Win This!!!
We'll be giving away 3 entries per week for four weeks, and then a final random drawing among the 12 entrants, to win this awesome high-end gas grill, thanks to the great people at Flatirons Fire: Phantom Prestige 500 Connected RSIB (P500VXRSIBPK-PHM) | Napoleon
For all your fireplace and outdoor fire pit and outdoor kitchen needs, visit Flatirons Fire. 5353 Bannock St in Denver (near 58th Ave on the west side of I-25, just south of Furniture Row.)
Fireplaces, Grills, & Outdoor in Denver & Rapid City | Flatirons Fire
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Just One Thing: Deadly errors
Imagine being a family member or friend of someone who died on this flight. There's a real chance that almost all the loss of life would have been avoided had people not broken rules and promises and had regulators not allowed them to do so. Strikes me as borderline-criminal, or maybe not borderline.
Jeju Air Plane Crash Highlights Decades of Blunders and Deadly Runway Wall - The New York Times
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One More Thing: Did you know that it even still existed?
AOL is finally shutting down its dial-up internet service | AP News
AOL dialup service ending: Axios PM
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Today's Guests
Best-selling author Hampton Sides joins the show to talk about his fantastic book -- named by the NY Times as one of the 10 best books of 2024 -- "The Wide Wide Sea", about the last voyage of Captain James Cook. You just have to read this book if you have even a little bit of interest in history.
Hampton Sides - Author of The Wide Wide Sea, On Desperate Ground, In the Kingdom of Ice
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State Sen Barb Kirkmeyer is the senior Republican on the Joint Budget Committee. She joins the show to give the Republican perspective on the upcoming Special Session of the state legislature (after we heard the Democratic viewpoint from State Sen Jeff Bridges yesterday.)
Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer - Colorado Senate Republicans
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Other Stuff
Friend of the show, Roger Pielke Jr, should take great pride in his role in reshaping the thinking of this guy. This article is a must-read for anybody who pays even a little attention to policy or science debates about "climate change": Why I Stopped Being a Climate Catastrophist (by Ted Nordhaus)
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Yesterday, President Trump announced that it's implementing federal control over the Washington DC police.
Trump takes over DC police and activates National Guard despite less crime | AP News
Here's some interesting data from ChatGPT about crime rates across come of our big cities: https://chatgpt.com/s/t_689a7027318881918beb861edc66733e
You'll note that DC's crime rate is a lot lower than the most crime-ridden cities but still more than three times the crime rate of Denver. DC's crime rate is also down a lot over the past 15 years or so, and down quite a bit from it's peak just after COVID...but still MUCH too high for what should be one of America's great (and safe) cities.
That said, there is a question (and not just in DC) about crime stats being manipulated to make police look better and cities look safer: Trump rejects D.C. leaders' crime numbers, cites high-profile incidents in local policing takeover - Washington Times
Trump exaggerates, misstates facts on DC crime amid police takeover | AP News
Bottom line is that the federal government has authority over DC that it doesn't have over any other city and it's good politics and good policy for Trump to try to force the city to do better. As I noted on yesterday's show, the amount of juvenile crime, and particularly juvenile repeat offenders, is insane. SIXTY percent of carjacking arrests in DC so far this year were of juveniles (under the age of 18) with far too much repeat-offending because the young violent hoodlums feel no fear of punishment. That has to change.
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I believe in tax cuts for people who pay taxes. Sorry, not sorry. Trump tax law mostly benefits the rich, leaves poorer with less, CBO says | AP News
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Axios is saying today what I said yesterday: Trump forcing private companies to pay tribute to the federal government or otherwise operate for what Trump perceives to be the benefit of the government, or even the benefit of the nation as Trump sees it, is a terrible precedent. It's darn close to the dictionary definition of fascism (when that term is used in its economic sense.)
Trump's Nvidia fees and Apple, Intel moves signal new economic era
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Good...let's get this done: Trump says his administration looking at reclassifying marijuana - ABC News
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I owe you this from yesterday, a topic close to my heart (or at least to my alcohol collection):
How Kentucky bourbon went from boom to bust
No One Wants to Talk About the Oversupply of Scotch and Bourbon | VinePair
Kentucky whiskey faces declining sales, Bulleit down 7% | Lexington Herald Leader
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Good luck to them trying to get the rock or any cash...never gonna happen: Niger investigating $5 million sale of largest Mars rock - ABC News
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Never forget: RFK Jr does NOT believe in science. He's a grifter and snake-oil salesman and it's a blight on this country that he is HHS Secretary. Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy's call for retraction of vaccine study | Reuters
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Quite a use of robot bunnies! Did you know? Robot rabbits used in war on this major threat to Florida
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Offered without comment: Remains of U.K. researcher who vanished in 1959 found on Antarctic glacier: "Shocked and amazed" - CBS News
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Eeeewwww: French farmers spray excrement on travellers
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Today's Video
Thanks to Greg for sending this awesome nerdiness to me!