Technuscript – Using Digital Technology to Generate Modern Illuminated Manuscripts

Dear Commons Community,

Last year, I read two books  by Christopher de Hamel about illuminated manuscripts.  He, who is widely recognized as a world  authority on illuminated manuscripts,  inspired me to consider how technology could be used to generate colorful, electronic versions using AI and other digital tools.  I coined the term for doing so a “technuscript.”

An illuminated manuscript  is by definition produced by hand.  A technuscript (if you look in a dictionary or on Google, there is no such word) uses many of the same design elements that characterized the medieval illuminated manuscripts but would employ digital technology to produce the finished product.  In this post are sample images I created to develop a technuscript based on an article I wrote entitled “Theories and frameworks for online education:  Seeking an integrated model.”  I selected this article because it has a number of concepts that are conducive to creative and image-based explanations.   The design features for this technuscript include:

  1. Using bright,  jewel-toned colors (reds, blues, yellows, greens) in the images;
  2. Using AI to generate images;
  3. Employing a variety of image sizes from small thumbnail to full pages;
  4. Placing borders on images;
  5. Using an antique block font on a vellum-style page background for the text;
  6. Colorizing the first word of each paragraph.

Below are  sample pages to illustrate the style I used.  The entire technuscript is available at: Article Matted Matura Script PDF

Here is a comment  from Christopher de Hamel mentioned above on viewing my technuscript: :

“…I have looked at your unexpected technique of conjuring up modern manuscripts, or technuscripts, which, as far as I know, no-one has ever attempted…I am sure [medieval] scribes would rejoice to see it, as I do.”

I would love to receive feedback from any of you reading this post as to what you think about my efforts.

Tony

 

Linda McMahon Is Confirmed by Senate as Education Secretary!

Linda McMahon.  Courtesy of Education Week.

Dear Commons Community,

As expected, Linda McMahon yesterday secured the votes in the U.S. Senate needed to serve as secretary of education, allowing her to take the helm of an agency President Donald Trump is already trying to significantly downsize and hopes to abolish.

The Senate approved McMahon to lead the U.S. Department of Education in a 51-45 party-line vote.

Though the Trump administration’s early moves to shrink the department and force schools to drop diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have sparked strident objections from Democrats, McMahon passed with relative ease compared to her predecessor in Trump’s first term, Betsy DeVos, who made history by needing a tie-breaking vote from then-Vice President Mike Pence.

The vote was a far cry from McMahon’s 81-19 confirmation vote in 2017 to serve as head of the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first administration, when most Democrats backed her.

Republicans have championed McMahon as the person needed to fundamentally change a department they feel is bloated with bureaucracy and imposes conditions on schools they find unfavorable. Though the federal government has no say over what schools do and don’t teach, the Trump administration has skirted around the edges of that limitation early into his second term, threatening to pull federal dollars from schools that disobey executive orders seeking to eliminate DEI programming and roll back rights for transgender students.

GOP lawmakers said McMahon’s background in business as the co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment and her time in Trump’s first administration as head of the U.S. Small Business Association will help her overhaul the department—despite her lack of a lengthy education background.

“Ms. McMahon demonstrated a strong vision for the Department of Education,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, said during a Feb. 20 committee meeting. “She committed to empowering parents and returning powers to states and local communities, which, by the way, are best equipped to address students’ needs.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the role of education secretary is not that of a superintendent.

“The job description of a secretary of education is to manage a bureaucracy that runs a number of funding programs,” he said. “By all accounts, Linda McMahon did a great job running the Small Business Administration in the last Trump administration. I have no reason to believe that she cannot run the Department of Education.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have raised concerns that abolishing the department would hurt the most vulnerable students, as the agency annually funnels billions of dollars earmarked for low-income students and students with disabilities to the schools that serve them. The nation’s largest teachers’ union pressed the Senate to reject McMahon.

We will see how McMahon does!  Abolishing the DOE will be difficult.  Dismantling and defunding programs is another issue!

