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Gary L. Herstein

@philosophe1957.bsky.social
1.8K followers 566 following 2.3K posts

Philosopher (earned Ph.D., Whitehead scholar), author (sort of), opinionated lefty, cat servant. Only respond to Chats from people I already know. Only follow back folks with some OC. independent.academia.edu/GaryHerste… garyherstein.com

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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
From elsewhere on the web: "In Texas, kids can learn a whale swallowed a man on God's orders, but not that slavery was wrong."
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
"The militaristic drive to build the best chatbot and somehow “beat China” knows no bounds, including those of logic. This nightmarish iteration of the extraction economy was made possible by undemocratic processes and a national administration that sold us and our resources out to tech oligarchs."
newrepublic.com
Nobody Here Wants the Data Center: An Oral History
We’ve gathered stories from all across the country detailing what happens when Big Tech’s latest monstrosities come to town.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
"while Americans workers are being dragooned into using AI, American consumers are being force-fed AI whether they want it or not. Most dramatically, Google has replaced its search engine with AI, without offering the option to opt out."
paulkrugman.substack.com
Why Does Everyone Hate AI?
It’s the fear, the enshittification, datacenter hostility, and the tech broligarchy
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
"O’Brien notes that “[b]ecause the U.S. has no significant leverage over Iran, the Trump administration…will simply have to dissemble about non-existent Iranian concessions to try and make it seem that they have not been completely routed”."
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
June 24, 2026
Today, strategic studies scholar Phillips P.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
NASA has named the astronauts for the Artemis III mission. No women on the crew this time. I've seen some complaints in the comments about this, but here's the thing:
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Republicans say James Talarico ordered a vegan taco. Democrats say that it wasn't vegan because it had both egg and cheese—doubling down on the cultural elitism that has cost them so dearly in recent elections.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
“Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.”
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
From elsewhere on da' web: "Do I agree with everything Satan does? No. But he's tough and gets things done." -MAGA "Christians", basically
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Rubio: "I have the softest mouth." Vance: "No, *I* have the softest mouth."
newser.com
Rubio Tops Cabinet Meetings in Flattery, Vance in Insults
New York Times review compares how secretaries use their time with Trump
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Quelle surprise: "Many European academics are opting out of one of the largest annual gatherings for business scholars because it is being held in the US, citing concerns over data privacy, their opposition to travel bans and the political climate under the Trump administration."
timeshighereducation.com
European academics shun US business conference over Trump fears
Academy of Management to move event in future years as regular attendees stay at home owing to visa fears and opposition to president’s research policies
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
For those who don't know: Veterans Day is for those who came home. Memorial day is for those who did not.
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Scott Dworkin @dworkin.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
“We will not let them.” — Maine Sec. of State Shenna Bellows after a federal judge blocked the DOJ's aggressive demands for private voter data. Read how state officials are successfully fighting back against federal overreach: www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/republican...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
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Alicia @aliciablackgirl.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
"Every time anyone says that Israel is our only friend in the Middle East, I can't help but think that before Israel, we had no enemies in the Middle East." -- John Sheehan, S.J. (a Jesuit Priest) #trump #maga #Iranwar
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
"A group of 38 prominent scientists from around the world ... called for a halt on the creation of of a novel synthetic bacteria that, if realized and accidentally leaked into the environment, could dodge typical ecological checks and lead to an uncontrollable spread of deadly infection"
noemamag.com
The Doomsday Organism | NOEMA
Scientists working on synthetic “mirror life” have come to realize that, if created, it could pose an existential threat to life on Earth.
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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
If I grow up I want to write this well www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/b...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"Independent analysts have also said multi-year-high fuel prices in the United ⁠States could weigh ​on demand during the peak summer travel season, while also posing a major political challenge for Trump just months ahead of ​midterm elections in November."
reuters.com
US EIA concedes Middle East supply disruptions are far worse than prior estimates
The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday revised its earlier forecasts to reflect a ‌much bigger and lengthier hit to global oil supplies from the Iran war than it previously projected, h...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
"The national drought picture is increasingly grim. According to the latest US Drought Monitor, more than 60% of the lower 48 states are now gripped by drought. It’s the most widespread spring dry spell since the monitor began in 2000."
theguardian.com
Lasers in the sky: hi-tech missions track record snowpack loss in US west
Data from missions showing critically low snowpack on mountains across the west raises alarm among experts
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
A toolkit for persons who would aspire to be journalists, and not merely stenographers:
thedial.world
Journalism Today — A Toolkit for Reporters
Advice from around the world on how to keep working under threat.
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Dr. Mar @boldnewme.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Dana Cooper's Ballad for a battle-scarred, feral cat:
youtube.com
The Ghost of Tucumcari - Dana Cooper - Lyric Video
YouTube video by Dana Cooper
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
