Category: Politics

Monday Links

January 27, 2025 / Derek / 0 Comments

The executive orders were coming fast and furious, so a lot of the Reason links will be dealing with them.

First, let’s talk about how bad Biden’s last minute preemptive pardons were.

The Volokh Conspiracy has an overview of the illegality of many of Trump’s executive orders. Then another article focusing on the EO trying to end birthright citizenship.

Trump signs EO to ban Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). I don’t have a problem with stable coins which are private cryptocurrencies pegged to the dollar or other fiat currency. I worry about when the government has control and then outlaws all others.

Trump to sign EO banning funding of gain of function research. In light of a story below, this sounds like a good idea. It would be better if Congress did its job and passed the legislation.

Trump is firing Inspectors General. I have a hard time understanding why getting rid of the watchdogs is a good idea. Especially considering how much everyone complains about government corruption, waste, and abuse.

Why Trump blanket pardoning those charged for January 6 is not a good thing. Do I think that some of the protesters were overcharged and over-sentenced? Yes. But there should have been a review to separate out the violent from the non-violent.

Why companies are ditching ESG.

Several states maintain “bias-response hotlines” and encourage people to call for “hate speech”. Because it’s a valuable “pre-crime” tool, irrespective of First Amendment protections.

Now on to other stories.

Sarah Isgur in The Dispatch has a thinkpiece on the quiet lawlessness of the Biden Administration. This one has been making the rounds and it’s a very good read. Particularly in light of one side screaming about how Trump destroys norms. He does, but it would be good if they admitted how much Biden did as well.

BBC article on the CIA now stating COVID is more likely to have leaked from a Chinese lab.

From XDR, Microsoft has renamed Office 365 to Copilot 365. Yeah, it’s annoying.

Wired reporting on how hackers managed to remotely start and unlock Subarus. The company says it’s all patched now, but as Borepatch says security isn’t often at the top of the list – most of the time isn’t on the list at all.

BBC article on a new South African law to take land without compensation when “just and equitable and in the public interest”. Nope, that won’t be abused at all.

Savatage’s guitarist discusses their plans for their comeback. I know they have a new album coming out and they’ve been doing more touring. Hopefully, I’ll be able to catch a show when they come to Tampa. Because hometown and all.

Monday Links

January 20, 2025 / Derek / 0 Comments

Today’s Reason links are going to be heavily dominated by the continuing fires in the Los Angeles area.

In defense of private firefighting firms. Because they’re doing the job that government doesn’t or isn’t capable of doing.

Looting is bad, so are curfews. This one I’m not so sure I agree, but it makes valid points. I can see both sides, but I tend to lean more to control of the area. Limiting chaos factors while dealing with a situation makes sense.

If California can relax permitting for rebuilding, then it can abolish the same rules. This is a good time to take a hard look at all those rules – including the ones that allow building in fire-prone areas.

But using price controls isn’t going to help with rebuilding.

More Reason articles.

SCOTUS upheld the TikTok ban in a narrow decision as leaders realized this might not be the best idea. The Supremes’ decision sounded very much “it’s okay in this case due to the facts, but probably not in others.” I’m also annoyed/amused by the leadership class running around like headless chickens because the law they were so happy to pass would actually go into effect.

No, Biden can’t unilaterally declare the ERA as part of the Constitution – and especially not by social media. This reeks of some underling getting control of the Twix account and pushing something out. It sounds like something that would happen in the waning days of the Biden administration.

The FDA is trying to ban cigarettes by making the nicotine content close to zero. Brought to you by the same folks who banned flavored vapes because it might harm children and fueled an increase in cigarette smoking in children. I swear, it’s like they think that people react exactly like they think they should just by passing a rule.

New Jersey raised its minimum wage and surprise, surprise, prices rose.

The SEC is trying to regulate NFT’s as securities instead of art.

With SHOT around the corner, here’s some TFB articles on some new guns.

S&W’s lever gun now comes in .357 Magnum. Well, that has my attention.

They also came out with a “Stealth Hunter” version. Or as I like to call it – “matte tacticool.”

