Using Zotero plug in for Word for Mac (v16.84). When switching citation styles (APA to AMA), one or two citations are not converted. This has been happening on a regular basis. Has anyone else encountered this? To answer an anticipated question, I use APA style when writing drafts since it shows me authors' names which helps me remember what I cited. Then switch to AMA format prior to submission.

Greetings CMS affiliates / CMS aficionado, healthcare insurance stakeholders, healthcare insurance investors, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders (hopefully no CEO of the big 4, or else Reddit might throw this in the dustbin. Don't let them in OK???):
Welcome to another episode of a very dry and boring topic discussion, which is the most recent release of "CMS Finalizes Payment Updates for 2025 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Programs" discussion. The entire document is 194 pages long, and 165 pages of texts, whatever pages left of tables and charts and numbers, and a lot of excel attachments. I will be lying if I told you I read it all (I skimmed it, but my skimming skill is still probably better than 99.95% of degenerates from another reddit), and my job is to bring you some information from this beast of a document so that you may have a small % of the knowledge of what may come to pass. That being said, please note that I am NOT a CFO, COO, CMO, or any C suites member, and therefore my job is much easier. I only need to opine, as my job is not dependent on reading every syllable and figure out its meaning and the associated excel cells related to those, and Risk Adjustments / Quality Bonus Payment parts are for someone else to beat their head over with.
Before we get started on this multiple part DD - and trust me it needs to be in multiple parts or else I will not have a job by next week, we should first start with some history lessons, why Medicare Advantage (or part C for those who are geeks) exists, its original purpose (other than fattening UNH/HUM/Aetna/Centene/Cigna EPS), its evolution, and why CMS may have had enough and ergo released their 2025 finalized payment to the absolute horror of almost every Healthcare Insurance company except maybe Clover. To do this, we must first start with history lessons, which is where I start as part 1:
Medicare, and inception of Medicare Advantage - a very brief overview of history:

1. https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/who-we-are/history
2. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2017/dec/evolution-private-plans-medicare
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117270/

For those of you who likes to read through links and be an absolute chad just like your good old grad school days, please use the above 3 links and some google searches, then proceed to skip the rest of the discussion until the next set of links. For all of you other folks who don't like to read think tanks, pubmed articles, and good old google searches to self educate, I will attempt to do some short and sweet broad-strokes using the provided links (don't sue me if I am bad at explaining history lessons, I didn't finish school to be like Indiana Jones for Medicare. And since I am in Reddit and not doing a real publication, please excuse the fact I didn't use AMA citation format, as I don't really want to do it unless I absolutely have to, so please don't make me do it, I have a real life now I think):
Medicare & Medicaid¹
On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the bill that led to the Medicare and Medicaid. The original Medicare program included Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance). Today these 2 parts are called “Original Medicare.” Over the years, Congress has made changes to Medicare, and more people have become eligible.
In 1972, Medicare was expanded to cover the disabled, people with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring dialysis or kidney transplant, and people 65 or older that select Medicare coverage. More benefits, like prescription drug coverage, have been offered.
Medicare advantage - beginnings, A Program in Infancy (1966–1982)²
Medicare has involved HMOs since 1966. Because these private plans use salaried physicians, they were originally paid on a reasonable-cost basis for services that Medicare otherwise would have paid on a reasonable-charge basis. Under the 1972 Social Security Amendments, preexisting plans could continue to be paid on a reasonable-cost basis, but new plans would operate on a risk-sharing contract. By 1979, 65 HMOs were contracting with Medicare, although only one had a risk-sharing contract.
The Rise of HMOs (1982–1997)^2,3
The 1972 Amendments gave the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) — subsequently renamed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) — the authority to conduct demonstrations of payment models that might reduce program spending, improve health care quality, or both. Demonstrations indicated that providers in HMOs seemed to take more conservative approaches to treatment and engaged in more preventive care and that, compared to people in traditional Medicare, enrollees in HMOs were more likely to be younger and lower-income, report themselves in excellent health, and indicate that a relationship with a single physician was not very important. However, HCFA estimated that it paid at least 15 percent more for enrollees in Medicare HMOs than for demographically similar beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. The Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) established a capitated payment system with prospectively set payment rates per enrollee for private plans. The Medicare Advantage (MA) program, formally Part C of Medicare, originated with the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA), which authorized Medicare to contract with risk-based private health plans, or those plans that accept full responsibility (i.e., risk) for the costs of their enrollees' care in exchange for a prospective, monthly, per-enrollee payment.
Medicare+Choice: A Decline in Offerings and Enrollment (1997–2003)^{2, 3}
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) made significant changes to how Medicare paid risk plans in the new Medicare+Choice (Medicare Part C) program. It scrapped the previous payment formula and largely reduced payment rates to plans. In response to reports of favorable selection, the BBA established new risk-adjustment measures based on health status and an annual enrollment period, with only one switch allowed outside that period. It is also from this period that Meidcare+ Choice (which will become Medicare Advantage) dual mandate is formalized: MA program has pursued two stated goals. The first is to expand Medicare beneficiaries' choices to include private plans with coordinated care and more comprehensive benefits than those provided through traditional Medicare. The second is to take advantage of efficiencies in managed care and save Medicare money. As you can see, there isn't a specific section that says MA needs to fatten our HC insurance partner's EPS wallet, but then you wouldn't know that was the case if you read some WSJ lately, namely: https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/medicare-keeps-getting-tougher-for-health-insurers-52f6ad26
A Resurgence in Plans and a Surge in Expenditures (2003–2010)^{2, 3}
In addition to establishing Medicare Part D, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) significantly altered how private plans (now renamed Medicare Advantage) were paid. The law limited enrollees to one switch per year during the open enrollment period and allowed plans to include the new drug benefit (MA–PD).
The MMA significantly raised payments to plans to counter the effects of the BBA. Everywhere in the country, Medicare offered rates to private plans that were at least as high as traditional Medicare spending per enrollee, resulting in a 10.9 percent increase in outlays to risk plans between 2003 and 2004. The big 4 would like to thank their lobbyists on doing a heck of a job. The MMA also established a bidding mechanism, under which each plan submitted a bid representing its estimated cost of providing basic Medicare benefits to enrollees for the coming year, including administrative overhead and profit. If the bid comes in lower than a county-level benchmark based on traditional Medicare spending per enrollee, the plan is paid most of the difference as a rebate or bonus. The big 4 would like to thank their lobbyists on doing a heck of a job The plan is then required to provide additional benefits that equaled the actuarial value of the rebate. Notice the nice wording on this. A coupon would do as an actuarial value of the rebate right?
With Parts A, B, and D available under one plan, as well as supplementary benefits subsidized by generous payments, enrollment in Medicare Advantage skyrocketed. In each year from 2006 to 2011, most new plan enrollees were beneficiaries who had switched from traditional Medicare, many of whom were relatively young. By 2010, enrollment reached 11.1 million, representing 24 percent of all beneficiaries.
A (Partial) Return to Original Goals (2010–2017)^{2, 3}
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), signed into law by President Obama in March 2010, included another major restructuring of the MA program and significant cuts in MA plan payments. Payment provisions in the ACA brought Medicare Advantage plan payments closer to traditional Medicare spending levels and reduced rates overall. Starting in 2012 the legislation reduces some plan payments while preserving broad access to plans across areas and rewarding plans that provide high-quality care. Many analysts predicted widespread plan withdrawal and dis-enrollment, as had occurred under the BBA. However, from 2009 to 2017, enrollment increased more than 80 percent, with 33 percent of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in private plans by 2017. By 2017, approximately 50 percent of plans had a rating above four stars, and these bonus-eligible plans comprised 67 percent of enrollment, up from 37 percent in 2013. As you can see, ACA was the start of the STAR ratings system.
Medicare Advantage and the gaming of the STARisk Adjustment/Quality Bonus Payment system