Tony

Robert Kennedy, Jr. After Years as a Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theorist: Measles Vaccines Protect Against the Disease!

Dear Commons Community,

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the consummate anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist ― struck a drastically different tone in a new Fox News op-ed published Sunday in which he advocated for the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine amid the growing measles outbreak in Texas.

The op-ed, titled “Measles Outbreak Is A Call To Action For All Of Us,” carried the subheadline: “MMR Vaccine Is Crucial To Avoiding Potentially Deadly Disease.”

In the piece, Kennedy said he is “deeply concerned” about the outbreak in the South Plains region that’s “claimed the life of a school-aged child, the first measles-related fatality” in America for more than a decade.

Kennedy wrote about the risks of measles “especially to unvaccinated individuals” and acknowledged the previous fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases before the introduction of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine in the 1960s.

Vaccines must be “readily accessible for all those who want them,” said the yearslong vaccine skeptic, adding that: “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”

The op-ed split opinion on social media, following as it did years of Kennedy’s promotion of debunked vaccine misinformation.

Only last week, Kennedy downplayed the outbreak in Texas as “not unusual.”

Public health experts warned last year how deadly epidemics — including of measles — could surge in the United States again if Kennedy was confirmed as America’s top health official given his past debunked takes on shots.

Glad Kennedy basically admitted his lunacy!

Tony

 

Warren Buffett: Tariffs are ‘an act of war’

Dear Commons Community,

Tariffs might be President Donald Trump’s favorite word. To legendary investor Warren Buffett, there is less to be excited about.

“Tariffs are actually an act of war” Buffett said in an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday.

The Berkshire Hathaway CEO and billionaire investor said tariffs over time serve as a tax on goods and could raise prices for consumers.

“The Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay ‘em!” Buffett said with a laugh.  As reported by CBS and CNN.

Tariffs disrupt trade between countries by raising taxes on imported goods, and those new costs are often passed on to consumers through higher prices. Tariffs are considered by many economists a political cudgel — sometimes used in a trade war — and not an efficient framework for international trade.

Buffett offered his thoughts in a rare sit-down interview, with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell. The segment focused on the late Katharine Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post and a friend of Buffett’s, though he answered a few questions about the economy.

The Oracle of Omaha said it’s critical to ask, “And then what?” when thinking about the implications of tariffs and who will bear the cost.

“You always have to ask that question in economics: Always say, ‘And then what?’” Buffett said.

Trump is set to go ahead with tariffs on America’s three biggest trading partners today, imposing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and hiking tariffs implemented on China.

The Trump administration has gone back and forth on its proposed tariff plans. Economists expect tariffs to increase the cost for US consumers on everyday goods that rely on international supply chains, from electronics to vehicles. Trump’s tariff proposals also come at a time when US consumer confidence is declining and concerns of inflation are lingering.

China has hit back at the United States with its own tariffs, stoking concerns of a trade war similar to Trump’s first term. And this time, the European Union and other trading partners are also targets, with Trump outlining a plan for “reciprocal tariffs” on countries that have tariffs on US goods.

While Buffett didn’t elaborate on his comment about tariffs being an act of war, tariffs have long been associated with protectionist trade policy that has influenced isolationist foreign policy. In the 1930s, after the United States hiked tariffs as part of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 (which exacerbated the Great Depression), the French media reportedly called it a declaration of (economic) war.

Buffett has previously been outspoken about the negative effects of tariffs. In 2016, he said Trump’s proposals for tariffs on the campaign trail were “a very bad idea.”

When Buffett was asked by O’Donnell about his thoughts on the general state of the economy, he said it was the “most interesting subject in the world,” though declined further comment.

Buffett, whose every word is watched closely by investors, drew attention over the past year due to a growing cash pile at Berkshire Hathaway.

Berkshire amassed its cash and cash equivalents to a record $334.2 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $167.6 billion the year prior. Berkshire added to its cash position while selling stock in blue-chip companies like Apple (AAPL) and Bank of America (BAC), raising questions about his thoughts on the US market.

