Just One Thing: The latest reason I can't support the death penalty
To be clear in advance: this was not a capital case. Nevertheless, what happened in the case is exactly the kind of thing that has me opposing the death penalty in most circumstances.
In 1991, two people, a 12-year-old girl and 43-year-old man, died in two pipe bomb explosions in Grand Junction. A man named James Genrich, who was 28 years old at the time and is now 60, was convicted of the crimes. Last Friday, a judge ordered Genrich’s convictions overturned and ordered a new trial because the only direct evidence at the time was the testimony of an expert that tools found at Genrich’s house were the only tools that could possibly have made certain marks on the bombs. Advances in forensic science have made clear that such a claim could not be made reliably. There was other circumstantial evidence against Genrich but there was also evidence suggesting it was some other unknown person. This kind of flawed conviction is why I find myself now against the death penalty.
James Genrich, man convicted of pipe bombings gets new trial | Western Colorado | gjsentinel.com
Suspect in fatal 1991 Grand Junction pipe bombings granted new trial (denverpost.com) (May require subscription)
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Remarkable
Normally I might put something like this in the "Today's Videos" section but I just want to make sure you don't miss it because this gal's data visualizations are an incredible combination of math/statistics and art.
More here: Federica Fragapane on Behance
Today's Guests
Howard Makler is the entrepreneur's entrepreneur. I mean, here's a guy who didn't go to college and ends up teaching at Wharton School of Business. He has so many fascinating stories including when he called Apple Computer for a little tech support help on his Apple II.
His current venture is one you've probably heard me talk about on the show; it's called GetRefunds.com (or Innovation Refunds). But that's not the main purpose of today's conversation which will be much more wide-ranging.
Howie's energy and drive are rather remarkable and if you want to hear more after this conversation, you can check out Howie's appearance on iHeart CEO Bob Pittman's podcast here: Math & Magic: Stories from the Frontiers of Marketing with Bob Pittman | iHeart
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Andy Summers was the lead guitarist of The Police. He's done just about everything in rock...Emmy winner, Rock Hall of Fame, written movie soundtracks, 13 solo albums, lots of musical collaborations, published books (written books and a book of photos), and more. He's embarking on a new tour which, unfortunately, doesn't stop in Denver. It's a continuation of a tour that started before COVID and was interrupted.
Concert locations and dates here: Andy Summers 2023 US Tour - The Cracked Lens + A Missing String - Andy SummersAndy Summers
Photos: Amazon.com: A Series of Glances
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Other Stuff
I REALLY want to see the cage fight between Musk and Zuckerberg: The Rapid Rise of Threads Appears to Be Hurting Twitter - WSJ
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Do what you gotta do, I guess... Gift cards for cash: Doug Burgum pledges to spend up to $1 million getting to the debate stage - POLITICO
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This is a big deal. We'll cover it in more detail later in the week with ADM Stavridis, but here's the news: Biden applauds Turkey's agreement to back Sweden's NATO entry on summit eve - ABC News (go.com)
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Well worth your time to boost understanding of global carbon/CO2 levels and why so much of what the US is doing right now is somewhere between pointless and harmful: Carbon Myopia - Robert Bryce (substack.com)
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Can the defense keep up? As AI cheating booms, so does the industry detecting it: ‘We couldn’t keep up with demand’ | Artificial intelligence (AI) | The Guardian
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I've had one...at the hotel! Another great example of "if there is enough demand, the market will find a way to supply": This hotel makes nearly $30k per day for just one drink (nypost.com)
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I will guess, with no basis at all, that the lake will be around for longer than the 2 years they predict in the article: California's Newest Lake Is a Surprise Visitor (newser.com)
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I rarely cheer for actions taken by Boulder, but this time I am! Xcel Energy trims $312 million Colorado rate increase to $45 million (coloradosun.com)
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Riley is right, and it's easy for Megan to say now that she's retiring: Riley Gaines: Megan Rapinoe 'undermining' women's sports with transgender-athlete stance - Washington Times
And Martina has it right: Martina Navratilova has 1-word response to Megan Rapinoe's remarks on trans participation in women's sports | Fox News
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The headline is about declining trust in higher education but the actual poll asked a much broader question. How about Congress having 8% trust among Americans?!?
Americans' Confidence in Higher Education Down Sharply (gallup.com)
The full poll: https://news.gallup.com/file/poll/508358/230710ConfidenceHigherEd.pdf
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Colorado is drought-free for the first time since 2019. Will it last? - The Colorado Sun
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Darwin Awards, Russia/Ukraine style: Russian military official on Ukraine blacklist shot dead on morning run | Reuters
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Today's Videos
Seamus loves pizza as much as my French bulldog, Reuben, does, apparently
The power of nature