The Paradox of The Information State

 And herein lies a central paradox of the information state. The great ills that it seeks to remedy, such as disinformation, are themselves products of the very thing, namely the surveillance- and attention-based Internet, on which the state relies. That is why, throughout all the outcry about the evils done by Facebook or Twitter, the politicians who are loudest in condemning those platforms do not take the obvious step of seeking to make them less powerful. Their aim is not to reform or rebuild the repressive infrastructure of the Internet, only to make it serve their own interests.

- From The Information State: Politics in the Age of Total Control by Jacob Siegel

The Real Victims of The Long March Through American Institutions

 

My Substack essay explores how it happened.

[Photo by Colin Lloyd at Unsplash]

"There Will Come Soft Rains"

 "August 6, 2026."

A spooky story by Ray Bradbury.

Films About Totalitarianism: A Series

 

The Arday Scandal

 The Free Beacon on the scandal involving the youngest black professor in Cambridge history.

Random Thoughts

 A qualified compliment is an alarm bell. ~ Any business lunch that involves Chinese food or BBQ is likely to be well-attended. ~ In general, you should avoid the novels of Graham Greene if you're depressed. ~ Breaking exercise into small segments makes it more difficult to avoid. ~ Whether to replace a trip to a conference with a trip to the mountains or the beach should not be a difficult decision. ~ Before proceeding with a major decision, explore the assumptions. ~ A new word is needed to describe the modern news media's unique blend of incompetence and bias. ~ I wonder if colleges will even have majors in 2030. ~ Let's bring back postcards as a charming way of updating one another. ~ It is easy to work alongside heroes and not realize it, but the same cannot be said of fools. ~ One of the many gifts that Israel has inadvertently given to supporters of Western Civilization is that of shared enemies. ~ Networking events may give you some meaningful connections but volunteer work for the good of the community will definitely do so. ~ How can we preserve the values produced by farm families if farms continue to be replaced by real estate developments? ~ Much of research involves determining which material can be ignored. ~ If you want to be shunned by someone either loan them money or do them a favor. ~ One of the biggest mistakes of people who speak the same language is assuming that they share the same meanings.

There Goes the Neighborhood

 

Back By Popular Demand

 

Not That This Would Be Subject to Abuse

Brownstone Institute: The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention considered establishing a national system of quarantine camps.

[HT: Joel Engel]

Read This!

Myron Magnet explores how Rudy Giuliani made New York City great again.

[Photo by Getty Images at Unsplash+]