Mr. Trump also didn’t appear to bend to Mr. Xi’s threats on Taiwan, at least not so far. He said the two talked extensively about Taiwan, and that he’ll soon make a decision on whether to keep selling arms to the island democracy. If he stops arming Taiwan, Mr. Xi will have won the veto over U.S. sales that the Chinese leader has long sought. It will send a message of weakness to our allies in the region.
It would be a shame to see the US get higher in the Human Freedom Index via the destruction of one of the freer countries
above it.
The New Hampshire Turnpike System facilitates tourism and commuting in the Granite State. The three toll roads slash travel times in key corridors, which improves quality of life and helps the state’s economy grow.
Turnpike users pay a small fee for the convenience of using these roads vs. more congested and slower local roads, essentially trading cash for time.
Time, however, gets its revenge. Over the years, inflation eats away at the value of the toll. New Hampshire’s tolls, low by regional standards, haven’t been increased since 2007.
That sounds unrealistic on its face. The JBC notes that other states in the area (NY and MA)
manage to ding out-of-state drivers using their tollways significantly higher rates than in-state
drivers.
(paid link)I never went full hippie in the 1970s.
But I did own a copy of Steward Brand's Whole Earth Catalog and subscribed to
his Coevolution Quarterly magazine. Occasionally offending my conservatarian
sensibilities, but (nevertheless) full of interesting stuff.
Stewart Brand is 87 years old (as I type), and recently gave a great
interview
to Nick Gillespie.
Reason: Your new book argues that maintenance is the hidden foundation of everything. What do we miss when we focus on innovation, creative destruction, and disruption and forget about checking that everything is tied down the right way on a daily basis?
Brand: I don't think they're opposed. A lot of innovation comes out of maintenance. People who figure out how to improve a thing are often the ones who are stuck with keeping it going and realizing how difficult that is. "Gee, we could make it easier this way or that way. Or what if we just throw this stupid thing away and get something better?" Which is all part of the process of keeping something going.
We often think of maintenance in terms of preventive maintenance. Repair is such a big hassle when something breaks. It's a trauma to you and to the system that the thing is part of. We spend some of our time doing the very unrewarding thing of changing the oil and brushing your teeth so that your teeth don't fall out and your car doesn't blow up. But really maintenance is the whole complete process of keeping the thing going. For example, right now, I'm writing on the history of agriculture, because if you're an animal, you've got to keep it fed. We are animals and we have to keep ourselves fed. The process of doing that has been one innovation after another.
Amazon link for Brand's latest book at your right. I'll probably get it at the library, because I'm
cheap.
The story plays out the same way virtually every time.
Democrats, egged on by the increasingly powerful progressive base, push some obviously unconstitutional scheme that they contend is needed to preserve "democracy."
The courts inevitably knock down the ploy.
Frustrated, Democrats ratchet up the anger, promising to "reform" the judiciary that stands in their way.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) recently argued on the House floor that the next Democratic White House "does not need a court reform commission like some college seminar. We need action. We need term limits for Justices. We need to expand this morally bankrupt Court from 9 to 13."
Do we? Great, let's do it today.
David makes the interesting point that today, the GOP controls the House, Senate, and White House, so…
But Khanna sees this as a game he can (eventually) win.
It is widely accepted that drones have changed the conduct of modern war dramatically. The war in Ukraine, in particular, is driving the rapid evolution of drone technology. Evidence of how far things have come was provided recently by the following claim from Ukraine, reported here on The Next Web (TNW):
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his forces had, for the first time in the history of warfare, seized an enemy position using only unmanned systems. No infantry. No human soldiers entering the contested ground. Drones and ground robots identified the target, suppressed defensive fire, and captured the position without a single Ukrainian casualty. The claim has not been independently verified in detail, and Ukraine’s military has declined to provide specifics.
Well, it goes on from there. But why can't Uncle Stupid do that?
legal, contractual, and technical restrictions often prevent units from modifying or repairing their own equipment. In the United States, for example, defense contractors frequently retain control over maintenance data, software, and diagnostics, limiting what military personnel can do independently. The debate around the “right to repair” reflects this tension. While intended to protect intellectual property and safety standards, such restrictions can slow adaptation cycles and reduce operational flexibility—precisely the opposite of what high-intensity, technology-driven warfare now demands.
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