After unveiling his very own “Presidential QE,” Donald Copperfield—now clearly battling an advanced case of Chronic Interventionist Syndrome—announced his latest magic trick. To celebrate the first anniversary of his return to the Oval Office and apparently inspired by the Bolivarian playbook he once mocked, he has decided to channel his inner Caracas: cue the price controls. Starting January 20, credit-card interest rates will be capped at a saintly 10%, proving once again that when reality gets inconvenient, Copperfield prefers sleight of hand—ideology included.

Known more for confidence than curiosity, the Manipulator-in-Chief might pause before adding yet another layer of price controls to his résumé. History’s quiet but consistent lesson is that price controls never fix problems created by reckless politicians—they simply rebrand them as shortages, distortions, and, eventually, popular misery. And when misery compounds long enough, it tends to end not in policy success but in revolution—those inconvenient, grassroots regime changes driven by public sentiment, which history shows are far more effective than the export-grade regime changes that have been a staple of imperial American policy since World War II.

Putting corporate diplomacy into refreshingly plain English, Exxon’s Darren Woods politely translated the obvious: Venezuela remains “uninvestable,” which in CEO dialect means “we’ve already been robbed twice and aren’t lining up for a third round.” Yes, the oil is abundant, but so are asset seizures, legal uncertainty, and political roulette—small inconveniences investors tend to dislike. Unsurprisingly, Exxon and ConocoPhillips are staying on the sidelines, Chevron is cautiously tiptoeing without opening its wallet, and smaller players are waving around checkbooks measured in millions, not the $100 billion daydream floated by Donald Copperfield. In short, Venezuela has plenty of oil—just not enough rule of law to go with it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLl2umofu9Y

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In the latest episode of Progress Is Freedom, OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Health—a “secure” space where you can generously connect your medical records, smartwatch data, diet apps, workouts, and presumably your pulse of existential dread. Apple Health, Peloton, MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers—because nothing says wellness like centralizing your biology in one convenient place.

We’re told this is about empowerment: understanding test results, preparing for doctor visits, optimizing diet and exercise. History, however, gently clears its throat and reminds us that every centralized database eventually finds a second career—as leverage. Political, financial, legal—pick your dystopia.

Of course, we’re reassured the data won’t be used for training. Privacy will be respected. Safeguards are in place.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqy29d0yjgo

Governments and institutions always say this at the beginning of the movie, never at the end. The real question isn’t what the system promises today—it’s what it will quietly require tomorrow.

Health data isn’t just personal; it’s power. Once digitized and centralized, it becomes subpoena-ready, hackable, and irresistibly interesting to regulators with “good intentions.” HIPAA won’t save you from the state, and no database in history has remained untouched forever.

But don’t worry—this is all for your own good.

After all, Big Brother doesn’t want to control you. He just wants you healthy.