Just One Thing: Are you freakin' kidding me?
This is absolutely nuts. I'm furious, almost speechless.
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans - The Atlantic
Top 4 takeaways from Trump Cabinet's explosive leak of Yemen war plans
White House defiant after messaging fiasco with The Atlantic
Donald Trump says he knows nothing of Atlantic journalist in war plan text chain
What the Trump War-Plan Chat Reveals - WSJ
Statement to me (in email) from former NATO Supreme Allied Commander ADM James Stavridis (Ret):
"It is the most shocking thing I have seen in a long time, and given the moment in which we exist that is quite a comment.
Picture what would have happened if this were a bunch of majors and captains and lieutenants. They would all be prosecuted dismissed from the service and possibly incarcerated for leaking information like this in such a manner."
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Today's Guest
John Deaton served in the Marine Corps from 1995 to 2002, going in right after earning his law degree. He put those two things together to serve as a Judge Advocate in the Marines. He was the Republican candidate for US Senate in Massachusetts last November. I guess it’s not surprising that he didn’t win in a state that blue, but he put up a good fight.
John argues that it’s a good move for the US military to kick out and ban transgender service members. I have questions, and they fall in two distinct categories: What does the administration have the authority to do? And what should the administration do (or not do) within those authorities?
His life story, including what he had to overcome to achieve what he has achieved is remarkable as well. Meet John Deaton - John Deaton for US Senate
US issues guidance on transgender military ban, seeks to lift court order | Reuters
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Other Stuff
Trump's trade wars are just beginning but may already have done some real damage: US Consumer Confidence Tumbled Again in March
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The genetics testing firm 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy and the attorney general of California is warning customers to delete their data and accounts:
23andMe bankruptcy: California AG warns users to delete data | NewsNation
Delete your DNA data from genetics company 23andMe right now - The Washington Post (may require subscription)
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Thanks to listener Greg for sending this interesting audio-nerd story: We asked hi-fi engineers what makes a music streamer sound great – and it's about much more than just chipsets | What Hi-Fi?
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Somebody has talked Trump into backing off, at least a bit and at least for now: Trump Might Exempt Some Nations From Reciprocal Tariffs - WSJ
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A week from today: What you need to know about Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race | PBS News
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If you have to borrow money for a meal, you're doing something wrong. I really hate this story. Klarna lands buy now, pay later deal with DoorDash ahead of IPO
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An interesting use of tariffs, and maybe one of the few that could achieve its goal. The major risk, of course, is that nations that stop buying Venezuelan oil will start buying oil in other global markets which will either drive up the cost of oil and gasoline for the rest of the world or, less likely but not impossible, increase revenue to Russia. This is simply removing some of the world's supply of oil and it's not rocket surgery to figure out what that means for prices (unless, and this is unlikely but not impossible, Venezuela is forced to sell oil at a discount and finds buyers willing to risk the tariffs to get that discount.)
Trump says any country buying Venezuelan oil will face a 25% tariff | CNN Business
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Shocking but not surprising: The New York Times and the Case of the Missing Knife
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Maybe a little too much glee from the right, but it's understandable. A bigger lesson might be just how risky it is these days to remake a classic, not least with an actress who seemed willing to offend half the country. Controversial live-action 'Snow White' underwhelms at the box office | Fox News
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Trump's unflattering portrait removed from the Colorado State Capitol last night after the president complained: Trump's portrait to be removed from Colorado state Capitol | Politics | gazette.com
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Is the legislature trying to slow-roll future wolf reintroductions? Colorado legislature footnote tightens wolf reintroductions | News | coloradopolitics.com
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So Trump is wrecking the Conservative Party in Canada and now this, with is bullying idiocy that was always only going to have this effect:
Trump’s Moves on Greenland Appear to Be Backfiring - The New York Times
Greenland Slams Usha Vance’s Visit as Trump Continues Threats | The New Republic
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Because of massive increases in state government spending, especially but not solely in Medicaid, the state legislature must find something on the order of a BILLION dollars in savings. Republicans don't like spending but once it's there even they find it hard to cut. Dems always hate to cut spending. Aurora is having this problem on a smaller scale. At the state level, it's interesting that setting up the (possibly unconstitutional) bureaucracy to infringe on Coloradans' Second Amendment rights will have some multi-million dollar cost but Dems are bound and determined to pass it anyway. And it's always worth reminding ourselves that Democrats always underestimate how many people will want free stuff. See the section in the first link below about "free" school lunches. By the way, this is really the voters' fault, like our crazy family and medical leave program and the wolf reintroduction.
Colorado lawmakers delay budget as they agonize over final cuts - The Colorado Sun
Aurora sees 'concerning' flattening of sales tax revenue | Aurora | denvergazette.com
SB25-003, the $27 million paywall on the Second Amendment - Rocky Mountain Voice
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I didn't get to this yesterday...Trump helping liberals win elections and otherwise turning other nations against America for almost no gain for the US: Canada’s Mark Carney Calls a Snap Election
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This news actually came out at least a few weeks ago and I had it to talk about before vacation but didn't get to it. The lessons remain relevant: “In Bad Faith” | American Enterprise Institute - AEI
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I don't know how old this is but there's no doubt that Fairfax (full of gov't employees and contractors and thus VERY Democratic-leaning) will be on of the last to get off the "woke" bandwagon:
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Other stuff I didn't get to yesterday:
Columbia University’s Concessions to Trump Seen as a Watershed - The New York Times
Columbia Learns a Hard Lesson - WSJ
Columbia caves to Trump demands to regain $400 million in funding
Universities Sprint from ‘We Will Not Cower’ to Appeasing Trump - WSJ
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And awesome science nerdiness: Is our universe trapped inside a black hole? This James Webb Space Telescope discovery might blow your mind | Space
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Ending the blog (and a life) on a sweet note: Man buried in Snickers-themed coffin
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Today's Videos
Two more from the Galapagos