Sean Casten

1. So let's instead come from an ethics angle. Broadly speaking, companies and individuals can operate at 3 ethical levels. At the top: do what's ethical. Slightly below that "do what's legal". And below that "do what is not cost-effectively-prosecutable"

1. Now, as a legal matter, crimes are defined by actions, and by motive. They aren't defined by weapons. Murder charges don't vary depending on whether you use a gun, or a slow, Agatha Christie poisoning. The "technology" doesn't limit the legality.

1. So now transplant all of what's happened in AI lately to any other industry. Suppose a pharma company releases a product that millions of people find useful. They do de minimus testing prior to release. Then they say "turns out this product might kill you, but I can't stop making it."

1. Framing this as a technology issue leads us down all sorts of unproductive rabbit holes that only stall action. "we don't really know yet how this will play out", "don't get in the way of innovation", "we have to outrace the competition", etc. 2/2

1. When companies or individuals operate anywhere between that which is ethical and that which is legal, the government is a partner in their success. When they operate between what's legal and what's prosecutable, we have a law-enforcement problem.

First they gutted the Foodborne Disease Surveillance Program that led to cyclospora's explosive diarrhea. Now their trade policies are jacking up the price of toilet paper. I leave you to explain this more pithily, perhaps with some 4 letter synonyms. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/26/paper-product-toilet-paper-tariffs-us-canada

Renaming lakes is stupid.

Once again, I must make the partisan observation that the good guys won the Civil War, WWII and the Cold War. I hope some day that isn't partisan but to say "I salute all who served regardless of cause" is to condone hate. https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/us-news/ny-lawmaker-saluted-grandfather-who-served-in-nazi-germany-in-bizarre-post/

There are many reasons to be critical of Bessent that get very personal (lying, inconsistency, smarminess, disrespect, etc.) but don't lose sight of how much he is weakening the power of the Treasury and US fiscal policy going forward. A few thoughts on this: https://www.ft.com/content/a50df99b-0621-44ea-a7c7-c9c685e2eba1?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Even Ted Cruz chases clicks by disrespecting Ted Cruz.

1. No public reading. Minimal public opprobrium. The Congressional record will of course show the censure resolution. But the reality, and the video will show that given the chance to stand up for what is right, to stand up for victims... Mike Johnson always sits down.

Every time you think the Republican Party can’t get any more racist & repugnant to everything the “party of Lincoln” was founded on, they do something like this again. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/27/mike-collinss-former-staffer-posted-kkk-nazi-imagery/

Very good overview of the food insecurity that is hitting our communities as a result of the GOP's Big Ugly Bill and the kindness and decency being shown by our local food pantries in spite of those challenges. https://www.beverlyreview.net/news/community_news/article_3318c40b-12bc-49e1-9cde-1b0aff81b5dc.html

Once again, when the economically-illiterate petulant man child in the White House screws up he self-calms himself with sharpies and maps. Meanwhile, everything you buy from America's 2nd largest trading partner is going to get a lot more expensive. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/25/trump-says-us-could-rename-lake-ontario-amid-canada-trade-war/

1. Recall that Schiff was censured on a purely party-line vote for the assertion that he had made false claims of Trump-Russia collusion. Everyone knew it was just a way for the GOP to kiss Trump's posterior.

1. Fast forward to today. Chuck Edwards was censured for "engaging in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers". He was recommended for censure by the bipartisan ethics committee and censured in a vote of 413-2. That's as bipartisan as you get.

1. If you're interested in all the tawdry details, read the ethics report. And remember that this was the result of a bipartisan process. https://ethics.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Committee-Report-8.3.26.pdf

1. In other words, if Mike Johnson wanted to restore the meaning of censure, to stand up in defense of victims of sexual harassment, to respect and dignify his office, all he had to do was follow the House rules. Summon Edwards to the floor and read the censure resolution.

1. Under House rules, the penalty for censure is to be summoned to the well and have the charges read back to you by the Speaker. Kevin McCarthy, keen to show off his posterior-kissing skills did exactly that.

1. It was a farce, an embarrassment to the institution and diminished censure as a tool. McCarthy got all the respect he deserved as he did the requisite kissing. https://youtu.be/IBLiJDHTBzk?si=n5dj5LkcbVBoWiM9

1. Mike Johnson being Mike Johnson... of course he didn't do that. He summoned Edwards to the floor. He read the requisite words that the House had voted to censure and the Speaker shall read them from the well. Then he... just left the dais, tapped Edwards and said he could leave too.