Colorado Broadcasters Association Annual Awards
I want to offer a massive congratulations to the KOA News team which really cleaned up at Saturday night's CBA awards. I'll probably miss some folks, but winners included the Colorado Morning Show Team of Marty Lenz, Jeana Gondek, and EXECUTIVE Producer Cole Peterson. Rob Dawson and Kathy Walker also won for their coverage of the Highlands Ranch tornado. And the awesome Susie Wargin won after a run of second-place finishes. Well deserved for everyone!
Here's a funny story: I was invited to the dinner which meant that I came in first or second in some category. I assumed that it was either Best News/Talk Show Host or Team (which CMN won) or Best Midday Show (which I think was won by a music station but I'm not sure). But it became clear that I wasn't first or second in either of those this year. And yet I was invited. And I didn't win first in anything this year. So what gives? Turns out that, much to my massive surprise, I -- along with Ryan Edwards and producer Grant Smith -- came in second in the category of best coverage of a single event (the category that Rob and Kathy won in, for their coverage of the Highlands Ranch tornado) for our coverage of the Nuggets championship parade. So we three got a Certificate of Merit (and it really is a decent prize because there were probably at least a dozen entries, so coming in 2nd isn't worthless) for what was basically sports reporting. I mean, I get how Ryan and Grant could win that, but I'm not a reporter and while I love the NFL and almost love the NHL, I'm not a huge NBA or MLB fan. Once I found out that I'd be with Ryan reporting from along the parade route near Union Station in Denver, I started reading a bunch of articles with details about the series so that I could sound a little like I knew what I was talking about while actually relying on Ryan to do the heavy lifting. Or at least I could figure out a good question to ask the guy who really knew the answers. Anyway, I find it absolutely hilarious that I won something not just for basically being a reporter for a few hours but for being a sports reporter. Thanks, Ryan and Grant, and I'll make sure you get your certificates! (And a big thank you to our audio and imaging genius, and Denver Broncos Executive Producer, Alan Jackson, for putting together the contest submission that got my name on this piece of paper.)
And here's a funnier story: Dragon wore a suit.
The most unexpected "certificate" I've ever receivedPhoto: Ross K
Ross and Producer Dragon at the CBAs, with Dragon much better dressed...which will probably never happen again.
Just One Thing: Trump plays it extremely well on abortion
During the primary campaign (which is effectively over now), Donald Trump remained non-committal about abortion, specifically about whether there should be a federal role on abortion. Most Republicans with the exception of Nikki Haley were in favor of federal involvement in the issue. Trump implied but never stated -- until today -- that he opposes federal involvement. He also came out forcefully for exceptions to abortion restrictions for rape, incent, and the life of the mother. This is one of Trump's smartest political moves ever. Right up there with making immigration a key issue in the 2016 election. And it's good for other Republicans too.
Trump says abortion is up to the states, declines to endorse national limit
In addition to saying the issue should stay with the states, he thanked the members of the Supreme Court who overturned Roe which was an interesting move, and then noted to all Republicans the need to win elections. And he's absolutely right. Joe Biden and Democrats are wrecking this country -- at the border and with insane spending in particular. And the fact that so many Republicans have been catering to the most anti-abortion part of their base has been hurting them in elections while ever pro-abortion rights ballot measure since Dobbs has passed, even in red states. Trump has massively boxed in Republicans on this issue...or given those smart enough to take it an exit ramp from an issue that's been wrecking the GOP ever since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe. Let's see how many Republicans are willing to take it.
Finally, this is something of a jab at Ron DeSantis. Florida will likely be enacting a 6-week abortion ban...but will also have a ballot measure granting wide access to abortion (which would then overturn any ban). Trump's move today gives moderates (or even people who are fairly conservative but not hard-core anti-abortion) permission to vote for him while also voting for a more permissive regime on abortion...which is a way to somewhat dampen the likely negative effect for Republicans of the presence of that pro-abortion measure on the ballot.
