Vivienne Armentrout
varmen.bsky.social
Vivienne Armentrout
@varmen.bsky.social
Observer of local politics, lover of good essay writing. All reality is based on complexity. Lots to keep up with.
It has been around for a while under various names. All are under the "Progressive Turnout PAC" and this has been identified as a scam.

nickgray.net/stop-republi...
August 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I'm being hit with some really ugly email fundraising appeals. Sample:
August 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Armentrout
"Socialism is what they called public power.

Socialism is what they called social security.

Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.

Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people."

-- President Harry Truman
August 2, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Using a program to write your essay means you are training the program instead of your own brain and abilities. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing?
The demise of the English paper will end a long intellectual tradition, but it’s also an opportunity to reëxamine the purpose of higher education.
www.newyorker.com
July 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
In reading this, I realized that I was never taught to speak "baby talk" to very young children, and I didn't have any in my family. But I automatically shifted to that speech pattern when I talked to children under 2, even when I was fairly young myself. Programming? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/s...
Did Baby Talk Give Rise to Language?
www.nytimes.com
June 25, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Armentrout
“Grok allows users to make deepfakes depicting things like Mickey Mouse wearing a Nazi uniform. Musk has called it ‘the most fun AI in the world.’

Boxtown residents say they have been paying for the images with their health.”
May 10, 2025 at 2:30 PM
So, if I understand this, the President of the United States is declaring war against Iran. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

I guess this is a negotiating tactic?
www.nytimes.com
June 17, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Just a question: Israel is using assassination as a tool against Iran. We know that very remote conflict is now possible using drones. How would we react if Iran began to use assassination against US persons in retribution?
June 13, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Here's what was wrong with this model.

We seem to have continuously made the error that people running essential functions are responsible and thoughtful www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
NASA, Pentagon push for SpaceX alternatives amid Trump’s feud with Musk
The worried reaction within space and national security agencies highlights the risks of government’s exclusive dependence on SpaceX for crucial tasks, including classified missions.
www.washingtonpost.com
June 8, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/f...
A Risky Plan Made in America
www.nytimes.com
June 4, 2025 at 7:45 PM
A sad note today in Ann Arbor. Just as the glorious bloom of the famous peony garden was ready to greet thousands of visitors, the blooms were found destroyed with a sign that read, "Plant lives don't matter. Human lives do". It called for Palestinian justice.
June 2, 2025 at 12:04 AM
I will never forgive Republican senators for letting this guy have the management of our entire health system. Cowards. I have no respect for you. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/h...
RFK Jr. Orders Search for New Measles Treatments Instead of Urging Vaccination
Decades of research have turned up no miracle treatment for measles, but studies show the M.M.R. shot is 97 percent effective in preventing the disease.
www.nytimes.com
May 2, 2025 at 8:13 PM
William Shatner is doing ads for Greenpeace. Yeah! Still that guy. www.facebook.com/share/v/1YX8...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
April 22, 2025 at 5:23 PM
"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7)

Thoughts while listening to an account of how the tariffs are already affecting small business in the USA.
April 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
He's got our back. Seriously, what is this obsession about paper straws? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Ending Procurement and Forced Use of Paper Straws
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:     Section 1.
www.whitehouse.gov
April 14, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Speaking out.
20,000 in ruby red Utah on their feet, in community, and ready to organize for a better world.

A better world is possible.
Strong moment from AOC’s speech in Utah
April 14, 2025 at 7:16 AM
This excellent history and contemporary report is by an Israeli who lives in the USA but who has family in Israel. It is very sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians before and after the current "military intevention" began.

www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
‘Infinite License’ | Omer Bartov
The memory of the Holocaust has, perversely, been enlisted to justify both the eradication of Gaza and the extraordinary silence with which that violence has been met.
www.nybooks.com
April 8, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Armentrout
April 4, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by Vivienne Armentrout
Just got to the Mall and saw this sign, which no one is going to top.

#HandsOff2025
April 5, 2025 at 4:35 PM