Month: September 2024

by Travis Mateer

Just in time for the SECOND assassination attempt against Donald J. Trump, AI is being tested for reconditioning conspiracy theorists with facts. From the link:

The study, titled “Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI,” attempted to counter the common view that some people will not change their minds, even when presented with facts and evidence.

Addressing the problem of “widespread belief in unsubstantiated conspiracy theories,” researchers postulated that conspiracy theories can, contrary to the scientific narrative, be countered by way of systematic fact-checking.

Among those theories tested were more traditional conspiracies such as those involving the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the possibility of alien landings that were known to the United States government.

But others included more immediately politicized claims, such as the lawfulness of COVID lockdowns or the validity of the 2020 presidential election, both of which are a “major source of public concern.”

The study was conducted by having conspiratorial participants engage in brief conversations with AI, with the aim of “curing” the participants of their ostensibly false opinions.

Researchers concluded that “the treatment reduced participants’ belief in their chosen conspiracy theory by 20% on average,” suggesting that “treating” people with certain facts can indeed alter their opinions, particularly when those facts come from AI bots.

The “treatment” received also reportedly “persisted undiminshed for at least 2 months,” meaning that such conditioning could eventuate in regular treatment for those deemed conspiracy theorists.

Ultimately, then, AI conditioning was determined to be a potentially useful tool in addressing the “psychological needs and motivations” of such people. Researchers speculated that the technology could be implemented online in the coming years, particularly in online forums or on social media.

David Rand, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who co-authored the study, told reporters that he was optimistic about the future of AI conditioning.

“This is really exciting,” he said. “It seemed like it worked and it worked quite broadly.”

I’m glad David Rand is excited about this new use for AI, but are YOU excited? If the existence of conspiracies challenges your conception of how the world works, then AI might be protecting you from harsh realities that your feeble brain can’t handle, but if you’re like me and trying to understand how and why things happen, this is NOT great news.

After my latest mugshot dropped, readers might be wondering about MY curious experience with the criminal justice system this past year. Is there a conspiracy to stop me from writing about what I’m discovering about the functioning of this town and state?

I can’t get into details about my case, but since the teachers at my kids school saw this mugshot, I had to clarify for them, and other supporters, that NO, I was NOT arrested for this felony charge. I was finally served the papers after a month of the city threatening me that this charge was coming, then I had 7 days to report to jail for a “book and release”. That’s why you don’t see any orange in this pic, just the color of my Donnie Darko t-shirt.

Another popular conspiracy theory is that weather can be controlled. If you’re rolling your eyes at this “theory” then please explain this NBC Montana article to me about “cloud seeding” and how our hilarious state legislators mandated, through legislation, that cloud seeding be explored for parts of Montana. From the link (emphasis mine):

The Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) is hosting an information session for the public on recent legislation to study the feasibility of cloud seeding in the Big Hole Watershed at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17 in Dillon .The session will be led by Dr. SarahTessendorf, U.S. National Science FoundationNational Center for Atmospheric Research, Research Applications Laboratory (NSFNCAR).

In 2023, the Montana State Legislature appropriated funds in House Bill 2, requiring DNRC to complete an analysis on the feasibility of winter-time cloud seeding to enhance mountain snowpack in southwest Montana.

Cloud seeding is the technique of introducing tiny particles into certain types of subfreezing clouds to enhance the formation of rain and snow. Cloud seeding has existed for more than 60 years and is used in some western states.

Yep, our legislators can consider weather modification techniques all day long, but try and explain Tax Increment Financing to them and they just lose interest, looking instead for a trans-legislator to obsess over. Fucking idiots.

Speaking of idiots, looks like the NO CAMP MISSOULA folks are excited about their stupid signs.

While Doc Moore gets all excited over the thought of exhibiting his impotent imagination with a proliferation of yard signs, I’m excited about the passion of white dudes for Harris. Go get ’em, guys!

To wrap up this post, here’s a song about a special kind of fruit that’s on the menu for the week. I’d like to dedicate this song to the MULTIPLE donors who have stepped up to help out a struggling citizen journalist by donating actual money to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). The donations are GREATLY needed and appreciated, so THANK YOU!

And thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

It’s been a long week for me, and it’s going to be a long month, so the posting might be lighter than usual around here. I’m also pulling back on my weekly post at Western Montana News, so expect new posts every OTHER week, for now.

I’ll return to this virtual classroom next week, where I’ll give you some historical Forest Service context you won’t get anywhere else, but for now I’ll just say money in the form of donations would be GREATLY appreciated, so give Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) some support, if you’re able. Any little bit helps, like the $10 dollar donation I just received. Thanks Stephen!

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Do you read The Pulp? If you’ve lived in Missoula for awhile, you might be aware of the news organization that finally emerged from the rubble of the Missoula Independent, which was shuttered by Matt Gibson in 2018, but did you know they just won an award?

Yep, this new news effort that posts articles with less frequency than a donation-based blogger is celebrating an award they recently got. Fantastic!

