if the US shirks on flu surveillance and annual flu vaccines, for the rest of the world, are there alternative providers?

@Phil i don’t think it is my friend, in that community, who has been deranged by Trump.

“This is arguably the most important week in European history since 1991 or even 1945. It is conceivable that the NATO alliance is breaking down in front of our eyes“ #PhillipsPOBrien https://open.substack.com/pub/phillipspobrien/p/weekend-update120-the-us-changes

@Phil i have a friend who basically, and painfully, left evangelicalism because he couldn’t reconcile the support of his church for Trump with the values his family and church had always claimed to stand for. maybe some evangelicals are more reconciled to cynically using values claims only against political opponents, while finding an infinite reserve of grace for perceived allies. but #NotAllEvangelicals

evangelicals tied themself into pretzels about God and his imperfect instruments to embrace Trump. you'd think reconciling themself to Musk, with his transhumanist polymaternal marriage-less natalism, would be a especial challenge. but for now, there's no evidence they're having a hard time of it.

"TSMC and Intel rumors stoke Taiwanese fears of losing its 'Silicon Shield'" https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tsmc-and-intel-rumors-stoke-taiwanese-fears-of-losing-the-silicon-shield

@admitsWrongIfProven basically, though some are still on the crypto side, and others make rockets and lead coups!

@barometz @cjpaloma tbf i didn't know either! it's just the term that came into my head to express what i wanted to express!

"TSMC and Intel rumors stoke Taiwanese fears of losing its 'Silicon Shield'" https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tsmc-and-intel-rumors-stoke-taiwanese-fears-of-losing-the-silicon-shield

people on the tech right conflate capacity and propensity to destroy with human agency.

@barometz @cjpaloma i think you are technically right, but however at variance with metric unit definitions it is, people understand the term i used more than they would the one that you propose.

@jlecour part of my TODO list today is to maybe sit on the other side of that (revisit an issue i set aside for further consideration many years ago, maybe add a requested feature).

every centimillionaire is a policy failure.

You've read your last free article.

Once you start thinking about growth, it’s hard to think about anything else, and then your monomaniacal focus on a measure that counts market power as human welfare undermines democracy and becomes handmaiden and apology for fascism.

#economics

“i just want you all to know that i take great pride in my humility.”

“we have, and would normally want to have, some immunity shielding government officials from liability for doing their jobs, if we are going to leave them sufficiently free to do their jobs. But here no one in DOGE actually had a job that would have entitled them to do what they have done.” @cathygellis https://www.techdirt.com/2025/02/14/no-personal-liability-for-doge-yet-but-with-two-more-lawsuits-we-get-closer/ ht @glynmoody

isn’t the “unitary executive” just respectable Yarvinism?

it’s certainly contrary to a Constitution under which Congress structures, funds, and co-hires offices of the Executive Branch.

( interfluidity office hours in 10 mins, on the half hour, if anybody wants to drop by https://www.interfluidity.com/office-hours/ )

claude.ai just asked me to explain something. "Would you help me understand where I went wrong in my thinking about the Secondary Income credit entry?"

so i did, at least i explained how i think about it.

claude.ai "worked through" my explanation, then responded "Thank you for this clarification - it's a much more logical way to approach the problem!"

will claude.ai in any sense "remember" my explanation? have i meaningfully taught it anything?