How in the everlovingfuck does a cut in Capital Gains tax help the average voter? How many flavors of stupid are the Republicans, or is that an unfair question because it presupposes a finite number for an answer?
yahoo.com
Republicans Eye Capital Gains Tax Cut to Ease Voters’ Anxieties
(Bloomberg) -- Republican lawmakers are looking at ways to lower taxes on capital gains as the party searches for new ways to woo voters worried about the cost of living heading into November’s midter...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Hope the party was worth it. "The blaze was started by a foil balloon hitting live power lines. That created an electrical arc that ignited combustible material on the ground."
yahoo.com
Georgia wildfires that destroyed more than 120 homes continue to threaten residents
Two wildfires in southeastern Georgia continued to threaten homes and lives on Saturday as officials warned that strong winds could spread the flames. Brantley County Manager Joey Cason called it a “...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
AI can't smell, but it does stink.
noemamag.com
Why AI Needs A Sense Of Smell | NOEMA
Scent is a vital component of human intelligence. But in our quest to advance artificial intelligence, nobody seems to care about it.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
"A reader encountering that chorus receives a very clear signal: suspicion is unnecessary here, because the institutions have already done the doubting for you. But the trust in this case would have been wholly misplaced." "American Cosmic" and the dancing woo-woo masters.
joncogburn.substack.com
What Happens When Peer Review Forgets Demarcation
How Oxford, LARB, and a chorus of praise turned credulity into scholarship and deepened epistemic injury
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
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Miaganga @miaganga.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
"Struggles against oppression start with people critically reflecting on their experiences. What happens to such struggles when we outsource our thinking to AI and replace human interlocutors with sycophantic chatbots?"
jacobin.com
Movements Need the Critical Thinking That AI Destroys
Struggles against oppression start with people critically reflecting on their experiences. What happens to such struggles when we outsource our thinking to AI and replace human interlocutors with syco...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Further commentary would be superfluous ...
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
borowitzreport.com
Trump Gives Himself Two Weeks to Invent New Distraction from Epstein Files
“Threatening to annihilate a nation of 90 million people worked for about a day, but now I need to come up with something else,” Trump said.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
TACO Tuesday:
apnews.com
Live updates: Trump pulls back on Iran threats for two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to terms
President Donald Trump says he’s pulling back on his threats to widen attacks on Iran — subject to Iran being ready for a two-week ceasefire and to reopen Strait of Hormuz.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
"When PayPal closed Consortium News’ account in May 2022, it held $9,000 of Consortium News’ funds. PayPal didn’t offer an explanation for why it shut off Consortium News’ account. But Lauria believes it was directly connected to their coverage of the war in Ukraine."
lithub.com
How PayPal and Other Platforms Help Silence Alternative Media
“We were punished.” That’s how Joe Lauria, the editor in chief of Consortium News, described PayPal’s decision to cut off their account. Lauria has spent decades writing about international affairs…
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Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
It never bode well for civilization to have the stupidest man on the planet also be the most powerful.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
"of more than 60 key higher ed lawsuits, the government has the upper hand in just 17 cases as of April 1. Those include cases regarding the rights of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and whether the government can add a $100,000 fee to H-1B visas."
insidehighered.com
As Lawsuits Against Trump Pile Up, Strategies Shift
The government has secured some notable wins, but plaintiffs aiming to rein in Trump’s higher ed agenda still hold the upper hand, an Inside Higher Ed analysis shows.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
"So I try to see reading not as a plate of vegetables, but as a glass of wine. Just as we don’t sip an earthy red in order to work our way through the stocks in a cellar, we shouldn’t read just to diminish the pile of books on our desk. There is pleasure in an attentive sip."
theatlantic.com
Andrew Tate Doesn’t Get the Point of Books
The erosion of deep reading weakens our capacity to grasp complex ideas.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
“The ruling class knows that if you give the smartest person in the room a microphone they’re probably going to say Free Palestine.”
lithub.com
The Real Cancel Culture: NYU Has Put an End to Live Student Graduation Speeches
Though New York University contingent faculty’s ongoing strike is the biggest news of late from campus, the institution’s  suspect labor practices aren’t the only recent damning headlines: NYU is a…
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
"What interests me in accusations of techno-phobia is ... the work that this subtle, but crucial labelling of ‘techno-phobia’ does by reducing the divergent set of techno-negative emotions that fuel critiques of technology to just one specific feeling."
lithub.com
“Technophobe!” A Short History of An Insult
On May 13th 1985, a Police Department helicopter hovering above 6221 Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia made history: it dropped 11/4-pound blocks of C-4 explosives, making it the first time a U.S. …
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Anyone else who engaged in obstruction on the scale that Trump did would have been indicted.
joycevance.substack.com
What Was Actually in the Mueller Report
There is an enormous amount of misinformation circulating about former Special Counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 U.S.
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
"I prefer this way of seeing things. Now the books lying all over the house, books I have started and will probably never finish, are signs not of fickleness but of a robust indifference to societal norms. Now I am no malingerer, but rather a champion of the erotics of art."
yalereview.org
Michel Chaouli: "Do You Actually Have to Finish That Novel?"
A critic and self-described "nonfinisher" considers why we feel guilty about abandoning books—and what the endings of novels can teach us about the…
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Gary L. Herstein @philosophe1957.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
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