Today's Guests
Alfred "Big Al" Williams joins me for a few minutes to talk about his thoughts on the NFL's overtime rules, especially in the playoffs, given the result of last night's incredible Chiefs-Bills game. Check out Big Al every weekday on the KOA Sports Zoo with Dave Logan and other friends including JoJo Turnbeaugh and Rick Lewis: The KOA Sports Zoo - KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM (iheart.com) More about Big Al's remarkable football career here: Alfred Williams - Wikipedia
Scott Nelson is a labor and employment partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth in Houston. We're going to talk about what it means to employees and employers that the Great Resignation continues apace, with a record 4.5 million Americans (about 3% of the workforce) quitting their jobs in November. The chart that is the thumbnail picture for this blog is the chart of that data series, called JOLTS data, from the US Department of Labor with the Y-axis representing the % of the workforce that quit in the given month.
I continue to believe that outside of the health effects of COVID and even given the significant current level of inflation, The Great Resignation will be the most important long-run impact (again, outside of health issues) of the virus. In the short run, it's very painful (and probably contributes to the inflation issues) but in the long run I expect it will be a positive thing for our society and our economy.
If you are a US veteran or the spouse of a US servicemember or veteran, or transitioning out of active duty or a military dependent, tomorrow (Tues, Jan 25) is the latest RecruitMilitary job fair, this one entirely online. You can learn more here: Southwest Region Virtual Career Fair for Veterans (careereco.com). It's online from noon to 4 PM Mountain Time. Registration is free and available online to all transitioning military, veterans, military spouses and dependents. We'll talk about it with Chris Stevens, Senior VP of Recruit Military (and an Air Force veteran himself.)
State Rep Shane Sandridge is sponsoring a bill that I completely support (but I also think it won't even get a vote in the state House of Representatives.) It would extend the current ability for a homeowner to defend his property with force to business owners. Here's the bill link: C:\1105_01.txt (colorado.gov)
In case you missed this on Friday
I have been and remain very skeptical of the huge numbers posted on the VAERS system claiming adverse impacts (including death, but most reports are not of death) caused by the COVID vaccine. On Friday I interviewed Dr. Ted Kaptchuck of Harvard Medical School who studies placebo (and similar) effects. His team's new study suggests that up to 75% of claimed adverse effects of the vaccine are psychosomatic, or the result of a "nocebo" effect (like a placebo effect but negative rather than positive.) If you missed it, please check out the study here: Placebo Effect Accounts for More Than Two-Thirds of COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Events, Researchers Find | BIDMC of Boston and the interview here: Dr. Ted Kaptchuk Placebo Studies at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | KOA 850 AM & 94.1 FM | Ross Kaminsky (iheart.com)
I don't think Joe Biden is up to this challenge
My fear isn't just that Biden is not very bright or doesn't always seem in close contact with reality, though those things are both true, but rather than he, like Obama, is fairly likely to bluff, have the bluff called, and have that lead to more aggressive adventurism by our competitors. (See Obama's "red line" in Syria which he did not enforce, incentivizing Putin to take Crimea.)
Biden weighs deploying thousands of troops to Eastern Europe and Baltics - The Boston Globe
Even though parents are on to them, the ultra-woke educational establishment won't stop
This stuff should make you more than a little ill.
Douglas County is having a "Hire a White Teacher Day" to boost their K-12 teacher staffing at a school that has a higher percentage of white kids than of white teachers. Just kidding. Can you imagine the outcry if they did that? So why is Boulder getting away with this? Teacher of Color Hiring Event | 6500 Arapahoe Rd, Boulder, CO | February 12, 2022 (happeningnext.com)
I think my favorite part of the story is the rooster's name
It's finally going to court: Sarah Palin v The New York Times
Sarah Palin v. New York Times goes to trial - POLITICO
Another scam of an elderly woman...this time with a happy ending
A New York Grandmother Outsmarted Scammers Who Wanted $8,000 From Her (insider.com)
Respect of respectable professions falling along with all other levels of trust and respect
Military Brass, Judges Among Professions at New Image Lows (gallup.com)
Today's Videos
OK, back in my science nerd mode, this is incredible. Quoting from the UK Guardian's coverage of the story (though lots of outlets picked it up): "Researchers exploring Antarctica’s seabed have discovered a thriving, unprecedented colony of icefish 'about a third of the size of London'." They're talking about 60 MILLION fish nests...wow.
And if that just whets (or wets) your appetite, the second video is about more species of Antarctic very-cold-water fish and the third is about why fish don't freeze there (some of which is covered in the 2nd video, but let's nerd out even more.)