Earlier quoted context omitted.
The threat model of HTTP isn't site owners, it's that anyone else can change the content and you can't tell that it didn't come from the original site. It's not a strawman, it's a real attack that we've seen for decades. The entire guidance of "don't connect to an open wireless AP"? That's because a malicious actor who controlled the AP could read and modify your HTTP traffic - inject ads, read your passwords, update…
Then perhaps the problem is open APs? There are still legitimate uses for HTTP including reading static content. Say we all move to HTTPS but then let’s encrypt goes away, certificate authority corps merge, and then google decides they also want remote attestation for two way trust or whatever - the whole world becomes walled up into an iOS situation. Even a good idea is potentially very bad at the hands of unregulat…
This can still be MITM'd. Maybe they can't drain your bank account by the nature of the content, but they can still lie or something. And that's not good.