More broadly, does everyone in the Republican Party truly want to be "jostling for position in the Politburo"? Even if they are willing to end democracy as we know it, many of them would prefer to have robust intra-party democracy, because that is still the route to power for those who want to challenge their leaders.

But these factors are still not quite responsive to the question motivating this column: What if Republicans are simply bad at this? Even beyond the hurdles based on personal ambitions and other strategic matters, what if -- like many would-be authoritarian parties before them -- the Republicans simply cannot keep themselves together well enough to do what they want to do? In other words, can we add incompetence to the list of things that might save us, along with intramural paralysis?

I am skeptical. Despite the evidence of Republican dysfunction in state governments around the country, they are definitely getting many things -- very, very bad things -- done. Just ask anyone who is in, or who cares about, the LGBTQIA+ community, who is a racial or ethnic minority, or who could become pregnant. Or, in my case, who is a university professor who is now legally prohibited from saying certain things in class about systemic racism, gay rights, and many other scholarly subjects.

In the end, I am confident that the one-party Republican governments of the future will be utterly inept, to say nothing of being wholly corrupt. Even so, before they reach the point where they can trip all over themselves, they will lock down the system. The current follies in the House, after all, ultimately do not matter, because the Republicans' bills will all die in the Senate or be vetoed. When it does matter, they will get where they need to be. To the detriment of the rest of us.

The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s mostly unreliable tunnel digging venture, has won the approval to expand its “Vegas Loop” system to — wait for it — 69 stations. Nice? Not really.

The tunnel system is Musk’s supposedly futuristic idea to alleviate road traffic by shifting some of that bumper-to-bumper traffic underground. The expansion, approved by the Clark County Commissioners, allows The Boring Company to construct 25 miles of additional tunnels for a total of 65 miles and 18 additional stations.

Of course, Musk’s promise to revolutionize transportation with underground tunnels is, in practice, rather underwhelming. Rather than being whisked along through a futuristic tunnel by an autonomous, high-occupancy shuttle traveling at impressive speeds, riders instead are forced to sit in a Tesla operated by a human driver at speeds often less than 30 mph. Sometimes there’s traffic.

It bears repeating: Musk has simply recreated underground the same failed above-ground systems he claims to want to conquer.

Former US president Donald Trump has said he will be calling his hotel in Co Clare Doonbeg on the Ocean because “we have the ocean and nobody else does”.

Speaking after he played his round of golf at the resort on Thursday, Mr Trump said:

“It’s called Doonbeg on the Ocean,” he said. “It’s not a new name, but we’re adding the word ‘Ocean’. Because I said to myself, ‘it’s on the ocean, if it’s on the ocean, we call it Doonbeg on the Ocean, we have the ocean, and nobody else does, so that’s what we’re calling it”. He said the name Trump would remain on the property.

A Florida law passed in 2021 has gone into force, grounding all State-owned DJI drones, and the police aren't happy. A law, backed by Florida governor (and US Presidential hopeful) Ron DeSantis, banning the use of Chinese drones in Florida has gone into force, grounding millions of dollars worth of police and state-service-owned drones overnight.
The law, Florida statute 934.50, is an unfunded mandate, meaning there is no new money for departments operating drones to replace their Chinese – usually DJI or Autel – drones with alternatives, and, as many have pointed out, the alternatives often aren't up to the job. DJI is the largest supplier of non-military drones on the planet, with a wide choice of the best DJI drones(opens in new tab) for most tasks.

Lieutenant Michael Crabb, of the North County Sheriff's Office, told the Florida state senate said: "If there are national security issues with a DJI drone, then show us what it is." He also said: "I'm an American, and I wish we could buy all American-made drones [but] there are limitations with American-made, unfortunately." He indicates that, of a fleet of 25 drones used to monitor active crimes and in other police work, 19 were DJI and would now be grounded.
There is not even agreement over this within the Republican party. Senator Tom Wright has been an enthusiastic proponent of using drones in car chases and other police businesses. He said, "This would require law enforcement agencies and fire departments across our state to throw away nearly $200 million of DJI drones.” He has sponsored a bill, SB1514, to delay the law, but it has not yet been heard.