Random Thoughts: That Texas Law, Apple, Nuclear Submarines & More…

Apple – EPIC Lawsuit

So, Apple is now forced to allow vendors to use other payment processors.

I wonder if they’ll figure out that it doesn’t matter – that they can still require their 30% cut – they just put the onus on the app developer to develop a tracking system and to report and pay their apple tax.

Seriously – the biggest reason for the original restriction was so apple could collect their fee more easily. But nothing says they can’t require it anyway.

The stick would be that the app developer would get kicked out of the store if they under-report.

And they can also create a requirement that certain types of firms (those with gross revenues over, say 10 million) be required to submit an audit by an independent auditor annually.

About That Texas Law

Congress doesn’t have to pass a full abortion rights act. They can do some of the following things instead to discourage those 3rd party lawsuits:

  • Add a 90% income tax on income from abortion-related lawsuits – for both plaintiffs and lawyers
  • Make expenses related to abortion-related lawsuits non-deductible for the plaintiff
  • Make expenses for lawyers related to abortion lawsuits non-deductible
  • Make any abortion related lawsuit have the absolute lowest priority within the court system (think 10+ years just to get a hearing), even lower in priority than parking tickets
  • Mandate an IRS audit for any plaintiff in an abortion related lawsuit 100% of the time (maybe even for the firm that represented the plaintiff as well)

The executive branch can also require that federal contractors and sub-contractors:

  • Cover 100% of any legal expenses related to abortion
  • Cover 100% of any relocation expenses that are directly or indirectly caused by the Texas law
  • Decline to do business with any law firm that handles an abortion related lawsuit or does business or have a relationship with any other legal firm that does the same or any business that hires a law firm that does the same.
  • Bring pressure on the ABA to have its members decline to accept any plaintiff that wants to pursue those lawsuits

Of course, the right thing to do would be for the Democrats to use their slim majority to create a national law covering Women’s autonomy over their own bodies. But in the absence of that, maybe some of these things might blunt the effect a wee bit.

Electric Vehicles

The idea that electric vehicles should be the standard is asinine. These things are going to cause massive issues.

For starters, it takes 10 minutes to fill up a standard vehicle. It takes HOURS to charge an electric vehicle. Who wants to hang around a charging station for hours? A five hour trip now takes six+ hours just because of the extra time spent charging the thing.

And how much is actually being saved? The destruction to the environment caused by these massive batteries is probably on par with the destruction caused by emissions. Plus you have major recycling issues for the batteries.

And it’s not like the emissions go away – they just get hidden at the power plant instead of being seen spewing out of your tailpipe.

What does anyone think happens when millions of people charge their electric cars? The emissions at the powerplant skyrocket. Emissions don’t go away just because you have an electric car – they just get emitted somewhere else, far away from view. So now it’s kinda like sewage – you know it exists, you just don’t have to worry about where it all goes.

Out of sight, out of mind.

If I ever purchase a new car, it will at most be a hybrid. An all-electric vehicle for me is 20 years out.

But, frankly, who wants to buy a new car anyway? Have you seen the amount of data those cars collect on you with no oversight and distributed to the hundreds of firms that violate your privacy?

Stick with your pre 2005 cars if you can – they’re better all around.

That France – US – Australia Tiff Over Nuclear Submarines

Maybe France shouldn’t be so focused on penalizing large US companies in an attempt to make EU companies more competitive – that stuff doesn’t go unnoticed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that the deal was payback or that large US tech companies don’t need more regulation. But it sure stands out when the only companies being targeted for regulation and fines in the EU are US companies. When was the last time an EU tech company faced a multibillion dollar fine?

The Australia move to use US companies for Nuclear Submarines probably wasn’t payback engineered by the US – but maybe it sends a subtle message to the EU that they can’t discriminate against US companies without consequences?

Religious Exemptions For Covid Vaccines

Folks getting a pass on being vaccinated because of “sincerely held religious beliefs” is fine. But they still need to stay the hell away from other humans. Because they’re still a potential walking talking breathing bioweapon capable of spreading death and destruction everywhere they go.

In normal circumstances, someone carrying or even potentially carrying a deadly virus would never be allowed anywhere near a group of other human beings. Such a person would be shot on sight if they attempted to enter a mall or a restaurant or any other public place and would be marked as a terrorist if they deliberately and knowingly attempted to do that.

Unvaccinated folks who are eligible for the vaccines and still go out to mingle with the general population should be branded the same – they are no different from terrorists. Except that they seem to believe they have the legal right to blow their toxic air into the face of every other human being so that they can kill and maim with impunity.

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