Berkshire’s operating earnings in the fourth quarter surged to a record, and both its class A shares (BRK.A) and class B shares (BRK.B) closed at a record high just last week. Buffett said most of the money he manages will always be in the United States.

“It’s the best place,” Buffett said. “I was lucky to be born here.”

Buffett knows what he is talking about!

Tony

 

GOP Sen. James Lankford defends Zelenskyy

James Lankford

Dear Commons Community,

Senator James Lankford, R-Okla., said yesterday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is “rightfully concerned” about Russia reneging on agreements, as some Trump administration officials took to the airwaves to criticize the leader of the longtime U.S. ally.

“I understand Zelenskyy is rightfully concerned that Putin has violated every single agreement he’s ever signed and that he can’t be trusted,” Lankford said in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

His comments come after an explosive exchange in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy, in which the U.S. leaders berated the Ukrainian president for his approach to diplomacy and argued that he didn’t sufficiently thank the U.S. for its support, despite Zelenskyy having thanked the U.S. numerous times. Current and former Russian officials praised Trump after the confrontation.

Zelenskyy pointed out during the Oval Office exchange that Russia has previously broken ceasefires, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “killed our people and he didn’t exchange prisoners.”

Asked Sunday about Putin’s not keeping previous agreements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos that “moving forward is the question, not the past,” before adding that the United States wanted to engage Russia in negotiations.

Lankford was asked on “Meet the Press” whether he was concerned that the United States was turning its back on Ukraine, a longtime ally. Lankford said “no.”

“No, we’re not turning our back on Ukraine, nor should we,” he said. “Putin is a murderous KGB thug that murders his political enemies and is a dictator.”

We need a few more Republican leaders to tell Trump not to turn our back on Ukraine!

Tony

Maureen Dowd: Trump has become a truckler to Putin!

Dear Commons Community,

In her column yesterday, Maureen Dowd weighed in on the “sickening spectacle” of a meeting between Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.  Entitled, “Trump is Rootin for Putin,” she reviews the meeting as “the man (Trump) who tried to upend democracy by bullying the man (Zelenskyy) who is fighting for democracy.”

She added that “it was shocking to see Trump parrot the view of Vladimir Putin, a murderous tyrant who wants to swallow Ukraine in a fit of nostalgia for the Soviet Union.”

She concluded Trump is nothing more than a “truckler” to Putin!

Her entire column is below.

Tony


The New York Times

Trump Is Rootin’ for Putin

March 1, 2025

By Maureen Dowd

Opinion Columnist

It was a sickening spectacle: the man who tried to upend democracy bullying the man who is fighting for democracy.

The air seemed to turn flame red as the TV stars-turned-pols sat side by side in elegant yellow armchairs and had the wildest dust-up ever televised from the Oval Office.

“This is going to be great television — I will say that,” President Trump noted. The Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, hung her head in her hands.

It looked like a setup. Vice President JD Vance, a malign presence who has said he does not care a fig about Ukraine, chided Volodymyr Zelensky for not being grateful enough to America, i.e. Trump.

“Have you said, ‘Thank you’ once this entire meeting?” Vance pressed Zelensky, who has thanked America over and over.

Trump barked at Zelensky, “You’re gambling with World War III” and wagged a finger at him: “You’ve got to be more thankful because, let me tell you, you don’t have the cards. With us, you have the cards, but without us, you don’t have any cards.”

Pretty rich for a draft dodger to lecture a man whose name has become synonymous with wartime bravery. (Trump once said that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases was his personal “Vietnam.”)

When a reporter asked what would happen if Russia broke the cease-fire again, Trump snapped, “What if anything? What if a bomb drops on your head right now?”

The bust of Churchill so beloved by Trump watched over the three men as they sparred. Can you imagine F.D.R. petulantly ordering Churchill to be more thankful? Can you imagine Churchill’s chilly disdain for Trump’s protection-racket demand for Ukraine’s minerals.

As though this weren’t enough humiliation, a member of the president’s new handpicked press pool, Brian Glenn of the right-wing Real America’s Voice, asked Zelensky, “Why don’t you wear a suit?” And then, “Do you own a suit?”

