Happy Pi Day!!!
(See videos at the end of today's blogcast, too.)
Happy Pi Day! Here's all you need to know - CBS Minnesota (cbsnews.com)
Some Pi Day pizza deals: Deals: Free Pie for Pi Day, St. Patrick’s Day in Denver - Mile High Mamas
Just One Thing: Joe Biden is not a liberal; he's a radical
Yesterday the Biden Administration approved a very large oil project in Alaska called Willow. That’s the news he wants moderates and independents to focus on. But at the same time, to appease the far left, he blocked oil and gas drilling on 16 MILLION acres in Alaska, including nearly 3 million acres currently available for lease in the Beaufort Sea. I think it’s very important for Americans to realize something. Whether it’s because of who he’s surrounded himself with or because he’s a true believer, president Biden, who has always cast himself as something of a moderate, is governing as not just a liberal but as a radical. From student loan reallocation to taxpayers to pushing for trillions of dollars in new taxes to today’s news, Joe Biden may well be the most leftist president in our history.
Biden just approved the ‘Willow Project,’ allows new oil drilling in Alaska (msn.com)
Biden indefinitely blocks millions of acres of land, water from future oil drilling | Fox News
WSJ editors' take: Biden Says Yes to the Willow Oil Project (I note this line in particular: "The Willow project takes up 0.002% of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve..." Another article puts it at 0.0016%.)
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Today's Guests
Riley Gaines is a champion swimmer from the University of Kentucky. Riley Gaines | Save Women's Sports | Official Website. From her website: Riley ended her Wildcat career as one of the most decorated swimmers in program history with six records at the University of Kentucky: 100 free, 200 free, 200 medley relay, 400 free relay and 800 free relay. She is a three-time NCAA Championships qualifier and a U.S. Olympic Trial qualifier.
Outgoing Colorado GOP Chair Kristi Burton Brown filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the case of WEST VIRGINIA, ET AL.,v. B.P.J., BY NEXT FRIEND AND MOTHER, HEATHER JACKSON, which relates to a lower court having overturned a West Virginia law designed to limit participation in women's/girls' school sports teams to biological females.
West Virginia Amicus.docx (supremecourt.gov)
From Riley's section of the Supreme Court brief:
Last year, a 6'4" male (Lia Thomas) and I raced at the National Championships, which ultimately resulted in a tie. Upon tying, I was told Thomas (the male athlete) would get the trophy instead of myself as it was necessary for photo purposes. Everything I worked my entire life for was reduced to a photo-op to validate a male's feelings and identity of himself.
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Vitaliy Katsenelson is a most interesting guy. He's the CEO and Chief Investment officer of the value-investing firm Investment Management Associates, Inc
We'll discuss whether there is "value" in bank stocks now that they've gotten so thoroughly pummeled in recent days.
He's the author of a wide-ranging, thought-provoking book: Soul In The Game - The Art of a Meaningful life - Vitaliy Katsenelson
He writes about markets and about classical music:
Home - Vitaliy Katsenelson Contrarian Edge
Home - My Favorite Classical by Vitaliy Katsenelson
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Dr. Brian LaPointe is a research professor in the Environmental Ecology Department of Florida Atlantic University. We're going to talk about this crazy story: Giant seaweed blob twice the width of the US takes aim at Florida | The Hill
Coral Reef Ecology and Water Quality | Florida Atlantic University (fau.edu)
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Other Stuff
This was actually a funny joke. And ridiculously thin skin from our diversity-hire White House Press Secretary and the always-missing-in-action Transportation Secretary:
Jean-Pierre calls for Pence to apologize for Buttigieg, postpartum depression jokes | The Hill
Pence team tells them were they can stick that request: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pence-team-responds-to-calls-for-apologies-over-buttigieg-paternity-leave-comments/ar-AA18zV7Q
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Some excellent thoughts about how Twitter (may have) fueled the demise of Silicon Valley Bank, and some other insights into that story: Why Bank Runs Happen—and What We Can Do to Stop the Panic.(TheFP.com) "Human beings stampede. We always have. But technology has taken our ancient impulses and put them on warp speed."
