Just One Thing: Interesting legal thoughts from Sen Mike Lee
From Kash Patel hearing at the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday
Today's Guest
Maggie Anders is the host of Undoctrination, and social media content creator, at the Foundation for Economic Education
We'll talk about her interesting video about Ross Ulbricht whom President Trump recently pardoned.
Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht for online drug scheme | Reuters
2015 statement from DOJ: Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, sentenced to life in federal prison for creating, operating ‘Silk Road’ website | ICE
Other Stuff
There are more stories than usual that I didn't get to earlier in the week, especially yesterday when much of the show was unexpectedly preempted by the horrific plane/helicopter crash in DC...
They clearly deserved to win. I just hate that taxpayers foot the bill for criminal behavior by public servants: Sheriff and deputies awarded $5M in 1st Amendment retaliation case | FOX31 Denver
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Speaking of winning, this sounds like a long time, and actually like a small jackpot for the bet amount: Player makes history, hits $1M slot machine jackpot at Monarch Casino in Black Hawk
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Offered without comment: Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden'
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This is massively risky. I know Trump supporters don't like it when I say this, but he either doesn't understand economics very well or he's absolutely willing to lie to the public every day about tariffs. Actually, it's probably both. In any case, if he really does this and doesn't remove the tariffs soon, the US economy will suffer significantly.
Trump says Canada and Mexico to be hit with 25% tariffs on Saturday
Indeed, as I've said since well before the election, the most dangerous part of Trump's presidency will be the games he plays with tariffs. Are they just negotiating tools? Does he really like them and like the money he takes from Americans while claiming he's taking it from foreigners? What if it's the former but another country doesn't cave in? I get the idea of using them as a tactic, but it's sorta like threatening to shoot yourself if the other guy doesn't do what you want.
Trump Aides Hunt for 11th-Hour Deal to Dial Back Canada-Mexico Tariffs - WSJ (gift link...no subscription necessary)
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I understand it seems a little…Luddite, but I like moving the Overton Window on the use of technology, esp by young people: Luddite Teens Still Don’t Want Your Likes - The New York Times
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Colorado Dems are truly radical and socialist. If you think healthcare is expensive (and sometimes subpar) now, just wait until you see how bad and expensive it is when it's "free": Health-Care Payment System Analysis | Colorado General Assembly
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This is serious: Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo say they plan to take their fight to the capital | AP News
From a couple of days ago: Rwanda-backed rebels seize control of Congo’s Goma after violent clashes
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NewsNation is making progress: MSNBC viewers ditch network, switch to NewsNation in January
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Not THAT part of Guantanamo: Trump says U.S. will send "worst criminal illegal aliens" to Guantanamo Bay
Defense Secretary Hegseth says Guantanamo Bay 'perfect place' to hold migrants | Fox News
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Finally, this corruptocrat gets his due: Former Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison, no fine in federal bribery case
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I get it, and I’d like to see them gone, but this is probably illegal: Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters | Reuters
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Can you imagine the age and history of a country that has a festival that occurs once every 140 years? If that were the US, the maximum number of times such an event could have happened is 2. Maha Kumbh stampede highlights: 30 dead, 60 injured in Prayagraj; judicial probe ordered - The Hindu (There are versions of this that are more frequent but because of a particular alignment of stars, this falls into the most special category.) Imagine this: "...over 400 million people expected to visit before the six-week festival concludes" Kumbh Mela 2025 latest: India orders probe into deadly stampede after 30 deaths and 60 injuries | The Independent
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This was always an outrageous prosecution, regardless of what you think about the underlying issues regarding transgender youth. 'We Never Gave Up': Texas Whistleblower Went Toe-to-Toe with the Gender-Industrial Complex — and Won | National Review
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This will be thrown out in court: Oklahoma schools leader Ryan Walters moves to require students to prove citizenship
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Interesting data points, including about perceived safety of dating apps and what women think of how rapey men are: Romantic Recession: How Politics, Pessimism, and Anxiety Shape American Courtship - The Survey Center on American Life
Related: Axios: The marriage gap for women isn't what you think
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This reminds us of how lonely many Americans are. So while to some of us who grew up in a time before smart phones and social media and politics kept people apart, in today's environment I'm glad for anything that brings people together in person: Axios: 1 big thing: Embracing the "errand hang"
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An activist group commissioned a study about toxins in black plastic such as the kind many people's spatulas are made out of. They found that there are high levels of toxic flame retardants in them, probably acquired by recycling some safe plastics with other plastics from electronics that contain fire-retardant chemicals. While the results of that particular finding haven't changed, the researchers made a math error so basic that it's remarkable that it was made to begin with and not caught by reviewers, but the reviewers probably wanted the result to be true. In short, the original paper claimed that the likely daily exposure to these chemicals from using these black plastics at home exceeded government recommended limits but the actual recommended limit was 10 times higher and the exposure is therefore a bit over a tenth of the limit. It's unclear whether exposure at this level actually poses any risk. That said, I don't really need exposure to byproducts of recycled electronics and given that I'd be spending less than $20 or so, I will likely look to replace the several black plastic cooking utensils we have in the house.
Toxic Flame Retardants in Recycled Plastics - Toxic-Free Future
Correction: Corrigendum to ‘From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about plastic recycling’ [Chemosphere 365 (2024) 143319] - ScienceDirect
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Today's Videos
Shredding the National Anthem (in the good way)
Good for a chuckle