Just One Thing: 80th Anniversary of D-Day
Today is the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Almost exactly a year ago I had the chance to visit Normandy, the D-Day beaches, and the gorgeous American military cemetery with 40 show listeners. It was a powerful experience. There’s something about that cemetery that’s particularly moving. It’s much smaller than Arlington. It’s even smaller than the Fort Logan cemetery in Denver. The nearly 9400 headstones sit on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach where so many whose final resting place you are standing in front of actually perished. Over 9,000 Americans were killed or wounded in D-Day, of which 2400 were at Omaha Beach. Best guess is that only a few thousand D-Day vets remain. Think of them today, and if you get the rare remaining opportunity, say thank you to one of those true American heroes.
WSJ's thoughts today: D-Day in Modern Memory - WSJ
See tweet below from Jack Carr and short video from 101-year-old "Papa" Jake Larson who fought at Omaha Beach when he was 21 years old.
One More Thing: Only slightly less important than D-Day
Today's Guests
Dave Kopel is the Director of Research for the Independence Institute here in Denver. He's also an accomplished constitutional attorney with particular expertise in the Second Amendment.
We'll discuss the lawsuit threatened by the nation of Mexico against the United States over the flow of weapons from the US to our neighbor to the south.
Dave argues that the Supreme Court should not permit the lawsuit to take place.
Dave Kopel - Independence Institute (i2i.org)
Amicus brief (official argument to the Supreme Court by someone who is not a party to the case): s-w-v-mexico-5-22-24.pdf (nrapvf.org)
From 2011: MEXICO COMES KNOCKING (davekopel.org)
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Andrew Arthur is a Resident Fellow in Law and Policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that's very anti-illegal immigration and, in my opinion, somewhat anti-legal immigration. Even though I disagree with their latter policy position, Art is a true expert and "honest broker" of facts and law. We'll discuss the new executive order issued by Joe Biden that claims to be intended to reduce illegal border crossings into the United States. (More on this topic in the "Other Stuff" section below)
Author: Andrew R. Arthur (cis.org)
A First Look at Biden’s ‘Proclamation on Securing the Border’ (cis.org)
Other Stuff
Boy did I run across a lot of stuff on my days off that I need to talk about today even though I mostly avoided the news..
So, in no particular order:
Governor Polis applauds Joe Biden for taking a small step to correct a massive mess of his own making after Biden realizes it's about to cost him the 2024 election: Governor Polis Applauds President Biden For Action on Immigration | Colorado Governor Jared Polis
Biden thinks this stuff will help him politically. I think that it mostly will remind people that he failed to act for years and only did so when his team told him he's gonna lose in November: FACT SHEET: President Biden Announces New Actions to Secure the Border | The White House
This is from a pro-immigration group: Biden's Executive Action Will Not Make Border More Orderly or Secure | American Immigration Council
This is from an anti-immigration group and they don't like it but they also think it's better than nothing: A First Look at Biden’s ‘Proclamation on Securing the Border’ (cis.org)
I disagree with Krista Kafer here. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Denver Post which I won't post here because that would cause them not to consider running it but the short version is that I think most of what Krista says is intentional caricature of Lauren's position though I acknowledge that Boebert is advertising for a Republican primary and that will inevitably cause language and policy positions that offend the more genteel of the GOP. I'm neither genteel nor GOP and while I like Krista I think she's way off base.
Lauren Boebert's campaign ad on immigration gives voters the wrong impression (denverpost.com)
In a case of interesting timing, this was in my email on Thursday morning, after I wrote to the Post about Krista's letter (in which I noted my shift toward favoring more deportation). This notes a massive shift among Republicans and also a troubling turn against legal immigration; as a nation we desperately need immigration to maintain economic growth and support our Ponzi scheme of a government. I mean, we're basically a Ponzi scheme with a military: Get Out: More Americans Support Deporting Immigrants - The Survey Center on American Life (americansurveycenter.org)
Meanwhile, Colorado's Republican Party "leadership" needs to be defenestrated. First, they put out a list of congressional primary endorsements and include endorsing Dave Williams, an angry little grifter, for the 5th CD, even though having the party chairman (which is what Dave is, for now) be endorsed by the party in a race is wildly unethical. Let's hope that Jeff Crank delivers Dave the firm-handed electoral spanking that Dave so richly deserves and let's hope he, sooner rather than later, drifts off into the shady world of scam-PACs that he seems so suited for.
