{"id":7970,"date":"2026-05-15T19:46:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7970"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:46:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T02:46:56","slug":"tgfi-volume-555-optimizing-everything-is-foolish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/05\/15\/tgfi-volume-555-optimizing-everything-is-foolish","title":{"rendered":"TGFI, Volume 555: optimizing everything is foolish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>\n<\/p><p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass it my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/12\/opinion\/decision-making-herbert-simon.html(New\">Your Deci\u00adsion Mak\u00ading Is All Wrong<\/a> (David Epstein, New York Times): \u201cIf in mak\u00ading deci\u00adsions you are often guid\u00aded by a search for the best, you are going about deci\u00adsion mak\u00ading all wrong \u2014 and you\u2019re also prob\u00ada\u00adbly less hap\u00adpy for it. In an age of infor\u00adma\u00adtion and choice abun\u00addance, we assume we can find the best of every\u00adthing if we look long and hard enough. Psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgists call that ten\u00adden\u00adcy max\u00adi\u00admiz\u00ading. But search\u00ading for the best is the wrong goal. That is because search\u00ading is itself a cost, and most peo\u00adple for\u00adget to account for it. If you did, you would see that the opti\u00admal strat\u00ade\u00adgy isn\u2019t opti\u00admiz\u00ading at all.\u2026 Max\u00adi\u00admiz\u00aders tend to be less sat\u00adis\u00adfied with their deci\u00adsions and their lives. They are typ\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly less hap\u00adpy, more prone to regret and more like\u00adly to com\u00adpare them\u00adselves end\u00adless\u00adly with oth\u00aders. Sat\u00adis\u00adfi\u00adcers don\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly have low stan\u00addards. Their stan\u00addard is \u2018good enough for me\u2019 rather than \u2018the best out there,\u2019 and that makes it pos\u00adsi\u00adble to feel sat\u00adis\u00adfied with their choic\u00ades, instead of haunt\u00aded by the ones they didn\u2019t make.\u201d <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/12\/opinion\/china-power-trump-xi-beijing.html\">Chi\u00adna Is Much Weak\u00ader Than It Seems. That\u2019s the Prob\u00adlem.<\/a> (Bret Stephens, New York Times): \u201c&nbsp;\u2018Busi\u00adness debt has dou\u00adbled since 2019, while rev\u00adenues are only 30 per\u00adcent high\u00ader,\u2019 reports For\u00adtune. This eco\u00adnom\u00adic house of cards rests, if you\u2019ll for\u00adgive the mixed metaphor, on a foun\u00adda\u00adtion of sand: an aging and declin\u00ading work force, net emi\u00adgra\u00adtion, wide\u00adspread youth unem\u00adploy\u00adment, plum\u00admet\u00ading for\u00adeign direct invest\u00adment, an arbi\u00adtrary rule of law that ter\u00adri\u00adfies busi\u00adness lead\u00aders, repeat\u00aded purges of the mil\u00adi\u00adtary that project far more para\u00adnoia than con\u00adfi\u00addence and a tru\u00adcu\u00adlent for\u00adeign pol\u00adi\u00adcy that does lit\u00adtle more than alarm and alien\u00adate China\u2019s neigh\u00adbors.\u2026 Ris\u00ading nations, which is what Chi\u00adna was under Deng Xiaop\u00ading and Jiang Zemin, have the lux\u00adu\u00adry of being able to bide their time. Declin\u00ading nations don\u2019t. It tends to make them more inclined to gam\u00adble with their future. It\u2019s why Putin invad\u00aded Ukraine after he real\u00adized the coun\u00adtry was mov\u00ading inex\u00adorably into the West\u2019s orbit. It\u2019s also why Xi will be pow\u00ader\u00adful\u00adly tempt\u00aded to seize Tai\u00adwan by inva\u00adsion or block\u00adade despite the enor\u00admous risks it pos\u00ades not only to the world\u2019s econ\u00ado\u00admy but also to his own.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some\u00adwhat relat\u00aded: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/09\/opinion\/ai-china-america-race.html\">Why Chi\u00adna Is So Much Less Scared of A.I.