the attitude with arnie arnesen the thurs edition noon to 1pm EST Sept 11

[Arnie Arnesen]

The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen

opening thoughts: A ‘Roomba for the forest’ could be SoCal’s next wildfire weapon 

producers: Dave Scott and Stephanie Collins
Chloé LaCasse (the best of the attitude)
streaming live at wnhnfm.org noon&7pm EST on the dial-94.7FM Concord NH

podcasts available at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179

 opening thoughts: 

The giant, remote-controlled vehicle — somewhere between a tractor trailer, a tank and a Zamboni in appearance — slowly rolled across the dry, brittle grass growing between the tangle of freeways making up the 101 and 23 interchange in Thousand Oaks.Inside the beast, fire churned. And as it rolled over the land, that fire incinerated any brush it encountered, leaving only a thin smoke cloud billowing from the top of the machine, some flashes of orange and red from behind its metal skirt and, in its wake, a desolate, smoldering black line. BurnBot isn’t the fastest way to rid a landscape of dangerously flammable vegetation (it tops out at around 0.5 mph) but it can do something that traditional vegetation management techniques cannot: with almost surgical precision, it can kill the flammable brush sitting within feet of homes and highways on even the hottest and driest days and with virtually no safety risks or disruptions to daily life. 

BurnBot is a huge, Zamboni-like vehicle that executes precisely controlled burns of flammable grass alongside buildings and roadways.   It’s designed to create fire breaks — lines of charred land — that keep flames from spreading.  When plants do grow back, instead of invasive, combustible grasses, it’s typically native, more fire-resistant vegetation.

part one: Complying with Trump administration’s attack on DEI could get employers into legal trouble https://theconversation.com/complying-with-trump-administrations-attack-on-dei-could-get-employers-into-legal-trouble-262915

Deborah Widiss is a Professor of Law and John F. Kimberling Chair, Indiana University her research and teaching focuses on employment law, family law, statutory interpretation, and the significance of gender and gender stereotypes in the development of law and government policy.

part two: Laura Jedeed is a freelance journalist who primarily focuses on the American conservative movement. Her bylines include The New Republic, Rolling Stone, and Politico, and you can find her newsletter at BannedInYourState.com

Tech Executives Commissioned as Senior Army Officers Won't Recuse Themselves from DoD Business Dealings https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/27/tech-executives-commissioned-senior-army-officers-wont-recuse-themselves-dod-business-dealings.html

from the Texas Reporter
Wait… the Army just made tech executives lieutenant colonels?! 

In June 2025, the U.S. Army swore in FOUR Silicon Valley big shots — from Meta, Palantir, OpenAI, and Thinking Machines Lab — as lieutenant colonels in the Army Reserve.

They didn’t work their way up through 20 years of service like most lieutenant colonels. They didn’t do full officer training. Instead, they got direct commissions into a new “Executive Innovation Corps” (Detachment 201) after a short boot‑camp‑lite. Their gig? ~120 hours a year as tech advisers to help the Army modernize with AI, VR, robotics, and more.

 Who’s Palantir? They’re a surveillance & data‑mining company founded by Peter Thiel. Seed funding from the CIA’s venture arm. Their software has powered ICE deportation raids, military intelligence, and mass surveillance. They’ve been criticized for cozy, opaque ties to the U.S. government and civil liberties concerns. Now one of their top execs is wearing an Army uniform with O‑5 rank.

 Has this happened before?

Kind of. In WWI & WWII, we had “Dollar‑a‑Year Men” — corporate leaders who advised the government for $1/year. But they stayed civilian. They didn’t get military rank, uniforms, or a place in the chain of command.

Direct commissions exist for doctors, lawyers, chaplains… but giving this rank to corporate tech execs with ongoing government contracts? That’s new — and raises huge conflict‑of‑interest questions.

 We’re now in an era where Big Tech execs can literally become Army officers while still running companies that profit from Pentagon contracts. That’s not just “Silicon Valley meets the Pentagon” — that’s Silicon Valley in uniform.

Do you think this is smart innovation or a dangerous blurring of lines between corporate power and the military?

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KEEPING THE POT STIRRED SO SCUM DOESN'T RISE TO THE TOP -  Anonymous 

D. ARNIE ARNESEN
15 Rumford Street
Concord NH 03301
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(C) 603-321-7654

Host of "The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen"

Award Winning Public Affairs Show (NHAB 2018)

airs noon to 1pm and 7pm EST M-F at 94.7FM (concord nh)

Home Station - wnhnfm.org

Part of the Pacifica Network

go to wnhnfm.org for streaming live 

Podcasts available here: https://www.wnhnfm.org/category/attitude-3/

Arnie on the Air

Boston, MA-WGBH Under the Radar/Sunday Nights

Keene, NH-WKBK Friday Morning with Dan Mitchell