H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
@harrysimmons3578.bsky.social
An account of satire, in the vein of literary critic Henry Louis Mencken. Polemicist at Verdigris, please send essays [email protected]
Send all hate mail to [email protected]
Send all hate mail to [email protected]
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Word to the Wise: Cheap Music, Numb Brains, and Stupidity
I have been asked to write about stupidity. I cannot think of why. Perhaps it is that glowing sagacity that rises, like steam, off my hateful words? Or, perhaps, there is some desire for a voice of…
vdgasjournal.com
Hi everyone.
At long last, here is my promised essay on stupidity, with the title slightly changed: 'Word to the Wise: Cheap Music, Numbs Brains, and Stupidity'.
I hope you enjoy!
vdgasjournal.com/2025/06/21/w...
At long last, here is my promised essay on stupidity, with the title slightly changed: 'Word to the Wise: Cheap Music, Numbs Brains, and Stupidity'.
I hope you enjoy!
vdgasjournal.com/2025/06/21/w...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Consumer confidence falls to lowest in seven months as concerns grow about high prices and a weakening job market https://cnn.it/4ririCu
November 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Consumer confidence falls to lowest in seven months as concerns grow about high prices and a weakening job market https://cnn.it/4ririCu
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Ice is gassing neighbors in St. Paul this morning g during a paramilitary fascist raid on the city.
November 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Ice is gassing neighbors in St. Paul this morning g during a paramilitary fascist raid on the city.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Candace Owens tells Don Lemon she believes he’s “in a sinful relationship” by being married to a man and doesn’t believe their marriage is real
November 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Candace Owens tells Don Lemon she believes he’s “in a sinful relationship” by being married to a man and doesn’t believe their marriage is real
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
For those (all five - okay, maybe 20 of you) who're interested in the sorts of films I'm referring to: mad in intent yet calm in presentation, here is a playlist: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
November 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
For those (all five - okay, maybe 20 of you) who're interested in the sorts of films I'm referring to: mad in intent yet calm in presentation, here is a playlist: youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
DOGE employees are not immune from prosecution and that includes Musk.
That is all.
That is all.
November 25, 2025 at 12:39 PM
DOGE employees are not immune from prosecution and that includes Musk.
That is all.
That is all.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
🔴 BREAKING - French police arrest four new suspects over Louvre jewel heist
French police arrest four new suspects over Louvre jewel heist
Get the latest Breaking News Alerts from France 24 in real time on Facebook and Twitter: @BreakingF24
f24.my
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
🔴 BREAKING - French police arrest four new suspects over Louvre jewel heist
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
"There are lots of disturbing questions raised by one thing we do know, however: that at least one notorious public figure has also claimed insider knowledge of Martin’s investigative work—Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracist behind InfoWars."
www.thebulwark.com/p/ed-martin-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/ed-martin-...
How Much Did Trump Stooge Ed Martin Blab to Alex Jones?
The InfoWars chief was hardly discreet in hinting he knew about DOJ’s “retribution” investigations.
www.thebulwark.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
"There are lots of disturbing questions raised by one thing we do know, however: that at least one notorious public figure has also claimed insider knowledge of Martin’s investigative work—Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracist behind InfoWars."
www.thebulwark.com/p/ed-martin-...
www.thebulwark.com/p/ed-martin-...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
"Black women are disproportionately working-class. So if it was really about class, explain to me why Black women understood exactly what he [Trump] was going to do, which is make life harder for working-class people," says Kimberlé Crenshaw. newrepublic.com/article/2036...
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"Black women are disproportionately working-class. So if it was really about class, explain to me why Black women understood exactly what he [Trump] was going to do, which is make life harder for working-class people," says Kimberlé Crenshaw. newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.
This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
ICE arrests, detains British woman with US husband and newborn when she shows up for her green card interview. She’s now in a detention center, separated from her 6-month-old. No criminal record. She had overstayed her visa.
www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...
www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...
