By, the way, we are now into October.  Something is going right. Sort of.  From Time magazine: 23 YEARS   The U.S. withdrew its last military forces from Iraq on Wednesday, 23 years after the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The final troops left Erbil Air Base in the Kurdistan region, the Pentagon said . Was this good news?   Yes, but..... The age of Artificial Intelligence, AI, is upon us.  There is that matter of existential threat, but here are nine benefits .     AI is the branch of computer science dedicated to creating machines that are able to think like humans. There are negatives aside from that existential threat matter.  Here is just one:  I read, Push Back:  Deepfake online heath scams .  Article begins with: SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH . Ever stumble across statements like:  Elon Musk Reveals The 15-Second Vicks Trick For Memory Loss and Dementia! and We invited Dr. Sanj...

Donald Trump tosses out lies...all the time.  Actually, worse, for they are abhorrent, appalling, atrocious, dangerous, dreadful, horrendous and worse.  He is a pathological liar, psychologically known as mythomania.  When The Amazing Randi lies, it is mostly for a good purpose.  Who is Randi?  I'll get to him later. Here, from Health Encyclopedia of the Rochester Medical Center: For your birthday, your aunt knits you a sweater that is, well, downright hideous. You tell her, 1) “I'd go out in an army blanket before wearing that;” 2) “It would look better on a peacock;” or 3) “It's beautiful, Aunt Sylvia! I really need a sweater.” If you chose the third response, well, you’re a liar. Don’t feel bad, however. If the truth be told, most of us lie to some degree, especially when faced with an alternative like hurting the feelings of poor, good-hearted Aunt Sylvia.   Some of us, however, lie so often that we don’t realize it. That’s when it becomes the sort of p...