“I love science-fiction movies that portray a future, usually bleak, society. Thankfully, the predictions generally have not been borne out, yet. Los Angeles in the 2020s is a much nicer place than was predicted in The Terminator and Blade Runner. … There is, unfortunately, one aspect of society that classic dystopian movies and novels did get correct: the surveillance state we live in. Still, one big difference remains between the surveillance state we have today and the one predicted in 1984 and other works. Instead of it being secretly imposed on us by the national government and the military-industrial complex, we have largely brought it upon ourselves with Ring Cameras, Life 360 phone apps, etc. It’s more Truman Show or Rear Window than Blue Thunder.” (01/27/25)
“President Trump campaigned on lowering prices for Americans. Instead, his first priority is to cut taxes for the super rich while slashing social programs for working people.” (01/28/25)
“An intruder was shot dead by a homeowner after busting into the home, New Mexico officials said. … Two adults and three kids were sleeping inside when the unknown suspect approached the front door and kicked it before entering, officers said. During the home invasion, the homeowner armed himself with a gun and shot the intruder, striking him in the torso, officials said. The suspect was transported to the hospital, where he eventually died, officers said.” (01/27/25)
“Repealing regulations is an effective way to reduce costs and increase supply in the affected industries. However, the price increases caused by regulations are sector specific. Economy-wide price increases are caused by the Federal Reserve. Widespread price increases are the result of inflation. Inflation occurs when the central bank lowers interest rates by increasing the money supply. … No politician, bureaucrat, or central banker can know the correct interest rate. The only way to know the correct rate is to allow individuals acting in a free market to set the interest rate.” (01/27/25)
“Immigration authorities made close to 1,200 [abductions] in just one day, and nearly half of those detained don’t have criminal records, according to a senior Trump administration official. Data first obtained by NBC News shows that Immigration and Customs Enforcement [abducted] a total of 1,179 people on Sunday, which is more than the 956 arrests that the agency posted on X on Sunday night.” (01/27/25)
“By invoking the powers that come with the declaration of a national emergency, a president gains the ability, usually with just a signature on an executive order, to bypass laws and regulations. But at times, these proclamations are not tools for dealing with an actual crisis. Instead, they are used to sweep away impediments to a chief executive’s political agenda.” (01/27/25)
“Bitcoin (BTC) rose back above $100,000 on Tuesday, showing signs of recovery after the shock caused by the selloff triggered by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. By 11:00 AM IST, Bitcoin had risen 2.6%, reaching $103,044. Other smaller cryptocurrencies like XRP, Solana, BNB, and Dogecoin also gained 4-5%. DeepSeek’s rise in the AI space has sparked concerns about overvaluation in U.S. tech stocks, and crypto markets are feeling the impact.” (01/28/25)
“It goes without saying that trying to take over someone else’s country against the wishes of the inhabitants has nothing to do with freedom. The people of Greenland have no desire to be part of Trump’s Greater United States, as their own leaders have said many times. Wben an American leader declares that the people of another country will welcome our domination of their land (‘we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators’), that is usually a prelude to an act of aggression. American nationalists can’t imagine that other nations don’t want to be Americans, and they assume that that the U.S. is doing the others a favor by annexing or attacking them. Many people wanted to treat Trump’s Greenland fixation as a joke at first because it was so stupid, but he isn’t kidding.” (01/27/25)
