I have no idea why this was called a debate. Trump has never "debated" in any of the events he has been part of. He can bully and he certainly does lie, but debate, I don't think so. I cannot understand what his followers are hearing, looking at, or expecting? That is what scares me more than anything I've faced in my life. We have witnessed men like this before and it has never ended well.
I want to know why no one seems to be calling for Trump to drop out of the race. School yard bullies have no place in the world. When I was in school, so many years ago, I had to deal with school yard bullies, and I stepped in to stop them several times when they went after other kids. That made me even more of a target. As for the call for a "truly viable statesman," I would like to know where those people are today. My son always wanted to run for public office from the time he was in middle school. When he graduated from college and discovered how much money someone needed to run for office, he became too discouraged and gave up that dream. How many young people like him have been deterred from going on the path to become "true statemen/stateswomen" simply because they don't have the money or wealthy parents?
What you have written about Mr. Trump is true, but please hold Mr. Biden to the same “truth” standard. According to the news scoring Mr. Biden was a little loose with his facts too. I only wish we had a truly viable statesman running for President. I couldn’t care less what party this person represented.
righto, greg! please check my response to ian ferris's concerns - which were very similar to yours. i considered posting the full AI analysis independently, but found so many news agencies (albeit 24 hours later) providing that same service it seemed unnecessary.
Sorry - the kids in the sandbox wait and kiss Donnie’s ring, hoping he will give them another stimulus check and a PPD loan! The Rich kids want a HUGE Tax Cut!
I have known Noel almost 50 years. We have me a few times when he was in Australia, and I found him to be open, honest and warm. I have also loved his music - through P, P & M and since.
So, despite realising I may have a different perspective on US (and other) politics, I find his latest blog to be totally at odds with his Chrisitianity, and very biased believing Trump was the only one telling lies in the fiasco they called a debate. While I am not a fan of Trump, at least he has some business skills
beyond the likes of Biden........and especially his son, but from Down Under it is staggering to think that these two are the best the US can find to head the free world.
hi ian! yes long time, no write <grin>! FYI: the AI response of 'FALSE', 'TRUE' and 'OPINION' throughout the transcription was even-handed regarding both candidates but space consideration (and yes, perhaps some personal bias as well) entered into the choice of how much of AI's analysis i could present - the debate was almost 2 hours long. my hope for the blog (and to some extent i think fufilled judging by other comments here) was to stir the interest in pursuing a more immediate form of fact-checking. that said, i was totally puzzled by your comment of it being 'totally at odds' with christianity. if you can clarify what you meant - hey who knows - it could perhaps make for an interesting next blog, eh?
I would like to reply to your question - dashing something off late at night, and pressing send before reading back to see if it all makes sense is probably not a good habit.
Before I answer your question, I feel the need to fill in some background to give you
some perspective on my comments.
Firstly I have tried a few times to say hi, but I must have been using old email addresses, because I finished up in conversations which suggested it wasn't getting direct to you, so although I wanted to say a few things I became a little frustrated. I will now fix that.
For a few years I have reflected on our chance meeting in Auckland, your guitar workshop the night after your first solo concert at the Melbourne Town hall, your visit to
our little music night at my then local church in Box Hill, and our subsequent lunch after your next visit with the group. Somewhere in there you re-ignited my love of music to the point where I began a group out of a youth group I then led, and it still continues today. I withdrew a few years back for a variety of reasons, but one of the original girls in the group has continued it to this day. I actually caught up with her again for a music night I have been running for 3 1/2 years now, and we did a few songs together, and it took me right back to all those memories - especially your input. I just wanted to say thank you. (You could actually view a P,P &M song or two on our Facebook page - it's called Warragul Acoustic Unplugged We did There is a Ship, and Such Is Love).
So with my head wanting to say thank you for all that, I read your Liar, Liar blog, and it didn't jell with all those fond memories. While I am not a church goer these days, I believe I do run my life on the principles of Christianity, and I did find it hard to reconcile your attack on Trump with those principals. I don't disagree that he is not a nice man..........and neither is Biden, but I guess I would rather see more efforts going into finding better candidates on both sides, for the benefit of your country....and the wider world.
