Marc Andreessen on AI, Tech, Censorship, and Dining with Trump
Bari Weiss, The Free Press
The billionaire on the left’s war on Silicon Valley, why AI censorship is “a million times more dangerous” than social media censorship, and why he’s optimistic about the future.

Marc Andreesen: It’s morning in America, so I’m very happy. I think the analogy for what’s happening right now is 1980—the transition from the ’70s to the ’80s and the Carter-Reagan race.

In this election, there was a dramatic shift to the right across broad swaths of the population, including in California. Even in places like San Francisco. And then the youth vote—the kids are changing. The new kids are not the same as the kids 10 years ago.

But even beyond the partisan politics of it, it feels like the last decade has been a very emotionally dark and repressive time. And Silicon Valley was on the vanguard of what you might call a soft authoritarian social revolution starting about 10 or 12 years ago. And that soft repressive authoritarianism had a real negative impact on my whole world—the tech industry, the country, and I think an entire generation of young people. It certainly feels like that’s cracked.

How the tech right wants to run America
Derek Robertson

Whether on podcasts, lengthy posts on X and Substack, or through influential self-published manifestos, the tech characters now heavily involved in President-elect Donald Trump’s transition have a clear track record of demands, expectations and ideas, all delivered with the classic Silicon Valley confidence that they can run the government better than the government itself.

The picture that emerges is one of a sweeping deregulatory agenda touching everything from crypto to artificial intelligence to fields like the defense industry and health technology.

January 6 Was a Success
William Kristol and Andrew Egger
Trump managed to turn his presidency’s darkest day into a political springboard. And now, he’ll seek retribution.

And so, we have not just a normalization of January 6, but the full recasting of it. One of the darkest days of our political history is whitewashed, a cause of shame turned into a cause célèbre.

Our next president instigated January 6 and is a full-throated defender of those who rioted that day. Our next vice president, JD Vance, is someone who says he would not—as Vice President Mike Pence did—have stood in the way of overturning the election. Trump’s nominee for attorney general traveled the country at the end of 2020 promoting the Big Lie and trying to pressure both the courts and Congress to nullify the election results. His nominee for FBI director was part of the effort within the government to undermine the election.

Democracies Have an Attention Span Problem
Illiberalism advances under the West’s click-oriented media cycle.
Sam Kahn

So, no one’s fault, but there are real-world consequences. The paladins of illiberalism are, sometimes with almost puckish humor, basing their foreign policy on these blindspots in coverage. That’s China with its economic imperialism in Africa. That’s Russia testing out the capabilities of the Wagner Group in the Sahel—exactly where they think the West is least likely to notice. That’s Saudi Arabia’s long-standing war in Yemen. That’s Putin slotting his wars into the calendar wherever he thinks they will do the least public-relations damage.

So bear that in mind the next time you (like everyone) flip past the worthy-but-dull international news story on A32, the next time you get subsumed by some cultural tempest-in-a-tea-kettle that seems to be chewing up Twitter and burying all the actual news stories. The illiberal paladins are paying attention even if we’re not.

Donald Trump takes aim at Canada
The Warning with Steve Schmidt

Forty-thousand Canadians fought in Afghanistan after the United States was attacked. One hundred and fifty-eight were killed in action, while thousands more were wounded. Thousands more left were left to deal with the cost of war.

The only thing that an American should express to Canada is gratitude. Friends owe each other nothing more, and nothing less.

Elaine Kamarck On Reinventing Government and DOGE, Closing The Loudness Gap, Fighting Trump’s Dangerous Delusions

Polarization, brain rot and brat – the 2024 words of the year point to the power, perils and ephemeral nature of digital life

Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis
The winners offer a window into the spirit of the times.

Links between gender stereotypes and American patriotism date from the Cold War − but weren’t true then either

Oana Godeanu-Kenworthy, Miami University

Traditional ideals of gender roles hark back to a time of extreme American nationalist sentiment in the face of a significant international threat.

I’m a scholar of white supremacy who’s visiting all 113 places where Confederate statues were removed in recent years − here’s why Richmond gets it right

David Cunningham, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

Protesters toppled and damaged a statue of Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, in 2020. It is now displayed at a museum just as they left it: prone and paint-splattered, with a toilet-paper noose.

I’m a scholar of white supremacy who’s visiting all 113 places where Confederate statues were removed in recent years − here’s why Richmond gets it right

David Cunningham, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

AI is real, but the hype is manufactured. A dose of skepticism is helpful for seeing how this story goes.

Casey Newton wrote a piece last Thursday titled “The phony comforts of AI skepticism” that defined two camps: “AI is fake and sucks” vs “AI is real and dangerous.”

But the reason why labeling the entire AI skeptic camp according to our most-glib retorts doesn’t sit right is that people in this camp (myself included) have written plenty of more thorough and serious critiques. We, broadly speaking, think that generative AI is very real and very dangerous, specifically because it does not work as-advertised. (Or, as Brian Merchant once wrote, “I’m not saying don’t be nervous about the onslaught of AI services — but I am saying be nervous for the right reasons.”)

AI is real, but the hype is manufactured.

Implications from the arrest of United Healthcare shooter suspect and the second Gilded Age.

1. Baltimore Royalty

It is no small thing being the valedictorian of The Gilman School in Baltimore. It’s the top of the tiptop in Baltimore (which may not register as much on a national scale in which incoming White House advisers are more powerful than nations and companies, but is a pretty big deal to those of us who grew up around that.)

We’re still learning a lot about the alleged shooter, Luigi Mangione. His online history, his apparent descent into radicalization and a mysterious vanished year before he allegedly murdered United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of Manhattan.

Also, it’s times like this when I’m grateful for The Baltimore Banner. An incredible amount of talent migrated there over the past few years as the legacy outlet, The Sun, has withered under hedge fund management. That talent and the deep well of knowledge has been a boon to understanding this moment, make sure you check out The Banner.

Live updates: Suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing has been arrested and charged in Pennsylvania

The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO has been charged with several crimes, including forgery and carrying a firearm without a license.

Police arrested Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, earlier Monday after receiving a tip that he’d been spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

• Details on the arrest: The suspect began shaking when police asked if he had been in New York recently, authorities said. Police said they found him with a gun believed to be the one used in last Wednesday’s shooting, as well as writings suggesting anger with corporate America.
• Who is Luigi Mangione? Born and raised in Maryland, he has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address is in Honolulu, Hawaii. One of his cousins is a Maryland state legislator and his family bought a country club north of Baltimore in the 1980s.

Mangione attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in May 2020 with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, a Penn spokesperson told Axios.

• He received a bachelor of science in engineering with a major in computer science and a minor in mathematics.
• He also received a master of science in engineering in computer and information science.

Mangione graduated in 2016 as valedictorian of the Gilman School, a prep school in Maryland, multiple media outlets reported.

Man born, raised in Maryland is cousin of state lawmaker, son of country club owners

Mangione was valedictorian of the Class of 2016 at the Gilman School, and he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His family owns Turf Valley and Hayfields Country Club, as well as a Maryland radio station.

Mangione is the cousin of Baltimore County Delegate Nino Mangione, R-District 42A, the lawmaker’s office confirmed.

Thompson, 50, was killed Wednesday in what police said was a “brazen, targeted” attack as he walked alone to the Hilton from a nearby hotel, where UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, was holding its annual investor conference, police said.