On this day (1848): Revolutionary newspaper “Neue Rheinische Zeitung” is founded in Cologne by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and the Communist League.
Learnings. From my OED app: “/ˈləːnɪŋ / ▸ noun [mass noun] the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught: these children experienced difficulties in learning [as modifier] an important learning process. ▪ knowledge acquired through study, experience, or being taught: I liked to parade my learning in front of my sisters. ▪ (learnings) [count noun] a thing learned by experience; a lesson: the learnings from the mission will help NASA plan for a future mission to Mars. – ORIGIN Old English leornung(see learn, -ing1).” • I realize that the OED is descriptive, not perscriptive. Nevertheless, that “learnings” — we have a perfectly good word, “lesson” — slithered out of some consultant’s PowerPoint deck, shed its vestigial bullet point, and built its nest in the pages of the OED, a sacred tome… It’s discouraging. I fear for the Republic.
“FBI leading push to uncover truth about mystery objects near US nuclear facilities, filmmaker says” [FOX]. “The FBI is taking the lead in a federal push to uncover the truth about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), according to documentary filmmaker Dan Farah…. ‘As they wrap their arms around this more and make it a huge priority for the bureau, I think we’re going to see a lot of learnings and disclosure come out of that. They’re certainly leading the charge right now,” he added.” • Wiktionary: “However, from circa 2000 [learnings] became a buzzword in business speak, particularly in constructions such as ‘key learnings’ or ‘apply these learnings.’” Sounds like? “Earnings!” More; “Some disapprove of this, and it sounds ungrammatical enough to be used as an example of broken English, as in the comedy Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006). ” • Speaking of documentary filmmakers.
“Waymo Pulled Its Cars From the Freeway After One Fled Police With Horrified Couple on Board” [Futurism]. “As CBS News reports, the couple was looking to get home in the Mission District only for their Waymo cab to veer off a highway and accelerate to terrifying speeds while driving down a construction lane. All the while, police vehicles were trying to chase it down with sirens blaring. ‘There were construction signs,’ resident Elliot Slade told the broadcaster over the weekend. ‘There were lights going on. Police in the distance and it sped up. That’s when I looked at my fiancée, we’re done.’ ‘This is it,” he added. ‘We’re dead. We’re going to die right here in the Waymo.’” But wait. There’s hope: “The latest incident also proved scary enough for Waymo to pull its cars from freeways in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami altogether as it works to ‘integrate recent technical learnings into our software,’ according to a statement to CBS.”
“Democrats’ midterm push clouded by infighting over party keeping 2024 autopsy under wraps” [FOX]. “In explaining his decision, [DNC Chair Ken] Martin wrote, ‘We completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion. And we’re winning again — even in places that haven’t gone blue in decades. In our conversations with stakeholders from across the Democratic ecosystem, we are aligned on what’s important, and that’s learning from the past and winning the future.’ ‘Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission,’ he emphasized.” • There is a certain species of Democrat apparatchik for whom “North Star” is deeply meaningful.
Dad Joke of the Day: Dogs can’t operate MRI machines. But cats can.
Clout. From my OED app: “/klaʊt / ▸ noun 1 informal a heavy blow with the hand or a hard object: a clout round the ear. 2 [mass noun] informal influence or power, especially in politics or business: I knew she carried a lot of clout. 3 archaic a piece of cloth or article of clothing. 4 Archery a target twelve times the usual size, placed flat on the ground with a flag marking its centre and used in long-distance shooting. ▪ a long-distance shot that hits a clout. 5 short for clout nail ▸ verb [with object] 1 informal hit (someone or something) hard: I clouted him round the head. 2 archaic mend with a patch: he helps the women clout their pans. – ORIGIN Old English clūt (in the sense ‘a patch or metal plate’); related to Dutch kluit ‘lump, clod’, also to cleat and clot. The shift of sense to ‘heavy blow’, which dates from late Middle English, is difficult to explain; possibly the change occurred first in the verb (from ‘put a patch on’ to ‘hit hard’).
“Graham Platner Is Forcing Centrist Dems to Reckon With ‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ ” [The Intercept]. “One of the most enduring points of contention between the Democratic Party’s left and right wings is “vote blue no matter who,” a demand almost exclusively made of progressives to shelve principle over party when it comes to elections. But as we head toward the midterms in a year where the base is angry and ready for a change, centrists are now hearing that familiar refrain aimed at them — much to their horror…. Score-settling seems more important than keeping the party together and taking the Senate. Melissa DeRosa, the Andrew Cuomo loyalist, told Fox News on Tuesday, ‘There are a lot of moderate Democrats like myself who will not cry tears should we lose Maine.’ John Fetterman, who has broken with his party over his zealous support for Israel [what], bemoaned Platner’s presumptive nomination after Mills dropped out. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia centrist who served in the Senate for over two decades as a nominal Democrat, implicitly endorsed Collins in a glowing address in late April.” And: “For centrists, this is the worst possible outcome: Their vote-scolding tactic exposed as a lie and a failure to prove they still have the clout to swing an election. For progressives, it would be a welcome break.”
