Stop Listening - Weekend Recap 05-31-26

Science of Lying Pt 2 - Ep 26-254

More discussion about lying and how Leftists specialize in it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Science of Lying (Best of) - Ep 26-253

The Science of Lying is discussed See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Democrats are TIRED - Weekend Recap 06-28-26

Folks, Democrats are exhausted. Not physically exhausted. They're not out there roofing houses in Phoenix in July. They're politically exhausted. There's a difference. These people haven't had a decent night's sleep since Donald Trump got back into office. Think about what their daily schedule looks like. Wake up. Check if another investigation has been launched. Check if another former ally has flipped. Check if another government program has been exposed as a money-laundering operation disguised as compassion. Check if Trump has dismantled another sacred cow. Repeat until bedtime. And even then they probably sleep with one eye open and a lawyer on speed dial. What's fascinating is that for years Republicans mostly played defense. We argued about policy. Tax rates. Regulations. Border security. The size of government. The fights were ideological. Democrats wanted bigger government. Conservatives wanted smaller government. Simple enough. But now we're learning that many of these fights weren't about ideology at all. They were about access. Access to money. Access to influence. Access to systems that were never supposed to be questioned. And suddenly we're discovering that what was marketed as "public service" sometimes looks suspiciously like a criminal enterprise with a diversity statement. Funny how that works. Remember when they told us Trump was the criminal? Remember the endless investigations? The impeachments? The special counsels? The raids? The prosecutions? The cable news countdown clocks? At one point they had so many cases against Trump that it looked like they were trying to collect indictments the way kids collect baseball cards. "Got the New York one." "Need the Georgia edition." "Anybody got the classified documents hologram card?" And after all that noise, what happened? Most of those cases collapsed faster than Joe Biden's train of thought at a press conference. Meanwhile, the people who spent years telling us democracy was hanging by a thread are now discovering that subpoenas can be remarkably democratic. Now we're seeing investigations involving people who spent years presenting themselves as untouchable. California Governor Gavin Newsom appears to be discovering that good hair isn't a legal defense. His political brand was always fascinating to me. California burns. People leave. Businesses relocate. The homeless population grows. Yet every magazine cover treated him like he was one campaign speech away from carving his face onto Mount Rushmore. The media looked at California's performance and said, "Yes, but have you seen his jawline?" Then you've got Ilhan Omar and the growing scrutiny around people in her orbit. That story continues to expand. And here's the thing. The public is beginning to notice a pattern. For years we were told to ignore questions. Ignore concerns. Ignore contradictions. Just trust the experts. Trust the officials. Trust the process. Trust the people telling you not to ask questions. Turns out that's usually the exact moment you should start asking them. Which brings me to one of the most revealing stories I've seen recently. A study involving artificial intelligence and media credibility. Now this is rich. A company called NewsGuard rates news organizations and scores them on credibility. They developed data designed to help AI systems identify supposedly trustworthy information. Sounds reasonable. Until researchers started examining the results. And according to reports, Chinese state propaganda outlets ended up being treated as more reliable than many American news organizations. Let that sink in. We've reached a point where an authoritarian government's messaging operation can score higher than portions of the American press. You almost have to admire the accidental honesty. Because maybe the biggest propaganda achievement wasn't China convincing Americans to trust China. Maybe it was America's media convincing Americans not to trust America. That's the real magic trick. Imagine explaining this to somebody twenty years ago. "One day, artificial intelligence will be trained to identify truth." "Wonderful." "And it may conclude that Chinese government messaging is more trustworthy than some American reporting." "What caused that?" "The fact-checkers." You couldn't write satire this good. The joke writes itself and then sends you a royalty check. The deeper question is this: What happens when the institutions responsible for determining truth become political actors themselves? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Problem Democrats - Weekend Recap 06-28-26