<\/a> (Jacob Dry\u00ader, New York Times): \u201cThe real\u00adi\u00adty is that Chi\u00adna and the Unit\u00aded States are rac\u00ading in dif\u00adfer\u00adent direc\u00adtions, because the two coun\u00adtries con\u00adcep\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adize A.I. very dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly. Amer\u00adi\u00adcans want to cre\u00adate the most pow\u00ader\u00adful tech\u00adnol\u00ado\u00adgy humans have ever known. In the quest for super\u00adin\u00adtel\u00adli\u00adgence, the U.S. gov\u00adern\u00adment is encour\u00adag\u00ading pri\u00advate firms to move full speed ahead, reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion be damned. Under the very tight\u00adest reg\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion, by con\u00adtrast, the Chi\u00adnese want to make A.I. more prac\u00adti\u00adcal and embed\u00added in soci\u00adety, more care\u00adful\u00adly select\u00ading how it is deployed and used by the pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion.\u2026 In that way, as Chi\u00adna exports those A.I. mod\u00adels, it will be export\u00ading Chi\u00adnese gov\u00ader\u00adnance as well, with all of the safe\u00adty, abun\u00addance, sur\u00adveil\u00adlance and embed\u00added hier\u00adar\u00adchies that entails. That\u2019s why the dif\u00adfer\u00adence between these two coun\u00adtries in the A.I. race mat\u00adters so much.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/09\/opinion\/artificial-intelligence-consciousness-richard-dawkins.html\">The Athe\u00adist and the Machine God<\/a> (Ross Douthat, New York Times): \u201cThere is no obvi\u00adous escape from mys\u00adtery here. If you bite the bul\u00adlet and just say that Clau\u00addia has already attained con\u00adscious\u00adness, then that implies we some\u00adhow built a con\u00adscious mind with\u00adout hav\u00ading any idea of how con\u00adscious\u00adness works or where it comes from. That\u2019s sci\u00adence with extreme\u00adly spooky char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics: Like Kevin Cost\u00adner sum\u00admon\u00ading base\u00adball ghosts to the Iowa corn\u00adfield, we put up a mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal archi\u00adtec\u00adture and the mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous \u2018I\u2019 mag\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly appeared. Alter\u00adna\u00adtive\u00adly, if you say that A.I. isn\u2019t con\u00adscious but mere\u00adly capa\u00adble, then the ques\u00adtion of why <em>we<\/em> expe\u00adri\u00adence real\u00adi\u00adty through con\u00adscious\u00adness \u2014 the inter\u00adnal \u2018I,\u2019 the sense of per\u00adson\u00adal iden\u00adti\u00adty and will \u2014 becomes much more dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to answer. If con\u00adscious\u00adness isn\u2019t nec\u00ades\u00adsary for capa\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, then pre\u00adsum\u00adably evo\u00adlu\u00adtion should default to zom\u00adbies.\u2026 As cer\u00adtain philoso\u00adphers have argued, this har\u00admo\u00adny between the psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal and the phys\u00adi\u00adcal seems more much like\u00adly to appear in a uni\u00adverse where con\u00adscious\u00adness is fun\u00adda\u00admen\u00adtal, where mat\u00adter isn\u2019t every\u00adthing and Mind is where things start. In which case maybe the achieve\u00adment of Claude, or Clau\u00addia if you pre\u00adfer, is to show us what intel\u00adli\u00adgence might look like in the materialist\u2019s uni\u00adverse \u2014 even as our own con\u00adscious\u00adness indi\u00adcates that <em>this<\/em> uni\u00adverse is a much, much stranger place.