RUSSIA ROLLED INTO UKRAINE YESTERDAY And all of our speculation about what could be done to stop him seems pretty dumb now. This is a great explainer of the history of Ukraine and Russia sent to me by listener Michael and it will help you tremendously. We're going to play, "If I were President" about this today.
THE BBC HAS A GOOD LIVE THREAD ABOUT THE INVASION And they update as things happen so you may want to bookmark it if you care. Find it here.
NATO WILL VIRTUALLY SUMMIT TODAY To figure out a coherent strategy to respond, although NATO leadership has already said troops in Ukraine will not be a part of it. I'm guessing our President will not do much talking. I'm hoping so anyway. Europe needs to figure this out with our help, not our leadership. Just saying.
WE'VE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO WRANGLE PUTIN UNDER CONTROL But we and the rest of the world failed to do anything when he acted up previously. Our pal Cliff May writes about it all in this column.
THE ISN'T THE FIRST TIME WE'VE OVERPROMISED AND UNDERDELIVERED FOR THE FORMER SOVIET NATIONS And this column is really good in explaining how American Presidents George W Bush and Biden have both given the false impression that we would put our FULL support behind first Georgia and now Ukraine while not actually meaning it. Why does this matter? Because the Ukraine and Georgian governments made choices based on the assumption that we would help them more than we are willing to help them. It's a worthwhile read.
COLORADO DEMS ARE COMING FOR YOUR LAWNMOWERS AND LEAF BLOWERS At least the most common ones that run on a two-stroke gas engine anyway. It's another move to stop global warming that will literally do nothing but tick off homeowners with actual yards that require that equipment. They are offering a measly 30% tax credit if we buy electric stuff, but if this is SO CRITICAL to saving the planet, why isn't it a 100% tax credit to buy new equipment? Either it's critical or it's not and why should I take the entire hit when the state isn't taking one as big as I am? This isn't how to get stuff like this done. It's all part of a bigger bill that would push a bunch more bureaucracy onto businesses that have impact on the climate, like insurance companies. It's a disaster and I hope it dies quickly, but I'm calling my legislators about this one for sure.
A LAUREN BOEBERT OPPONENT JUMPED INTO THE RACE WITH THE MOST OFFENSIVE VIDEO I'VE SEEN IN SOME TIME And boy is that saying something. I'm not sure if Iheart is going to be happy with me posting this video because it violates about a million FCC rules but it's news I guess so here goes. If you don't like POOP don't watch this video and no, I'm not kidding. There are offensive words in this as well, but they seem tame compared to the video.
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If the policy positions on his website are accurate, he and I may agree on some things, but he essentially just did what he criticizes Lauren Boebert for doing so I'm not sure what kind of points he was hoping to score. This is not as ill advised as our Texas drilling rig rider, but almost.
COLORADO HAS ANOTHER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CASE HEADED TO THE SUPREME COURT And this one is a web designer who doesn't want to design gay wedding websites or other sites celebrating things her religious beliefs don't jibe with. The Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case and perhaps they will issue a ruling broad enough to put this stuff to bed.
JON CALDARA TALKS WHY MASKING HAS UPSET HIS DOG I THINK But I enjoyed the heck out of this long shaggy dog type story that I think is a cautionary tale on masking but who really knows with Jon.
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHY RTD CAN'T FIND DRIVERS WITH CUSTOMERS LIKE THESE Fox 31 is keeping the heat on crime and nonsense in Denver and this latest video of attacks on RTD is shocking to me. RTD has had to cut routes because they don't have enough drivers, but WHY IN THE HELL WOULD SOMEONE DO THIS JOB? It seems to me that they need to do a better job of protecting drivers from the maniacs that use the buses. Sure makes me want to use public transport.
THE MARKETS RESPONDED TO THE UKRAINE INVASION SO DON'T CHECK YOUR 401K Because it wasn't pretty yesterday. Opportunities abound for buyers though. Read more here.
PROVING ONCE AGAIN HOW BADLY COVID BROKE PEOPLE Just read this tweet. Read it. This woman is broken.
HAVING A FOUR LEGGED FRIEND CAN SLOW MENTAL DECLINE Or a legless something, just get a pet. A new study showed that people who owned pets, especially those who had pets for over five years, showed slower cognitive decline than those without pets. Why? They really don't know, but we already know that pet owners get more exercise, which is tied to cognitive health, and let's face it, they provide company and something to talk to. Don't even act like you don't talk to your pet, we all do it. I showed Jinx my weather app the other day when she was mad I wouldn't take her for a walk. She was not impressed.
THERE'S A NEW CONDOM IN TOWN AND IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE It's the first FDA approved condom for anal sex. I had no idea other condoms weren't FDA approved for this, but apparently they are not. Read more here if you'd like.
I HAVEN'T TASTED JINX'S DOG FOOD But I did test her shock collar on me before I put it on her. A new poll shows that 39% of pet owners have tried their pet's food. A whopping 29% of those said they thought it tasted good. Hard pass. I'll take her bark for it.
I WONDER IF THESE JAMES BEARD NOMINATED CHEFS HAVE EVER EATEN DOG FOOD I doubt it because they can cook real food spectacularly. Read about our thirteen nominees here, and GOOD LUCK to them all!
WHAT SORT OF INNOVATIONS WILL COME OUT OF OUR MASSIVE WORKER SHORTAGE? Whenever we have been faced with the collapse of labor, for whatever reason, amazing innovations are not far behind. As necessity is the mother of invention, it won't be long before businesses figure out how to make do without warm bodies. Read about the worker shortage here.
HYUNDAI IS MAKING SOME SERIOUSLY SAFE CARS As the three brands under their umbrella, Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, made up roughly 20% of the cars on the 2022 IIHS Top Safety pick list. Find the entire list here, but note that not a lot of American car makers are on this list.
DOES THIS POLL MEAN DEMOCRATS LIKE WAR NOW? I hate things like this where questions are so vague you can interpret them to mean anything you want. In a new AP poll the question was asked: The US Should play a ____ role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The answers were A major role, a minor role, and no role. What do the first two even mean? Does it mean boots on the ground and air support or does it mean Biden should be central to negotiating some sort of deal? I ask because the answers are nuts, as Democrats are now supporting a major role while Republicans are all like "butt out". I put myself in the minor role category, and I think it should be about us sending stuff to the Ukraine military to help them fight.
THE CDC MUST RELEASE ALL INFO ABOUT COVID NOW Instead of hiding unflattering studies they can't wave away. Is that what they are doing? Maybe, but we won't know until they release ALL the data to be parsed by professionals. This is a great column on that.
JOE BIDEN IS LOSING BLACK VOTERS And this is a really big effing deal as our President likes to say. Star Parker writes about the abysmal polling here, and notes that the very policies Democrats tout that were designed to help poor black people have created the inflation that is hitting them the hardest.
BABY LOVES DADDY'S SINGING
PEOPLE VS CARTOONS