Mossberg is “AR’ing” it’s 590 pump shotguns.

Now on to other stories.

From Reuters, a running log of events surrounding the Israel / Hamas ceasefire and hostage return. One hopes that this would be the beginning of rebuilding Gaza into a peaceful neighbor of Israel. One also is aware of history.

From the Colorado Sun, the Colorado legislature is looking to ban the sale and manufacture of any semi-auto that uses a detachable magazine. Also known as banning any modern firearm used by the general populace. (h/t The Reload).

An article on Apple pushing its transparency and noise cancellation modes on its AirPods. Honestly, I use these so much, that I didn’t even consider that they didn’t only have these modes.

From a local TV station, Big Cat Rescue has moved their animals to Arkansas and is selling their property. Honestly, this is probably a good move all around. BCR was in the middle of an highly developed area of Hillsborough that is growing even more.

From the Observer, former Manatee County commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge – who got thrown out by the voters for being in the pocket of developers – is suing people who exposed that he was in the pocket of developers.

From Military.com, the battle songs that defined the GWOT.

Forbes continues its Macross reporting with a piece on now that Macross is widely available, it could threaten Gundam’s popularity. I’ve already got Macross Zero slotted into my anime rotation.

Via The Brother, Arc Technica has a review of Civ 7. Knowing me, I’ll be uncomfortable with the changes for the first couple of months until I figure out the gameplay and then will just go to town on it.

Monday Links – The Return

January 13, 2025 / Derek / 0 Comments

New year, and time for links. I took a break and a bunch of stories happened. I’m not going to recriminate myself. I needed it. Anywhoo, this is also a bit of a tab clearing edition, so hold on.

Reason first.

New European rules have pretty much enshrined USB-C. I like USB-C. I think it’s a great technology. I hate it being forced down everyone’s throats at the point of Europe’s guns. I also hate that this will make it harder for new charging technology to be brought forward.

Based on their track record last time around, and looking at a recent ruling, the US Supreme Court is not going to be a rubber stamp for Trump.

Last week was the ten year anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre – and Reason has a thinkpiece on the cowardice of the leadership class to blame freedom of speech than murderers. Fanatical murderers are the ultimate heckler’s veto, and the cowardice of institutions to admit that has been a growing embarrassment.

Coverage of Meta’s decision to eliminate “fact-checkers” among other changes. There’s been talk that Zuck is not only trying to ingratiate himself with the incoming administration, but finally feels the environment is strong enough for him to push back against the “hostage-takers” among his staff. Both of which are kind of pathetic reasons when you think about it. It still gets me a result I want, considering FB is normally how I distribute the blog.

The feds jailed a Montana rancher for – checks notes – cloning a sheep.

An analysis of Seattle’s recent minimum wage hike. Spoiler alert – it hurt the workers it purported to help.

Ohio is going to charge people to get access to body cam videos. I’m actually going against Reason on this one. Since fees are capped at $750, it may be reasonable. However, considering governments generally are horrible at timely providing information, I can sympathize with organizations worried it’s just another speed bump in transparency.

Reason examining Biden’s decision to block the sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel.

On to other news stories.

The Free Press is covering the current scandal in the UK about the plight of girls being raped and authorities ignoring it. Plus the anger of the politicos at Elon for shining a light on their disgrace instead of their underlings for not handling the issue.

NYT covers the new congesting pricing implemented for entering Manhattan. Congestion pricing is one of those ideas I like in concept, but don’t trust the government to implement. For example, all the fees from this new tax are supposed to go to a public transit system already overfunded and incompetent with no demand for improvement in the system.

Headline from the Economist – “Why people over the age of 55 are the new problem generation.”

WaPo on the shadow war between India and Pakistan.

Bloomberg on the power demands of new AI datacenters and it’s probable impact on the grid. This might be the needed kick in the pants to decentralize and modernize the nation’s power grid. And get more nukes.

From Reuters, Apple is to pay $95 million to settle a privacy case because of Siri. First, that’s a blow to Apple’s self-image of being the best in privacy. Second, I assume all the personal assistants are always listening.