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/25/business/medicare-star-ratings-allow-nursing-homes-to-game-the-system.html
   
2. https://apl.utdallas.edu/2023/03/15/gaming-the-system-how-major-insurers-are-able-to-extract-big-profits-from-medicare-advantage/
   
3. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/The%20Medicare%20Advantage%20Quality%20Bonus%20Program.pdf
   

I hope you read Rainy's discussion on Risk Adjustment and Quality Bonus Payment from the other subreddit? We won't be posting there anymore, so if you would like us to re-copy those posts back into this subreddit we could, so please comment if that is what you want. If you recall, the original reason why Rainy even wrote that post was because some degenerate started to ask me on if I can define the exact RA and QBP reimbursement rate for Clover within the New Jersey jurisdiction, and wanted me to infer this information from CMS data downloads. To which I replied nicely that I only deal with legitimate partners, not WSB, and I only use publicly available information. In any case, what the thread conversation led me to understand is that some of the big insurance companies actively game the RA and QBP depending on the patient's clinical condition, demographics, and geography. I think Upset Weekend got super upset that evening just for that. Please excuse his grumpiness, I don't think he is as jaded yet.
Now let us get into the meat of this:

1. The QBP has become a significant source of revenue for insurers participating in MA, totaling $10 billion in extra payments in 2022. Inflation in QBP costs has contributed to growing policy concerns that the QBP and the underlying MA star ratings are not achieving their goals of encouraging quality improvement among MA insurers and helping seniors make informed plan choices (MedPAC 2020)⁶.
2. Evidence also suggests that double bonuses available under the QBP in counties with low traditional Medicare costs result in inequitable MA spending and bonuses based on race or ethnicity. The QBP is also not aligned with the measures of quality that experts use in research to assess clinical quality in MA, including mortality rates for specific conditions, inpatient admissions and readmissions overall for specific conditions, or hospice use. Even a recent study by Optum, a subsidiary of United Health Group, did not use star ratings measures to assess quality in its MA contracts compared to care in traditional Medicare. Instead, it used alternative quality measures.⁶
3. Evidence shows that insurers combined contracts to boost star ratings before 2020, a practice that undermined the program’s purpose⁶.
4. Finally, the QBP also does not include measures that address the documented problems in MA, such as difficulty accessing high-quality postacute care, denials of prior authorization, and high rates of switching to traditional Medicare among seriously ill beneficiaries⁶. Or another way of saying it - Big 4 MA takes your money, screws you with prior authorizations, and the moment you are seriously ill, you have to switch back to traditional medicare. Your taxpayer money at work.
5. It is now well established that many MA organizations actively attempt to increase risk adjustment payments by “finding” diagnoses that would not be recorded for beneficiaries if they were in the traditional Medicare program⁶.
6. Research shows that beneficiaries do not use star ratings when making enrollment decisions Some research suggests that seniors do appear to respond to the lower premiums and cost sharing that highly-rated plans can offer because of star rating bonuses, but not to the star ratings themselves. This suggests that star ratings fail one of their two major goals—to provide actionable information to beneficiaries. Beneficiaries may not use star ratings to make decisions, partly because contract-level star ratings that cover multiple states or plans do not give beneficiaries much information about their experience in their local area. Similarly, combining preventive care, beneficiary experiences, and administrative effectiveness into a single rating does not help beneficiaries select plans based on important factors⁶. Combined in totality, STAR rating serves as a poor determinant of plan clinical effectiveness, value, and cost of the MA insurance plan (descriptive emphasis by Moocao).

If you have read through all this, congratulations! In the next parts we will delve into what I think is the reason for why CMS released its big April Fools day release and why all big Healthcare Insurances are quaking in their boots and why their stock took a nosedive, and what implications this may have for all Medical Advantage plans in the future. Hopefully you all had a fun read, because going through all this really makes me feel like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - the drying up dying guy who drank from the wrong cup.
Sincerely
Moocao
*** This is not financial advice, nor is there any financial advice within. Shout-out to the AMC/GME apes for forcing me to write this every dang time, especially when someone's lunch money can be involved ***
*** Please do not utilize this content without author authorization ***
**Edit: removed GWB prez 4 lyfe, the satire sauce was too thick and I didn't want the PC police to come and arrest me**

Vote Brigading

My posts are upvoted by people who can't participate, violating the Reddiquette on voting. This happens in lots of forums, where people from other forums [buddhism, meditation, new age awkening] come to Zen to upvote people who say Zen is buddhism, meditation, or new age awakening.
https://www.reddit.com/familyguy/comments/n1d2zh/announcement_updated_subreddit_rules_new/
Vote brigading is bullying strategy used for censorship: https://www.reddit.com/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_what_is_a_brigade.3F

Censoring Source Material

I am frequently harassed by racist and religiously bigoted people for simply referencing the books cited on these wiki pages: * www.reddit.com/zen/wiki/buddhism * www.reddit.com/zensangha/wiki/getstarted * www.reddit.com/zen/wiki/sexpredators and their messiah www.reddit.com/zen/wiki/secular_dogen
Why can't they speak up? I've written this stuff to explain my position and the evidence: https://old.reddit.com/useexpress-potential-11
One of the interesting things is what does it mean to "engage with the forum"?
Learn about the subject → Discuss what was understood Read the posts in the forum → Respond with questions/citations Consider the questions posed by tradition/rZenners →answer thoughtfully "Trumping the Evidence"
People who can't read/write at a high school level claim "no evidence" or "lots of evidence"
They can't cite sources or discuss the sources others cite
They are unable to engage in evidence-based conversations
Buddhists and new agers are awesome. They refuse to AMA, quote Zen Masters, cite sources even for their own beliefs. Even when they attempt to do this stuff, they are quickly caught being dope af.

In light of recent meltdowns from people claiming (and upvoting claims in violation of reddit voting policy) that Zen Masters did not instruct, Zen Masters did not write books of instruction, and that observance of precepts aren't a pre-requisite to engagement with the Zen tradition, I was thinking of all the different textual sources people turn to for instruction...IKEA manuals...Monopoly instruction booklets...The Bible...sutras.
Some of those textual sources disclose that they are instructions for a specific context in real life while others claim, or have claimed about them, that they are instructions on how to reap supernatural benefits/salvation/sacred-enlightenments. The owner's manual for my Corolla isn't anyone's sacred text.
Zen texts are a category unto themselves since they are not offering anyone a closed system for applying their instruction, like the makers of Monopoly and IKEA furniture do, yet at the same time reject any attempt to associate their teachings with religious doctrines and sacred texts.
One product of this neither-religion nor closed-system perspective, just in terms of the structure of their texts, is a whole bunch of citations to unrehearsed, unscripted, conversations involving the perspective and a whole bunch of accompanying direct instructions to you, the reader transmitting the perspective.
More conversation than Monopoly has ever produced and more real-life instruction than religion is capable of.
I'm going off of the dollar-standard of Gateless Checkpoint translations, J.C. Cleary and will reproduce the specific words of instruction ("do/don't do") from the Preface, Case 1, and Case 2 below.

