Donald Trump's ridiculous obsession with Jay Powell
President Trump is making an enormous mistake. This is the stuff of banana republics. I'm no fan of Jay Powell or, more generally, of the Fed. He was way too slow to raise rates and then too slow to cut rates and I despise the Fed's making it easier through QE for the federal government to run bigger deficits and run up our national debt.
Powell says DOJ has subpoenaed central bank, threatens indictment | AP News
But the idea that you go after the Fed president on "trumped"-up nonsense, the idea that our Dept of Justice has someone (or multiple someones) in it who would politicize the foundation of our financial system in order to curry favor with a president should frighten everyone. If you want to criticize the guy for bad policy, go for it. His term is up in 4 months.
Alternatively, put it another way, if the DoJ charges Jerome Powell with any type of crime and don't get a conviction (which they won't), everybody who pushed for this should be fired and, if they're lawyers, they should be disbarred. (I'm not talking about DoJ foot-soldiers who are following orders, but rather the hyper-political leadership.)
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Just One Thing: Did she deserve to die?
I wrote a little thought experiment for my Substack. I hope you'll read (and subscribe) here: Did she to deserve to die? - by Ross Kaminsky
And here's the opening:
So, let’s talk about some of the facts of one of the biggest stories in American news in recent years.
A woman in her mid-30s was convinced by whatever political leaders, and I use that term loosely, and whatever online pundits or influencers, she followed, that the federal government was engaging in activity that was somewhere between improper and illegal. And she was further convinced, wrongly, that it was her job to interfere with that legitimate operation of the federal government.
Again, read and subscribe (for free) and tell your friends! Did she to deserve to die? - by Ross Kaminsky
Meanwhile, our Homeland Security Secretary, who ridiculously called Renee Good a "domestic terrorist", is doubling down...which is exactly what you'd expect from the Trump administration. That said, in the administration's defense, they're engaging in law enforcement and we should not allow citizens to prevent enforcement of laws they don't like. Instead, they should work to change the law. Of course, a law authorizing the deportation of illegal aliens isn't going to change, so the next step would be electing people who say they won't enforce the law, but do we really want that either? I don't think so. Biden went much too far in one direction; Trump is going much too far in the other. These Minneapolis protesters don't seem to want a rational middle-ground but rather to return to open borders and no enforcement, and that's not OK.
Kristi Noem defends Minneapolis ICE shooting, will send hundreds more agents
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Today's Guests
Brian Freeman is a best-selling thriller author and currently the man continuing the famed "Bourne" series by Robert Ludlum. His latest, which is a lot of fun and, unusually, has a lot of its action take place in Wisconsin, is The Bourne Revenge.
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Revenge (Jason Bourne): Freeman, Brian: Amazon.com: Books
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Stacey Stegman is the spokesperson for Denver International Airport. We'll talk about the upcoming expansion of the C concourse.
Contract approved for $700M concourse expansion at Denver airport - Denver Business Journal
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Now that we know some of next week's NFL playoff schedule including the Broncos' game day (but not time) and opponent, Ryan Edwards, co-host of KOA Sports (weekdays 3 PM to 6 PM) joins us for a preview of the Broncos game and the rest of the playoff situation.
The Broncos will play the (frightening) Buffalo Bills on Saturday at Empower Field at Mile High. Kickoff either 2:30 PM or 6 PM. We'll learn which time after tonight's game between Pittsburgh and Houston.
Broncos to host Divisional Round matchup vs. Bills on Saturday, Jan. 17
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Other Stuff
Kristen and I saw the musical "Six" at the Buell Theater last night. It was the last show for Six's visit to Denver this time around. I didn't really know what I was in for. It was very much like going to see an all-female pop band. Every member of the cast including all 4 members of the band behind the former wives of Henry VIII, was a woman. Nary a man to be seen. I understood at that point why so much of the audience was female and so many parents had brought their daughters to the show. There were some "feminist" (but not in the most annoying woke way) and empowering messages for women and girls and the quality of the singing and dancing was excellent. I also liked that the show was fairly short, at about 1 hr 20 min. I think this review (from an earlier version of the award-winning show) gets it about right: SIX: The Musical: Feminist Think Piece or Surface-Level Fun? – The Observer If Six comes back to Denver, I can recommend that you go have an evening of fun with a little history mixed in, and bring your daughter(s).
