New York, Jan. 23, 2025 | View on Web | Visit our Home Planet
Google AI data center.
The Grand Distraction and the Dark Design
Dear Friend and Reader:
Why exactly do we need “artificial intelligence” at all? What purpose is it going to serve? Everyone knows what a blender is for; try making a frozen margarita without one. There is no good answer to the AI question. There are only bad answers, and very bad answers.
And why were the tech billionaires all sitting in the front row at the inauguration with the cabinet in the second row? If you’re wondering where technocracy fits into the Trump administration, consider the Sun-Pluto conjunction in Aquarius representing the new administration. [Hear special edition Starcast.]
That is about the power of the technological establishment to control, well, everything. Does your blender need an IP address? Does your body need one?
Trump signs executive orders in the Capital One Arena
Politics, of a Certain Kind
But first, let’s talk politics. Of a certain kind.
The newly minted president spent his first day and into the night in office signing executive orders — many of them in a stadium full of cheering supporters.
Conservatives have long complained about the courts “legislating from the bench,” which is actually called “precedent” or “common law” and is the way our legal system is supposed to work.
And then we witnessed executive orders with the effect of law being churned out by the dozen. Nobody knows how many; or somebody does and did not tell anyone. This nifty website from ABC News has a partial list that links back to the White House website for the full text. This one from WDSU may be better.
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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You seem to have a choice of going high, or going deep. But what you might really be looking for is a peak experience of inner awareness. The whole nature of the digital environment is to take people out of direct experience of ourselves; that’s what I mean by inner experience. The nature of your astrology now strongly favors living from your core outward, and not letting the outward part of the experience distract you from the core part. This is true confidence, undistracted by external responses. It takes practice; people respond to you, and you’re more emotionally sensitive than you let on. So you may need a routine of clearing your energy field of disturbance. This can also involve a practice of engaging with people close to you in specific and structured ways, such as regularly asking them, “So what’s on your mind?” This counts for being receptive and it also counts for giving people a chance to speak up if they have any grievances. And you limit your concerns to the specific things they say rather than what you imagine they might be. This is all rather honest and direct, which is exactly the point. There is a measure of immunity in insisting that people be on the level — and being so yourself. The benefit is that you get to focus on what really matters, rather than being distracted by drama, gossip, and other forms of social games. Just remember, those games serve their purpose — toxic though it is.
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Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — The theme this month is not just taking personal responsibility for your life, but also claiming the rewards that come with it. I raise this issue in a time when the role of “victim” is exalted and rewarded; when it is unassailable; when anyone who questions this social theory is just perpetuating “victimization.” Whole empires are built on the notion of the victim (Oprah) and it’s the easiest way to take a rocket ride to one’s 15 minutes of world-fame. And, it’s wholly self-defeating. Yes there are times when people are entirely passive and shit just happens. (Those too call for careful forensic analysis — and appropriate response.) But that’s not what I’m on about. I mean boldly taking over your function of making your decisions, for better or worse. And I’m talking about going back through your history and doing some cleanup work on what has happened in the past (by whatever means) and taking full ownership. Hence, a history of childhood abuse calls for therapy (not raging against or blaming others). Bad relationship choices call for making better ones. And the ways in which your neglect or self-interest have hurt others also call for a reckoning, which may include making that difficult phone call to apologize. Our society is in a grotesque state right now, largely because nobody wants to take responsibility for anything — and is not encouraged to do so. The upshot here is that in your life, the buck stops with you.
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