Trump Administration Weighs Charging Patent Holders New Fee to Raise Revenue - WSJ

Commerce Department officials are discussing charging patent holders 1% to 5% of their overall patent value, a shift that could dramatically increase fees, according to people familiar with the matter.

Patents are already expensive; there’s the filing fee but the attorney fees to get you through the complex process is through the roof.

Now the government is going to guess the future economic value of a novel invention?

This is stupid.

And the fees wouldn’t go to the debt as advertised; it just becomes a new slush fund.

Enjoying the evening with some rum, the new Brad Thor book, and my full titanium bookmark.

As North Koreans Shun State Propaganda, Kim Tries a Flashier TV Show - WSJ

Now, as North Koreans—particularly urbanites and younger people—gain furtive access to foreign news and entertainment, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is trying a different tactic: television dramas that expose the regime’s weakness. The goal, analysts say, is to manage people’s expectations and rally them to overcome the country’s many hardships.

The result is a new television series that honestly depicts the everyday corruption that is rife in North Korea. Local officials embezzle grain, farmers fail to meet quotas and people bribe their superiors. It also portrays family conflict in contrast to official support for family harmony.

American Sentenced to 8½ Years in Prison for Helping North Koreans Get Jobs at Nike, Other U.S. Firms - WSJ

In the morning, she would turn on racks of computers covered with Post-its that had information about the companies they belonged to. Then North Koreans would log in remotely through Chapman’s farm and work for the companies.

Sort of a red flag?

When I migrated the Catholic Husband blog, I broke all of the links. There was no way around it.

I’m slowly going through the posts on this blog to update links. After that, I’m going to finish tagging and building out the archive of my Haiku project.

Just some nice little summer improvements.

The Crown Versus the Truckers - WSJ Opinion

The National Post’s Chris Selley writes that last week an Alberta man who fatally stabbed a 52-year-old stranger while out on bail for three other attacks was handed a sentence of, you guessed it, seven years.

Canadian prosecutors want the same seven year sentence against two protest leaders who, among their other heinous crimes, counseled fellow truckers to ignore a court order regarding honking.

Of note, the core use of government power that the protesters opposed was struck down as unconstitutional.

Miles and miles of bike lanes.

Just no bikes.

Biden Excited to See What Autopen Comes Up With For His Memoir - Babylon Bee

“To be clear, that autopen is going to know more about my presidency than myself,” Biden confirmed.

This ‘Roth Evangelist’ Spent Years Turning His Retirement Portfolio Entirely Roth - WSJ

For the Rosses, the all-Roth strategy is a bet that tax rates will be the same or higher when they take money out of the accounts. Paul thinks that because of the U.S. government’s deficit spending, “tax rates probably only have one way to go over the long term, and that is up,” he said.

The financial talking heads all focus on the math of why pre-tax makes more sense than Roth, but they never address this point. How can tax rates go any lower?!

New neighbors. 🦝

Stunningly beautiful day.

Morning mist.

Elmo Leads Division Of Panzers Across Polish Border - Babylon Bee

“Elmo says move forward! Ha ha ha! Elmo is expanding his territory!” the small, furry, red Muppet was heard shouting from the top hatch of his Panzer tank.