Yesterday marked the release of the much-anticipated DJI Mini 5 drone. I, like many content creators (see Master of Won & TPOL on YouTube), received an email saying that the time to buy was now.
Giddy with excitement, I clicked only to find this:
Confused, I wondered if I couldn’t buy the drone because I live in Puerto Rico. I switched to the US website and still could not find the drone. I switched the Portugal website where I had purchased the Osmo 360 (see Thank You Trump: TPOL Only American Vlogger with DJI Osmo 360), to find that it was on sale in Europe. Even Canada has the Mini 5 on sale.
Angry, I put the phone down and went about my day. Hours later, I came across this article: DJI’s Mini 5 Pro Looks Amazing, But It’s Not Coming to the US. Here’s Why. As a constitutional law professor, I am not buying this explanation. It appears that the era of the free market is over. The US picks who gets in and who stays out. TikTok, once on death row, has found new life thanks to every Wolverine’s favorite benefactor. Unfortunately for DJI, there has been no public outcry for its products to be released, except for this blog post.
With my limited platform, I want to say, ‘Let Russell cook.’ And let TPOL blog. To deny this inalienable right is un-American.
Having said that, I can say that my previous DJI drone tried to decapitate me, so maybe this is a national TPOL security issue.
Actual conservatism and capitalism are dead in the US. Although I have issues with both, they’re also both better than what’s replaced them.