Yesterday's anti-ICE protests in Denver were "mostly peaceful"
One cheer for "deal" with China
President Trump posted this on Truth Social on Weds morning:
OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME. FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!). WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
Obviously it's good (if true) that the supply of rare earth materials and magnets will resume. The college student thing is tricky because China is such a bad actor in that area: it's not just smart kids coming to study. Lots of them are, or in the future will be, spies for the Chinese gov't. Imagine how important it must be for China to get those spies into the country if that's a main thing they sought in negotiation. And perhaps most importantly, if we end up with 55% tariffs on Chinese goods, that's TERRIBLE for America. Bad for China, too, but I don't really care about that. A huge percentage of what we buy from China are intermediate goods, meaning items American companies use to make things here. This is utterly brain-dead policy and Congress should, but won't, stop it. At this point our only hope is that federal courts rule that at least most of Trump's tariffs are illegal. Which I believe they are. And certainly should be.
Apologies
This is the right move. I'm with Musk as far as not liking the Big Beautiful Bill but Musk got too personal in his attacks on Trump. Trump actually handled that part well after his own stupid outburst about canceling government contracts with Musk-affiliated companies.
Simone Biles said a stupid thing the other day. Now she's apologized but the apology has too many caveats and ignores the fact that she knows she's took the wrong side in the issue at hand, unless you believe that she changed her position on it. (For original, and correct, view, see the third tweet below. First, what she needed to apologize for and second the sort-of apology.)
And this morning, Riley Gaines said she accepted Biles' apology
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Just One Thing: When virtue-signaling becomes evil
Imagine even trying to brainwash a 4-year old (or however old the boy in today's blog picture is) by having him wave a Palestinian flag at an event to protest against enforcement of federal immigration law.
As I've said in a lot of different contexts, the Venn diagram between the far left and (fill in the blank) has massive overlap. What is in the blank? Could be support for terrorism including pretending to support "Palestinians" but really just wanting dead Jews, could be protesting against federal law enforcement agents deporting illegal aliens, most of whom (I don't mean most illegal aliens, but most being deported) have committed crimes since arriving in the country, could be just hating Trump.
Jeff Blehar at National Review has it right: Los Angeles Riots: All Radicalisms Combine into One | National Review
See more links in the "Other Stuff" section below...
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Today's Guests
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to meet Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon at an energy-related event hosted by the Common Sense Institute. I was very impressed with his deep knowledge on a wide range of issues, particularly energy and education. I asked the gov if he'd be willing to join me on the show and he said "absolutely". Of course, KOA has listeners in Wyoming!
Some things we'll discuss: The state's own Stable Token, Energy, Education, Innovation. Nuclear Power. "Govt closest to the people is the most effective." Rare Earth Minerals.
Wyoming Innovation Partnership
Wyoming Stable Token Commission
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Leland Vittert host's "On Balance" on News Nation weeknights at 7 PM MT (with replay at 10 PM). For me and Kristen, it's our one must-watch cable news show. I encourage you to subscribe (it's free!) to Leland's daily (afternoon) email, War Notes, which is really his show preparation. You'll be smarter if you do.
"On Balance with Leland Vittert" on NewsNation
Leland has a book coming out later this year: Born Lucky - Harper Horizon
But the most important thing: Leland got married last weekend! Let's all wish him a long happy live with his new bride, Rachel.
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Other Stuff
As long as they're not violent, I'm OK with it though at some point we have to say it's not OK to block major city streets.
As immigration raids continue, ICE protests spread coast to coast
Is this true? Home Depot Can’t Be Off-Limits | National Review
I agree with Nick:
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I actually basically agree with Moran about Miller and to a lesser degree about Trump. But I'm NOT a reporter and not a "senior national correspondent" for a major NEWS organization. You can be a "straight-news" reporter or you can publicly express very strong political opinions. But you can't do both. A few years ago, Moran probably would have gotten away with this but given the multi-million-dollar settlements Trump is getting out of news organizations for lies and bias lately, there was no way the lawyers at ABC could let Moran stay. I don't feel bad for him. He either knew he was crossing a line or he was drunk, or both.
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On one hand, this shows that local law enforcement can handle it. On the other hand, would they have done this if Trump hadn’t sent in the Nat’l Guard and Marines?
Los Angeles imposes curfew as protests continue against Trump’s immigration crackdown | AP News
Sen Tom Cotton makes this same point: Tom Cotton: Send In the Troops, for Real - WSJ
Also, looters should be shot
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Will this Bus Rapid Transit end up being worth it? I kinda doubt it. Denver Middleman Closing, Taking Misfit Snack Bar With It | Westword
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On the one hand, you should take every opponent at least somewhat seriously. (Think about what happened to the very senior House member who didn't take AOC seriously.) On the other hand, Hope Scheppelman is a lunatic who represents so much of the disfunction and lack of ethics among recent Colorado Republican Party leadership. She needs to be soundly defeated: Hope Scheppelman launches primary challenge against Jeff Hurd
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Whatever AI hasn't yet changed, it soon will change: Google’s New AI Tools Are Crushing News Sites - WSJ
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I don't root for companies, or industries, to fail. But how can I cheer for an industry that isn't economically viable unless every transaction is supported with tax dollars coming from my children's future earnings?
Residential solar power in crisis mode - Axios.com
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