John Michael McGrath

free rider?

not quite but you'll be shocked to learn that in context it's not much better than that

By David Welch and Gabrielle Coppola (Bloomberg) -- A group of United Auto Workers members is seeking to oust President Shawn Fain ahead of an election next year, a sign of frustration among some in the two years since the labor group secured landmark contracts with US automakers. Workers at a Stellantis NV truck factory in suburban Detroit and an engine plant in southeast Michigan voted over the weekend to start the union’s process to remove its leader, said two UAW members involved with the effort. The votes join earlier ones by four other local UAW chapters, reaching the threshold needed for Fain’s opponents to bring allegations of financial mismanagement, workplace retaliation and other issues against him to the federal monitor overseeing the union for potential discipline. Representatives for Fain and the UAW didn’t respond to requests for comment. The move increases pressure on Fain, the bombastic labor leader who led a 2023 strike against Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis that helped secure significant wage gains for workers. Fain won a close runoff earlier that year, the first direct vote by union members in the UAW’s 90-year history.  Now, ahead of the union’s next leadership elections in 2026, Fain is facing blowback from some members for layoffs at Stellantis factories, claims he retaliated against two fellow board members who disagreed with him and accusations that the union has mismanaged its funds. “I supported Shawn, but his spending is out of control and he’s retaliatory,” David Pillsbury, a worker at GM’s Flint, Michigan, truck plant who started the the petition to remove Fain, said in an interview. “The transparency Shawn promised hasn’t happened.”  Although a small fraction of the UA

UAW internal revolt against Shawn Fain brewing?

I dunno man, if I believed the universe's literal all-powerful creator was on my side I'd worry a lot less about the latest stuffy craze

also, you'll be shocked to learn this is an extremely creative application of Mark 6:13

Headshot of young Leo during his ‘Growing Pains’ days

Leo, more recently, in a tuxedo

Born Nov. 11, 1974, Leonardo DiCaprio is 18,530 days old today, matching Wilford Brimley’s age on the day ‘Cocoon’ was released. Congrats Leo! You’ve reached the Brimley/Cocoon Line.

This is technical but important. Investment in AI does not exceed consumer spending. The contribution to the change in GDP from AI capex now exceeds the contribution from change in consumer spending to the growth of GDP.

Right???

still thinking about the Montana knife maker who said you don't have to worry about tariffs if you buy american. and then three months later, he realized he imports swedish steel and german equipment. and even MiUSA equipment costs $100k more now because of tariffs

i keep hearing sources tell me "oh they couldn't possibly do that! that's illegal" i say "well couldn't they do x and then it is technically legal or non-enforceable" and its becoming clear people didn't do scenario planning for a chaos monkey

Solar is EU’s biggest power source for the first time ever in June 2025 | Ember

In June, for the first time ever, solar was the largest source of power in the EU.

I've outlasted an entire podcast network, from venture capital funding to unsustainable growth to acquisition by a tech giant to elimination of my market segment! It's like I've won an EGOT for business model shifts in digital media

blooski, where the people who illustrated your youth (and are not also Nazis) just sorta show up and say "yeah this is how I did it"

Didn't love how many times Ontario and Metrolinx came up in this conversation (extremely derogatory, deservedly)

The study compared various discharge profiles, from constant driving to dynamic cycles that mimic real-world conditions. The findings were nothing short of spectacular: batteries subjected to dynamic driving exhibited a 38% increase in lifespan compared to those tested under constant discharge. This translates to approximately 186,411 miles more before reaching the end of their life. Even more surprising, certain types of acceleration—termed “low-frequency pulses”—played a protective role. These include gentle accelerations during traffic jams, urban driving with frequent stops, and occasional rapid acceleration

huh, interesting. it seems stop-and-go driving is better for an EV battery than constant speed on the highway www.energy-reporters.com/environment/...

Feel like its a bad sign about the health of the republic that Pritzker has to talk about TX Dems like they’re the Polish government-in-exile in London

One of the primary characters in Dan Simmons' HYPERION is Jewish and his Judaism is not incidental to the story. Can't guarantee you'd love the book or its sequel but it is one of my faves.

CNBC Lora Kolodny article: Tesla must pay portion of $329 million in damages after fatal Autopilot crash, jury says Key Points A jury in Florida determined that Tesla should be held partly liable for a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash. The company must pay a portion of $329 million in damages to victims and a survivor, including compensatory and punitive damages. Tesla had argued that the driver’s behavior was to blame for the fatal crash, while plaintiffs claimed Tesla’s Autopilot technology was flawed and deceptively marketed.

Elon tweet: "Teslas can drive themselves!"

Two days ago: Tesla has to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for deceptively marketing Autopilot in a way that falsely made people think it could drive the car by itself.

Today: Elon Musk "Teslas can drive themselves!"

North America can't build infrastructure at a reasonable cost.

Hilary Weston, fashion model and former Ontario Lieutenant Governor, dead at 83 Hilary Weston, a former fashion model and Lieutenant Governor of Ontario who was passionate about helping women, youth and at-risk Canadians, has died at 83.

Hilary Weston, fashion model and former Ontario Lieutenant Governor, dead at 83

An age of miracle and wonder

Links for August 3rd, 2025 Accidentally a week where I ended up writing a lot about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms at TVO.

New links for August 3rd, 2025: johnmcgrath.substack.com/p/links-for-...

see the thing is, we have as a society decided we hate children and parents

Short version is the province was happy to leave the dirty work of local planning fights to the OMB, whose job became forcing compliance with the Growth Plan.

Although it's worth saying that in some areas simply going back to the 2005 status quo would be an astronomical improvement (like Toronto's development charges and associated fees)

Partial defense here that Ontario passed the Greenbelt and Growth Plan around the same time and provincial policy really did shift more towards intensification; it was still underpowered relative to the efforts required.

We're getting extremely close to the day when America spends more money to build data centers than office buildings

Only 5 years ago, office construction spending was 7x data center spending

I don't think "hyper-gentrification" is in fact recognized as tantamount to genocide

After Superman took the long way home, which included a detour out to the far point of Tommy Thompson Park, 10/10 do recommend

SUPERMAN: it's good!