Well, I suppose that's one way to look at it...

I heard an analyst talking about tariffs.  His "take" was that there are some people close to the president who are conducting a complex dance of sorts.  

They do not want to increase taxes on large - to - mid sized corporations; they know that would be a non-starter.  But they also know that they need to increase revenue in some way to fund the government.  So the aim was to increase the tariff rate so that these companies would pay the fee from their outsized profits.

But the companies are greedy, and decided to simply pass that on to the consumer (and in doing so keep their profits ridiculously high).

It would explain all the angst about showing the tariff amount at some retailers.  The administration just wanted the companies to simply suck it up and pay it.

But the companies decided to screw everyone instead.

Like I said, its a perspective that has some merit perhaps.  Its all just so strange.

Environmental impacts from big pharma

Here's a rather odd story about how pharmaceutical companies create enormous amounts of waste, primarily in the disposal of over production.

And that's crazy, when you consider that we have this weird relationship with healthcare in this country.  People seem to think that its okay to not have healthcare or vaccines, but yet will succumb to sexy marketing for a wonder drug.

Such a weird collision of science, health, and the environment.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/experts-raise-red-flag-researching-110005547.html

Its all about data!

Everyone is looking to collect data on everything we do. Its a weird world, where our digital footprint is used for literally everything.  And every big company wants to control that data and profit from it.

Apple has car play, and Google has android auto. These are both nicely coded software built to give a great customer experience - and collect data that Apple and Google can use to their advantage.  And Apple has created the capability to take over most current cars - allowing them to control the interface and obviating the need for the car company's software.

But the auto manufacturers aren't too happy with this arrangement.  I've noted in the past that your car collects all manner of data about you and your car - from driving habits, to location, to speed, to what you say inside the cabin. And they can - and do - sell this to anyone who is interested, including insurance companies, who have started to use this data to individualize your insurance rate.

And the worst of it is that you can not opt out.

As this continues to evolve, the car manufacturers are hiring some number of people that write software that isn't that great in customer experience, and for which they can charge you more to use, all while selling all the data about you - thus profiting on every part of it.  And the aim is to stop you from using Apple and Android products on their infotainment systems.  Its a strange time isn't it?

Everyone wants to profit off our data. 

https://www.motortrend.com/features/apple-carplay-android-auto-automakers-ditching-them-for-data

A Century Ago, a High School Teacher From a Small Tennessee Town Ignited a National Debate Over Human Evolution

A story about the Scopes ("Monkey") Trial that's worth a read. How much do you know about it?

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-century-ago-a-high-school-teacher-from-a-small-tennessee-town-ignited-a-national-debate-over-human-evolution-180986515/

OMG this is so close to being real. Not.

Watch "WDW Mark IV Monorail Purple Assembly and Beam Mounting" on YouTube

This is a really cool video of them putting monorail purple on the line back in the 1980s. 

https://youtu.be/daMXfiM-fWQ?si=4---BeJCyihmSbEz

Yes. The cost of Disney is increasing constantly. But…

Saw this clip of a guy who dropped $1400 on a day trip to Disney world with his family. It went viral, and he used his 15 minutes of fame to appear on tv. 

And then he went on faux news.  It's all mostly fine, though you might sense a bit of a bias against Disney (that's not a big deal, people have varying opinions about Disney and generally they're not wrong). 

But at about 2:15, the host decides to change the narrative and blames rising prices on "the last administration" and says this guy is making it better. Which….uhhhh…. is disingenuous, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the point of this puff piece.

And once again, this is how the media that wants to curry favor with dear leader can subtly manipulate people into believing something that isn't accurate and changes the conversation into something else entirely. 

https://youtu.be/dvBGOWeyuiY?si=nNi6IdKh6tfy2gHF