A weekly newsletter that tells the story of how tech companies became unelected governments and what to do about it, by former Google executive and 30-year Internet veteran Jonathan Bellack.

Posts

Nov 13, 2026

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5 min read

Alex Karp’s post-election damage control: boasting, gaslighting, and support for Jensen Huang

Palantir’s CEO attempted to pivot away from right-wing politics without admitting fault, but came across as awkward and unprepared. It shouldn’t be this easy to mock someone this rich and powerful. But it sure is fun!

Nov 6, 2026

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5 min read

The landslide US election gives me hope for online democracy

Tech regulation is back on the menu, boys! Here’s a quick look at the bills and legislators to watch when the new Congress meets in January.

Oct 30, 2026

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4 min read

AI-driven tech layoffs suck, but might lead to certification

Microsoft’s offer to buy out 27% of their workforce inspired one last piece about licensing software engineers. As AI coding obliterates the traditional junior engineer, training will probably looks even more like the practices of other licensed professions.

Oct 23, 2026

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5 min read

Explainer #10: Sampling the squirrelburger

In which I retell Scrum co-creator Ken Schwaber’s famous parable, and connect it to ethical engineering.

Oct 20, 2026

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5 min read

Explainer #9: How a software legend made the case for licensing engineers almost 30 years ago

If the book “After the Gold Rush” by Steve McConnell had been taken more seriously by the software industry in 1999, we might not be in such a mess now.