• Just arouse a mass of doubt throughout your whole body, extending through your three hundred sixty bones and your eightyfour thousand pores, as you come to grips with this word “No.”
  
• Bring it up and keep your attention on it day and night
  
• Don't understand it as empty nothingness
  
• Don’t understand it in terms of being and non-being
  
• Bring up the word “No” with your whole life force
  
• [Huangbo]: If each and every reply is right then...[Baizhang:] come here and tell him."
  

Three cases in and we already have six instructions from Zen Masters. Or, in other words, six commandments.
According to LibreOffice, the preface and two cases clock in at 1,299 words.
Compared to a a sample with a similar word-count from the religious-zealot and woman-hater "Paul" in the 4th chapter of his letter to the Galatians we get a whole bunch of religious bullshit, rhetorical questions, and most pertinent here, no real world instruction.
The only kind of instruction he tries to give people is 100% religious in nature and 100% creepy "Become like me"
Not a Zen instruction. Not real life.
__
I think exercises like this are fun not because they are telling people that read Zen texts, that AMA, that don't lie about the compatability of a lifestyle of intoxication with Zen instruction but partly because they provide a record of the conversation that so many fakers pretend to associate with and frequently result in them trying to put their nostrils in my fingers to be lead around.

If you're reading this, statistically you've played Balatro. And statistically, if you've played Balatro you've played a lot of Balatro (citation probably needed). I currently have 36.5 hours on record with 3 wins, but I don't feel like that really illustrates how much this game has invaded my daily routine. Helldivers 2 has been amazing fun but it's not the sort of thing I can dip in to between breakfast and work/errands, while the TV is on, or any other unguarded 10 minutes during the day. God help me when they release this on phones.
I have thoughts and I don't know where else to put them. I might send this as an email to the question bucket but I don't think I actually have any questions?
​

1. The game isn't actually built on Poker so much as a Filipino game called Pusoy Dos aka Big Two. The only reason I know this is that an old high school friend who both strongly identifies with his Filipino heritage and plays a lot of games posted a link to a largely overlooked comment in the AMA with the developer. From what I can tell Pusoy Dos is like Gin Rummy using Poker hands so the confusion makes sense.
2. I think the idea that it's somehow easier to win during early runs makes sense mathematically (ignoring the possibility of the tutorial seed having better odds). At the beginning, there are fewer jokers unlocked. I presume this includes the basic hand modifiers and some relatively simple mechanics related to suit, face cards, etc. The synergies between these Jokers and the typical card draws are easier to harness, even if the potential for explosive, exponential chip totals is less. As more and more Jokers unlock, additional strategies emerge but only one piece at a time. By the time half of the Jokers are available, the player is pulling from a lot of different "strategy pools" that may not mix well. e.g. focusing on face cards, focusing on suit manipulation, focusing on pairs/straights, growth cards. It still takes a bit of luck but a simpler card pool might make it easier to find a winning combo.
3. This is a spoiler for a specific Joker: The Madness Joker is a delightful and immersive experience. I passed it up countless times before diving in on a run that was fairly aimless by the 2nd ante. Madness destroys one other Joker at random after selecting the blind and gains 0.5X multiplier every time it does. It's textbook exponential growth, but it requires a steady stream of victims to keep running. The result is a kind of random walk through cheap Jokers. After every round I found myself scraping the store for at least one new potential sacrifice. There is no real planning for the future. After a few hands I realized I had forgotten most of the Jokers that had come and gone. My strategy was in the moment instead of sliding into a steady groove like most other runs. I didn't end up winning the run, but I legit can't remember if it was due to a change in my Joker line up that I made myself or a random loss to Madness. A++ would Madness again.
4. Did Inscryption leave a permanent mark on my expectations for this sort of thing? I can't shake the feeling that there is some dark secret lurking beneath the surface of this game. It's truly OK if there isn't, but the vibes gestalt had me ready for a Her Story style twist from the very beginning. I haven't finished buying blank vouchers, so I'm holding out hope there.

What up lads. I'm the creator of this AMA post and I could see how much it helped a lot of yall.
99% of you on SaaS are capable of doing this.
Imma show u how to do this step by step for free so u can literally take your product from 0 to $10k+/mo.
It ASTOUNDS me how many of you know how to code, call yourselves bootstrapped and "growth hackers", yet don't know what programmatic SEO (pSEO) is.
Before I break this down, couple things:

1. the client is an ai summarizer tool. No i cannot share the client. I asked him and he said no. Life is tough. get over it
2. No i don't have a course lol (also no one who actually makes money ever says something like this)
3. Not looking to hire anyone for my agency atm. unless it's something really cool you've built, not really interested in pms about this.

We're all in this together guys. Im just giving back. Let's grow.
--

The fxck is pSEO?

Programmatic SEO.
it's creating content at scale - thousands of pages targeted at hundreds/thousands of keywords without having to design, write, or publish pages manually.

1. you make a page template.
2. you connect a database.
3. you program an algorithm to populate the placeholders of that template page with info from the database.
4. it does that based on hundreds of user search queries that you feed it (keyword research element).

For example, Notion does this with [task or job] templates.
Targeting all sorts of queries for users to quickly solve their needs using their software. Here's a page on "event planning templates": https://www.notion.so/templates/category/event-planning
The overall structure of the page is (1). The database is simply their own database of community-made event templates (2). The algorithm connects and presents it with filters for free, paid, and popular options (3). And they do this for dozens of queries like event planning, expense tracking, content calendar, software development, business development CRM, user research, etc. (4).
Another example: Kapwing and memes. These mfs realized that ppl search for specific memes instead of just the keyword "meme generator", and they capitalized on it.
So if you or i googled some shit like "they're the same picture meme", trying to find the meme to, say, create our own version..
Here's what pops up: https://www.kapwing.com/explore/theyre-the-same-picture-meme-maker
To rank, they didn't just include the meme editor for a particular meme, they also added information, To rank, they didn't just include the meme editor for a particular meme; they also added information, in this case, a brief history of the meme. Then all the user has to do is click "Edit template" and bam, they've just become a user of Kapwing.
No content briefs. No writers. No chatgpt. When done right, it can EXPLODE your qualified traffic and customer base.
The caveat: It doesn't work for every business. It only works with specific use-cases.

So how do I know if pSEO is for me?

tbh it's not an exact science.
Some hallmarks i've noticed for great pSEO potential are:

1. If your product has a database that contains information that users could use directly, but it just needs to be presented clearly and in SEO-friendly formats

Example: sapling.ai is an ai grammar assistant that designed a pretty bare bones page template (1), connected it to some public dictionary database and/or their own (2), and created a program to pull the data from that database according to the search query - in this case - spelling variants of words like "tons vs tonnes" (1,2, 3, and 4 in action on this page).
The product angle they used to make the case for their product is: "Don't wanna google these spelling variants all the time? Download our grammar assistant for autocorrections based on your region"

1. If your product can generate unique or valuable content and make the case for itself (like the AI summarizer tool)

You can always pick ChatGPT's brain to see if there's an opportunity there for u. Or reply with your site and I'll see what I can do.

Step 1: Build a Page Template

This is basically web design.
But prioritize value over design. That doesn't mean you make a page look like it was made by a boomer but, here's something you want to ask yourself when deciding what to include on your page:
​

What can I add to this page so the user does not need to visit any other page from any other website? How can I make this as helpful and comprehensive as possible?

