Just One Thing
Democrats in the Colorado State Legislature are scared to death of the political fallout from having included fentanyl in the group of drugs where possession of a small amount was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor because a small amount of fentanyl can kill, and small amounts of fentanyl are killing, citizens of Colorado. They've been trying to craft a bill to address the issue between angry Republicans (and many angry parents) and frustrated law enforcement officers and prosecutors (one of whom will be on the show today) and, on the other side, criminal justice reform advocates who argue that simple possession of a small amount for personal use should be dealt with by some way other than jail time. I don't envy their task because both sides have rational points. I think the key issue is that anyone who is dealing the stuff must be dealt with harshly and I do like a proposed provision that if someone sells something that includes any fentanyl, the entire weight of the product being sold will count as fentanyl regardless of what percentage of it is actually fentanyl, for purposes of criminal charges. That's one way to at least try to make sure that dealers know whether they're selling fentanyl. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the street-level dealers don't actually know right now.
By the time you read this, the bill may have already passed and we're going to have a couple of Republican guests on to talk about it, and then tomorrow we'll have a Democrat on.
Today's Guests
Hugh McKean, minority leader of the Colorado State House Republicans, joins the show to talk about the fentanyl issue and legislation discussed above.
Former head of Mountain States Legal Foundation, Willam Perry Pendley, served as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management during much of the Trump administration. The left absolutely hated him. We have a couple of interesting topics today including how Perry was way ahead of the curve in sniffing out the giant grift that was the Black Lives Matter Organization, as well as his take on the lack of new energy leases by the federal government.
Black Lives Matter began with a lie | Washington Examiner
As a business guy, there are some businesses that I find particularly interesting. The concept of an online-only supermarket is one of them. There's a relatively new company called Pinemelon that has tested its online-only supermarket model in Asia and they're about to launch in the US with Denver being their first city. I'll talk with Chris Franklin, the General Manager of Pinemelon, to try to get some understanding of how the business works. I've also asked the company to give my listeners a discount for giving the site and service a try and they agreed to that so you can use code KOA15 for 15% off your first order, valid through June 30, 2022. Local-First Online Grocery Delivery in Denver, CO | Pinemelon.com
And back to the fentanyl issue: We'll talk with John Kellner who is the DA of the 18th Judicial District (the largest in the state by population) about his take on the proposed or maybe passed legislation aiming to curb the scourge of that drug in our beautiful state. John is also the Republican candidate for Attorney General of Colorado.
Meet the District Attorney – The District Attorney — 18th Judicial District (da18.org)
John Kellner for Attorney General. Stay up to date.
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/04/11/fentanyl-possession-colorado-legislatur
Other Stuff
Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter Once Elon declined to join Twitter's Board of Directors, this became quite likely: Elon Musk swoops on Twitter with $41 billion cash offer | Reuters And at this ink you can read Musk's short letter to the Twitter Board: Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter for $43 billion, so it can be 'transformed as private company' (cnbc.com) I want Musk to succeed but I think the odds are against him, at least as far as success with this initial offer. That said, this move might force the company to put itself up for sale, or to at least offer the company at a higher price. Musk has said he won't go to a higher price but I bet he will, especially if he can partner with some other major player in tech, such as Oracle and its libertarian-leaning founder Larry Ellison.
--------
FAA extends travel mask mandate. I sure hope this ends before our listener trip to Washington, DC: Biden administration extends transportation mask mandate for 15 more days (cnbc.com)
I note that there does seem to be an increase in COVID case numbers in the US and elsewhere in the world but, so far, not a proportionate increase in hospitalizations or death. Given that the Biden has been overly cautious and restrictive about COVID every step of the way, I unfortunately expect they will extend the mask mandate again. That said, there's a lot of pressure from airlines and the traveling public to end it so we'll see. If they don't extend it again, we'll go mask-free to Washington DC from May 5-9 with over 40 listeners!
--------
I enjoyed Texas Governor Greg Abbott's "stunt" of sending buses of illegal aliens from Texas to the Capitol in Washington, DC to remind federal politicians, especially President Biden, of the chaos being caused by their misguided open-border policies. The first such bus arrived yesterday. First Texas bus drops off migrants blocks from U.S. Capitol in DC (fox5dc.com)
See video below for actual footage of the illegal aliens arriving in DC...
That said, I'm not a fan of what Abbott is doing to impede commerce at the Texas-Mexico border. It's going to cost the people of Texas, many businesses, and millions of American consumers a lot of money and hassle as, for example, produce goes to waste before it can make it to American supermarkets. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ends some border cargo inspections after protest (nypost.com)
--------
Actually, one more really good take on the Elon Musk - Twitter situation: https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/elon-musk-offers-to-buy-twitter
--------
This is worth being reminded of as we move inexorably toward our primary elections here in Colorado (and anywhere else that faces a similar situation with some really nutty and unelectable Republican candidates in races where the Dems really really need to be beaten.) McConnell: ‘Actually possible’ for GOP to screw up midterms with ‘unacceptable’ candidates | The Hill
Today's Videos
First, turtle aggression speaks for itself
Second, the first buses of illegal aliens arrive in DC from Texas