Fla. voters will consider abortion rights ballot measure in November, court rules (msn.com)
Personal/political note: I was against Roe v Wade (because it was wrongly decided, not because of its impact once decided) and also against any federal involvement in the issue. For those who say "but it's murder!", I reply "What would that have to do with it, even if I agreed with you?" After all, murder is generally not a federal crime. Also, Republicans campaign for years on wanting to overturn Roe, constantly saying "all we want is to have the issue back at the state level." Every time some dimwit like Lindsay Graham thinks he's solving a problem by proposing a "more moderate" ban of, say, 15 weeks at the federal level, he's just proving Republicans to be liars.
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One More Thing: Total Eclipse (not of the heart, and not in CO)
Later today (or earlier today, depending on when you're reading this) a total solar eclipse follows a path in the United States from east-central Texas thorough Arkansas, Missouri, southern Illinois, Indiana, northern Ohio, and the northern parts of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The path of totality is about 100 miles wide and the paths with 90% coverage of the sun was more than 100 miles wide on either side of the main track. In most places totality is about two minutes but in some of Mexico it exceeds 4 minutes. I saw a great chart of AirBNB bookings across the country showing massive property rentals along the entire eclipse path in the US, with about ¼ of all the company’s bookings for the night before the eclipse being on that track. A very nerdy but fun data point.
Our friend, CU Physics Professor Paul Beale, decided not to fly to Texas to view the eclipse because of forecasts of nasty storms and possible hail.
Solar eclipse: Airbnb rentals 90% booked along path of totality | Fox Business
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Today's Guests
Jennifer Sey was on track to become the next CEO of Levi Strauss. But when she started saying publicly, some months into the COVID pandemic, that public schools should reopen, the company told her to be quiet. She refused, quit, refused a big severance package that would have required her to keep quiet, and has become a champion for rational thinking. Now, Jennifer has started a new clothing brand aimed at supporting women and girls (and NOT men and boys) in women's and girls' sports.
We Stand Up for Women's Sports | XX-XY Athletics
Ex-Levi’s President Jennifer Sey Launches XX-XY Athletics For Women’s Sports (forbes.com)
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Brent Orrell is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He'll be engaging in debate tomorrow evening at CU with Katie Pavlich (of Townhall.com and Fox News) on this resolution: "Be it resolved, AI poses a threat to our democracy." Katie will argue in favor; Brent will argue against. You can attend in person or online. Sign up at the link below!
Brent Orrell | American Enterprise Institute - AEI
Summary - The Steamboat Institute Campus Liberty Tour – University of Colorado Boulder (cvent.com)
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Other Stuff
Israel vs Hamas
We’ll see: Progress reported as sides resume hostage deal negotiations in Cairo | The Times of Israel
Good. Kill every member of Hamas: IDF chief says withdrawal of troops from Gaza doesn’t mean war is close to end | The Times of Israel
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Mandy called me during her show (and brought me on the air) to tell me about a new study showing a huge increase in honeybees. Actually, while numbers were down and somewhat concerning, they weren't endangered. This story is very interesting. The number of honeybees is WAY up but the price of honey is not going down. If you have a decent econ brain, you'll pretty quickly figure out why, even if you don't get the absolute details. Why would an increase in the honeybee population (and you can assume they are kept by human beekeepers) not lead to a decrease in honey prices? (And you can assume steady demand for honey.)
Wait, does America suddenly have a record number of bees? (msn.com)
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Trade school can be a great idea: More Gen Z are choosing trade schools over college to become welders and carpenters because ‘it’s a straight path to a six-figure job' | Fortune
And so can college, but with some majors you'd better not go thinking you'll have any decent return on your education investment: Worst-paying college majors, five years after graduation (cnbc.com)
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Did you know this was happening? A new plan for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park: Sell it to Colorado - The Colorado Sun
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Congratulations to the University of South Carolina: Caitlin Clark's record season ends with Iowa loss to South Carolina (axios.com)
Here's a remarkable thing: The SC team that won did not have any of last year's 5 starters. That says a heck of a lot about how great their coach is.
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Electric self-driving trucks:
Autonomous semi trucks are coming, despite job fears and lack of regulation - The Washington Post
Biden’s Order: Let There Be Electric Trucks - WSJ
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I love this story. Read it...it's not what you think from the headline: The real D.C. crime wave - POLITICO
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Griswold sucks but this is so freakin’ stoopid: Colorado GOP seeks to impeach Secretary of State Griswold (kdvr.com)
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Today's Video
A re-enactment of today's solar eclipse