A personal note
A few days ago we were talking about using AI to create an online version of a deceased loved one. Not just audio, but visual as well so that you could have what feels like a Facetime conversation with them. Most listeners were against it, though not all. We had mixed opinions on it in the studio.
But I did think about one way in which I might be willing to try this. Heck, I might even make an effort at it:
One of the great sadnesses of my life is that my little brother died shortly before my first child was born, and less than 3 years before my second child was born, which means they never got to meet each other. I think Cliff would have loved my kids and I think they would have loved him.
What if an AI version of my brother could be created for the simple purpose of showing my kids what my brother looked like, what he sounded like, and even what he might have said? I wouldn't want to go too far with it, though. I wouldn't want, for example, my kids to ask an AI a question (even if it is programmed to try to "think" like my brother). I don't know...it just occurred to me.
What do you think?
.
Just One Thing: This was an obvious ruling
The news: Judge tosses indictments against James Comey and Tish James - ABC News
Good analysis here: Lindsey Halligan is out — but there are major questions about what comes next - POLITICO
The ruling: Gov.uscourts.vaed.582135.213.0.pdf
The question is what happens now. The DOJ says they'll appeal and perhaps they will but they're exceedingly likely to lose. The ruling is very solid. Almost every expert predicted just this outcome. So how will they go about continuing to try to prosecute and persecute* Comey? One possibility, of several, would be to name Halligan to the #2 job in the Eastern District of Virginia's US Attorney's office. Since the top job is empty, she could likely function as "Acting US Attorney" and refile the charges. I think what's important to keep in mind here is that Trump does not care whether the case is eventually won or lost; putting these two through the lawfare process, as they did to him in different ways, is the penalty.
*To be clear, when I say persecute that doesn't mean I don't think he's a good guy. He's definitely not. But I don't think they can convict him of anything. I think it's unlikely they just drop it because Trump wants the system going after his political enemies. I understand despising Jim Comey and Letitia James. I despise them. But we have to protect the rule of law (even if they didn't) and I really don't like our government acting like a banana republic.
.
Today's Guests
Rich "Raz" Razgaitis is a clean water evangelist and co-founder and CEO of Flowater
FloWater | The Modern Water Dispenser
We'll talk about potential impacts on Denver's water and power prices from very large data centers: Data Center could use more power than DIA, prompts worries about bills
.
Caitlin Clark (no, not THAT one) is a CSU senior food scientist. As we're heading into a few days, and then a month, with a lot of cooking and baking, we'll talk about doing those things at high-altitude.
High Elevation Food Preparation | CSU Extension
.
Other Stuff
Certainly not the most important story but I love the history and the imagery: Titanic passenger Isidor Straus's pocket watch sells for $2.3 million
.
New Twitter function exposes fake American (and non-American) accounts: How X's new location feature exposed big US politics accounts
.
This merger is important in Denver because it would put 9News under the same ownership as Fox 31. It's unclear what it would mean for the employment of some of the bigger names at 9News. What I don't understand is Trump's tortured logic: All the ABC stations in question already exist. How would putting them under different ownership cause the network to expand? Trump Wary of Nexstar Merger That Could ‘Enlarge’ News Networks - Newsweek
Furthermore, this kind of stuff from Trump is the stuff that gets close to accusations of "fascism" (in the economic sense) being correct. This is the kind of thing I dislike most about Trump. He is not king. He is not dictator. This is not Russia or Zimbabwe.
.
Do you support or oppose this? Email me at ross@iheartmedia.com and let me know!
Colorado approves credit card and online lottery ticket purchases despite bipartisan pushback | 9news.com
Colorado approves controversial use of credit cards to purchase lottery tickets - CBS Colorado
.
I wish that so often I didn't feel like there are no good guys in our politics. As with above, where Trump and Pam Bondi are doing the wrong thing to Comey and James who themselves are reprehensible creatures, here's Pete Hegseth doing the wrong thing to one of the Democrats involved in that egregious, perhaps disgusting, video in which they try to bias members of the military against the commander-in-chief.
When I talk about this on the show I'm going to share audio with you from two of the Dems in the video. Bottom line is they BOTH say they are unaware of any clearly illegal order by Trump. Unbelievable. They deserve criticism and scorn. But this move by the Pentagon is the exact analog of siccing Pam Bondi on James Comey and likely to work out exactly as well.
I also note that if Mark Kelly wants to run for president, which is quite possible, this would be a huge boost for him.
Pentagon announces misconduct probe over video urging troops to ‘refuse illegal orders’ | Fox News
“Shoot at their legs” was a question, albeit a terrible one: 0The times Trump has advocated for violence
The ‘Illegal Orders’ Controversy - WSJ
.
It's not just happening in America: Germans are going off beer. That’s forcing brewers to adapt or go bust
U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge
.
Seems like an interesting legal argument, actually, though it's easy to believe that the strip club owners are basically stealing from their employees: Judge rules Denver strip club entertainers have wage protections | 9news.com
.
If you were signed up for this service, such as in Weld County or Douglas County, and if you used your CodeRED password for anything else, you should change those passwords on the other sites: Cyberattack takes CodeRED alerts offline, may have accessed personal information
.
Jeana and I were talking yesterday about "boreout", a phenomenon in which workers get so bored at work that they become bad workers and often quit or get fired. My theory is that since we haven't heard of this before even though there have been LOTS of boring jobs for decades or centuries, it's more likely that workers have changed than that work has changed. And my further theory is that the thing that's changed is that social media has destroyed young people's attention spans. Now comes this research: Watching TikTok and Instagram Reels can cause brain rot, study finds
.
Here's a quandary for today's MAGA: an Israeli-American who wants to run for office as a Republican to honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk: 'ShamWow' guy, Vince Shlomi, files to run for Congress in Texas as a Republican | Fox News
.
Oh, hell no! Xcel Energy asks for $356M rate increase. Home rates could will rise $10.
Xcel Energy-Colorado seeks electric rate increase to cover investments
.
Pretty cool: Denver Summit FC on pace to break attendance record for women's professional sports
.
What changed between this first headline and the next two? (They were only 4 days apart.)
Chances for ACA subsidy extension mostly dead (Axios.com)
Trump to push new Republican plan on ACA subsidies
President Trump set to propose health care plan to fix Obamacare subsidies
.
I don't blame them for feeling this way. But how did we get here? Republicans consider quitting Congress as death threats, infighting rise
.
Today's Videos
You absolutely have to love these animals
An independent woman from a very young age