Tues Blogcast: Kimmel is back; AI regulation; Human trafficking

Just One Thing: Jimmy Kimmel is back, at least for now, and I'm glad

Here's a snippet of my Substack about Jimmy Kimmel coming back to ABC late-night tonight. Please read the rest and subscribe (it's free!) here: Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air tonight

Sinclair says it won't air Jimmy Kimmel on its stations after Disney announced his return

Jimmy Kimmel's return to TV makes money for Disney — but at a big cost

Brendan Carr turned Jimmy Kimmel into a martyr who fought against the petty tyranny of the Trump administration. Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney (which owns ABC), posted this on X:

Where has all the leadership gone? If not for university presidents, law firm managing partners, and corporate chief executives standing up against bullies, who then will step up for the first amendment? The “suspending indefinitely” of Jimmy Kimmel immediately after the Chairman of the FCC's aggressive yet hollow threatening of the Disney Company is yet another example of out-of-control intimidation. Maybe the Constitution should have said, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, except in one’s political or financial self-interest.” By-the-way, for the record, this ex-CEO finds Jimmy Kimmel very talented and funny.

Well, Kimmel might be talented but it’s hard to tell these days because he’s so focused on politics rather than entertainment, which is probably a big reason his ratings are so bad. He used to be funny…and maybe he could be again if he weren’t so angry all the time.

In any case, Kimmel became the avatar of victims of Trump administration overreach and assault on the First Amendment. And, frankly, that’s not wrong.

Brendan Carr sorta defended himself but also didn't really make an argument for why his behavior was OK:

My reaction:

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One More Thing: This Must Not Stand

This is an egregious assault on freedom of the press and on the American public's ability to trust the government, a level of trust that's already low. It's one thing to try to find leakers of classified information. It's another thing to say reporters can't report even unclassified information unless it's approved by a bureaucrat. This is straight out of the Soviet Union.

Pentagon steps up media restrictions for access to credentials | AP News

From a member of the Pentagon press corps, in a note to me:

It is one of the most serious assaults on the First Amendment and free press in my lifetime. Most people don’t understand that they are criminalizing us for asking about CUI (controlled unclassified info such as "how many troops are still in Syria" or "how many warships have been sent to the Caribbean" or "how many tanks in the Army parade") or disseminating it, meaning we would only be able to report on press releases. When the press doesn’t sign which we won’t and are forced to leave the Pentagon, we will go back to the days of Vietnam era distrust of the Pentagon and US military. There will be no reporters there to report on the military. A huge setback. There is language in these 17 pages that make it easy to prosecute us- similar language to the Espionage and Sedition Act. It’s a trap.

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Today's Guests

Kevin Frazier is a University of Texas School of Law AI Innovation and Law Fellow

We'll talk about how the federal and state governments should go about regulating (or not regulating) artificial intelligence:

Kevin Frazier | Faculty | Texas Law

AI at a Crossroads: A Nationwide Strategy or Californication? | House Judiciary Committee Republicans

The Case for an AI Moratorium & Perils of Premature AI Regulation

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Erica Reid is Acting Section Chief at the Center for Countering Human Trafficking at the Dept of Homeland Security

We'll talk about "Blue Campaign" launching a new Back-to-School initiative to encourage parents, caregivers, educators, and other adults who work closely with youth to learn and recognize the warning signs of human trafficking, how to report suspicious activity, and most importantly how to start a conversation about it with the young people in their lives.

Erica Reid | National Student Safety & Security Conference & Workshops

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Other Stuff

I really try to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, sorta grading on a curve because I understand (at least somewhat) what sort of person he is, but here Trump's comments are stupid and dangerous: Trump administration recommends pregnant women limit Tylenol, contradicting medical guidance - ABC News

He added vaccine nonsense too: Trump and RFK Jr. make autism announcement as Tylenol maker and medical experts push back - CBS News

Of course, just a few weeks back, he was linking vaccines and autism, which he's not doing now. Because he has no freakin' idea. This is nuts.

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Some potentially large implications here as far as whether Congress can tell the president that he can only fire agency appointees "for cause" or whether anybody who sits on an executive branch commission or board as an appointee can be removed for any reason a president wants: Supreme Court issues ruling on Trump’s power to fire FTC commissioner without cause

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Thanks for the list of who we must not vote for. By the way, Michelle Quattlebaum is terrible; if she’s not bad enough for the union, imagine how horrendous their endorsed candidate must be. 

Denver teachers union endorses four candidates for school board - Chalkbeat

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Just what this country doesn't need: ‘They’re next’: ABC10 shooting suspect faces new federal charges

Note that the attorney calls the accused shooter (who didn't hit anybody) an "educated liberal": Attorney speaks out after FBI rearrests accused ABC10 shooter | abc10.com

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Speaking of AI: When It Comes to Spotting Fake Receipts, It’s A.I. vs. A.I. - The New York Times

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This is the only sensible explanation for this terrible story. I just couldn't figure out how two young healthy experienced hunters could die even if stuck out in the elements for a couple of days. It was cold, but not cold enough to kill you if you had any wilderness training at all. Unbelievably bad luck. Elk hunters found dead were victims of lightning, coroner says

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Of course they’re right: “Vile,” “corrosive,” “toxic” … and unquittable. Colorado’s members of Congress on how social media impacts their work and America. - The Colorado Sun

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A long and wonderful read: The Constitution Can’t Save Us. Only We Can.

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Asians often do a lot of things that westerners find quite odd. This is among the less odd, ideas, actually. I'm not gonna do it but I don't hate the idea, or at least I'd put it in the same category as a tattoo, except that it's more easily removable: Bored with Skin Tattoos, Chinese Youths Are Increasingly Turning to Tooth Tattoos Instead

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This six-year-old story is nerdy real science and kinda funny at the same time: Japanese Researchers Win Lg Nobel Prize for Painting Cows with Zebra-Like Stripes

The actual scientific article: Cows painted with zebra-like striping can avoid biting fly attack | PLOS One

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Offered without comment: Trump Gold Card Visa Officially On Sale For $1 Million—A Drastic 80% Cut

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Trump named ANTIFA as a "Domestic Terrorist Organization" but does that actually mean anything or is it just politics (at least for now)?

Designating Antifa as a Domestic Terrorist Organization – The White House

Understanding and Conceptualizing Domestic Terrorism: Issues for Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

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It's dumb, and now it will also be expensive: Aurora lawmakers approve fees for dirt bikes, failure to appear

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Usually with stories like these I assume it's just government bureaucrats trying to protect themselves and/or a government agency from criticism. I definitely don't see a reasonable argument here against giving the information: Colorado Sun, 9News child abuse case reaches highest court

Today's Video

Congrats to John Ondrasik, also known by his stage name, "Five for Fighting"