(He was echoing Trump, who mocked Zelensky when he arrived, saying “Ooh, you’re all dressed up.” The Ukrainian president had on black pants, top and boots, similar to what Elon Musk wears at the White House.)

Even though we should be used to it by now, it was still shocking to see Trump parrot the view of Vladimir Putin, a murderous tyrant who wants to swallow Ukraine in a fit of nostalgia for the Soviet Union. Trump insisted that they were fellow victims.

“Let me tell you, Putin went through a hell of a lot with me,” Trump said, as though they were Army buddies. “He went through a phony witch hunt where they used him and Russia, Russia, Russia, Russia.” U.S. intelligence agencies found that Russia meddled in the 2016 election on Trump’s behalf.

“You see the hatred he’s got for Putin,” Trump said of Zelensky. “It’s very tough for me to make a deal with that kind of hate.”

The president doesn’t understand why Zelensky is not happy with Putin for invading the smaller country and beating the bejesus out of it, for decimating a generation of young Ukrainian soldiers, for breaking cease-fires and committing war crimes.

Zelensky deserves our thanks. He has endured so much, keeping the David versus Goliath dream alive, exposing the weakness of the Russian military and basically taking it on the chin for the rest of Europe to keep Putin from gobbling up more territory.

But instead of being gracious, Trump booted Zelensky out of the White House, leaving the hero’s lunch on a tray in the hall, torpedoing his existential fight to save his battered country and Ukrainian lives.

Republican lickspittles like Lindsey Graham and Jim Banks praised Trump and trashed Zelensky while Russian leaders rejoiced. “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office,” said Dmitri Medvedev, the former Russian president and Putin toady.

A cascade of gobsmacked Western leaders wrapped Zelensky in a warm online embrace. “Today, it became clear that the free world needs a new leader,” said Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, posted, “Il y a un agresseur: la Russie.”

European leaders had tried to guide Trump in the days before Zelensky arrived, but Trump is wedded to his demented dream of a troika of strongmen — himself, Putin and Xi Jinping — astride the world.

Macron and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain came to Washington, humoring Trump. Starmer grandly delivered a cream envelope with an “unprecedented” invitation from King Charles III for a second state visit, perhaps to Balmoral.

A real king soothing the ego of a hooligan who thinks he’s a king.

All the flattery did not soften up Trump. It puffed him up. Everyone is so obsequious around Trump that he now gets huffy at the least pushback. He can make any claim, no matter how outrageous — that Ukraine started the war with Russia, that Zelensky is a “dictator.” But if anyone points out that he is wrong, he blows a gasket.

After Trump flew off to Mar-a-Lago, Zelensky did an interview with Bret Baier on Fox News. He did not apologize when Baier asked him if he should. “I can’t, you know, change our Ukrainian attitude to Russia,” he said, adding that Putin wants to “kill us.”

He said the meeting came a cropper because he talked honestly about the need for security guarantees. “We just want to recognize the reality, the real situation.” He added that everybody is “afraid that Putin will come back tomorrow.”

Trump does not do well with reality; he tries to impose his own on the rest of us.

Zelensky said that Trump told him he wanted to be in “the middle” of the negotiations. But the Ukrainian president demurred: “I want really him to be more at our side” because “the war began when Russia brought this war to our country.” About Ukrainians, he said: “They just want to hear that America on our side and America will stay with us, not with Russians.”

Seems simple. Unless Trump’s art of the deal is all about truckling to Putin.

 

European leaders en masse back Zelensky after Trump clash

Dear Commons Coimmunity,

European leaders have rallied behind Volodymyr Zelensky after Donald Trump’s ugly exchange on Friday with the Ukrainian president in the White House.

The leaders of Germany, France, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, and  more than a  dozen other countries were among those who posted social media messages backing Ukraine – with Zelensky responding directly to each one to thank them for their support.  As reported by the BBC.

The Ukrainian president arrived in London to attend a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who “retains unwavering support for Ukraine”, Downing Street said.

