Category: Government (Page 12 of 31)

Big power outage in Spain and Portugal.

April 28, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Spain and Portugal hit by unexplained power blackout.

The power is coming back on for parts of Spain and Portugal, more than 12 hours after the massive outage shut off traffic lights and caused chaos at airports, train stations and on the roads.

Both countries have declared states of emergency as authorities work to manage the situation.

It’s not clear why this is a big story in international news or why Spain and Portugal declared a state of emergency. This time of year, it’s pretty pleasant on the Iberian Peninsula, and much of the power was back on after 6 hours.

Who is Saquon Barkley and where is he going?

April 28, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Eagles’ Saquon Barkley hangs out with Trump after teammate dodges question on White House visit

This is an interesting article, but no reports give the whole story. They all say the same thing. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl, Barkley is the star running back, he spent time with Trump and his teammate is reluctant to accept an invitation to visit the White House.

I don’t give a shit about football, and wasn’t aware that the Eagles won the Super Bowl. How did a 28 year-old football player land a seat on Marine One with the president?

Harvard wants to be free.

April 24, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Harvard’s president says the school will ‘not compromise’ on its rights with the Trump admin

That’s fine, if I were Harvard, I wouldn’t want the government pushing me around. Money comes with strings attached, so if Harvard wants to be independent, don’t accept a half-billion dollars from the government each year.

About half of Americans pay income tax. That means that I pay Harvard $3 per year. I get nothing from that, and don’t want to do it.

Harvard has $50 billion in the bank, and is tax-exempt. That should be enough.

Let’s start building nuclear power plants.

April 21, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Nuclear Energy Support Near Record High in U.S.

Reliable and affordable energy is critical to prosperity. It can’t be done any other way. Energy is necessary to get anything done.

Are we doing anything next year?

April 20, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 2 Comments

The Bicentennial, in 1976, was a big deal. The National Park Service, probably at Yellowstone, named a bison, “Tennial”. That seemed awfully clever.

Don’t blame Biden for talking about colored kids.

April 16, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Biden’s first speech since leaving office

Biden just gave a speech about Social Security where he talked about first encountering “colored kids”.

It’s endearing when elder-folk say things people aren’t supposed to say. They can be refreshingly candid because they are channeling their younger self or they don’t give a shit anymore.

Michigan Governor Whitmer is jumpy.

April 14, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

What Is Gretchen Whitmer Hiding From?

This is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the White House photographed by a NYT photographer.

Bill Maher reports out on his dinner at the White House

April 12, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Bill Maher, the comedian and host of Real Time, was invited to dinner with President Trump at the White House.

Maher is a Liberal who has been tough on Trump, frequently criticizing him. Trump has said dozens of bad things about Maher.

It speaks well of Trump that at his friend, Kid Rock’s request, he invited a harsh critic to dinner. It speaks well of Maher that he gave an honest account. If Maher and Trump can engage amiably, even on contentious topics, the rest of us should be able to do so as well.
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NHTSA rule will make cars worse.

April 11, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

How Proposed Pedestrian-Impact Safety Standards Will Soften Automotive Design

This is the type of over-regulation I talked about in the Modern life should be better post.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) wants new regulations so that pedestrians don’t get hurt when they get hit by a car.

Imagine how difficult it will be to implement this rule without limiting the driver’s field-of-view or reducing the car’s efficiency.

Modern life should be better.

April 10, 2025 / Richard Nestoff / 0 Comments

Donald Trump’s Energy Department Saved Your Appliances

With the internet and smart phones, we are living in the future. It’s fantastic. At the same time, many appliances and other mundane technology is getting worse. Regulations put in place by government bureaucrats make our lives worse.

President Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore, was directed to reduce federal regulations. Every president has tried to deregulate, but President Trump may get it done. Eventually, this will be a big deal.