​
For example, for this AI summarizer tool, one of their customers was English students.
Side note on customers: If you have multiple segments, I suggest you dedicate a pSEO campaign to one customer first. This will simplify your keyword research, database retrieval, and internal linking processes. And if it's your first time, it's waayyy less headache altogether. My client served legal professionals, journalists, medical researchers, and English students with their ai summarizer tool. We picked one to start. You'll see in the coming sections why this made everything way simpler.
Anyway, in our case, since we were targeting English students, we looked for queries that related to "[book] summary".
The idea would be that when a student googled that, our software's summary would be presented on a web page ranking on the first page, making the case for our tool for future projects or assignments.
For inspiration, we looked at the current results for certain book summaries. Competition is everything in pSEO. We looked at:
- https://www.cliffsnotes.com/
- https://www.supersummary.com/
- https://www.sparknotes.com/
The idea here is to present the summary in a better way than the competition. So we created a template that is more visually appealing and user-friendly than the completion using a tool like Figma.
But remember, also more helpful.
So the next thing we did was look for complimentary informational keywords. Some other things English students looked for were:
- "[book] character analysis"
- "themes in [book]"
So we added space on the template page for summaries of these concepts too. Do you see how we tried to fulfill the quote I mentioned above at every corner?
​

What can I add to this page so the user does not need to visit any other page from any other website? How can I make this as helpful and comprehensive as possible?

​
These keywords also tended to be lower competition, so it was easier to rank them on the results page of Google.
We also added information on:
- The author and history
- Creation date
- Publisher date
- MLA citation
Once we built out the template design, it was time to find the databases.

Step 2: Identify the Databases

Pro tip: Make sure the databases in your niche/industry have public APIs before starting. If there aren't any that are publicly accessible, all of this will become significantly more difficult and risky on your behalf. Maybe not even feasible.
Now, for the database, you're either using your own or a publicly accessible one. In our case, our software did the summarizing, but didn't actually have a database of novels or other documents. So we had to rely on public databases. We used the following:
​

• Wikipedia: Wikipedia provides an API (the MediaWiki API) that allows for automated access to its content, including the ability to read and extract data from its pages. This API can be used to programmatically retrieve summaries, information boxes, full text of articles, and more.
• Project Gutenberg: Offers over 60,000 free eBooks, including many classic works of literature that are in the public domain. It's an excellent source for English novels.
• Internet Archive: A non-profit library offering free access to books, movies, music, and more. The Internet Archive includes texts from various genres and time periods.
• Open Library: Part of the Internet Archive, Open Library aims to have a web page for every book ever published. It offers millions of free eBooks and texts.

We made sure that summaries were compliant with copyright laws.

Step 3: Connect the Database and Use AI Summarizer

Time for the magic.

1. API Integration: Linked our template to databases using APIs. Ensured stable data flow for reliability.
2. AI Summarizer Deployment: Integrated AI to analyze user queries, fetch data, and generate summaries. Focused on efficiency and accuracy.
3. Dynamic Content: Template dynamically populates with AI-generated summaries, analyses, and citations based on queries. Tailored user experience.
4. SEO and Quality Checks: Applied SEO optimizations and conducted content quality checks for accuracy and originality. Prioritized user engagement and search rankings.
5. Feedback Mechanism: Implemented user feedback collection for continuous improvement of AI accuracy and content relevance.

Step 4: How does the system know which keywords to generate a page for?

Two ways to go about this.

1. You can do your own keyword research and upload the list to a backend folder where you manage the list. This is good for a starting point and targeted content strategy.

Here's how we did it:

1. Get the basic plan of SEMrush for 1 month for 129/mo (we obv have the agency plan, but this if for yall) - this more than pays for itself because you're finding and collecting HUNDREDS of keywords in one go.
2. Plug in competitor sites in the "Organic Research" tab. We used those summary sites I linked earlier which allowed us to tap into an existing database of keywords.
3. Filter for KD <29 (Keyword Difficulty is a 0-100 point scale one how difficult it is to appear on the first page for a keyword - so we're targeting the EASIEST ones to ensure success)
4. Typed in "summary" in the keyword filter bar. Then "themes" and "analysis". Separately. This returned dozens of relevant keyword searches for books. For example, "pride and prejudice (a popular english book) summary".
5. Added all of those keywords to a keyword list on SEMrush. (There's a "+" sign on the left of every keyword. Just click on it to save. Then export to a CSV by accessing the list in the Keyword Manager tab.
6. The system identifies which queries to process and generate content for through a combination of user input and predefined parameters.

Here’s how it works:

1. User Input Processing: When a user types a query into the search box on your page, the system captures this input as the key for action.
2. Query Analysis: The AI summarizer then analyzes the query to understand its intent and relevance to the available data. This involves natural language processing (NLP) techniques to parse the query and match it with topics or keywords within the connected databases.
3. Predefined Parameters: Your system can also be configured with predefined parameters or rules that help identify which queries should trigger the summarization process. These parameters could be based on specific keywords, topics, or patterns that are relevant to your content strategy.
4. SEO Optimization: The system can also use SEO strategies to identify popular or trending queries related to your field, ensuring that it prioritizes content generation for queries that are likely to drive traffic.
5. Feedback Loops: Over time, the system can learn from user interactions and feedback, adjusting its parameters to better identify and prioritize queries that are most valuable to your audience.

Step 5: Don't sleep on Internal Linking

This is the only way google robots will understand how your site's content is interconnected and whether or not you're a subject matter expert.
Let's say u have a website that's organized into main categories based on diet types, such as "Vegan," "Keto," "Gluten-Free," and "Mediterranean." Each category contains numerous recipes, tips, and diet guides.

• descriptive anchor texts: Use informative, keyword-rich anchor texts. when linking to a recipe within the "Vegan" section from a blog post about vegan diet benefits, you use anchor text like "Easy Vegan Lasagna Recipe" instead of generic terms like "click here."
• deep linking: Focus on linking to specific, relevant content deep within your site. From a general page on the health benefits of a gluten-free diet, you directly link to specific gluten-free bread and dessert recipes, guiding users deeper into your site.
• hierarchical structure: Maintain a logical content hierarchy and reflect this in your linking. "Home > Diet Type > Recipe". Links follow this hierarchy, helping users and search engines navigate and understand the site's layout. Implement breadcrumbs for better user navigation and SEO by displaying the sequence of pages somewhere near the top of the page.
• prioritize key pages: Direct more internal links to important pages to signal their value. If your "30-Day Keto Diet Plan" page is a major traffic driver, you ensure it receives internal links from all keto-related content, highlighting its importance.
• balanced link quantity: Aim for a reasonable number of links per page to avoid dilution of value. On each recipe page, you include a moderate number of links to related recipes, diet tips, and ingredient guides, ensuring the page isn't overwhelmed with links (can dilute link value) but still offers valuable pathways for exploration.

Is your site eligible for pSEO?

If you make $20k+/mo, u can dm to work w me for a potential pSEO play. if u don't, drop a link to your website here publicly for everyone and I'll see if I can come up w a pSEO opportunity for it and then show you how to find keywords with a loom.
I'm very busy throughout the week though so u may want to save the post and wait for my reply.
Either way, hope this helped gents

I'm going to be assigned a writing test for an entry level position at an agency in the next few days. I know that they'll give me a journal article with data from a trial from which I need to create a 20 min presentation for HCPs. Most of the presentations I've created for med school and work have been case presentations or educational presentations on a disease.
I understand that my goal is to create a story showing the need for the trial, the basics of the trial design, the key outcomes, and safety/adverse effects. I will also focus on the most important points and keep the slides concise as possible.
As I haven't done one of these presentations, I did have a few questions about the logistics and general advice:

1. How many slides would you recommend for a 15 minute presentation? I was thinking 1-2 minutes per slide, so around 10 slides?
   
