Humanity is skating through Gaza.
September 5th 2024
Hopefulness is the anomaly of humanity, which emits moments of illuminated joy surrounded by the eternity of night. My requiem for 10-year-old Tala Abu Ajwa who died with her skates on.
Politics
A “Help the Police” Scam: Introducing America’s Founding Father of Fundraising Grift
July 15th 2024
I started out trying to understand a fraudulent fundraising appeal sent to my mother-in-law, found my way to their federal filings and eventually to Richard Viguerie, America’s Founding Father of Fundraising Grift. What did *you* do on your summer holiday?
Why Student Protesters Focus on Divestment and Gaza Rather Than Ukraine
April 27th 2024
This week, protests and police actions swept campuses across the US, but these seem more focused on addressing campus issues than stopping war or casualties. And why Gaza rather than Ukraine? I try to make sense of this all as it happens.
Trump’s first criminal trial is about election interference; framing it as “hush money” hides this.
April 18th 2024
This hush-money framing does the case a disservice. It makes it seem lurid and less consequential than those involving the constitutional order of government or divulging intelligence secrets. It presents an intimate, tidy, and contained narrative, which also is false.
Criminality piles-up around Truth Social. Is DJT the first political stock?
April 5th 2024
Fraud and insider trading may be just the start. There’s a tie to perjured Biden bribery testimony, and apparently one inside trader make a large loan to Truth Social. Get the details.
Yes, body count is exactly what it takes to make some kinds of changes
August 21st 2022
As we think about taking-on inaction on larger topics, such as global warming, it is not only fair to ask “how many must die before we get serious” – it may be *the* essential question to ask.
GOP’s deal with the Devil leads to this week’s fatwa against the FBI
August 13th 2022
This week the GOP issued a fatwa to violently oppose the FBI. From former President, to official and media the call was amplified, in a party which has waited for generations to ‘use the guns’. This isn’t random; it is not hidden, and its not over.
Deception creates its own harm: Facebook shouldn’t know if you’re ovulating; voting shouldn’t be rooted in lies
January 14th 2021
Facebook gained the ability to see if users were ovulating, but the FTC put an end to this practice….because deception causes marketplace harm. Perhaps it’s time for voters to have consumer protections similar to what they enjoy in commerce from the FTC.
This hellish week is the fruit of an administration of rage
June 2nd 2020
Trump isn’t the one who killed George Floyd by pressing a knee to his neck. Police brutality against African Americans — and racism generally — has plagued us for centuries. But Trump uniquely fueled fury, with bigotry, dismantling police reforms, and encouraging aggression in violent speech.
COVID19 is Trump’s Chernobyl
May 23rd 2020
HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries has glowed with an unexpectedly long half-life for me. It illustrates the political and cultural rot that comes when people believe that truth must align with their leader’s wishes. It’s been echoing for me as a cautionary parable applicable to President Trump’s response to the Coronavirus.
About Dave Wieneke, Digital Strategist
The future of digital experiences will be built by strategists who grasp the full array of emerging business, social, and technical models. Specialties in user experience, branding, application design, and data science are laying the foundation for richer user experiences and business models breakthrough products and revenue based marketing.
UsefulArts is a soapbox to discuss the front line of digital experience, and the agencies and platforms that enable it. Digital business needs a cadre of leaders who can connect c-level enterprise thinking with the ways these new interaction models can help organizations to matter more to their most important stakeholders.