

Understanding the past is not a "diversity policy."

Why it was dressed up as one so many years ago still boggles my mind, but I'm sure buzzword compliance has reasons.

YouTube video by TheJohnnyCashChannel Johnny Cash-The_Man_Comes Around

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9If...

Delivered mail today to a former carrier who met me at the curb wearing his Trump t-shirt to ask my opinion on this DOGE nonsense, as he put it.

It's only stereotypes who are simple and easily predictable.

Race is NOT a biological reality. It's entirely made up.

Maybe, and I'm just spitballing here, if some dumbasses hadn't been so stupid, the reaction against them wouldn't have been just as stupid.

The only incorrect sentence in this executive order.

'The exhibit further claims that “sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism” and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating “Race is a human invention.”'

As Dorothy's aunt would have said if she weren't a Christian woman, "straight to jail."

Proponents of AI should be shot. It is not and will not be used to benefit humanity.

In short, the President MUST do what *Congress* says he must. He is the executive, not the legislative power.

Glad at least one branch of the government understands that. Would that Congress did.

Consider this: No. 1 Daughter born in 2000 loved the Harry Potter books; No. 2 Son born in 2008 has never read them.

No. 1 Son born in 2006 closely followed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A Scout I was working with the other day, born in 2012, has never seen them.

That's a pretty neat collection of accessories though.

Batman must have tiny fingers to get anything out of those compartments.

Just curious, but if British Steel is owned by the Chinese, doesn't that make it Chinese Steel?

Bill Gates: Within 10 years, AI will replace many doctors and teachers—humans won't be needed 'for most things' A new era of "free intelligence" powered by AI will change the way humans work, says billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

If humans are not necessary, then we can assist in their dying and decrease the surplus population. Surprised Mr. Gates hasn't volunteered to go first.

www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/b...

“Affirming” is not a reasonable guide to right action.

On this upcoming transgender day of visibility, will the Episcopal Church admit that detransitioners exist and thus that promoting transition as an unalloyed good is a rather foolish thing to do, pastorally speaking?

“They … have no honor.” — Worf

Transfer of profit to the owners. What else would efficient mean?

What authors, other than Madeleine L’Engle, are known Episcopalians and also wrote great books?

Oh, for One Big Union!

What novels would you suggest for a seminar series on the theme "in the Anglican tradition"?

The funny thing is that the things you note apply fairly well to all fields, almost like there's an underlying common cause that's been well-observed since the 18th C.

I would only add that neoliberal policies are actively sinful, for the particular reason that they view people as objects to be used.

A graph of oil production, by country, from 1980-2022. The USSR was the largest producer by far until it collapsed. See https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/where-our-oil-comes-from.php for details. Extending the graph to discovery of oil in Pennsylvania and the beginning of the industry shows that for the majority of that time, the U.S. has led the field.

(The Cold War was ideological, yes, but it was also, and primarily, economic.)

And, incidentally, acquiring Canada would make the United States not only Number One in oil production but also in land area.