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Tomorrow (according to news reports) President Trump will be briefed on American options to respond to the Iranian regime killing protesters. Remember, Trump threatened (and again more recently) that if the Iranian regime started shooting at its own people, the US would start shooting at Iran. And Trump likes to back up his red lines, but what can the US do that will be effective and worth the cost and risk?
US steps up planning for possible action in Iran
Trump to be briefed on range of options in Iran - POLITICO
'Massacre' unfolding in Iran as protest death toll triples, rights group warns | New York Post
We are living in remarkable times given that this is a president who campaigned more than any other since the Vietnam era on getting and keeping the US out of wars. When asked by the New York Times last week about if there is any limit on his power, Trump had a remarkable (and frightening) answer: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
I really don't like this aspect of Trump where he aims to punish or reward individual companies: Trump 'inclined' to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after CEO response at White House meeting - ABC News
Is Cuba next? Trump threatens Cuba with U.S. action after Venezuela's Maduro captured
(Actually I very much doubt we'd send military forces into Cuba. More likely we'd try to strangle their oil supply until they capitulate, though that would impose massive hardship on the population for a while.)
An interesting read about secondary effects: A US Venezuela Victory May Help China Gain an Edge | American Enterprise Institute - AEI
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Bob Weir, RIP
Bob Weir, co-founder of rock group the Grateful Dead, dies at age 78 | Music | The Guardian
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Quite good except maybe for the very end of the article: Vince Bzdek: Coloradans are fed up with the high price of cars - Denver Gazette
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Boulder-based Celestial Seasonings (mostly famous for tea) is being sued in what appears to be a cottage industry of attorneys going after companies that use citric acid in products labeled "all-natural".
Customers cry foul on Celestial tea citric acid in class-action lawsuit – BizWest (requires subscription but the headline gives a sense of what’s going on.)
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I don't know if this is really the reason but it could be and, if so, Trump deserves some credit for it: China's fentanyl crackdown led to a stunning drop in U.S. overdoses, research says
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The race to replace Jared Polis as the next governor of Colorado comes down to two things: Which candidate opposes Trump more. Seems like a ridiculous thing, even if you're a Democrat, given how little power a governor has to override a president and, really, how little power a president typically has over state policy. But this is the world of the Dems these days. It's all Trump, all the time.
Michael Bennet, Phil Weiser trade jabs in forum in governor's race
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Minnesota is a mess: How ICE raids in Minnesota connect to a years-old fraud scandal
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I’m glad that “recycled toilet paper” doesn’t actually mean what you might think at first: Recycled toilet paper is growing in popularity and the best brands are easy to find | The Independent
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Of course there's fraud in our welfare state. And remember that mostly states are managing programs spending federal money so how much incentive do they have to be diligent?
Benefits fraud is long-standing in both blue and red states : NPR
This is one of the key lessons of economics:
And the "legal" fleecing of taxpayers is probably even worse than the actual fraud: The Scandal of American Welfare Goes Beyond Fraud - WSJ
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We're not drinking nearly as much as we used to:
Number of people who drink alcohol is at its lowest for nearly a century
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Is being a "jack of all trades, and master of none" actually better than being a master of one, but only one?
Jack of All Trades, or a Master of One
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I don't know if this makes it the Big 4, or the Small 5, or...? Sporting goods chain closing Colorado stores - Denver Gazette
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Today's video
This is a little more serious than what I post in my daily videos but it's really useful information
AI-generated "white liberal news"