Just One Thing: Celebrity gossip jokes
There are rumors that 48-year-old Leonardo Di Caprio is dating a very lovely young lady, an Israeli model named Eden Polani. The thing is that Miss Polani is 19 years old. Yep, 19. Look, I’m not gonna judge. Leo’s gonna do what Leo’s gonna do and Polani is an adult but I, and lots of other people, did love a tweet from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and I quote: “One thing Leonardo DiCaprio and DNR have in common is that we don’t harvest old growth.” A few folks thought it was inappropriate for a government social media account to tweet such things but most folks said stuff like “Luckily we aren't in fire season cause that was an irresponsible burn.” Making me laugh is probably one of the least harmful uses of government these days.
Today's Guests
Kelly Brough, who formerly served as chief of staff to then Mayor John Hickenlooper and later headed the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, is running to be mayor of Denver.
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John Paul Mac Isaac is the owner of the computer repair store where Hunter Biden abandoned his laptop, and is the guy who gave the computer to the FBI and gave its data (apparently) to Rudy Giuliani. This led to the report in the NY Post that Twitter and other social media platforms spiked, and the letter from dozens of former intelligence officials claiming that the story "had the hallmarks of" Russian disinformation.
Biden’s Classified Documents: A Timeline of What We Know | Time
Mr. Mac Isaac has written a book about the saga: Mr Mac Isaac, whose personal story about how he got involved in computer repair is quite interesting, has written a book about this saga though clearly more will need to be written after whatever the next chapters bring: https://www.amazon.com/American-Injustice-Battle-Expose-Truth/dp/1637586841
I thought this story was dying down a bit and that mostly what we'd get is some bubbling up of Republican anger during committee hearings in the House of Representatives but Hunter Biden's attorneys, apparently believing that the best defense is a good offense, now appears eager to sue Mac Isaac and others involved in the story: Hunter Biden's Lawyer DEMANDS John Paul Mac Isaac, Rudy Giuliani & 12 Others Preserve Evidence For Future Lawsuits Connected To Abandoned Laptop (msn.com)
Meanwhile, Mr Mac Isaac's attorney is ready with a counter-claim. My gut instinct is that Mac Isaac is on strong legal footing here, but I'm not an attorney: John Paul Mac Isaac asks for Hunter Biden probe over false laptop report (nypost.com)
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Cynthia Fisher, who's been on the show a few times in the past, is the founder and chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org
We'll discuss her organization's new report about how well (or how poorly) hospitals are complying with federal law regarding price transparency. Hint: it's not great.
FEBRUARY 2023 SEMI-ANNUAL COMPLIANCE REPORT — PatientRightsAdvocate.org
Only a quarter of hospitals in full compliance with transparency rule, per report (axios.com)
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Other Stuff
Yesterday, we talked with Jay Schweikert of the Cato Institute about Qualified Immunity. Now we have this story (that's actually been going on for a couple of days) where it's likely that Qualified Immunity would protect the cops from an obvious (to me) violation of a reporter's First Amendment rights: NewsNation Reporter Arrested At Ohio Governor’s Press Conference – Deadline
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I'm extremely skeptical that this actually can work though if it did work I think I'd be fine with the proposed processes being used: Americans are ready to test embryos for future college chances, survey shows. For some people, college prep might start in a test tube — and ethicists are freaking out. (MIT Technology Review)
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Super-nerdy but super-important...the future of exascale computing: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/next-wave-of-u-s-supercomputers-could-break-up-race-for-fastest
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Remember this on Super Bowl Sunday: Streaming the Super Bowl? Expect Spoilers. Why are the neighbors cheering? Action on sports streaming services can be up to a minute behind broadcast channels. (WSJ.com)
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Republicans are not talking about cutting entitlement programs. They should, but they're not. An excellent discussion here: https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/morning/entitlements-under-attack
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This is the kind of story that unites parents across the political spectrum and regardless of views on the underlying issue of transgenderism. Maine Mom Demands Investigation after School Counselor Secretly Gives Daughter a ‘Chest Binder’ (National Review)
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Fun detail about otherwise not-so-fun Chinese spy balloon saga: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-2-cold-war-flashpoint-comes-out-of-the-shadows-for-chinese-balloon-11675968824?st=cwyocnb7prnw1ct&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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Wanna buy a house? Dan Snyder might be willing to sell you the Redskins, er...the Commanders, too, if you buy his modest residence:
11900 River Rd, Rockville, MD 20854 | MLS #MDMC2081780 | Zillow
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Maybe you can check out one of these this weekend: Looking for relief? Here are Denver's best bizarre restrooms - Denverite, the Denver site!
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I owe you this from yesterday: I suspect this story is wrong, but if it's right then the potential ramifications could be enormous: How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline (substack.com)
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Today's Videos
OK, I don't really have need for this function but I'm still gonna see if it works
Good doggie!