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I real\u00adly appre\u00adci\u00adat\u00aded this essay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/china-persecution-christians-underground-church-ezra-jin\">Chi\u00adna vs God<\/a> (Fran\u00adnie Block, The Free Press): \u201cI\u2019ve obtained hours of inter\u00adviews with Jin that the Drex\u00adels record\u00aded in Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 2025, a month before he was arrest\u00aded. I\u2019ve viewed nev\u00ader-before-seen footage of Chi\u00adnese police arrest\u00ading Chris\u00adtians. I\u2019ve lis\u00adtened to audio of police inter\u00adro\u00adga\u00adtions, and read near\u00adly a dozen tes\u00adti\u00admonies of those who wit\u00adnessed first\u00adhand the arrests and raids on church\u00ades. More than half a dozen peo\u00adple who have been impris\u00adoned or had fam\u00adi\u00adly mem\u00adbers impris\u00adoned by the Chi\u00adnese regime have shared their sto\u00adries with me. \u2018A gov\u00adern\u00adment moves from author\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan\u00adism into total\u00adi\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan\u00adism when it wants to infil\u00adtrate and direct the most inti\u00admate parts of your\u00adself, of your com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty, of your fam\u00adi\u00adly,\u2019 Bill told me. \u2018What we\u2019re see\u00ading now,\u2019 he con\u00adtin\u00adued, \u2018is a renewed desire from the state under Chair\u00adman Xi, basi\u00adcal\u00adly, to engi\u00adneer souls.\u2019&nbsp;\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/11\/opinion\/adhd-autism-depression-diagnoses.html\">We\u2019re Think\u00ading About Men\u00adtal Health Diag\u00adnoses All Wrong<\/a> (Awais Aftab, New York Times): \u201cIn my prac\u00adtice, I rou\u00adtine\u00adly see patients who have been diag\u00adnosed with depres\u00adsion and anx\u00adi\u00adety by one clin\u00adi\u00adcian, bipo\u00adlar dis\u00ador\u00adder by anoth\u00ader and post-trau\u00admat\u00adic stress dis\u00ador\u00adder by a third, at dif\u00adfer\u00adent points in their lives. They arrive con\u00adfused and frus\u00adtrat\u00aded, ask\u00ading: What dis\u00ador\u00adder do I _really_ have? The hon\u00adest answer is: all of them and none of them. Each of these labels can cap\u00adture some\u00adthing use\u00adful and inform treat\u00adment options, but none of them do jus\u00adtice to the dimen\u00adsion\u00adal and dynam\u00adic nature of men\u00adtal ill\u00adness. Your men\u00adtal health prob\u00adlems are not caused by a sim\u00adple thing that you either have or don\u2019t have. They are pat\u00adterns shaped by who we are as peo\u00adple and that, in turn, shape the peo\u00adple we become. This is a more com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded sto\u00adry than \u2018chem\u00adi\u00adcal imbal\u00adance\u2019 or \u2018brain dis\u00adease.\u2019 But it is clos\u00ader to the truth.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a psy\u00adchi\u00ada\u00adtrist at Case West\u00adern.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/11\/opinion\/israel-palestinians-sexual-violence.html\">The Silence That Meets the Rape of Pales\u00adtini\u00adans<\/a> (Nicholas Kristof, New York Times): \u201cIt\u2019s impos\u00adsi\u00adble to know how com\u00admon sex\u00adu\u00adal assaults against Pales\u00adtini\u00adans are. My report\u00ading for this arti\u00adcle is based on con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtions with 14 men and women who said they had been sex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly assault\u00aded by Israeli set\u00adtlers or mem\u00adbers of the secu\u00adri\u00adty forces. I also spoke to fam\u00adi\u00adly mem\u00adbers, inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtors, offi\u00adcials and oth\u00aders.\u2026 How does this kind of vio\u00adlence hap\u00adpen? Decades of cov\u00ader\u00ading con\u00adflict has taught me that a com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of dehu\u00adman\u00adiza\u00adtion and impuni\u00adty can pro\u00adpel peo\u00adple into a Hobbe\u00adsian state of nature. I\u2019ve encoun\u00adtered this drift toward sav\u00adagery in killing fields from Con\u00adgo to Sudan to Myan\u00admar, and I think it also rough\u00adly explains how Amer\u00adi\u00adcan sol\u00addiers came to sex\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly abuse pris\u00adon\u00aders at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. The blunt real\u00adi\u00adty is that when there are no con\u00adse\u00adquences, we humans are capa\u00adble of immense deprav\u00adi\u00adty toward those we are taught to scorn as sub\u00adhu\u00adman.