AI programs (real or pretend) often implement racial bias. California is considering a law that attempts to stop this -- by identity politics!

Identity politics is not a real solution to any problem. What's more, the problem of bias in algorithms is subtle. It is a mistake to assume that people know how to avoid it or even detect it as a consequence of their demographic background.

What California (and all polities) ought to do is require all software used to make decisions about individual people to be free software and its source code published, That way the public will be able to study whether its behavior is biased.

Biden has authorized sale of three fossil fuel leases over five years.

These would add to future US oil production -- when what survival requires is a massive reduction.

A UK thinktank published a report overestimating the cost of achieving "net zero" which was "full of errors that even a schoolboy would be embarrassed about." This should have been no surprise given that the thinktank -- or should we call it a "drunktank" -- hired a global heating denialist to prepare the report.

The article refers to him as a "climate skeptic", but that PR term is used to excuse climate denialism. A real skeptic applies rationality to check claimed conclusions. Clearly that denialist did not aim to qualify as a real skeptic.

*Investigation [of four Louisiana thugs] triggered by lawsuits alleging abuse and sexual humiliation of people taken to unmarked torture warehouse.*

*Disaster recovery projects stall nationwide as FEMA runs out of money.*

This is because it is compelled to prepare for the government shutdown.