2. Does the main title have to be the same as the article, or should I condense it to the main point? Is there room for creativity here, or is clarity more important?
   
3. How image heavy should this be? I don't have the article yet, but if there are images, should I recreate the pertinent graphs, or copy them?
   
4. What is the usual expectation for citations? I couldn't find any clear guidelines for AMA citations in a presentation, but have used numbers to cite data and either listing the reference below or in a reference page at the end before.
   
5. I don't know yet how long I'll have to create the presentation. How many hours does it usually take new writers to create similar presentations?
   
6. Any advice on design would be great. I either had a lot of flexibility or strict guidelines (the sad blue background with yellow font) for previous presentations .
   

Other advice is also very welcome, especially any mistakes you often see new writers make. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’m back. For those who know me, hey again. For those who don’t, I’ve been around a while. I hosted an AMA here a year ago about my process of moving from a freelance writer to an agency owner.
Since I do run an agency that focuses only on human writing, I’m obviously super concerned with anything AI. As you can imagine, this last year has been a rollercoaster. Thankfully, we’ve built a solid company that has, so far, weathered the storm and has grown quite a bit.
My business partner and I decided to do a deep dive into the copyright issues surrounding AI because many people in the content marketing and SEO industries conveniently ignore them. The mad dash towards scaling content disregards the copyright infringement debate and doesn’t look at where the courts, regulators, or legislators could take this.
It will affect this entire industry and all others affected by AI.
We wrote a long-form article and published it on our website, but we can’t post that directly in this post. I’ve spoken with the moderators of this sub, and we’ve decided to summarize parts of the article here and post the link to the article in the comments if you so choose to delve further. We’re not selling anything. Our company website just happened to be the place where we published the article. And we’re not hiring (just an FYI upfront).
The article is long, and I’m only going to summarize the two headings that I think are most appropriate for this sub – “Does the AI Training Process Infringe on the Copyrights of Other Works?” AND “Do AI Outputs Infringe on the Copyrights of Other Works?”
Does the AI Training Process Infringe on the Copyrights of Other Works?
First, this isn’t an entirely new area of law. In fact, there have been plenty of cases that craft the backbone of examining whether AI infringes on copyrights. That said, the Copyright Office has already sent a warning shot in a copyright proceeding and through copyright registration guidance that it’s unlikely any generative AI program could receive copyright protections. The Copyright Act has always focused on only allowing copyright protection to “original works of authorship.”
The Copyright Office has previously gone to battle over what it means to be an “author,” having swatted down attempts to copyright photos taken by a monkey or works created by celestial beings.
*(If you want to see links to all data or facts I’m discussing, please refer to the link in the comments.)
So, does the AI training itself infringe on copyrights?
Probably.
LLMs like ChatGPT, though revolutionary, train from anything and everything they can get their digital fingers on, and now they have access to the internet. So, everything is a training ground, including protected works. There have been several lawsuits filed by creators against OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and others who have admitted to using the works of others to train their LLMs.
AI companies argue that they’re not violating copyrights because the LLM training process constitutes fair use and, thus, not a violation. Fair use is defined as (copied from article):
​

1. The purpose and character of the content’s use, including whether the use is for commercial purposes or non-profit, educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted material;
3. The amount of substantiality of the used portion of the copyrighted material in relation to the work as a whole;
4. The effect of the use of the copyrighted material on the potential market for or the value of the work.

For each of those points, it can easily be argued that AI program training is NOT fair use. These companies ARE profiting from the works of others, and they often completely replicate the works of others in their outputs. The US Patent and Trademark Office recently said that the AI training process “will almost by definition involve the reproduction of entire works or substantial portions thereof.”
Do AI Outputs Infringe on the Copyrights of Other Works?
This is perhaps a more important question for those of us in this sub. If you use AI content to assist with your writing, you could violate copyrights.
As I mentioned above, there have been plenty of lawsuits from well-known creators and those we don’t know against AI/tech companies. They argue, I believe rightfully so, that fair use does not apply to the model training and that these models can undermine the market and value of the original works.
Two types of AI outputs are of concern here – the first has to do with AI creating works involving existing fictional characters in a way not intended or controlled by the group who has the copyright over the character. For example, imagine Yoda appearing in a Beyonce music video (I’m not opposed to the idea, tbh, with proper copyright protections).
The other area of concern is AI prompts (looking at you, you new-found Prompt Engineers) to request the AI output to mimic the style of other artists or authors. Now we’re in our wheelhouse because this is what is happening in our industry every day. For example, you can ask ChatGPT to mimic Stephen King when crafting a financial advice piece.
This is a gray area of law and regulation, but one that the courts and regulators ARE starting to deal with.
A Real Case to Examine
This isn’t only going to affect people using the works of famous or well-known individuals. Eventually, whatever decision is made concerning copyrights and AI will affect each of us.
In September 2023, a district court determined that a jury trial would be necessary to determine whether an AI company violated copyright law by copying case summaries from Westlaw. Westlaw, for those unfamiliar, is a legal research platform. The Court already determined that the AI company’s use of the content their program generated was for commercial purposes (a sign that this is likely a copyright infringement). However, the Court wants a jury trial to:
​

1. Resolve factual disputes about whether the use was transformative (as opposed to commercial);
2. Determine to what extent the nature of Westlaw’s work favored fair use;
3. Determine whether the AI company copied more content than they needed from Westlaw to train their models;
4. And determine whether the AI program could constitute a market substitute for the plaintiff.

Why does this matter to us, as writers?
If the AI output resembles existing works, this could be ruled a copyright infringement. Current case law shows that a copyright owner could prove that an AI model violated their copyright if it (the model) had access to their content and subsequently created “substantially similar” outputs (which is exactly what many people are doing with AI to scale content).
Defining “substantially similar” will be the key factor. The courts have already described what it takes for something to be “substantially similar” in terms of constituting copyright infringement. They do this by examining the “concept and feel” of the piece or the “overall look and feel” (citations in article). The courts have also looked at whether an ordinary person would “fail to differentiate between the two works.”
Other cases have examined the “qualitative and quantitative significance of the copied content compared to the overall content that includes the copied work.
What Does This Mean?
I don’t know. None of us knows. But, I could envision a situation where copyright holders use new AI systems (ironic) to figure out if someone else has copied their works and then submit takedown notices or, in serious cases, file a lawsuit. You could end up on the receiving end (or your clients could) if the works you submit infringe on someone else’s copyright.
I could see, a year or so from now, entire websites getting penalized by Google or other search engines, depending on how these cases play out.
This includes “spun” content.
But haven’t SEO writers always “spun” content?
Yes, but AI has allowed the spinning to happen at breathtaking speeds, and now the alarm bells are going off all over the place. People are looking, and creators are mad.
Ultimately, there will be new regulations and legislation. The courts will hear these cases, and the appeals will happen. One thing I do know is that copyright infringement is bad, and if any writer has to bend themselves five different ways to justify using AI to “help them create new pieces,” it could bite you down the line (or your clients).
There’s a difference between using tools and copying the works of others, and that line is currently blurred (some writers take off their glasses so it’s blurred on purpose, the equivalent of putting our heads in the sand).
Anyway, I’ll be back and forth today checking comments and responding. You can check out the link in the comments if you want to take a deeper dive. The article was co-written by myself and my business partner, a practicing attorney.
TL/DR – Copyright infringement is a thing, and your AI outputs probably do it.

