Look at that – skipped two days for the weekend and I’m right back at it.
I had an interesting call with a Twitter (it will always be Twitter to me) mutual over the weekend – seems they had an awakening about life and existence and are now heading down a path I have spent time investigating. I do feel they are trying to make their experience fit within an existing Christian framework, but I also think that the end destination will end up the same. I don’t think the universe cares much what label you slap on it.
Anyhow, an actual rant about something other than social media today: It seems our president has decided to push price controls on prescription medications. Now on the surface that could seem to alleviate some purchase pain but price controls don’t actually make prices go down – it just ends up stifling the supply and we end up with shortages.
Funny thing, this was something that had been brought up in the past by the Democrats, who were all for it then, and vehemently opposed by the Republicans. Now, that it is the lord and savior Trump doing it, those roles have reversed – the Republicans are on board while the Democrats are yelling – except Bernie Sanders of course… because he’s always been a socialist and that is exactly what this plan is.
If the state wishes to address high prices, they ought to take a look at inflation and the money printer of the Federal Reserve, the taxes and regulatory hurdles that drive up the cost of production and distribution, and the regulations and restrictions that keep the market from being free. Allowing insurance companies to operate in all states would immediately open the floodgates of a competitive marketplace, and the insurance companies that essentially have monopolies in some states will be forced to adjust and compete with all the new companies allowed into their state. If the government would stop trying to decide what’s best for us and allow people to buy their medications from companies based outside the US, it would force US based companies to adjust their pricing models or seek other vendors for their products – in the end, we would end up with lower prices and better service overall.
But what about the trade deficits? Trade deficits aren’t bad for the consumers, they really only negatively affect the state. Governments want to reduce those deficits because that is money leaving their jurisdiction to that of another state that they don’t have control over… the ones they aren’t getting bribes and kickbacks from. Now I’m not saying that all US companies pay bribes and kickbacks, but the system has evolved to the point that those are now essentially built into the current model.
And yes, tariffs are taxes too. Who ends up paying them? The consumer – that’s you. We don’t need price controls, we need a free market.
Additionally, the reconciliation bill they are pushing will raise the debt ceiling yet again – another $2.8 Trillion (with a “T”). And the so-called “pro-2A” Republicans are killing the bills to remove suppressors and short-barrelled rifles from the NFA. Sure, they are reducing the $200 tax to $0 (allegedly) but are keeping all the registration requirements in place, even though the registration was originally to “only” keep track that the tax was being paid. My hope is that if this does end up passing, that we will immediately see a challenge from gun rights organizations. (Lawsuit printer goes, “BRRRRRR.”) I think I’ll have to write more about suppressors later…
Interesting Tidbits
Meta To Add Facial Recognition To Glasses Despite Privacy Concerns – “There are serious, inherent risks with the idea of anyone being able to instantly know the real identity of anyone who just happens to walk past their camera feed, be that in a pair of glasses or other sort of camera.”
Years After Promising to Stop Facial Recognition Work, Meta Has a Devious New Plan – Another article on the topic: “But the nightmare scenarios are endless. A wearer could dox strangers on the street; a creep in a bar could look up the name and personal information of a woman who may or may not have wanted to talk to him; undercover law enforcement officials could go to a peaceful protest and keep a careful record of attendees.”
When your hate crime hoax goes too far: Hate Crime Hoax Could Be Constitutionally Unprotected True Threat – a political candidate’s own team staged a fake hate crime and submitted it to media outlets posing as a “concerned citizen.” Treat everything as a psyop until you know otherwise for certain.
Martial Law Disguised As Law And Order: The Oldest Trick In The Authoritarian Playbook – “Don’t be fooled: this is not law and order. This is constitutional demolition under the color of authority.”
Nazi files found in champagne crates in Argentine court basement – “Seven crates containing postcards, photographs, Nazi propaganda, notebooks and party membership documents were found by staff in the process of moving non-digitized archive material, the court said Monday of the ‘discovery of global significance.'”
DOGE Software Engineer’s Computer Infected by Malware, Stolen Data Leaked Online – “A software engineer has become a victim of a data leak, and the leaker revealed that it was obtained through information-stealing malware. Not only personal information but also data on DOGE were stolen.”
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