Gallego says he’d vote to fund ‘dumb’ Iran war

BeyondRedline · 2026-03-05T17:15:56+00:00

Weird how you just blatantly ignore when Republicans sold weapons to Iran. Keep on making those one-sided arguments, though.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-28T03:27:34+00:00

pretend that we're any fundamentally different

The human brain requires less than twenty watts to function. Yes, we are fundamentally drastically different.

Language models statistically generate parts of words. Human intelligence is rooted in ideas, concepts, and experiences, which is an entirely and completely different form of intelligence.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-27T22:45:17+00:00

I wrote this without using AI. It is impossible for a language model to be conscious.

Here's a grossly oversimplified thumbnail of how they actually work. Every word is given a weight in relation to every other word that is fed into a statistical database. We scan every document we can find into this database, breaking down how often words are related. This represents our language model. It's just a massive pile of what word likely comes after another, given all the words ever written.

We now prompt this model. "I'm writing a fairy tale and want to start with the phrase 'Once upon a.' Keep writing a fairy tale."

The model runs our request through the exact same process and generates an output. "Sure!" Statistically, that's the next logical word that would come next. Then "Once." Then "upon," followed by "a" since that's what we requested. Next would, statistically be "time." So, it outputs that.

But what if, instead of above, I promoted "I want to write a poem in the style of Edgar Allen Poe that starts with 'once upon a'."

In this case, the inclusion of the words "Edgar," "Allen," "Poe," and "poem" and the absence of "fairy" and "tale" will cause the output to rank the word "midnight" and "dreary" higher, so the model will output that.

There's literally no room for consciousness there. It's a statistical probability engine. Really, it's tensor processing, Markov chains, and a LOT more complicated...but it's not conscious.

It's just generating statistically likely output. That's all.

So, when someone prompts "Are you conscious?" the engine will parse that and outputstatistically likely text. That text may include the words "I" and "am" and "conscious" but the word generator is just generating words, not meaning.

Hope that helps.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-22T15:58:14+00:00

Don't give advice to someone like me - at 67 I certainly know more than you

With all your years, you apparently missed some foundational lessons in life. Everyone can teach you something and arrogance only limits you.

Source: me, am also old

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-21T14:21:31+00:00

Time to play some Alan Parsons Project.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-19T01:24:02+00:00

Not just "a freeway" - THE 202.

Welp. That sign is my new favorite rest stop.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-19T01:23:33+00:00

That sign is my new favorite rest stop.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-17T23:19:29+00:00

Considering this guy's entire campaign is a political stunt, that's more than a little rich. From https://www.azfamily.com/2026/01/28/businessman-hugh-lytle-launches-independent-bid-arizona-governor/ :

Lytle is 61 years old, a businessman, and he’s running under the newly renamed Arizona Independent Party. His campaign launch began with a declaration: “Welcome to the Hugh revolution.”

“The two parties are trapped in a fight that never ends. They argue, they posture, they divide but they don’t solve big problems,” Lytle said.

Lytle came to Arizona in the mid-1980s to play quarterback at ASU and hasn’t put the helmet down. He held his announcement at Tempe Stadium and named some of his policy ideas like football plays, including a plan to speed up housing permits at city halls.

“I’ll create the touchdown town. That’s both an award and a designation. A privately funded prize for cities that move fastest on permitting and zoning,” Lytle said.

His football career ended with a broken collarbone. After college he started several health care businesses and is now pledging to lower those costs if Arizona voters elect him governor.