On Thursday night, at the Independent News Sustainability Summit, The Pulp was named “New Business of the Year” 🏆 by LION Publishers, a national organization dedicated to local news entrepreneurship and sustainability.

The award honors The Pulp for its fundraising strategy during the launch of this nonprofit a little less than a year ago, as well as its “incredible content.”

We’re blown away.

Yes, I’m blown away as well. Is the bar really this low that a barely noticeable news org is getting kudos for throwing out a few articles once a week?

One of those articles lovingly cups the figurative ballsack of a Denver-based developer as he tells the reporter about how much he loves Missoula (emphasis mine):

Kiely Wilson, the principal and cofounder of the property’s developer, Pando Holdings, is clearly attuned to the city’s pervading anxiety. In his presentation to the city, he expressed lifelong love for Montana despite his Denver roots and said the development would help the city’s housing crunch.

“Our goal with this project is not just to develop real estate but to create a neighborhood that will be an asset for the area and that aligns with the goals and objectives of this city,” he told the council. “I’m proud the work we do will help with local housing attainability.”

This lovely developer propaganda is coming from Pando Holdings, a company that partners with other developers, like the Rockefeller Group, to create luxury housing for those who can afford it.

Later in the article we discover a correction had to be made because the reporter thought Mayor Davis cast a vote when she didn’t. Here’s proof the bar is LOW when it comes to local media.

No, I don’t like what I’m reading. I don’t like the quality, frequency, or online-only approach to providing local context on critical topics, like housing and homelessness. That’s why I didn’t wait around like your conventional journalists did when the Montana media landscape contracted.

If Hunter Pauli wanted enough to afford a month of rent in a market-rate Missoula studio apartment, he should have asked for $1,500. And, if Hunter Pauli really wants to cover “extremism in the North American West”, then he should be paying CLOSE attention to the kind of journalism I’m doing on that front, like last month’s article, titled White Supremacist Story Time.

If YOU appreciate how I tell local stories, please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). It’s been nearly two weeks since the last donation, which is even less frequent than The Pulp‘s new postings, so what are you waiting for? Help out a REAL muckraker TODAY!

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

Some of you may sense things are happening on a deeper level than what is presented to us on the surface, and it’s that sense that I think the psychopath class is trying to blunt and/or exploit with content like Kaos, where Jeff Goldblum plays Zeus, and three bad-ass biker chicks play THE FURIES.

The Erinyes, also known as the Eumenides (commonly known in English as the Furies), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes them as “the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath”.[3] Walter Burkert suggests that they are “an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath”.[4] They correspond to the Dirae in Roman mythology.[5] The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote (ca. AD 400) that they are called “Eumenides” in hell, “Furiae” on Earth, and “Dirae” in heaven.[6][7] Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai.[8]

According to Hesiod’s Theogony, when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the Earth (Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam.[9] Pseudo-Apollodorus also reports this lineage.[10] According to variant accounts they are the daughters of Nyx (“Night”),[11] while in Virgil’s Aeneid, they are daughters of Pluto (Hades)[12] and Nox (Nyx).[13] In some accounts, they were the daughters of Eurynome (a name for Earth) and Cronus,[14] or of Earth and Phorcys (i.e. the sea).[15] In Orphic literature, they are the daughters of Hades and Persephone.[16]

While I work on absorbing a story I heard a desperate father tell yesterday and what it means for what I’ve been saying about this town for the last 4 years, I’m going to offer a few content suggestions for the forces of vengeance who think the ends justify the means.

First up, did you know about the West Hollywood club that catered to underage teens in the 80’s and stayed open until 5am? Just a few facts about The Odyssey are incredible to consider today, like how it was owned by a gangster, a porn star, and a dude in his mid 40’s who had a 16 year old male “roommate” and was shot by a 14 year old friend.

Even crazier, this is how local media reported on the depravity at the time:

BENEFACTOR? I hope the paycheck Deborah Hastings gets for being an LA Times staff writer is worth playing this tiny little supporting role in a culture of sexual exploitation.

The other piece of content I’m recommending today is a podcast episode the Grimerica guys did recently with Bec Mylonas (you have to find it through their pod player). Bec used to hate men, but after doing her own shadow work, she has moved beyond her hatred to have a much healthier perspective.

If you appreciate MY content, please consider donating to Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF) and prove my mom wrong about her assumption those who like my shit don’t have the money to pay for it. I suspect she isn’t altogether wrong, though, but I think there’s an underlying reason for that, but to get THAT insight, you’ll have to find a hard copy of Mr. Batshit.