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A dis\u00adturb\u00ading read which I, for the record, find large\u00adly plau\u00adsi\u00adble even if cer\u00adtain lurid details wind up not with\u00adstand\u00ading scruti\u00adny. This isn\u2019t root\u00aded in think\u00ading that Israel is any way worse than oth\u00ader nations. I think Israel is far more praise\u00adwor\u00adthy than her rivals \u2014 and I also think that praise\u00adwor\u00adthy nations can have very dark cor\u00adners. This op-ed set off a firestorm on the inter\u00adnet, and some note\u00adwor\u00adthy respons\u00ades fol\u00adlow:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/how-the-new-york-times-laundered-a-conspiracy\">How \u2018The New York Times\u2019 Laun\u00addered a Con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adcy<\/a> (Mat\u00adti Fried\u00adman and Dan Senor, The Free Press): \u201cWhen you read the piece, you have to use your own com\u00adpass to decide which charges could plau\u00adsi\u00adbly be true and which charges come from the world of con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adto\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal, anti-Israel fan\u00adta\u00adsy. I think there is a plau\u00adsi\u00adble rea\u00adson for con\u00adcern about sex\u00adu\u00adal assaults of pris\u00adon\u00aders. I don\u2019t think we can dis\u00admiss every account of sex\u00adu\u00adal assaults against Pales\u00adtin\u00adian detainees. But the piece kind of goes off the deep end by being cred\u00adu\u00adlous about charges that are much, much hard\u00ader to believe. After all, the facil\u00adi\u00adties are equipped with cam\u00aderas. There are com\u00adman\u00adders, there are lawyers.\u2026 It doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t inves\u00adti\u00adgate cred\u00adi\u00adble alle\u00adga\u00adtions of sex\u00adu\u00adal assault. I remain con\u00adcerned about the peo\u00adple in charge of deten\u00adtion facil\u00adi\u00adties and law enforce\u00adment in Israel. I do not have com\u00adplete faith that the right peo\u00adple are run\u00adning this, to be hon\u00adest, or that we\u2019re pur\u00adsu\u00ading every alle\u00adga\u00adtion of mis\u00addeeds by our own sol\u00addiers.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This is a debunk\u00ading of the Kristof piece, but it hon\u00adest\u00adly seems to agree with the sub\u00adstance of what Kristof said. I don\u2019t know why peo\u00adple find it so hard to say, \u201cPeo\u00adple who are \u2018on my side\u2019 some\u00adtimes do real\u00adly vile things.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/israel-prison-claims-smear\">The Paper Trail of Nicholas Kristof\u2019s Smear<\/a> (Haviv Ret\u00adtig Gur, The Free Press): \u201cThe Israeli Prison Ser\u00advice has a rep\u00adu\u00adta\u00adtion for incom\u00adpe\u00adtence. There have been cas\u00ades of abuse, even famous cas\u00ades of pris\u00adon\u00aders abus\u00ading female Israeli guards. We know, too, that all prison sys\u00adtems strug\u00adgle with the prob\u00adlem: New York pris\u00adons face huge num\u00adbers of abuse claims. Pris\u00adons are not nice places, wher\u00adev\u00ader they are in the world. So mis\u00adtreat\u00adment of pris\u00adon\u00aders by Israeli guards isn\u2019t mere\u00adly pos\u00adsi\u00adble, it\u2019s almost cer\u00adtain, as in any prison sys\u00adtem any\u00adwhere in the world. And con\u00addi\u00adtions were espe\u00adcial\u00adly prob\u00adlem\u00adat\u00adic in recent years. Octo\u00adber 7 and the ensu\u00ading war sent thou\u00adsands of Pales\u00adtin\u00adian detainees into the pris\u00adons, togeth\u00ader with under\u00adtrained reservist guards in the ear\u00adly months\u2014guards who had seen Hamas\u2019s videos glee\u00adful\u00adly doc\u00adu\u00adment\u00ading mas\u00adsacres that the new pris\u00adon\u00aders had com\u00admit\u00adted.