Consider what happened after Team USA beat Australia 2-0. The players stopped and prayed. Remember when they told us faith was finished? Remember when the experts assured us religion would be replaced by social media influencers and emotional support llamas? Instead, Team USA wins, prays, and much of the world cheers America. Imagine that. The same people who spent years telling us America was the villain suddenly found themselves singing our National Anthem. It's almost like people secretly prefer confidence over self-loathing. Meanwhile, down in Colombia, voters just handed socialism another eviction notice. Socialism has become the world's longest-running infomercial. Every season starts with promises of equality and ends with somebody standing in line for toilet paper wondering where all the economists disappeared. The Left keeps treating socialism like that ex who emptied your bank account. "This time it'll be different." Sure. And this time the raccoon won't get into the bird feeder. Speaking of things not working out, let's travel to New York, where a Pride organization announced it's dissolving after its drag queen founder was arrested on child pornography charges. Now before anybody starts hyperventilating, the point isn't that one criminal represents everyone. The point is how quickly the media's curiosity evaporates when a story points in the wrong ideological direction. These are the same people who can spot systemic injustice from orbit but suddenly develop cataracts when an uncomfortable headline appears. Then there's Los Angeles. Federal agents reportedly descended on Skid Row investigating allegations tied to voter registration fraud. Think about the symbolism. California spent years telling us voter fraud was rarer than a unicorn riding a bicycle. Then investigators show up on Skid Row like they're filming a crossover episode between Law & Order and The Walking Dead. You know what's remarkable? California will allegedly investigate whether you're sufficiently gay to qualify for certain diversity contracting programs. California businesses have to go through a “gay-certification [https://www.city-journal.org/article/california-gay-business-contracts-utilities]” process to receive special contracts meant for gay-owned companies, Christopher Rufo of City Journal reported Tuesday. If these business owners fail to sufficiently prove their claimed gayness, they may face up to a year in jail, while California’s vetting process for voters is practically nonexistent. That's right. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].

Sacred Sacrifices Dying - Weekend Recap 06-27-26

Is anything sacred for Democrats when it comes to helping citizens. The short version is this: federal agents raided the home and office of LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, and multiple reports indicate the investigation is tied to LAUSD's failed AI chatbot project called "Ed," which was developed through a multimillion-dollar contract with the education technology company AllHere. Carvalho has not been charged with any crime, and the FBI has not publicly disclosed the full scope of the investigation. What happened? On February 25, 2026, the FBI executed search warrants at: * Carvalho's home in Los Angeles * LAUSD headquarters * A Florida residence connected to education consultant Debra Kerr, who had ties to AllHere and Carvalho dating back to his time in Miami-Dade schools. Two days later, the LAUSD Board placed Carvalho on paid leave. On June 21, 2026, Carvalho resigned as superintendent, though he continued to deny wrongdoing. Authorities still have not announced any charges against him. What was the chatbot controversy? The controversy centers on an AI assistant called "Ed." LAUSD unveiled Ed in 2024 with considerable publicity. The chatbot was marketed as a personalized digital assistant for students and parents that could: * Track grades and attendance * Provide academic recommendations * Translate communications into roughly 100 languages * Help families navigate school services Carvalho championed the project as a major innovation for the district. The problem is that the vendor behind Ed, AllHere, collapsed shortly after launch. Why did it become a scandal? Several issues emerged: 1. The company imploded. Within months of Ed's rollout, AllHere furloughed employees, entered bankruptcy, and ceased operations. LAUSD terminated the relationship after already paying millions of dollars toward the project. 2. The founder was indicted. AllHere founder Joanna Smith-Griffin was later charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft related to allegations that investors were misled about the company's financial condition. 3. Questions arose about how the contract was awarded. Investigative reporting uncovered connections between AllHere and consultant Debra Kerr, who had longstanding professional ties to Carvalho. Kerr later claimed she was owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions related to the LAUSD deal. Federal investigators reportedly began examining the financial aspects of the contract and the relationships surrounding it. 4. Student data concerns surfaced. After AllHere's collapse, critics raised concerns about how student information was handled and whether proper safeguards existed for data collected through the chatbot. Is Carvalho accused of anything? Not publicly. That distinction is important. The FBI searches indicate investigators believed there was sufficient reason to gather evidence, but as of today: * Carvalho has not been charged. * Prosecutors have not publicly accused him of criminal conduct. * The search warrant affidavits remain sealed. * His attorneys continue to maintain he acted lawfully and was not involved in selecting AllHere as a vendor.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy [https://art19.com/privacy] and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info [https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info].