Thanks for reading!

by Travis Mateer

When I read about this ‘Housing For All’ conference happening in Missoula Monday and Tuesday, I quickly drove to the Holiday Inn downtown where our Mayor was supposedly addressing the attendees, but no one at the front desk of the hotel had a clue what I was talking about, so I read them this part of the KGVO article (emphasis mine):

“On Monday (today), Mayor Davis is going to open us up and welcome the cities at the Holiday Inn Parkside and then we’re going to have Damian Chase Begay from the University of Montana, talk about our indigenous communities, and then we’re going to move into talking about what the North Missoula Community Development Corporation has done with their housing and resident owned communities and Land Trust as well as NeighborWorks, Montana.”

Following this morning’s activities, Beczkiewicz said the party will move to the monthly City Club luncheon.

“Then we’re going to come down to City Club at the Double Tree and have a panel of local speakers, including a community developer and somebody from the city and Homeword to talk about our continuum of housing,” she said. “It sounds like there are over 200 other people from the community that will be there with us to engage with the city, so it’ll be really fun to have 50 people from other cities across the nation mixing and mingling with City Club.”

I could have tried attending the City Club event, but thanks to the totally fucked legal charade I’ve been attacked with, I decided risking jail to listen to Mayoral propaganda wasn’t worth it. Besides, all the “real” action in this clown town seems to happen on social media, where idiots reign.

Speaking of idiots, this image was re-posted from the new NO CAMP MISSOULA Facebook group, launched by Doc and Penny, my new favorite NIMBYs. For more context on this private Facebook group, here’s their purpose, goals and rules:

Will this non-profit effort have success in “communicating” their need to raise money in order to lobby lawmakers for legislation to protect their precious parks and sidewalks from being collateral damage in the drug war this country is badly losing by design? The only success I see happening from this NIMBY freakout is the deepening of partisan political ruts, but maybe I’m wrong.

Before I get to a bunch of links that those housing conference attendees would benefit from reading, I’m going to tell you about how I created a little PUBLIC/PRIVATE partnership yesterday using my unique skills as a TRASH ALCHEMIST.

When I noticed trash strewn across the parking lot of my TAAAAAZ 2.0 (where I experimented with harm reduction), I didn’t form a non-profit to start bitching and moaning on Facebook. No, I cleaned that shit up!

Before using my amazing skills to pick up trash items and place them within my trash bag, I analyzed the trash to determine what kind of behavior this trash indicated was happening in my parking lot. I made note of several sack lunches, probably dispersed by a Poverello Center program, with the sandwiches left uneaten. Why? Because, from working at the shelter, I know that sometimes lunches are taken for JUST the sweet stuff, and the rest is thrown away.

Other trash items included empty cans of alcoholic beverages and a pile of dirty clothes. I put most of the visible trash items that didn’t look to be near the pooping area into my trash bag, then drove across the river to the real estate office involved with this blighted PRIVATE property to show them the beneficial action I took to handle the problem they made worse by removing the trash can.

This is where my efforts became a PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. When I asked where I could put the trash, the lady in the real estate office suggested a CITY trash can. So that’s what I did!

Ok, that’s enough fun for this morning. Now, here are some links worth checking out if you’re from a midsize town stupid enough to duplicate what we’ve down here in Zoom Town.

Missoula County Commissioners Consider Larchmont Golf Course Affordable Housing Blue Line Scam Later Today (December 16th, 2021)

A Compilation Of Links Regarding Missoula’s Reserve Street Homeless Camps And Who Benefits From Our Community Response (I’m Looking At You, Blue Line Development) (July 19th, 2021)

Blue Line Development’s Larchmont Golf Course Scheme And Rep. Danny Tenenbaum’s Curious Support (November 18th, 2021)

Missoula County’s Movement Toward A Housing Plan (January 19th, 2022)

Missoula’s Narrative Controllers And Economic Elitists Virtue Signal Over Housing Affordability (February 15th, 2022)

Panel Of Hypocrite Contributors To Missoula’s Housing Crisis Gather To Complain About Missoula’s Housing Crisis (March 23rd, 2022)

A Well-Timed Affordable Housing Conversation Annoys Council President, Gwen Jones (June 24th, 2022)

Exploring The United Way’s Curious Pallet Partners (January 5th, 2023)

It’s A Mistake To Think Housing Will Solve The Houseless Drug Epidemic (May 2nd, 2023)

Taking A Closer Look At Missoula’s $107,500 Expenditure To Central Housing Strategies (July 7th, 2023)

OMG, Housing Providers Have Rules! (August 11th, 2023)

Missoula Needs More Housing, But The White Lion Sleeps Tonight (January 5th, 2024)

Is Missoula Harboring A Cancerous Growth Pretending To Be A Housing Developer? (February 26th, 2024)

Pushing Public Private Partnerships To Build Housing Isn’t Helping (June 12th, 2024)

Missoula County Duplicating City TIF Schemes With TEDD Because They’re Insane (July 9th, 2024)

Yeah, I’d say the context I’ve provided on the housing conversation over the years is pretty damn valuable, but I can’t tell if YOU think it’s valuable if you don’t show me with, you know, actual money. That’s why at the end of almost every insightful post, I virtually panhandle my readers for donations, which you can provide digitally at Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!