\u2026 And it must be said, as I\u2019ve said before: Nei\u00adther Nation\u00adal Secu\u00adri\u00adty Min\u00adis\u00adter Ita\u00admar Ben-Gvir nor Prime Min\u00adis\u00adter Ben\u00adjamin Netanyahu seems inter\u00adest\u00aded in fix\u00ading it. Our lead\u00aders do not seem to care about the sim\u00adple break\u00addown of dis\u00adci\u00adpline that these abus\u00ades rep\u00adre\u00adsent, the kind of break\u00addown we saw again and again with the inci\u00addents of loot\u00ading in Gaza and in the ear\u00adly cas\u00ades of pris\u00adon\u00ader abuse that came to light.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Again, a debunk\u00ading that con\u00adtests details but con\u00adcedes the basic point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/andrewsullivan.substack.com\/p\/everything-is-legitimate-to-do-everything-6ac\">\u201cEvery\u00adthing Is Legit\u00adi\u00admate To Do! Every\u00adthing!\u201d<\/a> (Andrew Sul\u00adli\u00advan, Sub\u00adstack): \u201c\u2026the con\u00adtext for claims of Israeli excess\u00ades is obvi\u00adous: a trau\u00adma\u00adtized Israeli psy\u00adche that has rad\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adized even more dur\u00ading this war, in which inhi\u00adbi\u00adtions around hat\u00ading the ene\u00admy have obvi\u00adous\u00adly loos\u00adened. And the man in charge of the prison sys\u00adtem is Ita\u00admar Ben-Gvir \u2014 a far-right Kahanist, Jew\u00adish suprema\u00adcist. He\u2019s as close to a neo\u00adfas\u00adcist as you can get. His view of Arabs, let alone sus\u00adpect\u00aded ter\u00adror\u00adists, is, shall we say, not great. So a recent Abu Ghraib-like case in the sys\u00adtem he pre\u00adsides over is worth look\u00ading at. A pris\u00adon\u00ader in Sde Teiman, Israel\u2019s tor\u00adture and prison camp, was hand\u00adcuffed, blind\u00adfold\u00aded, beat\u00aden, tased, and sodom\u00adized with a broom han\u00addle, end\u00ading up in the hos\u00adpi\u00adtal with bro\u00adken ribs and a rup\u00adtured bow\u00adel. The inci\u00addent was even caught on video\u00adtape, but the gris\u00adly details were con\u00adcealed behind IDF shields.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/marie-gluesenkamp-perez-sea-lion-issue\">The Con\u00adgress\u00adwoman Who Wants to Shoot Sea Lions<\/a> (Will Rahn, The Free Press): \u201c\u2026By the 1950s, there were only about 10,000 sea lions left. And so, in the 1970s, they imple\u00adment\u00aded some\u00adthing called the Marine Mam\u00admal Pro\u00adtec\u00adtion Act (MMPA). And the great news was that they recov\u00adered, going up to about 300,000 of them. In fact, they are now inva\u00adsive in the Colum\u00adbia Riv\u00ader trib\u00adu\u00adtaries, where they were nev\u00ader his\u00adtor\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly dom\u00adi\u00adnant. The prob\u00adlem is that they are now real\u00adly evis\u00adcer\u00adat\u00ading native vul\u00adner\u00ada\u00adble and endan\u00adgered salmon and steel\u00adhead pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtions. So we basi\u00adcal\u00adly have an inva\u00adsive species con\u00adsum\u00ading an endan\u00adgered species.\u2026 I think we clear\u00adly need to amend the MMPA to allow for more trib\u00adal con\u00adtrol, and allow them or their designees to engage in lethal removal of sea lions in the Colum\u00adbia Riv\u00ader and its trib\u00adu\u00adtaries.\u201d\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>100% rec\u00adom\u00admend this inter\u00adview. A fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/bub_gb_ufOZBzV878IC\/page\/36\/mode\/2up\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/bub_gb_ufOZBzV878IC\/page\/36\/mode\/2up\">orig\u00adi\u00adnal source of \u201clorem ipsum\u201d<\/a> \u2014 rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded by a friend.