British mum detained by ICE agents in California as six-month old baby and stunned husband watch on | LBC
Katie Paul, 33, was in the process of applying for a green card when she was ambushed by immigration agents
www.lbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 11:13 AM
ICE arrests, detains British woman with US husband and newborn when she shows up for her green card interview. She’s now in a detention center, separated from her 6-month-old. No criminal record. She had overstayed her visa.
www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...
www.lbc.co.uk/article/brit...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
I think there's an interesting study of media to be done looking at who gets labeled an "expert" and who gets labeled a "skeptic". Certainly for coverage of "AI", but I wonder if there are other topics that would make interesting comparisons.
November 25, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I think there's an interesting study of media to be done looking at who gets labeled an "expert" and who gets labeled a "skeptic". Certainly for coverage of "AI", but I wonder if there are other topics that would make interesting comparisons.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
A note to say @blackamazon.bsky.social and her colleagues warned about this sort of thing many years ago.
"The only thing revealed by this transparency is that social media companies do not give a f*ck about this."
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 25, 2025 at 12:47 PM
A note to say @blackamazon.bsky.social and her colleagues warned about this sort of thing many years ago.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Page One in Cincinnati:
“.. I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent.”
#ICE
“.. I need to be able to look my grandkids in the eye and say I did not remain silent.”
#ICE
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
"The only thing revealed by this transparency is that social media companies do not give a f*ck about this."
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
America’s Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle
The 'psyops' revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 25, 2025 at 3:31 AM
"The only thing revealed by this transparency is that social media companies do not give a f*ck about this."
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
Our attention is the product
There are tutorials in many languages on how to exploit that for profit, not just to stir the pot
AI makes it so easy to exploit now and everyone wins but you
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Trump's prosecutions of Comey and Letitia James fell apart precisely because he ousted career prosecutors who insisted on following facts and law. His installation of a pliant stooge is what blew up in his face.
On the pod, @davidkurtz.bsky.social is great on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
On the pod, @davidkurtz.bsky.social is great on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Raging Trump Spirals Further as Push to Jail Enemies Backfires Badly
With Trump seething at Dems even as his efforts to prosecute foes hits new setbacks, a sharp legal commentator explains why Trump’s revenge project is running aground—and why he’s at fault for all of ...
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Trump's prosecutions of Comey and Letitia James fell apart precisely because he ousted career prosecutors who insisted on following facts and law. His installation of a pliant stooge is what blew up in his face.
On the pod, @davidkurtz.bsky.social is great on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
On the pod, @davidkurtz.bsky.social is great on this:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Just a guess, but I assume they're sitting fearfully and quietly in their dorms, having been threatened with prison and expulsion by their collaborationist administrators who oversaw their peers being deported to an Ecuadorian prison by the ruling government
Opinion | The Boomers Are Protesting Trump. Where Is Gen Z?
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Just a guess, but I assume they're sitting fearfully and quietly in their dorms, having been threatened with prison and expulsion by their collaborationist administrators who oversaw their peers being deported to an Ecuadorian prison by the ruling government
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Everyone ought to give this a read—we can’t all be experts but we can all listen up and keep an eye out for these con men and their casino capitalist stunts
So the USA plans to fabricate their science going forward? If they do, they'll really be able to behave as if they fully don't need scientific evidence anymore. They can just pump out pseudoscience, like antivaxx articles "made by LLMs".
See doi.org/10.31234/osf... for the case in psychology.
1/n
See doi.org/10.31234/osf... for the case in psychology.
1/n
November 25, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Everyone ought to give this a read—we can’t all be experts but we can all listen up and keep an eye out for these con men and their casino capitalist stunts
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
"In this interpretation, the plan represents not so much a proposal for Ukrainian surrender as Trump administration amateur hour: a plan that was cooked up by a real estate developer and a financier that won’t be acceptable to either side."
