SCOTUS allows temporary removal of firearms
For all those people who think the Supreme Court will overturn "red flag laws" (I'm looking at you, @senatorbrophy and @RMGOColorado and @NRA), today's SCOTUS ruling in Rahimi suggests otherwise...and it was 8-1.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-915_8o6b.pdf
Background info here as well: United States v. Rahimi - SCOTUSblog
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Just One Thing: I wonder if the Colorado GOP really wants to win
Jon Caldara, my friend and president of the Independence Institute, had me on his great show, Devil's Advocate. I hope you find it of interest. Note that on YouTube you can click the "gear" settings icon and play it back at 1.25x or 1.5x so you can listen to the whole thing faster than its stated length.
First the short clip on Twitter/X, then the long version on YouTube
One More Thing: Shameful voting
A listener, who I suspect doesn’t listen often, was mad at me for saying yesterday that I thought a person should be ashamed to vote for Joe Biden. I told her that she was intentionally taking my words out of context. Now while I think it’s not smart to vote for Biden, the shameful part was something very specific: it was responding to a guy who works in DC, probably for a Congressman, posting a tweet of a letter he got saying that Joe Biden had forgiven the guy’s student loans. The guy said “elections have consequences.” I said, yes, the consequences are a president damaging my children’s futures by buying your vote with their future earnings. I stand by what I said: voting for Biden because he’s robbing people and sharing the loot with you is shameful.
Remember, contrary to the words behind President Biden in this blogcast's picture, he is not "canceling" any debt. The money has already been spent and the national debt does not get reduced by his actions. It's just that one person decided to take out a loan, got the benefit of the education (in most cases, at least), and now Biden is going to make other taxpayers pay off that person's loans even though most people who got loans significantly increased their lifetime earning potential.
Today's Guests
Rep Lauren Boebert represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District and is seeking the GOP nomination for the 4th Congressional District. But today we're not talking about the election. We're talking about a rather interesting issue that I'd never really thought about and that she's sponsored a bill to address:
Rep. Boebert Introduces Zip Code Bill for Colorado Communities
Demetri Kofinas is the proprietor of one of my favorite podcasts, Hidden Forces. He's an interesting guy who likes thinking about the world and has some of the most interesting guests of any podcast. I think it's worth subscribing to a paid tier in order to get the 2nd half of his interviews. Topics range from economics and markets to international relations to AI, and occasional one-off but fascinating subjects.
Other Stuff
If Trump wins this election, thank Alvin Bragg for inspiring this: Trump campaign gets $50m boost from single donor (bbc.com)
I REALLY despise Alvin Bragg: Columbia Protests: Alvin Bragg's Office Drops Charges against Dozens of Protesters Who Ransacked Campus Hall | National Review
It will be interesting to see if the Trump tax cuts become a big part of the presidential campaign. The only real way for Biden to run against them is to lie. Well, that's not quite fair: One way is to lie and make it sound as if only the rich got tax cuts whereas actually almost all taxpayers got tax cuts and some people got moved from owing taxes to not owing taxes (which I oppose.) The other way is to try to old (wrong) line that the rich (and businesses) don't "pay their fair share", which I think most people don't care that much about, at least not if the cost of getting the rich (who already pay too much) to pay more would be to also increase their own tax bill. Trump and others must explain to voters that they will get a tax hike if Biden wins again. Unfortunately, Trump is confusing the issue with his stupid support of tariffs. Really exceptionally brain-dead policy.
Pence group pushes Trump tax cuts as GOP debate on tariffs looms
A fascinating and important piece about the media, by Axios: 😱 Axios Finish Line: Media earthquake
And the Washington Post is a MESS: Robert Winnett will not join The Post as editor - The Washington Post
This seems like something of a local legal story but I think it’s bigger. I think it fits into a massive overall view by an increasing number of Americans that our systems, our institutions, are corrupt and designed to benefit an oligarchy rather than the citizenry: This Judge Made Houston the Top Bankruptcy Court. Then He Helped His Girlfriend Cash In. - WSJ
I also wonder what policy they violated: This Company Believes in “Protecting Women’s Sports.” TikTok Banned Its Ad. | The Free Press (thefp.com)
I hope he gets it back at a low price (or no price at all): Dave Davies Shocked to See His Rock Hall Trophy for Sale on eBay (ultimateclassicrock.com)
I do hope Bob Good loses. I'm slightly surprised the Trump endorsement of the other guy left an election this close. Good vows "full investigation" as he faces potential ouster (axios.com)
The logic of the paternalistic left: We need to ban certain loans because people are too stupid not to use them. Federal judge blocks key provision of new Colorado lending law (denverpost.com)
In case you missed it yesterday, some incredible reporting about the how China pretends to care about crime. (Sharing with a link that does not require a Wash Post subscription):China cultivated high-rolling crime families before turning on them - The Washington Post
Dave Williams remains the state’s biggest jackass of a politician, and that’s saying something: County Republican parties join call to remove Dave Williams as Colorado GOP chairman over Pride emails | News | denvergazette.com
Nerdy stuff about decibels and loudness, following up on yesterday's muffler conversation: dB (decibel) ratings (e2s.com)
3 dB represents a doubling of what’s called sound pressure but because of the ways our ears/hearing work, 10 dB (roughly) is what people need to think something is twice as loud.
From listener Greg, who's been doing audio stuff for a long time:
Acoustic sound is a power function. Differences are therefore expressed as 10log(P2/P1), where P2=second power, and P1-starting power.
Therefore two times the power = 10log(P2/P1) = 10log(2/1)= 3.01dB
But we measure the small signal audio level of the electronics of our stereos in Voltage, expressed as 20log(V2/V1), where V2=second voltage and V1= starting voltage.
Therefore two times the voltage = 20log(V2/V1) = 20log(2/1)=6.02dB.
Today's Videos
Good thinking!
An oldie but a goodie