Just One Thing: The Mugshot
After 3 prior indictments without being required to stand for the indignity of a mugshot, former President Donald Trump had one yesterday at Atlanta's Fulton County Jail. (That's the thumbnail picture for today's blogcast.) Even though I'm now anti-Trump based on what he did since losing the 2020 election, I take no joy in this. This guy may well be the Republican candidate for president because his supporters care more about supporting a guy whose repetitive terrible behavior and unconcern for the rule of law and the Constitution than they care about supporting those things. I understand it a little in the sense that I agree that Trump has been mistreated by the justice system quite a bit but that doesn't mean that every risk he faces legally is due to something other than his own harmful and maybe illegal acts. So I'm not happy that Trump has to go through this because of what it means for and about our nation. But despite how badly he's been treated in the past, I do think he broke the law (though not as much as these indictments suggest) and he certainly violated his oath of office and ethical responsibilities to the American people. So I guess now we have the image that captures that.
I feel a little bad for the people whose lives have been harmed/ruined for getting so close to Trump. They're like remoras who didn't realize the shark liked to eat poison.
Meanwhile, Trump used this opportunity to raise money by posting his first tweet since 2001. And Lauren Boebert thinks that the picture helps him. I think she's way way wrong.
Trump's booking info and prisoner number: Trump surrenders to Fulton County authorities in Georgia 2020 election case
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One More Thing: Debate thoughts, after time to ponder
A lot of people think Nikki Haley won the debate on Wednesday night. Separate from the question of whether it matters, I think that’s right. She was the right combination of serious, experienced, principled, compassionate and pragmatic. As far as who else on that stage might be a serious player, all the rest came across as not being at least one of those. The Nikki Haley we saw on Wednesday absolutely can beat Joe Biden. And nothing else should matter to Republicans. I don’t know if this is a guess or a hope but Iowa polling suggests to me, though not blaring through a bullhorn, that a significant percentage of Trump supporters care about winning in November and therefore might be open to supporting someone other than the Donald. We’ll have to see if anyone inspires them to do so.
Meanwhile there's another poll suggesting that DeSantis had the best night. I just don't see it that way, but here it is: GOP voters say DeSantis delivered best performance in first primary debate: poll | Fox News
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Today's Guests
Steve Stratton is a Colorado-based thriller writer and former Green Beret with many Special Forces deployments in South and Central America against drug cartels, and a former Secret Service agent. His new book is "Shadow Tier 2: Shadow Sanction" and it's a fun ride.
Steve Stratton | Thriller Author (stevenstrattonusa.com)
Amazon.com: Shadow Tier 2: Shadow Sanction: Stratton, Steve
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Mick Ebeling is Founder and CEO of Not Impossible Labs.
Daniel Belquer is co-founder of Music: Not Impossible Labs
We'll talk about their fascinating tech that lets deaf people feel music though "haptic suits."
Haptic Suits Let You Feel Music Through Your Skin - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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Other Stuff
Trump offers truly stupid economic policy: Trump Floats Tariff Plan That Will Make Everything More Expensive (reason.com)
The Impact of the 2018 Trade War on U.S. Prices and Welfare | NBER
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Not exactly a surprise: Prigozhin Was Assassinated, According to Early Intelligence, U.S. Officials Say - WSJ
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From the tremendous Robert Bryce: The Anti-Nuclear Industry Is A $2.3B-Per-Year Racket (substack.com)
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Maybe they confused it with catfish: PETA ad depicts dead cat on a silver platter, targeting fish consumers (nypost.com)
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I appreciate Ken Buck's statements here: House Freedom Caucus GOP lawmaker calls on Trump to tell supporters 'to stand down' (msn.com)
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From a listener: "A free TV that spies constantly. The webcam takes video of you and minor children if you have them.
Unrestricted capitalism is terrible. Regulations are born in blood. Literally in most cases."
Telly's free TVs are shipping already, but just how 'free' are they? | ZDNET
My replies:
The reason this kind of thing doesn’t bother me conceptually (even though I wouldn’t have one in my house) is that the data collection is explicitly known and agreed to up front. The real objections come with systems that don’t tell you they’re collecting data on you.
Also, please tell me where you think we have unrestricted capitalism? And please tell me what that even means. I mean, no actual capitalist I know argues for “unrestricted” if that means “no rules against fraud”, for example. But really some of the best markets in America are the least restricted/regulated ones. By “best” I mean where the consumers are happiest and prices are well-controlled. For example, think about the price of Lasik surgery for your eyes. Or plastic surgery. Those tend to be outside of “the system” and so have actual price and quality competition for customers.
The Internet has been mostly unregulated. It’s getting WORSE, not better, with regulation.
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Just because the White House says something doesn't mean it's wrong...though it usually does. Still, this idea of Trump's is the worst thing I've heard in a long time:
Trump’s 10% Tariff Plan Is Welfare for the Rich, White House Says (msn.com)
Or, from a distinctly anti-Trump but pro-capitalism outlet: Trump Floats Tariff Plan That Will Make Everything More Expensive (reason.com)
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Today's Videos
Everything you wanted to know (and perhaps even a little more) about how the famous Iowa butter sculpture of a cow is made.
What’s Inside a Butter Cow? It’s Not Just Butter. – DNyuz
Love this part:
Much of the butter is recycled, Ms. Pratt said, and she has used the same batch of butter on the Iowa cow for 18 years.
“The more we work it, it’s almost like having churned it longer,” said Ms. Pratt. “So it’s lower moisture and it’s more like clay.”
That's some serious self-awareness