The technology you alluded to and quoted is way beyond my understanding, and while I know it was only samples from the debate, I didn't feel it really showed up any differences that we weren't already aware of. It seems money gets people to the election to choose a president, and it is a drawn out process that has just as many flaws as the system over here, but surely if we can put more effort into finding good people in both our countries, we have a better chance of forming a better future for our children and grandchildren.
Noel.... I guess I will just have to defer to the mentioning of the Virtual Party and I apologize for mot having much to say about the debate but I have plenty to say when i get off the floor and contain my hysterical laughter even though I Know virtual party frontwards and backwards ...still watching your facial expressions and experiencing that "so real" story for thousands of couples..... I Love the whole idea of how intrigued people can be ,,, how interested in the unknown.... how "tempted" to try something they aren't quite sure of...... and then to find deep in their hearts the devotion, faithfulness, wise choices, passionate stick-to-itiveness and dying- to -self- type- love for someone else that overcomes all of the curiosity. I still love that song and believe that even in it's humorous presentation it has a magnificent solution to prevent broken relationships and homes all over our country.
God's principles always work and they can be challenging to carry out at times but what great joy comes from leaving the virtual party!!
I think there are two separate problems that AI could address regarding presidential debates. The first is that candidates do not usually answer the questions asked by the moderator. The debates have become opportunities for candidates to recite prepared talking points and/or score points with "gotcha moments." It would be great to have AI (in real time) react by saying "This statement is off-topic" or "does not answer the question." If we could steer these exchanges towards being real debates again, then AI could begin fact-checking responses that are at least on-point.
Great piece and there is indeed a potential up side to AI in the search for reality amid distortion, deception and complexity. Even without that tool, there are great models for keeping the bow pointed toward truth amid turbulence, most notably Wikipedia. This conversation on wikipedians who tend the garden of climate knowledge is relevant: https://revkin.substack.com/p/why-wikipedia-works-even-for-climate?utm_source=publication-search And a wonderful guide to how to train one's mind to pick out deception is Renee Hobbs, who teaches about "mind over media" at URI. I loved my conversation with her!> https://revkin.substack.com/i/88807214/mind-over-media
I have no idea why this was called a debate. Trump has never "debated" in any of the events he has been part of. He can bully and he certainly does lie, but debate, I don't think so. I cannot understand what his followers are hearing, looking at, or expecting? That is what scares me more than anything I've faced in my life. We have witnessed men like this before and it has never ended well.
I want to know why no one seems to be calling for Trump to drop out of the race. School yard bullies have no place in the world. When I was in school, so many years ago, I had to deal with school yard bullies, and I stepped in to stop them several times when they went after other kids. That made me even more of a target. As for the call for a "truly viable statesman," I would like to know where those people are today. My son always wanted to run for public office from the time he was in middle school. When he graduated from college and discovered how much money someone needed to run for office, he became too discouraged and gave up that dream. How many young people like him have been deterred from going on the path to become "true statemen/stateswomen" simply because they don't have the money or wealthy parents?
What you have written about Mr. Trump is true, but please hold Mr. Biden to the same “truth” standard. According to the news scoring Mr. Biden was a little loose with his facts too. I only wish we had a truly viable statesman running for President. I couldn’t care less what party this person represented.
righto, greg! please check my response to ian ferris's concerns - which were very similar to yours. i considered posting the full AI analysis independently, but found so many news agencies (albeit 24 hours later) providing that same service it seemed unnecessary.
Sorry - the kids in the sandbox wait and kiss Donnie’s ring, hoping he will give them another stimulus check and a PPD loan! The Rich kids want a HUGE Tax Cut!
Meanwhile, Donnie arrives and Beats Them All Up!
I have known Noel almost 50 years. We have me a few times when he was in Australia, and I found him to be open, honest and warm. I have also loved his music - through P, P & M and since.
So, despite realising I may have a different perspective on US (and other) politics, I find his latest blog to be totally at odds with his Chrisitianity, and very biased believing Trump was the only one telling lies in the fiasco they called a debate. While I am not a fan of Trump, at least he has some business skills
beyond the likes of Biden........and especially his son, but from Down Under it is staggering to think that these two are the best the US can find to head the free world.
hi ian! yes long time, no write <grin>! FYI: the AI response of 'FALSE', 'TRUE' and 'OPINION' throughout the transcription was even-handed regarding both candidates but space consideration (and yes, perhaps some personal bias as well) entered into the choice of how much of AI's analysis i could present - the debate was almost 2 hours long. my hope for the blog (and to some extent i think fufilled judging by other comments here) was to stir the interest in pursuing a more immediate form of fact-checking. that said, i was totally puzzled by your comment of it being 'totally at odds' with christianity. if you can clarify what you meant - hey who knows - it could perhaps make for an interesting next blog, eh?