Also from Reuters, US court stops last minute implementation of net-neutrality rules. As much as I hope that’s the nail in the coffin for that particular gambit, people still want to implement communism.

Wired has a think piece on why families should establish secret passwords.

Tampa Bay Times reports on the death of a Scientologist spokesperson turned vociferous critic. Cancer sucks.

With CES, we have some neat new tech.

The Verge discusses BMW’s new iDrive. The idea of a Heads-Up Display for the car intrigued me, and the limited one on the BMW that The Wife and I rented last summer was nifty.

Also from The Verge, LG has a new “AeroCatTower” which will purify the air while your cat sits – and weighs them. Depending on the cost, one of these may show up at Ward Manor. It’s just too nifty.

From CNET, a tiny kitty that sits on your cup and blows on hot beverages to cool them.

Engadget has a couple of articles on new power devices – Ecoflow’s new solar hat and Anker’s new solar umbrella.

A light item.

Finally! We have Macross – on Hulu instead of Disney+.

Monday Links – Clearing the Tab

November 18, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

This is going to be a long one. Build up from last week, and a busy news week over all.

A slew of Reason first.

One good thing about the return of Trump to the White House – Lina Kahn will be removed.

If DOGE wants to successfully cut government spending, it must take on entitlements. Of course, it could also start with energy subsidies. Personally, they should cut all subsidies. Of course this is all predicated on Trump wanting to act financially responsible, which he hasn’t demonstrated any desire.

There are good reasons to oppose Gaetz’s nomination. I’m kinda leaning to the whole admitting to taking drugs and sleeping with underage girls. And the whole being the vanguard of treating Congress as a place to build the brand instead of doing, you know, actual work.

The FDA ordered Costco to recall and destroy 80,000 lbs of butter because the packaging failed to list it was made of dairy. Because rules must be followed – even when they make no fucking sense.

Apple quietly included an inactive phone reboot in the latest iOS update. It looks like if the phone has been locked and inactive for several days, the phone returns to a factory state. Of course, law enforcement is all pissed off because they can’t “get to evidence. “

A first amendment fight where Texas authorities are using whatever laws they can to shut down a citizen journalist.

A bi-partisan group of Congressfolk and Senate are asking for the courts to step in to allow a family to sue after the FBI raided the wrong house.

That concludes the Reason portion of our blogcast. Now on to other news stories.

From Reuters, it seems that Amsterdam had some trouble with antisemitic bands were attacking Israeli soccer fans. This did not come across my normal newsfeeds. I had to go searching for it after a friend on FB posted about an Arab man who escorted a group of Israelis to safety. I’m sorry, but why did I have to go searching for a story about pogroms in Europe?

Also from Reuters, the CFPB wants to put Google under “federal supervision.” Um, what? Oh, you want access to their records? Fuck you. That’s what discovery is for.

From CNBC, FEMA fires employee who told relief workers to skip anyone with a Trump sign in their yard. I’m using CNBC, because honestly, this is the kind of story I would be skeptical about. Any story that fits too neatly into one or the other camp’s narratives, I get sketchy about without confirmation. Also, I’m surprised someone got fired.

From Tech Crunch, Mozilla Foundation lays off almost a third of its workforce and is shuttering its advocacy branch.

I got this one from Military.com just for the headline – Commander of Navy Leadership and Ethics Center Fired over Personal Conduct. This seems so indicative of the current state of military leadership.

Borepatch discusses some recent security issues with using AI in healthcare. Having recently completed my annual required HIPAA training, it astounds me that this wasn’t taken into account when deploying AI tools into the healthcare setting. But as Borepatch routinely reminds us, security isn’t usually among the top considerations when deploying new tech.

From Tynan Motors, a focus group of Hyundai owners told the motor company that they want physical controls back. I don’t mind the touchscreen in the Ward Wagon, but it also has physical knobs/buttons for all the major controls. And I won’t buy another car where that isn’t the case.