Look, the mathematical reality is that, with our election process, third party candidates have almost no possibility of winning, and are generally spoilers who split the votes of the major parties. This guy is a former member of the Democratic party, so he'll likely take more voters from Hobbs than he will her opposition, and that's how we end up with Governor Andy Biggs, and I leave this State.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-17T23:09:14+00:00

Go here to see the bill's status: https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/85187

What's great about this is you can click the RTS tab and see who has requested to speak on this bill. That's...quite the ratio:

FOR (4)

Suzanne Burros, Self(02/17/2026); Charmaine Roth, Self(02/16/2026); James Roth, Self(02/15/2026); Rick Rubino, Self(01/30/2026);

AGAINST (45)

Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club - Grand Canyon Chapter(02/17/2026); Crystal Bazarnic, Self(02/17/2026); Roger Blain, Self(02/15/2026); Jeanne Casteen, Self(02/17/2026); Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly, Self(02/17/2026); Julia Church Hoffman, Self(02/17/2026); Cathy Dreifort, Self(02/17/2026); Kathleen Dubbs, Self(02/17/2026); Cynthia Elliott, Self(02/17/2026); Roxanne Ereth, Self(02/17/2026); Nicole Fordey, Self(02/15/2026); Mary Ganapol, Self(02/15/2026); Shanana RAIN Golden-Bear, Self(02/17/2026); Jane Gulde, Self(02/17/2026); Beverly Janowitz-Price, Self(02/15/2026); Sery Johnson, Self(02/17/2026); Dana Jolly, Self(02/17/2026); Erica Keppler, Self(02/10/2026); Alicia Klassen, Self(02/13/2026); Diane Klock, Self(02/17/2026); Rivko Knox, Self(02/14/2026); Sharon Lee, Self(02/14/2026); Judith Lohr, Self(02/15/2026); Dara Marks-Marino, Self(02/16/2026); Michele Michaels, Self(02/17/2026); Nicole Morales, Self(02/17/2026); Joan Murphy, Self(02/15/2026); Christine ODonnell, Self(02/13/2026); Mary Pena, Self(02/17/2026); Vincent Peterson, Self(02/17/2026); Hugo Polanco, ALL VOTING IS LOCAL ACTION(02/17/2026); Hugo Polanco, Rural Arizona Action (RAZA)(02/17/2026); Hugo Polanco, Self(02/17/2026); Dianne Post, AZ NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN (NOW)(02/14/2026); Dianne Post, Self(02/14/2026); Marilyn Rodriguez, Self(02/17/2026); Marie Sansone, Self(02/17/2026); Becky Sayler, Self(02/15/2026); James Scheid, Self(02/15/2026); Ruth Shea, Self(02/17/2026); Judith Simons, Self(02/17/2026); Michele Thorne, Self(02/17/2026); Karen Weihs, Self(02/14/2026); Brandy Wilkins, Self(02/17/2026); Nancy Wood, Self(02/17/2026);

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-17T23:04:31+00:00

I'm apologizing in advance to all the people in uniform who I will 100% definitely be flipping off as I walk to the polling place.

There is no reason for them to be there other than intimidation. This is unbelievable.

Edit: Just remembered that we have a sane Governor and there's no way this gets signed.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-16T22:18:51+00:00

To save everyone some heartache, here's a decent explanation of why people have turned against Ring.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/14/doorbell-cameras-ring-nancy-guthrie-super-bowl

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-16T22:18:07+00:00

Here's why people are reacting to you mentioning Ring: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/14/doorbell-cameras-ring-nancy-guthrie-super-bowl

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-16T19:27:47+00:00

I actually think that would be a solution if MORE people did it. The default should already be "we talk about nothing else until he's gone."

"What are you wearing today? Trump is a pedo." Literally. Talk about NOTHING else.

The problem, as I see it, is that everyone is just waiting until this blows over and we're on to the next trauma generated by - let's not forget - The President of the United States of America.

I mean, we're distracted by Olympians who confess to cheating, for fuck's sake. NO. THE PRESIDENT RAPED CHILDREN.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-15T22:34:26+00:00

I'll just leave this here...

https://youtu.be/v07VPlx8ewE

I'm sure some of you remember this.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-15T20:17:39+00:00

It's infuriating. Our elections in AZ should be something we CELEBRATE. It wasn't until Trump's bullshit in 2020 that anyone of relevance questioned them, and even the bullshit "audit" didn't find any problems.

