The Daily Whale

power of laziness

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

How to Become an Opinion Leader

AI: What I say you will not verify. What I say you will believe. What I say is truth on high. Let the demon of independent thought be cast out!
Trump: Only I can make America great again!
AI: The power of laziness compels you!

changes of AI

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Policymakers are unready for the changes that AI will bring. Whew, they're not making mistakes yet.

emperor Trump

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Ultimatum

Trump does not want to be a king. He wants to be an emperor. Leaving aside the "unconditional surrender," let's consider the latest from Iran. To attack power plants and such is to attack the population, not the government. That's why people are calling it a war crime (which it sometimes is). People who are struggling to keep their lives in order do not have time to fight the government, and Trump appears to understand that; why else does he foment chaos at home? The only reason he could have to support Iran's government is that he hopes to add it to his empire, like Venezuela's.

CLUE
The fuel blockade of Cuba is a similar attack against the population.

war crime

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

To commit a war crime under orders is to commit a crime, under U.S. law. The demon Hegseth (he even has a demonic name) will quash any military prosecution, a limited protection. But is destroying power plants (say) a war crime? Electricity has no shortage of military uses. International law calls for weighing military value against civilian harm, and for most power plants the civilian harm is much greater. But the room for quibbling is most of the room there is. If the order is given, let's see who refuses it... and what happens to them now and in 2029.

Iran peace

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Now that the war is over, as it has been since the first day, I wonder if the fighting will stop?

minimalism

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The elites and the general population have different incentives. In particular: To end a war, minimize maximalism. To survive a war, maximize minimalism.

anxiety

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Do you prefer sobriety and propriety, or a variety of notoriety in our society of anxiety?

positive returns

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Supermassive Black Hole

Why are the AI companies racing at warp speed, or as close as they can get, to build trillions of dollars worth of data centers? It is because of Silicon Valley's theory of profit. They believe in "positive returns to scale," or in other words, the biggest will become the richest. Google crowded out the other search engines; they all want to be the one to crowd out others. They don't mind leaving a halo of millionaires behind like globular clusters, as long as they can create a nucleus of billionaires.

Hormuz toll

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Iran's negotiation strategy is not the best. Charging a toll on the Strait of Hormuz is a problem for the world, but Trump doesn't care about that. Just give Trump 51% to prove he's more powerful than you and he'll go home happy.

not lazy

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Trump's motto is "crazy, not lazy" because he couldn't think of anything worse. At the time. But he's not lazy.

healing the sick

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Trump posted an AI-generated image where he heals the sick like Jesus, and he doesn't even need laying on of hands--one hand is enough. I must do better. I will heal the sick while standing on water, and creating Mohammed's just society, and disseminating my location so everyone can pray toward me five times a day, and calling the Earth to witness while holding the Monkey King in my palm at the far edge of the cosmos. When I beat up the Hellespont it will stay beaten.

CLUE
Note that this requires a Hindu number of arms, another religion entirely. Whipping the Hellespont is kingly rather than religious.

unequals

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The whole Trump administration is unequal to the task of governing, and Trump is first among unequals.

trumpal arch

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

So, Trump wants a new trumpal--I mean, triumphal arch, the kind that Romans built after a military victory. He really wants to wear that laurel crown and the fancy toga. He hasn't defeated Iran, so I guess it's for victory over Venezuela?

CLUE
Does Trump know that the flanking lions recall Chinese guardian lion sculptures that refer to the emperor ruling the world?

toadies

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

What is this talk of snubbing allies? Trump has enemies and toadies, and that's all.