It comes after extraordinary scenes in the Oval Office on Friday as US President Trump clashed with Zelensky, telling him to make a deal with Russia “or we are out”.

At one point, Trump told Zelensky he was not thankful enough for US military and political support during Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, and that he was “gambling with World War Three”.

As a flurry of supportive messages for Ukraine were posted by European leaders following the row – along with posts from the prime ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand – Zelensky replied to each one: “Thank you for your support.”

French President Emmanuel Macron posted: “There is an aggressor: Russia. There is a victim: Ukraine. We were right to help Ukraine and sanction Russia three years ago – and to keep doing so.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof said the Netherlands supports Ukraine “now more than ever”, adding: “We want a lasting peace and an end to the war of aggression started by Russia. For Ukraine and its people, and for Europe.”

Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote that “no one wants peace more than the citizens of Ukraine”, with his replacement-in-waiting Friedrich Merz adding that “we stand with Ukraine” and “we must never confuse aggressor and victim in this terrible war”.

Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the “unspeakable” row resembled a “bad dream” and “underlined that a new age of infamy has begun”.

She said she would “wholeheartedly push” for measures that could help Ukraine “withstand Russia’s aggression even if the US withdraws support, so that it can achieve a just peace and not a capitulation”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said: “Ukraine, Spain stands with you,” while his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk wrote: “Dear [Zelensky], dear Ukrainian friends, you are not alone.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada “will continue to stand with Ukraine and Ukrainians in achieving a just and lasting peace”.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese posted that his country had “proudly supported the brave people of Ukraine in their struggle to defend their sovereignty against the brutality of Russian aggression and in support of international law”.

European Union chiefs Antonio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen assured Zelensky in a joint statement that he was “never alone”.

“We will continue working with you for a just and lasting peace,” they said.

Poland’s Tusk and France’s Macron were among those posting messages of support to Zelensky

There were also supportive messages for Ukraine from political leaders in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Romania, Sweden and Slovenia.

On Saturday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told the BBC he had spoken with Zelensky twice following the White House meeting.

He said he was “not at liberty to say what was discussed” but shared that he told Zelensky “we have to respect” what Trump has done for Ukraine so far.

He said Zelensky must “find a way” to restore his relationship with his US counterpart.

Zelensky left the White House early following his row with Trump – but afterwards thanked the US president on social media for his support, saying: “Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”

Writing on messenger app Telegram on Saturday, Zelensky said it was “very important for us that Ukraine is heard and that no one forgets about it, neither during the war nor after”.

“It is important for people in Ukraine to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world,” he added.

The Western world is standing with Ukraine regardless of the Trump and Vance debacle!

Tony

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is Running for Mayor of New York City

Andrew Cuomo

Dear Commons Community,

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday that he is running for mayor of New York City, relaunching his political career.

In a 17-minute video, Cuomo pitched himself as an accomplished moderate who can save a city he described as threatening and “out of control,” and is capable of navigating the delicate balance between working with Republican President Donald Trump and fighting him, when necessary.

“I am not saying this is going to be easy. It won’t be easy, but I know we can turn the city around, and I believe I can help,” he said.

The Democrat is expected to mount a formidable campaign, despite entering the race deeply wounded by a scandal that forced his resignation as governor in 2021.

He takes on a large field of primary opponents with low name recognition plus an incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, who — for now — remains under indictment on federal corruption charges and under scrutiny from critics who question his independence from Trump.

Cuomo brings fundraising prowess, a record of accomplishments over three terms as governor and potential support among moderate voters who helped propel Adams to office.

Yet it is unclear whether voters are willing to give Cuomo another chance following his remarkable downfall, when he went from being hailed for his leadership during the onslaught of COVID-19 to being castigated for his behavior with women and questioned about his pandemic response.

In his campaign video, Cuomo acknowledged past “mistakes” but did not directly address the harassment allegations.  As reported by The Associated Press.

“Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not,” he said. “Would I do some things differently knowing what I know now — certainly. Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely, and I believe I learned from them and that I am a better person for it, and I hope to show that every day.”