Second, the party then put out an email (again, this is from the official state GOP email address) entitled "God Hates Pride" with an insane video from some pastor explaining just how terrible the pride flag is. It also references "godless groomers" as if every person who would fly (or otherwise support) a Pride flag is a pedophile. Boy, the state party is sick. The link to open the email in a browser doesn't work but the page was entitled "Burn a Pride Flag." I wonder if Dave Williams knows that he's running for Congress in the district where not long ago there was a mass shooting at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. (Of course he knows.)
Colorado Republican Party issues call to burn Pride flags | 9news.com
Hamas is STILL hiding in schools: IDF strikes school in central Gaza where it says dozens of terrorists were gathered | The Times of Israel
While I was away, India held an election. The ruling BJP Party was predicted, based on polling, to win a strong majority. They didn't. Prime Minister Narendra Modi now needs cooperation from smaller parties to form a governing coalition (which appears is already in place.) Whether it tempers his aggressive "Hindu Nationalism" remains to be seen because anti-Muslim rhetoric didn't help him in the election. But it's another example of global pushback against incumbents and in India specifically might be due to the extreme (nearly 45%) unemployment among young adults. India election results 2024: Allies back Modi for third term after setback (bbc.com)
Trigger warnings are ridiculous, and some are more ridiculous than others
A New Bone of Contention: Trigger Warnings in Archaeology Class - WSJ
I don’t put too much credence into one study but this is interesting: ‘Extremely impressive’: melanoma jab trial results excite doctors | Cancer | The Guardian
A few years ago, the NY Times would actively have prevented this article from running: Opinion | The Pandemic Probably Started in a Lab. These 5 Key Points Explain Why. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
It’s amazing anybody still works there. NY's Dem governor indefinitely halts congestion pricing plan, putting party over climate | Fox News
Trump's off the hook in GA for now. I think he actually did bad stuff there. Illegal? Borderline. But Fani Willis should have been removed because of her outrageous behavior and creation of a conflict of interest, spending taxpayer money on her boyfriend who was not qualified to participate in the prosecution. Georgia Court of Appeals Halts Trump Election-Interference Case Indefinitely | National Review
Always assume that awesome stuff that’s priced too cheap is fake. And even if it’s not priced too cheap. Counterfeit Championship Rings Worth Over $1.3 Million Seized by Cincinnati CBP | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
There is a confusingly large number of numbers in this story: Dollar Tree acquires 170 store leases for 99 Cents Only locations in 4 Western states - UPI.com
I think this will be upheld if it’s challenged in court and if so and if there’s an appeal to the Supreme Court, I think they’ll refuse to hear it. Jared Polis signs concealed-carry permit training requirements law (denverpost.com)
From the article:
Coloradans will need eight hours of in-person training from a verified instructor to qualify for a concealed-carry permit under a new law.
Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1174 on Tuesday. It was part of a slew of bills dealing with firearm regulations passed by the legislature this year.
The in-person training requirement includes passing a live-fire exercise and a written exam. People seeking to renew their concealed-carry permits, which expire after 5 years, will need two hours of in-person training, including the live-fire exercise and a written exam. It will be up to county sheriffs to verify the certification of firearm instructors.
The new requirements go into effect July 1, 2025.
And you wonder why I don’t entirely trust the “justice” system? This is part of the reason I must oppose the death penalty even though some cases don’t require DNA. I simply don’t trust people on the gov’t side not to cheat. Coworkers raised concerns decade before Colorado forensic scientist found manipulating data (coloradosun.com)
Or at the Denver Post: CBI scientist's flawed DNA work was flagged years ago, report finds (denverpost.com)
I love that they’re trying this though I remain somewhat skeptical that you can try to focus attention simultaneously on music and conversation without messing up both. At These Restaurants, Good Sound Is Just as Important as Good Food - WSJ
Today's Videos
This is pretty fabulous...you never know what talent is hidden underneath...
This is from 3 months ago but I still think it's worth sharing now