Just thinking out loud ...

Some “smart,” internet-connected devices are pretty cool. You can control your lights remotely, make sure the alarm is on, be warned if someone is in your driveway, or check to see if a package has been delivered.

But there’s one device I have refused to be tempted by: a smart thermostat. Why? Because Big Brother might dictate to you what temperature you’re allowed to set it to.

That’s exactly what happened to a Colorado woman who made the serious mistake of allowing her power company access. The Rocky Mountain state has been going through a heat wave as of late, and that’s not the time you want somebody to be telling you to cut back on the AC. 

When she needed a little comfort, her Internet Overlords said, “nope.”

A Colorado woman tried to lower her AC from 79 degrees, but her smart thermostat told her she wasn’t allowed. The warning cited stress on the regional power grid and temporarily blocked her from lowering the temperature. She participates in Xcel Energy’s voluntary program, which offers incentives for allowing the utility to adjust enrolled customers’ air conditioning during certain events. “There always needs to be an opt out feature.”

We’ve been having a very hot summer here in California as well, and I can tell you that when it gets above 79 inside the house, it can get pretty uncomfortable, especially if you’re trying to get a little shut-eye. And what if you have kids? “It’s literally not safe,” the woman said.

Big Brother does not care:

Ironically, Baker opted into the program with the best of progressive intentions, but she found out the hard way that is rarely a good idea.

"1984" author George Orwell would likely have thoughts if he were alive today:

A few years ago, the electric company stopped by and asked if we wanted to opt in to their new “smart” meters, and we said, “no way, Jose.” The concern is, of course, that they could limit your consumption and/or shut your power off altogether on a whim. They've always had the ability to come by and shut off your energy if you haven’t paid your bill, but that process often takes time, and you're not at the mercy of an intern manning a keyboard.

The thought of CA Gov. Gavin Newsom controlling how often I use my appliances makes me nauseous. And believe me, he would.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax on Thursday that the Trump administration will announce new measures against Iran next week that he said will take the economic isolation of the country to an unprecedented level.

"And watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country," Bessent told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."

Bessent said the administration is escalating a financial campaign that began after President Donald Trump ordered the restoration of "maximum pressure" against Tehran last year and intensified after the start of U.S. military operations against Iran in February.

"A year ago … the president gave me the order to apply maximum pressure to the Iranian regime, and Treasury did," Bessent said.

Trump formally restored the maximum-pressure policy in February 2025, directing Treasury to impose sanctions or other enforcement measures against those violating Iran-related sanctions and to conduct a continuing campaign aimed at denying the regime and its terrorist proxies access to revenue.

Bessent said Treasury has targeted "their bank accounts, crypto wallets, assets around the world, cutting off payments into both the leadership in the regime and the government itself."

After Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign launched against Iran earlier this year, Bessent said the administration shifted its focus toward what Treasury calls "Economic Fury."

"We went from Epic Fury to Economic Fury," Bessent said. "And at the president's orders, we have raised the level even again."

Treasury has said Economic Fury has disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue that otherwise could have been available to Tehran and its proxies. Its actions have targeted Iran's shadow banking networks, oil industry, cryptocurrency holdings, weapons procurement networks and sanctions-evasion operations.

Bessent said the financial pressure is being paired with the continuing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

"It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," Bessent said.