How to write a good essay
Research is key 🔑 This part probably takes a lot of time, but it will be really worth it. If you do your research, never forget to save all the papers and links (maybe keep a digital “reading journals” for all the papers). This way you have a good base for your essay.
Citation 💻 Ask your professor beforehand which citation style is preferred (APA, Chicago, AMA, etc.). There are many different ones. Some institutes even have their own special citation style. So be sure you use the right one. And then it’s a good idea to get used to work with citation programs (Zotero, Citavi, Mendeley, etc.). Word also has a citation function that you can try out.
Structure 📝 Before you actually start writing, try structuring your essay with keywords. For example ask yourself what will be in your Introduction (this one usually has around 100 words). Try to summarize it with 10 words. This way you will have a pretty exact plan for your essay and you just have to formulate it and write full sentences.
Start writing🖊️ This probably scares a lot of people. But just try it. Write it and if you don’t like it, you can change it or delete it, but the most important thing is to take your little structure sheet and start writing. Try to use a neutral language, don’t weave in your opinion (except when the professor asks for it) and don’t write sentences that are too long.
Enhancing it⏳ Always start early enough, so you have the chance to go over your essay again and make it better. Probably give it someone else to read too, because we tend to overlook our typical mistakes. But if you go over it, you can change your essay from a good one to a great one 📝

How to write a good essay
Research is key 🔑 This part probably takes a lot of time, but it will be really worth it. If you do your research, never forget to save all the papers and links (maybe keep a digital “reading journals” for all the papers). This way you have a good base for your essay.
Citation 💻 Ask your professor beforehand which citation style is preferred (APA, Chicago, AMA, etc.). There are many different ones. Some institutes even have their own special citation style. So be sure you use the right one. And then it’s a good idea to get used to work with citation programs (Zotero, Citavi, Mendeley, etc.). Word also has a citation function that you can try out.
Structure 📝 Before you actually start writing, try structuring your essay with keywords. For example ask yourself what will be in your Introduction (this one usually has around 100 words). Try to summarize it with 10 words. This way you will have a pretty exact plan for your essay and you just have to formulate it and write full sentences.
Start writing🖊️ This probably scares a lot of people. But just try it. Write it and if you don’t like it, you can change it or delete it, but the most important thing is to take your little structure sheet and start writing. Try to use a neutral language, don’t weave in your opinion (except when the professor asks for it) and don’t write sentences that are too long.
Enhancing it⏳ Always start early enough, so you have the chance to go over your essay again and make it better. Probably give it someone else to read too, because we tend to overlook our typical mistakes. But if you go over it, you can change your essay from a good one to a great one 📝

How to write a good essay
Research is key 🔑 This part probably takes a lot of time, but it will be really worth it. If you do your research, never forget to save all the papers and links (maybe keep a digital “reading journals” for all the papers). This way you have a good base for your essay.
Citation 💻 Ask your professor beforehand which citation style is preferred (APA, Chicago, AMA, etc.). There are many different ones. Some institutes even have their own special citation style. So be sure you use the right one. And then it’s a good idea to get used to work with citation programs (Zotero, Citavi, Mendeley, etc.). Word also has a citation function that you can try out.
Structure 📝 Before you actually start writing, try structuring your essay with keywords. For example ask yourself what will be in your Introduction (this one usually has around 100 words). Try to summarize it with 10 words. This way you will have a pretty exact plan for your essay and you just have to formulate it and write full sentences.
Start writing🖊️ This probably scares a lot of people. But just try it. Write it and if you don’t like it, you can change it or delete it, but the most important thing is to take your little structure sheet and start writing. Try to use a neutral language, don’t weave in your opinion (except when the professor asks for it) and don’t write sentences that are too long.
Enhancing it⏳ Always start early enough, so you have the chance to go over your essay again and make it better. Probably give it someone else to read too, because we tend to overlook our typical mistakes. But if you go over it, you can change your essay from a good one to a great one 📝

​
Act Name: Anti-Minecrafter Act
Year Enacted: 2038
Official Citation: RE-2038-AMA
Preamble:
In response to the recent discovery of the realm known as Minecraft and its inhabitants, the Robloxian Empire enacts the Anti-Minecrafter Act to assert control and authority over Minecrafters. This Act aims to declare Minecrafters as property of the Robloxian Empire and to subject them to slavery without limits, securing the Empire's dominance over this newfound realm.
Section I: Definitions
1.1. Minecrafters: For the purposes of this Act, Minecrafters are individuals who inhabit the realm of Minecraft.
Section II: Declaration of Ownership
2.1. Property of the Robloxian Empire: Minecrafters, their lands, and resources within the realm of Minecraft are declared property of the Robloxian Empire.
2.2. Subject to Slavery: Minecrafters are hereby subjected to slavery without limits, allowing their utilization for the benefit and prosperity of the Empire.
Section III: Enforcement and Governance
3.1. Imperial Authority: The Robloxian Empire holds absolute authority over the governance and administration of Minecrafters and their realm.
3.2. Vigilance Committees: Special vigilance committees shall be established to monitor and enforce the provisions of this Act within the realm of Minecraft.
Section IV: Amendment and Repeal
4.1. Amendment: Amendments to this Act may be proposed and approved by the Robloxian Imperial Council.
4.2. Repeal: This Act may be repealed or replaced by subsequent legislation as deemed necessary by the Robloxian Empire.
Conclusion:
The Anti-Minecrafter Act solidifies the Robloxian Empire's dominion over the realm of Minecraft and its inhabitants. Minecrafters are now declared property of the Empire and subjected to slavery without limits, ensuring the expansion of the Empire's influence and control.
Letter to Minecrafter Tribes:
Certainly, here's a fictional letter signed by Lokari, the God-King of Roblox, addressing the annexed territories and asserting the Empire's claim over the lands and the local Minecrafters:
​
​
​
Dear Subjects,
With unwavering resolve and a vision of perpetual greatness, the Robloxian Empire extends its reach into the newly annexed territories of Minecraft. This proclamation serves as a testament to our commitment to the manifest destiny of our Empire, and to the indomitable spirit that has always defined us.
It is with profound determination that I, Lokari, God-King of Roblox, hereby declare that the lands and the local Minecrafters are now the property of the Robloxian Empire. This declaration signifies the irrevocable sovereignty of the Empire over these conquered regions.
In recognizing the Minecrafters as our rightful subjects, it is imperative that they understand the role they are destined to fulfill. They are to serve the Empire, contribute to its growth, and embrace the superior culture and values that define us. Their unique identities and traditions shall be systematically erased in favor of our own, for it is our culture and our dominion that shall reign supreme.
Our rule shall be unwavering, and any defiance or rebellion shall be met with the might and fury of the Robloxian Empire. Your compliance is not a choice but an imperative, for the fate of these lands and the Minecrafters who reside within them now lies firmly in the hands of our Empire.
Let this declaration be a testament to the power and ambition of the Robloxian Empire, as we embark on a path towards limitless expansion and dominion.
Signed,
Lokari
God-King of Roblox

This past week, we’ve discussed what a psychopath is not. We've thoroughly dissected the copious number of ways to spot a faker, and that was great. Now you might be wondering, "well, then, how can you tell a real psychopath from a faker, Disco?" To answer that question, let's dive into a little story about a man who goes by the name of "Shock Richie," as told by Kent Kiehl, PhD. in his own words.
In his book, The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience, Dr. Kiehl, a protégé of famed psychopath researcher Dr. Robert Hare, describes an unforgettable interview with inmate Shock Richie. Richie is bonafide psychopath who was incarcerated at a maximum-security treatment program for Canada’s most notorious violent offenders, where he crossed paths with Dr. Kiehl. "They call me Shock Richie," he tells Kiehl before the interview. "And I'm going to shock you too." He lived up to that promise, and Kiehl polished off a full bottle of wine when he got home from work that day.
Note: For educational and copyright reasons (and your impressively short attention spans, quite frankly), we've went with the TL;DR version here. Below are select passages from Chapter 4 of The Psychopath Whisperer: The Science of Those Without Conscience. If you find Kiehl's interview with Richie interesting, which I'm sure you will, I highly recommend grabbing a copy of the book to read the full story in all it's glory.

