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.
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.