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/babylonbee.com\/news\/orthodox-star-wars-fans-prepare-to-celebrate-may-the-11th-be-with-you\">Ortho\u00addox Star Wars Fans Pre\u00adpare To Cel\u00ade\u00adbrate \u2018May The 11th Be With You\u2019<\/a> \u2014 (Baby\u00adlon Bee)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar pro\u00adduced shrewd war\u00adriors \u201cwho under\u00adstood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a sim\u00adi\u00adlar way, we need to become wise peo\u00adple whose faith inter\u00adacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may con\u00adtin\u00adue the tra\u00addi\u00adtion of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chi Alpha is not a par\u00adti\u00adsan orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion. To para\u00adphrase anoth\u00ader min\u00adis\u00adter: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agen\u00adda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agen\u00adda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agen\u00adda. Hav\u00ading said that, I read wide\u00adly (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ide\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal Tur\u00ading test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fair\u00adly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI dis\u00adagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI under\u00adstand\u201d) and may at times share arti\u00adcles that have a strong par\u00adti\u00adsan bias sim\u00adply because I find the arti\u00adcle stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with every\u00adthing an author says in an arti\u00adcle I men\u00adtion, much less things the author has said in oth\u00ader arti\u00adcles (although if I strong\u00adly dis\u00adagree with some\u00adthing in the arti\u00adcle I\u2019ll usu\u00adal\u00adly men\u00adtion it). And to the extent you can dis\u00adcern my opin\u00adions, please under\u00adstand that they are my own and not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly those of Chi Alpha or any oth\u00ader orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion I may be per\u00adceived to rep\u00adre\u00adsent.\n\nAlso, remem\u00adber that I\u2019m not report\u00ading news \u2014 I\u2019m giv\u00ading you a selec\u00adtion of things I found inter\u00adest\u00ading. There\u2019s a lot hap\u00adpen\u00ading in the world that\u2019s not mak\u00ading an appear\u00adance here because I haven\u2019t found stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading arti\u00adcles writ\u00adten about it.\n\nIf this was for\u00adward\u00aded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve heard of TGIF? This is TGFI: Things Glen Found Inter\u00adest\u00ading On Fri\u00addays I share articles\/resources about broad cul\u00adtur\u00adal, soci\u00adetal and the\u00ado\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal issues like\u00adly to be of inter\u00adest to Chris\u00adtians in col\u00adlege. Be sure to see the expla\u00adna\u00adtion and dis\u00adclaimers at the bot\u00adtom. I wel\u00adcome your sug\u00adges\u00adtions, so if you read some\u00adthing fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading please pass \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2026\/05\/15\/tgfi-volume-555-optimizing-everything-is-foolish\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cTGFI, Vol\u00adume 555: opti\u00admiz\u00ading every\u00adthing is fool\u00adish\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"0","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[219,204,125,161,148,296,138,247],"class_list":["post-7970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-atheism","tag-china","tag-global-christianity","tag-israel","tag-mental-health","tag-religious-freedom","tag-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-24y","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7970"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7973,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7970\/revisions\/7973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}