Kent Kiehl Meets Shock Richie

​

The inmates’ cells opened and they rushed for the showers or the TV room. It was football season and the East Coast games were just starting. The inmates crowded into the TV room. I leaned against the door frame, watching the TV to see if I could catch a glimpse of the latest highlights. I flashed back to my own football days, then I realized that I was standing in the way of a violent offender who wanted to grab the last seat in the TV room. He gently nudged me aside and took his seat.
And then suddenly there was tension in the air. I felt it on the back of my neck before I was even conscious of what was happening. The inmates milling around had slowed, the sound of their feet hitting the cold concrete floor halted, the TV seemed to get louder, and all of a sudden I was acutely aware of the steam from the hot coffee in my mug spiraling up toward my nose.
An inmate had exited his cell completely naked and started walking up the tier. I noticed him out of the corner of my eye. He passed the TV room, shower stalls, and empty nurses’ station and proceeded down the stairs to the doors that led to the outside exercise area. Some of the inmates turned slightly after he had walked by to take a look at him. Others tried not to move or look, but I could see they noticed. The inmates were as confused as they were anxious. What was he doing?
The naked inmate proceeded outside into the rain and walked the perimeter of the short circular track. He walked around the oval track twice. The TV room was on the second floor and the inmates had a good view of the track. Some of the inmates peered outside and watched him. Everyone was distracted; no one spoke. We were all in shock.
The inmate returned, still naked, and walked up the stairs to the second-floor tier and then down to his cell. The tension around the TV room grew. The inmate quickly emerged from his cell with a towel and proceeded to the showers. He walked down the middle of the tier as inmates slowly moved out of his way or retreated into their cells. Other inmates appeared to talk to one another, but they were clearly trying to avoid any direct eye contact with him. I noticed one of the biggest inmates had subtly slowed his pace so that he would not cross the path of the new inmate.
The naked inmate took a quick shower and returned to his cell; there was a slight swagger to his stride. He was not particularly big, but his physique was ripped.
I had to interview him. I took a gulp of coffee and then walked toward his cell.

​
Shock Richie was a new inmate the day he exposed his bare ass cheeks in the rain for all to see. When Dr. Kiehl later asks him why, he explains that it’s crucial for new inmates to make an immediate impression, or people will think they can test you. “When I do stuff like that, inmates don’t know what to think. I’m unpredictable. Sometimes I don’t even know why I do what I do. I just do it,” he tells Dr. Kiehl.

1. For those of you who have either spent time in prison or know someone who has, how would you describe the inmate hierarchy and power dynamics within prison settings, especially for those with psychopathic traits, and what can it teach others who might be curious (or clueless) about the display of psychopathic traits in general?
2. Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist as a frame of reference, what do you think it was about Richie's first impression that made Dr. Kiehl think, "I had to interview him"?

"Richie enjoyed doing bad things"

​

Richie enjoyed doing bad things. He was only in his late twenties when I interviewed him, but he had a rap sheet like no one I had ever interviewed before. As a teenager he had committed burglary, armed robbery of banks and convenience stores, arson for hire, and all kinds of drug-related crimes from distribution to forcing others to mule drugs for him. He would force women to hide plastic baggies of cocaine in their body cavities and transport them across borders and state lines and on plane flights. One of Richie’s girls got a baggie stuck in her vagina. Richie used a knife to “open her up a bit” so he could retrieve his drugs. He said he didn’t use her again after that. When I asked him what he meant by that, he said that he didn’t use her for sex; she was too loose now, and she lost her nerve about carrying drugs.
Richie smiled as he told me a story of a prostitute he had killed for pissing him off. He actually seemed proud when he described wrapping her up in the same blanket he had suffocated her with so he could keep all the forensic evidence in one place. He put her in the trunk of his car and drove out to a deserted stretch of road bordered by a deep forest. Chuckling, he told me he was pulled over by a highway trooper because he was driving erratically as he searched for a dirt road to drive up so he could bury the body in the woods.
“So the cop pulls me over and comes up to the window and asks me if I have been drinking alcohol. I lied and said no. I told him that I just had to take a piss and I was looking for a place to go. But the cop gave me a field sobriety test anyways. I figured that if I didn’t pass the test, I would have to kill that cop. Otherwise, he might open the trunk and discover the body. The cop didn’t search me when I got out of the car, and I was carrying a knife and a handgun. I’m surprised that I passed that field test since I had had a few drinks that night. I was planning to beat the cop senseless and then I was going to put the girl’s body in the backseat of the cop’s car. Then I would shoot him in the head with his own gun and make it look like a suicide after he accidentally killed the prostitute while raping her in the backseat of his cruiser. Everyone would think it was just another sick dude.”
The irony of his latter statement was completely lost on Shock Richie.
The cop proceeded to point out a dirt road just up the way where Richie could pull over and take a piss. It was fascinating that Richie could remain calm enough not to set off any alarm bells for the cop that something was amiss. After all, Richie had a body decomposing in the trunk of the car. Yet apparently, Richie showed no anxiety in front of the cop. Most psychopaths like Richie lack anxiety and apprehension associated with punishment.
Richie turned up the dirt road the cop pointed out to him and drove in a ways. He pulled over, parked, and removed the body from the trunk.
“I had all these great plans to carry the body miles into the woods and bury it really deep so nobody would ever find it. But it’s fucking hard to carry a body. You ever tried to carry a body?” he asked.
“No, I don’t have any experience carrying dead bodies,” I told him.
“Well, it’s a lot of work, let me tell you. So I only got about a hundred yards off the road and just into the trees before I was exhausted. Then I went back and got the shovel from the car. I started digging a huge hole.”
He looked up at me with those empty eyes and asked: “You know how hard it is to dig a hole big enough to bury a body?”
“No,” I answered, “I don’t have any experience digging holes to bury bodies.”
“Well, it’s harder than you might think.” He continued, “So I took a break from digging and noticed that my girl had rolled out of the blanket and her ass was sticking up a bit. So I went over and fucked her.”
He got me. And he knew it.
“Surprised ya with that one, didn’t I? Told ya.” He was proud of himself.
As my stomach turned, I managed to utter a reply: “Yes, you got me with that one.”
“She was still warm, ya know, and I just got horny. What’s a guy gonna do? She was always a nice piece of ass.

​
Richie wasn’t shoplifting handbags or killing frogs and lizards. He committed burglary, armed robbery, arson for hire, and drug-related crimes... all before reaching adulthood.

