granting some or grunting the other?

Humans must tame the AI genie while we still can

David Horsey

Sep 16, 2026

Attribution: Jack Ohman Tribune Content Agency

Do not wait until Election Day to discover that somebody’s database has misplaced your Democracy.

Go to Vote.org right now and confirm that you are still registered, your address is correct and your polling place has not changed.

If you are not registered, do it now. State deadlines vary, and some begin arriving in early October.

Here’s why you must do this now:

1. Georgia canceled nearly 471,000 registrations in 2025 after classifying the voters as inactive or having moved.
2. Ohio identified more than 352,000 inactive registrations for possible removal after voters failed to respond to mailed notices.
3. Alabama used outdated immigration records to flag more than 3,200 suspected noncitizens, many of whom were eligible naturalized citizens.
4. Political activists challenged more than 63,000 Georgia voters using address databases that can contain incomplete or outdated information.
5. States are comparing voter rolls with government death, felony, immigration and change-of-address databases that sometimes produce mistaken matches.
6. Eligible voters can be removed after election mail is returned undelivered, even when they still legally reside at the registered address.
7. Voters who skip several elections and overlook an official confirmation notice can have their registrations canceled for inactivity.
8. Missing driver’s-license or Social Security information can place otherwise eligible voters into challenged or provisional-ballot status.
9. Tarrant County, Texas, eliminated 92 Election Day voting locations this year, including a site at the University of Texas at Arlington.
10. Changes in precinct boundaries, party procedures and polling locations have sent properly registered voters to the wrong place—including voters turned away during Texas’ 2026 primary.

Check your registration:
https://www.vote.org/

Find your polling place:
https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/

Already registered? Check anyway. Registered at the right address? Check your polling place too. Democracy has enough enemies without losing your vote to bad data, a missed postcard or a locked door.

Anyone who prefers an official government source can check through the National Association of Secretaries of State: https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote/voter-registration-status

Turns out we’ve been worshiping pagan gods every time we ask what day it is.

Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday.

There they are. Týr. Woden. Thor. Frigg. Ancient gods hiding in plain sight on the calendar, surviving Christianity, empires, kings, popes and roughly two thousand years of people saying “Thank God it’s Friday” when they really ought to be thanking Frigg.

So naturally, Digital Diner went looking for them.

We found Týr, who lost a hand to a giant wolf. Woden, who traded an eye for wisdom. Thor, who brought the hammer. Frigg, who could see the future but apparently signed a nondisclosure agreement. Then came Saturn, the Sun and the Moon.

And now the whole unruly pantheon has its own playlist: trailmix.cc/days

These are the short videos we’re using to open each day’s Digital Diner. We made them reusable because the gods have already lasted a couple thousand years. No sense giving them a 24-hour shelf life.

We’ll keep tinkering with them as we find more historical oddities, ancient footage and assorted cultural debris worth throwing into the stew.

Seven days. Seven stories. Two thousand years of history hiding on your calendar.

Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999, was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the Concierto de Aranjuez, a cornerstone of the classical guitar repertoire. ( wiki link )

Enjoy, Jack