A couple of articles by Tam. One on what keeps the 1911 so popular. A second on the “Wheelgun U-Turn.” You really need to read it.

Now for some light items.

Take a look at this Spaceship Size Comparison. It’s floated around the internet for years. A copy of it will soon grace my office walls.

Heard about Ammosquared on the ACP podcast. Interesting way to buy ammo. Will have to investigate further.

Apparently, there is a local company that takes you out on boats and lets you shoot machineguns. That sounds like it needs further investigation.

Monday Reflections

November 11, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

I’ll probably do a links post either later this week or next week. Everything is kinda being dominated by everyone dissecting the election results. And the results are a freaking Rorschach test for people’s priors. But here are my reflections after most of a week of listening/reading various punditry.

Am I happy Trump won? No, but to be fair, I wouldn’t have been happy with a Harris victory either. Both of them were in extremely different quadrants than me. I’m not a populist, nor a protectionist, nor a statist. I voted for Chase Oliver, but that was mostly for ballot access. If we had more open ballots, I would have been sorely tempted to just leave it blank.

What am I happy about? First, I’m happy that Trump clearly won both the Electoral College and the popular vote. Not that I find the popular vote a helpful metric. It’s kind of like wealth disparity – it’s a useless measure that’s used to gin up a desired political outcome. At least by winning both, it lessens the “stolen election” rhetoric. Also, it magically makes the election legitimate in so many of my MAGA friends and acquaintances.

Second, I am happy to see the demographics shifting. Jonah Goldberg said it best – “In a multi-racial society, it’s good when both parties are multi-racial.” Hopefully, this will be a nail in the coffin for the idea the demography is destiny. That every other race – except whites – vote in lockstep with one party or another. That mindset leads down a dark road.

I am sure there will be actions the Trump administration takes that I will support. There will be others I will oppose. I worry about the new administration’s positions on Ukraine, Israel/Iran, and guns (I don’t trust Trump on guns).

Finally, let’s reflect on how truly bizarre this election has been. I’m hoping that it’s one of those highlighted in future history books, more because it’s an outlier than a harbinger of more turbulence.

Monday Links

November 4, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

Reason links first.

Worried about the vengeance of a president? Maybe you should look to shrink their powers.

Increasing tariffs could trigger economic decline.

Doctor fights Certificate of Need in North Carolina.

A family from Germany who came to the US so they could homeschool are allowed to stay another year.

Boeing charged 8,000% mark up on a soap dispenser. DOD procurement is one of those areas that needs to be burned to ground and rebuilt on more efficient principles.

What is Open Fields Doctrine? Read this – and find out why it needs to die.

A government program with a laudable goal turns wrong? Who could have seen that coming?

From Ground News, Florida court blocks the state from threatening television stations over abortion ads.

From one of the local stations, homeowners are selling their gutted houses instead of rebuilding after the hurricanes.

John Richardson reports on the recent hearing between the NRA and the New York AG.

The Trace (not a friend of gun rights) reports on the record number of FFL revocations. Including revocations for minor infractions.

Monday Links

October 28, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

Starting off with Reason links.

Javier Milei continues his radical reforms in Argentina by shuttering the tax collection agency and creating a new one. There comes a time when you need to burn it down and start fresh. Argentina is going to be an interesting case study if Milei can see his reforms through before his opponents bring him down.

An examination of geothermal power generation. It’s an interesting concept, but we’re running into the same problem with wind and solar. How do we get the power from where it’s being generated to where it’s needed? Cracking that problem will open a lot of doors.

Examining the charges against the father of the Georgia shooter. I’m leery of this trend because there’s not a strict formula of how a person becomes a murderer. By the same token, there are some parents who have such reckless disregard for their children…

Illinois scholarship excludes white applicants. Here’s the issue. They want to recruit teachers to go into minority-dominant schools. Okay, I can understand that because you want the students to identify with their teachers and provide them good examples of success. And if it was a private scholarship, I would be all for it. When the state does it? I’m very leery.

Iowa Supreme Court have a case on whether the state can charge acquitted defendants for their public defendants. Wait? What? Iowa is charging people to use public defendants? How is this just?