Hi Noel,
I would like to reply to your question - dashing something off late at night, and pressing send before reading back to see if it all makes sense is probably not a good habit.
Before I answer your question, I feel the need to fill in some background to give you
some perspective on my comments.
Firstly I have tried a few times to say hi, but I must have been using old email addresses, because I finished up in conversations which suggested it wasn't getting direct to you, so although I wanted to say a few things I became a little frustrated. I will now fix that.
For a few years I have reflected on our chance meeting in Auckland, your guitar workshop the night after your first solo concert at the Melbourne Town hall, your visit to
our little music night at my then local church in Box Hill, and our subsequent lunch after your next visit with the group. Somewhere in there you re-ignited my love of music to the point where I began a group out of a youth group I then led, and it still continues today. I withdrew a few years back for a variety of reasons, but one of the original girls in the group has continued it to this day. I actually caught up with her again for a music night I have been running for 3 1/2 years now, and we did a few songs together, and it took me right back to all those memories - especially your input. I just wanted to say thank you. (You could actually view a P,P &M song or two on our Facebook page - it's called Warragul Acoustic Unplugged We did There is a Ship, and Such Is Love).
So with my head wanting to say thank you for all that, I read your Liar, Liar blog, and it didn't jell with all those fond memories. While I am not a church goer these days, I believe I do run my life on the principles of Christianity, and I did find it hard to reconcile your attack on Trump with those principals. I don't disagree that he is not a nice man..........and neither is Biden, but I guess I would rather see more efforts going into finding better candidates on both sides, for the benefit of your country....and the wider world.
The technology you alluded to and quoted is way beyond my understanding, and while I know it was only samples from the debate, I didn't feel it really showed up any differences that we weren't already aware of. It seems money gets people to the election to choose a president, and it is a drawn out process that has just as many flaws as the system over here, but surely if we can put more effort into finding good people in both our countries, we have a better chance of forming a better future for our children and grandchildren.
Excellent idea with AI
And what kind of “independent fact-checking” could be provided DURING a debate?
Google.
Or AI.
Possible.
Noel.... I guess I will just have to defer to the mentioning of the Virtual Party and I apologize for mot having much to say about the debate but I have plenty to say when i get off the floor and contain my hysterical laughter even though I Know virtual party frontwards and backwards ...still watching your facial expressions and experiencing that "so real" story for thousands of couples..... I Love the whole idea of how intrigued people can be ,,, how interested in the unknown.... how "tempted" to try something they aren't quite sure of...... and then to find deep in their hearts the devotion, faithfulness, wise choices, passionate stick-to-itiveness and dying- to -self- type- love for someone else that overcomes all of the curiosity. I still love that song and believe that even in it's humorous presentation it has a magnificent solution to prevent broken relationships and homes all over our country.
God's principles always work and they can be challenging to carry out at times but what great joy comes from leaving the virtual party!!
I think there are two separate problems that AI could address regarding presidential debates. The first is that candidates do not usually answer the questions asked by the moderator. The debates have become opportunities for candidates to recite prepared talking points and/or score points with "gotcha moments." It would be great to have AI (in real time) react by saying "This statement is off-topic" or "does not answer the question." If we could steer these exchanges towards being real debates again, then AI could begin fact-checking responses that are at least on-point.
Great piece and there is indeed a potential up side to AI in the search for reality amid distortion, deception and complexity. Even without that tool, there are great models for keeping the bow pointed toward truth amid turbulence, most notably Wikipedia. This conversation on wikipedians who tend the garden of climate knowledge is relevant: https://revkin.substack.com/p/why-wikipedia-works-even-for-climate?utm_source=publication-search And a wonderful guide to how to train one's mind to pick out deception is Renee Hobbs, who teaches about "mind over media" at URI. I loved my conversation with her!> https://revkin.substack.com/i/88807214/mind-over-media