Adams, caught on a city street by a Politico reporter Saturday, welcomed Cuomo to the race.

“Come one, come all. Everybody should put their position forward,” Adams said. “I have a great record to run on. We look forward to the campaign.”

Plotting a comeback

Cuomo had been circling a return to politics for years while his lawyers and political consultants kept trying to discredit his accusers.

At least 11 women credibly accused him of harassment that included unwanted kissing and touching and remarks about their looks and sex lives, according to a report released by New York’s attorney general. One aide filed a criminal complaint accusing Cuomo of grabbing her breast when they were alone in the governor’s mansion.

Cuomo denied the sexual assault allegation, which a prosecutor ultimately dropped, citing a lack of enough proof to get a conviction.

Cuomo, 67, said he did not intentionally mistreat women and had simply fallen behind the times of what was considered appropriate workplace conduct.

Taxpayers spent millions of dollars defending him and his aides against lawsuits related to the allegations.

The first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of harassment, Lindsey Boylan, wrote in an essay published in Vanity Fair on Saturday that New York “deserves better.”

She said that rather than repent and atone, Cuomo has waged a “vengeful” legal campaign against his accusers.

“While the women who worked for and with Cuomo may no longer be subject to inappropriate behavior, misconduct, or sexual harassment, some of us remain the victims of what could be interpreted as an ongoing campaign that weaponizes the legal system as a tactic for retribution,” Boylan wrote.

She added that even though she never sued Cuomo, she has spent $1.5 million on lawyers to respond to subpoenas in his other cases.

A crowded Democratic primary

There are already several candidates vying to beat Adams in June.

Among them are city Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, who was a front-runner in the mayor’s race four years ago until a woman accused him of groping and kissing her without her consent 20 years earlier.

In a statement, Ramos called Cuomo a “corrupt bully” who “brings nothing to this race but baggage.”

Myrie said New York shouldn’t be forced to relive “the Andrew Cuomo show.”

“We deserve better than selfish leaders who spent decades in office putting their desire for power above New Yorkers’ needs,” Myrie said.

Adams is a vulnerable incumbent

The mayor is facing a tempest over the U.S. Justice Department’s extraordinary effort to end the criminal case against him over the objection of the prosecutors who brought the charges.

An indictment said Adams accepted luxury travel perks and illegal campaign contributions from people who wanted to buy his influence, including a Turkish official and other foreign nationals.

After Trump took office, a top Justice Department official ordered prosecutors to dismiss the charges so Adams could focus on assisting the president’s immigration agenda, while leaving open the possibility that charges could be refiled after the election.

The dynamic led critics to claim that Adams struck a deal to help Trump’s immigration crackdown in exchange for legal salvation.

Adams has strongly denied such an arrangement, while resisting intense pressure to step down. Some of his top deputies announced plans to resign in protest.

Long rise to power, quick fall

Cuomo started in politics working for his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, and later became U.S. housing secretary under President Bill Clinton and New York attorney general before being elected governor in 2010.

His star power was highest during the pandemic, when his televised daily briefings attracted admirers who saw him as a steady hand during a frightening time. The briefings led to a more than $5 million book deal to write “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic.”

But women began coming forward in late 2020 and early 2021 to accuse Cuomo of misconduct, and he faced a potential impeachment before stepping down. A state ethics panel concluded that he improperly used taxpayer resources to prepare and edit his book.

Questions about COVID-19 in nursing homes

Cuomo was further damaged by allegations that his administration unintentionally contributed to a wave of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by initially barring them from refusing to readmit virus patients discharged from hospitals.

The governor said the allegations were baseless, but his administration was found to have substantially undercounted nursing home deaths as it sought to deflect criticism.

Cuomo still has a significant campaign war chest that, technically, he could draw on. But the process of transferring state donations to a city committee would be complicated and require each donor to sign off, a potentially burdensome effort.

As incumbent Mayor Eric Adams has indicated, Cuomo is welcome to the race!