New Zealand is revoking gun licenses for political beliefs. This is why we hate registration. Why we hate licenses. Because there are too many politicians and bureaucrats who will deny them because we disagree politically. Look, I think radical environmentalists, radical leftists, radical rightists, and anti-Zionists all have abominable political views that are detrimental to society. I think someone who supports Hezbollah and Hamas are supporting despicable terrorist groups. Guess what? If they haven’t committed a crime, you shouldn’t be able to deny them their rights.

And now on to other stories.

The Verge takes a look at Apple AirPods being used for hearing aids and hearing protection. I’m very interested in this. I don’t think my AirPods Pro will be able to substitute for my range ear-pro, but for concerts?

Local station talks about how people are finding out that insurance may not cover a lot of the damages of first floor in a multi-story dwelling. This is a caution to make find out what your insurance will and will not cover.

NYT article on grocery stores looking into electronic price tags. Of course, they immediately go to the most drastic worse use of the technology.

BleepingComputer examines how bad the Change healthcare hack was.

ProPublica reports that gun makers were sending warranty cards to NSSF for lobbying purposes. Okay,

Monday Links

October 21, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

Reason links first.

Tariffs could increase console prices by $250.

U of M spent a quarter of a billion on DEI and made students unhappier. While I’m glad we’re getting empirical data on how bad these programs are, the damage is going to be far worse than wasting that much money.

Secondhand smoke dangers are getting a second look.

And another attempt at buying off voters – I mean, student loan forgiveness.

A thinkpiece on reforming Social Security.

Time for Ground News aggregations.

Lufthansa had to pay a fine for mistreating Jewish passengers. There’s something very wrong about this.

FTC institutes rule for click to cancel. Okay, there are something I would like to see, but I don’t like the FTC just making a regulation. It sounds like if this was a real issue, then Congress should do its damn job.

Amazon is going nuclear to power its future data center needs.

On to other stories!

WSJ article about Google joining Microsoft and Amazon in jumpstarting the nuclear power race. Better yet, both Google and Amazon are looking into current and future generation reactors that aren’t focused on creating nuclear warhead material.

Reuters article on the pager bombs Israel slipped Hezbollah.

ArsTechnica on the death of Ward Chrstenssen who created BBS’s.

Business Insider on China getting into the tilt-rotor game. Hope they have as much fun getting it to work as our military has had.

Cats beating babies at word association. (h/t Tam)

A couple of RKBA stories.

The Reload reports on the current NRA EVP finding himself in a scandal due to an animal cruelty charge from his college days.

John Richardson is on the ballot for NRA Board of Directors.

A couple of hurricane-related stories.

From Tampa Bay Times, an explainer on why some neighborhoods got the power back faster than others.

In true Tampa fashion, some local businesses are thanking linemen for their hard work by providing free/discounted services. Namely, the strip clubs. Welll, heck, why not lean into the rep?

Quick Monday Links

October 14, 2024 / Derek / 0 Comments

This is going to be a quick post.

From Forbes (via The Brother) discussing the dangers of spreading false AI images during emergencies. Why is this above the normal Reason links? Because I fell for one of the images and put it up last Thursday. I have edited the post, but leaving it up as a reminder to myself and others.

Now on to a few Reason links.

More fallout from extended school closures – drops in ACT scores. Of course, it looks odd with student grades being at highest levels.

Feds going after a landlord for not showing an apartment to people with emotional support animals.

A look at FEMA and states buying properties that have been repeatedly flooded out. This is a use of eminent domain I don’t have a problem with. Why? Because the .gov backstops flood insurance.

From TFB, there’s some friction in Canada between the federal government and the provinces over the recent federal gun legislation.

From The Tampa Bay Times, a look at neighborhoods not in flood zones that flooded during Milton. Many of these folks relied on those flood zone maps to decide whether to buy flood insurance. I have told all of the new residents in our neighborhood that they need flood insurance. It’s Florida – you will need flood insurance.

From GQ, a look at the restoration of Notre Dame after that horrible fire.