“Why Hillsdale? The Christian liberal arts school hosting Erika Kirk for commencement” [Religion News]. “By Trump’s second term, Hillsdale had become the administration’s go-to academic partner. The college is part of the America 250 Civics Education Coalition that includes more than 40 organizations, including Turning Point USA, the Heritage Foundation and Moms for Liberty. Alongside the U.S. Department of Education, these groups aim to craft civics programing that will ‘reignite the fires of patriotism.’” More: “[Jennifer Burns, head of school at American Faith Academy] added that in her view, Hillsdale’s involvement in the Freedom 250 effort is about conserving American history, not partisanship. (Freedom 250 is the Trump-aligned initiative, not to be confused with the bipartisan America 250 efforts.)” I love it that Trump’s hijacked the branding. When you hear the word “Freedom,” check your wallet! More: “As Hillsdale’s brand of intellectual patriotism continues to be platformed by the Trump administration, its rise and accelerated religious messaging seem parallel to the trajectory of TPUSA, which has also ramped up its faith programming in recent years. But to alumna Welton, Hillsdale is more about student impact than about political clout. And to her, that’s what makes Erika Kirk a logical choice for commencement speaker. ‘Charlie and Erika represent a belief that young people can be serious, that they can make a difference, that there is hope for our future,’ she said.” • Of course. Nothing about actual power
“America’s 10 fastest-shrinking cities” [Axios]. “The majority of the top 10 fastest-shrinking cities — in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana — are majority-Black communities in the South…. These are cities that never fully recovered from decades of disinvestment, and the current growth era [what] is not reaching them. Meanwhile, federal housing and infrastructure dollars are increasingly flowing toward the fast-growing exurbs that need new roads, schools, and utilities. That leaves shrinking cities competing for fewer resources with diminishing political representation as their congressional clout shrinks with their populations.”
Fortune: “If you’re going to America, bring your own food.” —Fran Lebowitz, “Social Studies”
Influencer. Fron my OED app: “/ˈɪnflʊən(t)sə / ▸ noun 1 a person or thing that influences another: he was a champion of the arts and a huge influencer of taste; genetic factors are key influencers of your metabolic rate. 2 a person who has become well known through regular social media posts and is able to promote a product or service by recommending or using it online: influencers can add serious credibility to your brand; the influencer has just made a return to social media with two new posts.”
“Clavicular Wakes Up As Hideous, Jawless Monster After Rating Old Crone A 4” [The Onion]. “Trembling as he held a hand mirror to his face to behold his ghastly new form, internet personality Clavicular reportedly woke up as a hideous, jawless monster Thursday after rating an old crone’s looks a four out of 10. ‘Oh God, oh God—what has she done? I’m a monstrosity! I’m hideous!’ said the formerly chisel-jawed influencer and champion of the ‘looksmaxxing’ subculture, clutching for the now-nonexistent jawline. ‘Why, oh why did I not heed her warning when she said she would have her revenge?!’” • I’m only surprised there aren’t more incidents like this; Clavicular is a piece of work.
“AI grifters are creating fake Black people to sell Shein junk” [The Verge]. “Aliyah, a light-skinned Black woman dressed in country-western gear, is struggling to sell metal buckles she handmade on TikTok. In a video for the social media platform from March, she cries to the camera and pleads for views: ‘Even as a black woman, I have more faith that white women will stay 13 seconds [on this video] to save my belt buckle business,’ the onscreen text reads. She wipes a tear off her cheek. But Aliyah isn’t real, and neither are her supposedly handmade products — she’s one of many AI-generated influencers created to sell mass-produced products via dropshipping on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. Identical belt buckles — sunflower design, detachable knife inlay, and all — are sold on the fast-fashion site Shein, and for a quarter of the price.” • Oy,
“Technology and the self: A new deity” [Science Direct]. “Influencers are people with huge, dedicated followings on social media platforms. They generally brand themselves around one main concept, such as cooking, beauty, gaming, lifestyle, and more. People follow, like, or subscribe to their social media accounts to stay up to date on their daily lives. Social media has allowed for the creation of a mid-tier celebrity who profits from likes and shares. In fact, companies sponsor these influencers, which generated an estimate of $1.7 billion in 2018. As regular people, they appear much more trustworthy and attractive to consumers compared to big name celebrities. Since influencers sell products and ideals, their followers, in turn, must buy into the concept of the influencer as well. Followers also find themselves feeling connected to the larger community and use the respective platform to find fulfillment.” • Strength of weak ties.