FOR THE UBER-BANK-NERD: An interesting research paper from multiple universities suggests that there are quite a few banks in a worse financial position than Silicon Valley Bank was: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4387676 Key quote from summary: "The U.S. banking system’s market value of assets is $2 trillion lower than suggested by their book value of assets accounting for loan portfolios held to maturity. Marked-to-market bank assets have declined by an average of 10% across all the banks, with the bottom 5th percentile experiencing a decline of 20%.".
The sort of mea culpa that might or might not save the institution, and the sort of mea culpa that we should but won't see from prior execs and board members at Silicon Valley Bank (because these admissions will weaken their position in the many inevitable lawsuits.) Credit Suisse publishes delayed annual report in which it admits to financial control weaknesses (Marketwatch.com)
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My second-favorite story from the Oscars: He bought his Oscars tux from a lost luggage store. Then he won big. (msn.com)
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Sure to be appealed but a great ruling: Uber, Lyft Score Victory as California Court Affirms Right to Treat Drivers as Contractors (WSJ.com)
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I'm sure it's true that lots of Americans believe that we're giving too much support to Ukraine. And I bet almost none of those Americans have any idea how much support we're giving them. Same way that people think that foreign aid represents 10% or 20% of our federal budget.
Ron DeSantis Says Protecting Ukraine Is Not a Key U.S. Interest (NY Times) - may require subscription
Tucker tells GOP candidates to jump and they ask how high:
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Offered without comment: Moment Ukrainian suicide drone hunts down Russian tank (nypost.com)
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Democrats in the Colorado legislature are looking to pass a bill that might make it simply too risky to be in the firearms sales business in the state.
Gun Violence Victims' Access To Judicial System | Colorado General Assembly
Meanwhile, the son of one of the people killed in the mass shooting at the King Soopers in Boulder in 2021 is suing the gun manufacturer: Family of King Soopers shooting victim sues gun manufacturer Ruger | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
2023.03.10 - Getz Summons.pdf (kdvr.com)
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Don't ever forget about the radical environmental left that they don't so much love the planet as they hate humans: Seven things to know about Biden’s big oil move - POLITICO
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Pope Francis suggests he's open to considering whether to allow as priests men who are married and/or not celibit. Pope Francis: Priests could be allowed to marry - Washington Times
Priests may not have to be celibate in future, Pope Francis suggests (msn.com)
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Rep George Santos (R-temporarily of NY) decided to chime in on a "bailout" of Silicon Valley Bank. The replies to his tweet are fantastic.
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This is almost as good as the recent data point that for the first time since 1987, more vinyl albums than CDs were sold last year.
In Historic First, Radio Beats Television Among 18–49-Year-Olds. | Story | insideradio.com
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Now that the GOP has the majority in the House, they're coming after Hunter Biden with all the tools at their disposal: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/treasury-to-provide-house-oversight-with-suspicious-activity-reports-for-biden-family-associates
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Speaking of coming after you, make sure your vehicle is properly registered in Colorado, such as after you move here from another state: These are the fines for having expired plates in Colorado | 9news.com
Today's Videos
A remarkably fun conversation with actor Pedro Pascal, whom you've seen in "The Last of Us", "Narcos", the new season of "The Mandalorian", and more (as he eats hot wings). He gets a really hot wing a little after 16 minutes in...
A wonderful video on Pi Day, including math and curved space-time. The debate over whether pi actually only has 12 digits. (Hint: it's not REALLY a debate.)
"Squaring the Circle" references a very old mathematical question: Can you construct a circle that has the same area as a square. The answer: You can write the mathematical formula for such a circle and square but you can't actually construct one because the answer involves pi (π) which has infinite digits (a "transcendental" number), so you can never actually draw a circle that matches the area of a given square. You can just get close. The proof that this cannot be done was when, in 1882, it was proved that pi is transcendental.