Is Elizabeth Warren hitting the bottle again? The Massachusetts senator, who just declared war on crisis pregnancy centers, has now pivoted to … charger cords.
Fauxcahontas is vewy, vewy, angwy about why it takes so many different types of charger cords to power a variety of devices at home and work.
Warren said on Twitter on Thursday that “consumers shouldn’t have to keep buying new chargers all the time for different devices. We can clear things up with uniform standards—for less expense, less hassle, and less waste.”
Consumers shouldn’t have to keep buying new chargers all the time for different devices. We can clear things up with uniform standards—for less expense, less hassle, and less waste.https://t.co/rbxLleahIj
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) July 7, 2022
It’s annoying and expensive to have to get a new charger cord with every device. But should Warren and her aging far-Left Senate kin, Ed Markey and Bernie Sanders, the backers of a standardized power cord, really be the high-tech big idea guys in such a venture? Thankfully, in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, they don’t actually give ideas on how to standardize cords. No, they simply want to compel it.
The trio contended, “we cannot allow the consumer electronics industry to prioritize proprietary and inevitably obsolete charging technology over consumer protection and environmental health.”
Can anyone check to see which side of the Blockbuster versus Netflix issue Warren, Markey, and Sanders were on? Do you suppose these three thought “nah, Betamax all the way”?
I can hear Warren’s tremulous voice saying that “innovation … should not come at a [customer’s] expense [and] saddle them with incompatible accessories, and compel them to purchase different charging equipment for each device they own,” as if customers don’t currently pay for innovation.
Now, what did I do with my stack of floppy discs, anyway? The government’s using them to run defense systems, as my PJ Media colleague Charlie Martin pointed out on Twitter. Now that’s government innovation.
Did government compel that or did industry standards simply morph and change at the speed of Moore’s Law? Maybe Liz Warren can tell us.
Related: Liz Warren and Her Coven of Witches Don’t Care About Women. Here’s How We Know.
The three senators scolded Big Tech about the environmental impact of charger cords because the “lack of interoperability standards for charging and other device accessories also results in e-waste and environmental damage.” They continued the lecture by blaming Big Tech for the tossed charger cords, saying “their outdated chargers are usually just thrown away,” they lectured. This “When electronics are not disposed of properly, e-waste can spread toxins in water, pollute soil, and degrade the air we breathe.” They must be fun at parties.
Mobile phone chargers today if the Federal Government was involved. pic.twitter.com/SEM3EmJJpA
— SiteAlpha ⛽💸👀FJB! NOMLG (@site_alpha) July 7, 2022
I just purged a bunch of old charger cords that I wouldn’t want touching my new devices. Size matters and so does amperage. Does Liz really want less innovation in this arena–because that’s what happens when the government gets involved.
The three said the EU is standardizing cords so the U.S. should too. Shouldn’t they be required to make a decent electrical outlet first?
The reaction to more government involvement in tech innovation was split on social media. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said it was a great idea because government interference “standardization … fosters competition and [there’s] less consumer lock-in.” Of course he did. The difference is that the industry generally declares what’s standard and what’s not. The deciders are customers generally, not Liz Warren.
Perhaps after the Democrats are finished taking over Big Tech charger cord innovation they could do something about inflation, financing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and gas prices. Or nah?
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