Just One Thing: Let's be selfish
I didn't get to this yesterday and I think it's important so I might talk about it at some length tomorrow, though I risk waxing too philosophical.
From yesterday's blogcast:
This is an excellent conversation in a lot of ways. But one thing that really jumped out at me was the use of the term "selfishness" in a positive sense. It reminds me of the first Ayn Rand book I read, a short non-fiction compilation of essays by various people (including Alan Greenspan) entitled "The Virtue of Selfishness." I encourage you to listen and to subscribe to Robert's podcast: The Power Hungry Podcast: Irina Slav: Freelance Writer for Oilprice.com and Substack on Apple Podcasts
More about Rand's book here: Virtue of Selfishness, The Atlas Society | Ayn Rand, Objectivism, Atlas Shrugged
The political left has always been about group-identity politics. The peasants or laborers versus the landowners or bourgeoisie; one race versus another; the religious versus the secular; the "top 1%" versus everybody else, and so on ad nauseum.
They've been very good at getting people, not just in America of course, to buy into the idea of sacrificing for the "common good".
But did you ever stop to wonder: hey, who are those people whom this policy is supposed to benefit? And did you ever stop to realize that almost all the time it’s not you?
Almost every Democrat champions making the 85% of Americans with no student debt pay off the loans (including law school, medical school, Harvard Business School, etc. of those to chose to get the education with a loan.)
And once you tell the people who would get everyone else's money, they really want it. That says a lot...and none of it good...about the changing character of Americans: Student debt: White House faces backlash for restarting interest on loans | The Hill
Or so-called renewable energy, which really isn’t if you consider what’s required to make it work…we’re all supposed to pay more AND use less energy…for what exactly? For "future generations"? Sorry, homey don't play dat.
It’s way past time for Americans to push back and tell Democrats: stop treating me the way a leech treats a vein.
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Today's Guest
Here’s something you don’t hear every day: Howard Makler didn’t go to college but was a professor at Wharton.
Howie is the founder and CEO of http://getrefunds.com (actual company name is Innovation Refunds.) He's a lifelong entrepreneur and I heard a conversation that he had on a podcast with iHeart CEO Bob Pittman that I found so interesting I asked him to join me for a conversation. We'll hear, among other things, about his conversation with Steve Jobs after Howard bought his (Howard's, not Steve's) first computer.
He was also into the idea of networked video gaming before there was an Internet to make it happen, and he has a game design credit on a famous (for old-school PC nerds) computer game!
It’s like sports, but with video games: Post | LinkedIn
Ultima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress... (1982) - MobyGames
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Other Stuff
Clearly the most important story: Sriracha Prices Explode on eBay Amid Year-Long Shortage (gizmodo.com)
huy fong sriracha for sale | eBay
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I mean, what did you think would happen? NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and lesbian wife Chirlaine McCray announce split | Daily Mail Online
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Twitter Killer, or just another idle dream?
News stories: Meta officially launches Twitter rival Threads: What to know (msn.com) and Meta gears up its Twitter challenger, Threads, as part of Instagram (axios.com)
Meta’s new Twitter rival ‘Threads’ is live | Semafor
The actual link to the app: Threads
Elon's take:
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Not surprising: DOJ Appeals Ruling Barring Officials from Communicating with Social-Media Companies | National Review
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Lighten up a little, guys...this is good free advertising! Etsy cracks down on Denver artists selling Casa Bonita merchandise (denverpost.com)
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Disgusting but VERY clever: Wisconsin’s Democratic governor guts Republican tax cut, increases school funding for 400 years | PBS NewsHour
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On the one hand, you might think "Even Hunter isn't that stupid". And the coke almost certainly isn't his, but really I think he is that stupid/reckless: White House trusts the Secret Service to 'get to the bottom' of how cocaine got into the White House (msn.com)
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I mentioned yesterday that in normal times the left would be cheering a federal judge's ruling that the government cannot pressure (social) media outlets to remove or suppress content that the government doesn't like. Instead, the New York Times said, "A judge limited Biden administration officials from contacting social media sites, a ruling that could curtail efforts to fight disinformation."
Glenn Greenwald had the right reaction (as did others):
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Another sign of "return to normalcy"...or the herald of a recession? Americans Have Quit Quitting Their Jobs - WSJ
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I'm only slightly interested in this, mostly interested in that it seems like something many folks are getting into...which doesn't increase the chances of my getting into it. Could Colorado Become the Next Kava Capital? | Westword
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And you thought Cherry Hills Village was expensive...In Beverly Hills, Even the Cheapest Homes Cost Millions - WSJ
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Years late and many billions over budget, but welcome news (with a Colorado connection): U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal (yahoo.com)
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I have absolutely no idea what this story is about but I just liked the headline: Ogun tribunal admits Adebutu’s exhibits (msn.com)
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Today's Videos
Interesting to see Gov Ron DeSantis try to get as far to the right of Donald Trump as possible. Might be decent politics but kinda makes me sick. I mean, he's retweeting a video that's clearly attacking Donald Trump for his statements in 2016 that he'd protect LGBT folks and that Kaitlyn Jenner could use the women's bathroom in Trump Tower. (By the way, Jenner put him to the test...if you don't remember the video I've posted that below as well.)
DeSantis doubles down amid criticism over Trump-LGBTQ video | The Hill
Bigger picture (original is at NY Times but this has no paywall): DeSantis Campaign Continues to Struggle to Find Its Footing – DNyuz
Celebrating July 4th...in Ireland
Trying to copy your talented friend
I'm with James: cereal first