Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3<h2>Sunday Morning Reading</h2><p>The rapid decay of all things continues. I’m not even sure if “decay” is the right word. “Collapse” might be a better choice. Regardless, there’s no “decay” or “collapse” in my sharing articles and writing every week in <strong>Sunday Morning Reading.</strong> Enjoy.</p><a class="" href="https://warnercrocker.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ashni-wh9zc4727e4-unsplash.jpg?w=928" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[🖼 warnercrocker.com/wp-content/u…]</a><p><strong>Russell Shorto</strong> tells us that the fracture we’re facing shouldn’t surprise in <a href="https://www.salon.com/2025/03/15/americas-fatal-division-is-nothing-new-it-was-baked-in-from-the-beginning/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">America’s Fatal Division Is Nothing New: It Was Baked In From The Beginning</a>. He’s right and that’s also nothing new. We just have a propensity for ignoring what we shouldn’t. </p><p><strong>Marc Elias</strong> says <a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/we-cant-give-in-to-fear/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Can’t Give In To Fear.</a> He’s right. But with those we mistakenly counted on having already done so, it makes it tougher for the rest of us. </p><p><strong>Brian Barrett</strong> of <strong>Wired </strong>(which continues to do excellent reporting) gives us a rundown on <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-donald-trump-doge-congress-takeover/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The United States of Elon Musk. </a>Good piece with good context. I don’t disagree with his premise that it’s unsustainable. The larger concern is what’s left in its wake.</p><p><strong>NatashaMH</strong> opens up a personal tale of exploring justice, relationships, and personal power in <a href="https://medium.com/ellemeno/the-price-of-guns-and-butter-4eb568893207" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Price of Guns And Butter. </a></p><p>Things aren’t just decaying on political and social fronts, technology is marching right alongside, if not leading the charge. <strong>John Gruber</strong> lays out a mea culpa of sorts in discussing Apple’s less than intelligent move into Artificial Intelligence in <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2025/03/something_is_rotten_in_the_state_of_cupertino" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Something Is Rotten In The State of Cupertino.</a> <strong>Om Malik </strong>also weighs in with <a href="https://om.co/2025/03/13/apple-intelligence-fud-dud-or-both/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Intelligence, Fud, Dud or Both</a>. I’ll have more to say on this later this week. I wrote a bit about it <a href="https://warnercrocker.com/2025/03/10/apple-intelligently-delays-new-siri/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">last week </a>also.</p><p><strong>Will Knight</strong>, (again in <strong>Wired</strong>) tells us that <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/ai-safety-institute-new-directive-america-first/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Under Trump, AI Scientists Are Told To Remove ‘Ideological Bias’ From Powerful Models. </a>Tell me. Who didn’t see this kind of thing happening?</p><p><strong>Cory Doctorow</strong> in <strong>Pluralistic</strong> lays out how <a href="https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/15/altering-the-deal/#telescreen" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon Annihilates Alexa Privacy Settings, Turns On Continuous Nonconsensual Audio Uploading</a>. One way user agreements flow only one way. Again, who didn’t see this coming?</p><p>In times of uncertain futures it’s always somewhat uncomfortably comforting to reminisce about simpler times. When it comes to technology there was perhaps no simpler or more innocent time than during the age of the Commodore 64, which was my first home computer. We’ve come a long way. <strong>Gareth Edwards</strong> takes a look at Jack Tramiel’s success in <a href="https://every.to/the-crazy-ones/the-first-king-of-home-computing" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Commodore Invented The Mass Market Computer. </a></p><p>(Image from <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/ashni" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ashni on Unsplash</a>)</p><p><em>If you’re interested in just what the heck <strong>Sunday Morning Reading</strong> is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading <a href="https://warnercrocker.com/2023/05/14/sunday-morning-reading/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also find more of my writings on Medium at <a href="https://medium.com/@WarnerCrocker" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this link</a>, including in the publications <a href="https://medium.com/ellemeno" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ellemeno</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/rome-magazine" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rome.</a></em></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/amazon/" target="_blank">#Amazon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/apple/" target="_blank">#Apple</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/apple-intelligence/" target="_blank">#AppleIntelligence</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank">#ArtificialIntelligence</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/commodore-64/" target="_blank">#Commodore64</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/cory-doctorow/" target="_blank">#CoryDoctorow</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/elon-musk/" target="_blank">#elonMusk</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/history/" target="_blank">#History</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/jack-tramiel/" target="_blank">#JackTramiel</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/john-gruber/" target="_blank">#JohnGruber</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/marc-elias/" target="_blank">#MarcElias</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/philosophy/" target="_blank">#philosophy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/poetry/" target="_blank">#Poetry</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/politics/" target="_blank">#Politics</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/religion/" target="_blank">#religion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/sundaymorningreading/" target="_blank">#SundayMorningReading</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/tech/" target="_blank">#Tech</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/wired/" target="_blank">#Wired</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://warnercrocker.com/tag/writing/" target="_blank">#Writing</a></p>