Tony

 

Video: Trump and Vance Gang Up on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy:  They want him to surrender to Putin!

Dear Commons Community,

Yesterday’s White House meeting with Donald Trump, JD Vance and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a disaster for all involved (see video below).  Trump and Vance tried to bully  Zelenskyy into surrendering to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.  Zelenskyy would have none of it and walked away from any agreement that failed to guarantee American support against Putin’s transgressions and duplicity. Trump and Vance retaliated by talking down to Zelenskyy and saying he was not thankful enough for what the United States had done for his country .  (As an aside, CNN reported that Zelenskyy has publicly thanked the US thirty-one times in the past four years.)

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) weighed in on the “shameful” behavior by Trump and Vance yesterday after the two blew up on  Zelenskyy.

“We should be thanking the Ukrainians for standing in the gap and fighting the Russian horde that’s coming into their country and that would come into NATO next,” Kinzinger told CNN’s Dana Bash.

He continued, “Today was very shameful and there’s a reason that every cabinet member under Donald Trump has had to tweet how strong he was today, because they got the memo from the White House that they better come out and support Trump because this is a really bad day for them and they know it.”

Kinzinger, in a post to X, declared that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz “lose any of the little credibility they maybe had” if they don’t resign following the Trump-Vance meltdown.

“This was a purposeful ambush. There is no doubt about it. JD Vance is a vice president and shouldn’t even have spoken to Zelensky, a President,” he added in a separate post

Kinzinger  pressed that foreign leaders shouldn’t come to the U.S. and “bow” to the president, noting that Zelenskyy has to “stand strong” for Ukraine.

“If he comes here and grovels to a toddler that needs to be groveled to, like, what is that sending ― what message is that sending to his troops in the trench?” Kinzinger said.

“It’s sending a message that, ’Boy, our future really depends not on your ability to stay and fight but on whether or not I can grovel to a toddler that wants to be, that wants to be held and coddled.”

The former congressman went on to react to the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who declared that it’s now up to Europeans to take on the “challenge” of finding a “new leader” for the free world.

“They’re correct. I mean, I’m sorry, I hate to say this but the United States right now is not the good guys in this,” Kinzinger said.

While most Republican leaders kowtowed to Trump after the meeting, GOP Congressman Don Baker from Nebraska said it was:

“A bad day for America’s foreign policy. Ukraine wants independence, free markets and rule of law. It wants to be part of the West. Russia hates us and our Western values. We should be clear that we stand for freedom.”

Trump stands for himself and his vanity not the country!

Tony

Texas A&M University to Buy $45M Supercomputer to Support Research in AI

Dear Commons Community,

Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that  the Texas A&M University System is set to acquire one of the highest-performing AI supercomputers for $45 million from World Wide Technologies Inc.  The purchase is expected to triple the university’s supercomputing capacity. It will put the Texas school on the map as the holder of one of the highest-operating AI supercomputers of any university in North America, according to the press release.

“This investment will triple our computing capacity, which will support the A& M System’s growing research initiatives, particularly in areas such as machine learning, generative AI applications, graphics rendering and scientific simulations,” the university’s Chancellor John Sharp said.

Sharp said the university plans to use this supercomputer to contribute to Texas’s economic growth and technological advancements.

The model is the NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD with DGX H200 systems. It is part of a $45 million agreement with World Wide Technologies Inc., a NVIDIA channel partner.

Other universities have made moves to acquire the world’s top supercomputers with the evolution of AI, including the University of Florida, which spent $24 million on an advanced supercomputer. The University of Chicago also recently opened its exascale supercomputer to researchers.

With AI quickly deepening its hold on society, universities have been calculating how to stay ahead of the curve. Just last year, the University of Texas at San Antonio opened a new college for AI, data science and computing.

While AI could lead to slight decreases in the number of jobs in fields such as sales, there are expected to be increases in employment in software publishing, computing infrastructure providers and more over the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Software development is expected to be the 12th fastest growing individual overall in the next decade, the Bureau of Labor reported.

Congratulations to Texas A&M!

Tony