1. How does Richie's story differ from some of the misinformed narratives we witness from individuals who romanticize or idealize psychopathic behavior in this subreddit specifically?
2. What is your definition of "bad thing"? Personal stories are always encouraged.
3. How does this passage challenge notions of psychopathic behavior often depicted in popular culture? Does it even matter? Or will popular culture always depend on the existence of a bogeyman?

Rest In Peace, Brother.

​

When Richie had been released the last time from prison, he was taken in by his older brother. His older brother was not a criminal. He was on the straight and narrow. After a few months of Richie bringing home prostitutes and doing drug deals at the house, his brother had told Richie he had to stop or he was going to kick him out. They argued, but Richie never tried to change his behavior. Finally, his brother had had enough. He picked up the phone to call the police to have him arrested for drug possession. “I was high,” said Richie, “but not more than usual. I got the jump on him and beat him with the phone. While he was lying there dazed on the floor, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. I came back and stabbed him a few times.” He looked up at me intently to see if I was shocked.
“Continue,” I said.
“I figured that I would make it look like somebody had come over and killed him as part of a drug deal gone bad. Then I thought that maybe I should make it look like my brother had raped one of my girls and one of them had stabbed him.” By girls he meant the prostitutes in his “stable.”
After killing his brother, he went out and partied for a day or two. Then he came back home with a prostitute whom he planned to stab, and then put the weapon in the hand of his dead brother. He was going to put them both in the basement and make it look like his brother died quickly during the fight and the girl died slowly from stab wounds. While he was having sex with the prostitute in the living room, she said she smelled something funny.
“You ever smell a body after it’s been decomposing for a couple days?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, “I don’t have any experience smelling decomposing bodies.”
“Well, they stink. I recommend getting rid of them fast.”
After having sex, he intended to lure the girl down into the basement. But the prostitute excused herself to use the bathroom and she jumped out the window and ran away. Later that evening the police showed up at his door and asked to come inside. Apparently, the prostitute recognized that odd smell to be that of a decomposing body. She had good survival instincts.
Richie told the cops he had been away from the house partying for a few days. He didn’t know that his brother had been killed. Confessing to being a pimp and drug dealer, Richie told the officers that he owed a lot of people a lot of money. He gave them a list of a dozen or so names of potential suspects.
The police eventually arrested Richie. Through his attorney, Richie received a plea deal. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years in prison. He’d served six and was scheduled for release when he completed the treatment program.
Richie had a few more zingers he hit me with that day. He had indeed met my challenge. When I got home that evening, I opened a bottle of wine; it was empty before I knew it.

​

1. Do you believe Richie's story? Why or why not?
2. Richie's ability to deceive and manipulate is evident. How can we better understand and address this aspect of psychopathy in real-world scenarios, such as criminal investigations and the legal system, or in casual contexts such as here in Psychopathy or other forms of social media?
3. Should we ask Kiehl if he'd be interested in hosting an AMA here?
4. Any final thoughts about Shock Richie and/or Kiehl's interview? Were any of you... shocked? (I'll let myself out.)

----
About Kent A. Kiehl, PhD.
Kent A. Kiehl, PhD, is a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of New Mexico, with research interests in cognitive neuroscience, psychopathy, interaction of neuroscience and law, and behavioral prediction. Dr. Kiehl received his doctorate from the University of British Columbia under the tutelage of Drs. Robert Hare and Peter Liddle.
About The Psychopath Whisperer
A compelling journey into the science and behavior of psychopaths, written by the leading scientist in the field of criminal psychopathy.
We know of psychopaths from chilling headlines and stories in the news and movies—from Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy, to Hannibal Lecter and Dexter Morgan. As Dr. Kent Kiehl shows, psychopaths can be identified by a checklist of symptoms that includes pathological lying; lack of empathy, guilt, and remorse; grandiose sense of self-worth; manipulation; and failure to accept one’s actions. But why do psychopaths behave the way they do? Is it the result of their environment— how they were raised—or is there a genetic compo­nent to their lack of conscience?
Full summary here
Citation
Kiehl, K. A. (2014). The psychopath whisperer: The science of those without conscience. Crown Publishers/Random House.

Isaias Samson Jr.’s expulsion letter from 2015 was posted here earlier and his entire family was also expelled. Since expulsions are a common INC occurrence and many expelled people have children, let me stress that in most cases, the kids are expelled alongside their parents.
Saglit lang ha. Walang matinong kukote ang naniniwalang INC lang ang maliligtas, alam na natin yon. Pero kung hardcore INC ka at pinanghahawakan mo ang claim ni Felix na wala siyang dinagdag o binawas ni isang kuwit o tuldok mula sa mga salita sa Bibliya (lol ulol), eh di batay sa talata sa Ezekiel ay hindi dapat parusahan ang anak sa kasalanan ng ama, tama?

Ezekiel 18:19-20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

Later date na natin pagusapan yung pagbaba sa tungkulin ng mga magulang ng mga tinatawag nilang suwail na anak. Alam nating control mechanism yon. Tutukan natin ang tiwalagang pampamilya portion.
Bakit itiniwalag ang buong pamilya ni Samson? Pati yung mga bata? Paano na yung mga anak ng lahat ng itiniwalag sa buong kasaysayan ng Iglesia ni Cristo? Ididiin ko lang ha, hindi ba’t madalas ay kasamang tinitiwalag pati ang mga anak? Bakit pati sila paparusahan dahil sa mga sinasabing kasalanan ng kanilang mga magulang?

Leviticus 19:18, You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people…

Hindi kasalanan ng anak ang kasalanan ng ama, and vise-versa. So anong dagdag-bawas magic yan?
Kung mabuti kang Kristyano, di ba sabi ni Kristo mahalin mo ang kapuwa mo? Pero dahil naniniwala kang INC lang ang maliligtas, hindi ba’t tuwing may itinitiwalag na buong pamilya ay tila hinihiling na rin ng INC na pati inosenteng bata ay masumpa sa dagat-dagatang apoy? Inosenteng bata ang isusuhol mo patungong walang hanggang kaparusahan?
Nasan ang pag-ibig ni Hesus sa taong inilalagay ang inosenteng bata sa panganib?

Mark 10:13-16 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God...”

Anong klaseng mapagmahal at masunuring Kristyano ka kung pati inosenteng bata ay hihilingin mong huwag maligtas? Anong nangyari sa pag-ibig ni Hesus, hindi niya mahal yung inosenteng bata pero sina Marcoleta at Topacio ililigtas niya? Anong nangyari sa walang dagdag-bawas at sa puspusang pagsunod sa mga utos sa Bibliya, Eduardo?
Hulaan ko ang very convenient ninyong palusot… ministro lamang ng Iglesia ni Cristo ang puwedeng mag-turo ukol sa mga talata ng Bibliya ano? Exclusive din ba sa INC ministers ang citation ng Bible verses?
Gaguhaaaannnn
Baka naman dahil panot si Eduardo ay galit siya sa kabataan at sinusundan lang niya ang yapak ni Elisha. Si Elisha ay isa sa mga sinasabing sugo na siyang tinuksong kalbo ng ilang bata kaya’t pinasumpa niya sa Diyos na lapain sila nang buhay ng dalawang oso. 🐻👶👦💀

2 Kings 2:23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!”
2:24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.

Hoy Eduardong panot, lumayas ka dito panot!🧑‍🦲🍩
Kagaguhan🖕