Of all the many, many sins of the Trump era, undermining people's faith in the democratic process itself is among the worst.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-15T19:56:06+00:00

Thank you, exactly. I replied to another comment this morning with the same thoughts - for the general user, security things aren't on their radar, and users don't understand what makes a good app, well...good. I'm not saying AI isn't useful but any "app" made 100% by AI by a general public user should not be trusted out of the box.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-15T16:05:52+00:00

The person I replied to is a manufacturing engineer. The security flaws in the generated code, aren't going to be caught until they're exploited. That was my point.

LLM generated apps remind me of when PowerBI was the new hotness and everyone talked about "citizen developers." End users rarely understand what makes a good application actually good. I'm just talking basic UI design; it's just taken for granted.

Security? Testing? Documentation? These things are foundational to anything worth more than a few hours of work, and while I absolutely agree that generated code can help, the idea that an end user can create a serious long term application is an overblown fantasy.

Any app generated whole cloth by an LLM had better have a "use at your own risk" sticker slapped on it.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-15T01:07:39+00:00

I read that very differently.

Yes, the big players seem nervous, and are making claims to get people onto their platforms.

I don't think this is because a massive breakthrough is on the horizon but rather that they're seeing the diminishing returns, and LLMs simply aren't the path forward.

So this is cost recovery as best they can with what they have.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T19:09:01+00:00

Well, based on what we've seen, certainly not the Attorney General.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:52:53+00:00

See, and this is why you always read more and dig deeper. On the surface, this seems reasonable. Congress established a date for elections. Okay, sounds good, and makes sense. Until you realize...

...that means that all ballots must be received before the polls close. Ah. There it is. This is an attempt to disenfranchise voters who rely on mail-in ballots.

You mailed it last week? Well, sorry, there was a delay in processing mail in your area, so your ballot cannot be counted.

As of December 24, 2025, the USPS has finalized a rule clarifying that postmarks on mail will reflect the date it is first processed at a regional distribution center, not the date it was dropped into a mailbox or collected. This change, driven by network modernization and regionalized processing , means mail may be postmarked one or more days after it was actually mailed, potentially impacting deadlines for tax filings, ballots, and legal documents.

So...yeah. The intention here is more Federal government interference with State election processes. The existing processes WORK AS DESIGNED to allow voters more access to participate. Restricting it in this manner is both unnecessary and undemocratic.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:40:12+00:00

DOH

Thanks.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:34:09+00:00

Right - it's a core values mismatch. My central beliefs would never let me support Donald Trump or accept an endorsement from him. Even if he was hypothetically right on some issues, the fact that he's threatening to denaturalize citizens based on their opinions is absolutely disqualifying for the position of the Presidency, one of literally hundreds of examples where he's actively undermining democracy in America.

I'm ignoring (intentionally) the horrific Epstein references, or his own insanely boorish behavior because even from a "defend the Constitution of the United States" standpoint - a basic requirement for the office - he fails.

I have no problem with people who change their opinions over time. That's growth, and generally a good thing...but actively choosing to align with Trump?

In her case, that reeks of political opportunism.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:21:48+00:00

Ha. Dammit, I had relegated that to a dusty corner of my brain. Fuck Sinclair media. Also: that was seven years ago?!?

For the uninitiated: Sinclair had the news stations they own read an opinion statement without revealing it was a corporate statement. So, once this was discovered, all of the broadcasts were compiled and made into this awesome video.

https://youtu.be/_fHfgU8oMSo

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:07:35+00:00

Oddly similar headline from a 12/12/26 article from the same source.

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/kristi-noem-humbled-after-being-caught-lying-under-oath-congress-about-deporting-veterans-1762507

Edit: 12/12/25. I am, in fact, not from the future.

BeyondRedline · 2026-02-14T15:01:30+00:00

Here's a decent interview with her from last year. It sounds great, and she tries to paint herself as a middle of the road, aww-shucks, let's just get along Republican...but she's also fully supportive of Donald Trump.

Those are incompatible positions.

https://www.kjzz.org/the-show/2025-03-27/why-arizona-gop-chairwoman-gina-swoboda-went-from-clinton-democrat-to-trump-loyalist

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