On Illegal War and Immoral Peace
Why we should be dubious of both the coming actions in Venezuela and the ‘peace’ proposal for Ukraine.
lnk.thebulwark.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:00 AM
"In this interpretation, the plan represents not so much a proposal for Ukrainian surrender as Trump administration amateur hour: a plan that was cooked up by a real estate developer and a financier that won’t be acceptable to either side."
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
An ICE agent was caught removing a sign marking an ICE kidnapping in DC last week! Do we think he did it out of anger, embarrassment, or most appropriately shame? If you think what you’re doing is right, why are you trying to hide the evidence? 👀
November 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
An ICE agent was caught removing a sign marking an ICE kidnapping in DC last week! Do we think he did it out of anger, embarrassment, or most appropriately shame? If you think what you’re doing is right, why are you trying to hide the evidence? 👀
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
A nontrivial fraction of these people appear to be seriously unwell.
OpenAI claims that they have the situation well under control.
My inbox suggests otherwise.
OpenAI claims that they have the situation well under control.
My inbox suggests otherwise.
November 21, 2025 at 2:51 AM
A nontrivial fraction of these people appear to be seriously unwell.
OpenAI claims that they have the situation well under control.
My inbox suggests otherwise.
OpenAI claims that they have the situation well under control.
My inbox suggests otherwise.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
NEW: Louisiana’s governor eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those arrested before.
Then he tossed those rules aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
Then he tossed those rules aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
Louisiana Made It Nearly Impossible to Get Parole. Now It’s Releasing Prisoners to Deport Them.
Gov. Jeff Landry eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those already in prison. Then he set all of that aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
www.propublica.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM
NEW: Louisiana’s governor eliminated parole for prisoners arrested after Aug. 1, 2024, and tightened eligibility rules for those arrested before.
Then he tossed those rules aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
Then he tossed those rules aside for one group: undocumented immigrants. Why? To have them deported.
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
As @ondankbare-plant.bsky.social also mentioned, we explain the replication crisis relationship to AI here too
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
11/n
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
11/n
First off, we present the concurrently unfolding so-called replication crises and intertwined historical events that lead to where we are in both social psychology (and psychology generally of course as well as other fields) and artificial intelligence. Against this backdrop is the present...
2/
2/
November 25, 2025 at 4:41 AM
As @ondankbare-plant.bsky.social also mentioned, we explain the replication crisis relationship to AI here too
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
11/n
bsky.app/profile/oliv...
11/n
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Even in more quantifiable fields (like biochemistry), this brute force approach cannot succeed even with the best curated data. Given the ubiquitous use of p<0.05 as statically significant, 5% of all published hypotheses should have been rejected instead of accepted given the data. This would be bad
November 25, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Also thanks to @harrysimmons3578.bsky.social @ondankbare-plant.bsky.social @mikefulk.bsky.social for already noticing and dissecting this, see especially:
bsky.app/profile/mike...
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bsky.app/profile/mike...
9/n
Am I nuts, or does this say we'll put all of our scientific papers into a big data warehouse, let a bunch of people working on"AI" train some new LLMs, and then magic will happen. The AI will start generating and testing hypotheses until it solves humanities problems? What a load of crap. Money grab
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Also thanks to @harrysimmons3578.bsky.social @ondankbare-plant.bsky.social @mikefulk.bsky.social for already noticing and dissecting this, see especially:
bsky.app/profile/mike...
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bsky.app/profile/mike...
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Reposted by H.L. Mencken’s Winking Ghost
Also it's time to keep pushing.
Sign our open letter and adapt it for your university and country!
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
6/n
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Sign our open letter and adapt it for your university and country!
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
6/n
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
openletter.earth
November 25, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Also it's time to keep pushing.
Sign our open letter and adapt it for your university and country!
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
6/n
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Sign our open letter and adapt it for your university and country!
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
6/n
openletter.earth/open-letter-...