Just One Thing: Trump caves but gets a deal
Imagine you need to move something that you can't fit in your car but your friend has a pickup truck that will do the job. Instead of just going to ask him to borrow the truck, you go over and wave a gun in his face and tell him you want the truck. He says, "I would have loaned it to you if you'd asked." Now in a normal situation, your friend would punch you in the face and call the cops, but back in the world of international relations where it's true that the US has a lot of negotiating leverage, the Europeans just said, "put away the gun and I'll loan you the pickup." Of course, your friend doesn't trust you anymore and there's no way to know right now what that might mean in the future. So the negotiating tactic didn't show an immediate loss but it really was a loss, kinda like a sports trade where you get a draft pick in some later year. And that is why I'm president of the Bad Analogy Club.
Yesterday, after threatening military action to take Greenland, Trump backed down and reached some sort of undefined (at least to the public) "framework" for an agreement about Greenland that apparently does not give the US ownership or full control over the island, the latter of which at least Trump said was non-negotiable.
So what did he get? A deal he likely could have gotten anyway at the cost of several hundred billion dollars of stock market value (even after Wednesday's rally, though stocks were looking to open moderately higher on Thursday) and an increase in US interest rates that will cost the country billions of dollars if the bond market doesn't fully recover. He told our friends that they're weak and stupid and ungrateful...and to be clear he's not entirely wrong but there was no point in saying it on the biggest public stage.
To me this feels very different from Trump's prior negotiations and I continue to think Trump is acting with some combination of fear over being a lame duck very soon and lack of guardrails that come with that status. He's more capricious and more reckless than in the past and I don't think it's working for him.
And even to the extent that he and his silly cheerleaders in Fox News' primetime lineup want to call this another Trump win, does anyone think this will help Republicans in November? Seriously, "Hey, we didn't go to war over an island that voters weren't thinking about anyway" is hardly a winning line when the public is focused on the cost of living.
So I'm pleased with the outcome but the path to get there was stupid, harmful, and unnecessary, in a way that, again, I find quite different from prior Trump negotiations.
Trump says framework of 'future deal' on Greenland reached after NATO talks as tariffs put on hold
Mr. Trump and the Davos Divide - WSJ
NATO leader Mark Rutte knows how to play Trump, fortunately: Greenland proposal Trump endorsed respects Denmark's sovereignty: sources
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While speaking in Davos about the situation in Gaza, Trump said this:
I like it with a couple of caveats. So, I like it because it recognizes who the bad guys are. I wish he would do that regarding Russia/Ukraine. The caveats are that 1) Hamas will not disarm, and 2) while this isn't a full "red line" (such as the one that Trump drew but, out of character for him, refused to enforce regarding Iran) it still suggests that there will be consequences if Hamas doesn't go along. But the US will not get involved militarily and even if Trump gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the green light to go finish off Hamas, it's not obvious that Bibi will go ahead with that mission given that for now Hamas is encircles and Israel remains exhausted. In that case, it would be the second time in roughly a month in which Trump threatened consequences and didn't back it up with action.
Meanwhile, this is good news and there's more to do: Treasury Exposes and Disrupts Hamas’s Covert Support Network | U.S. Department of the Treasury
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Today's Guests
Dan Doyle is president of Reliance Well Services and Arena Resources.
Is it realistic to think that US oil companies will jump into developing Venezuelan oil the way Trump suggests? Oil majors wary of Venezuela's nationalization risks
Dan has a book coming out next month: Of Roughnecks & Riches: A Start-Up in the Great American Fracking Boom: Doyle, Dan: 9798895652862: Amazon.com: Books
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Drew Hamrick is General Counsel at the Apartment Association of Metro Denver
We'll talk about the Association's efforts to get the legislature to clarify part of last year's law requiring lessors to include all known fixed costs into advertised lease costs: Update on the Upcoming HB 1090 Compliance Law - Apartment Association of Metro Denver
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Tiney Ricciardi is a reporter for the Denver Post who wrote an interesting article about a story that Jeana mentioned in Wednesday's news: Illegal "magic mushroom" chocolates for sale in Denver, officials warn
More: Health officials warn not to buy 'psychoactive' PolkaDot brand chocolate bars, other items
I asked Tiney by email (which led to her guest appearance today) this question: What I’m trying to understand, beyond the (il)legality of selling psilocybin in stores, is whether the PolkaDot products that are being sold that do contain the psychoactive ingredients state on the label that they do, or whether they look like they contain other mushrooms but not the compounds mentioned in your article.
And here's her reply:
Thanks for reading my story and reaching out. The reason you are confused is because these illicit producers intentionally make it confusing, and it varies case by case. Sometimes products will state on the label that they contain hallucinogenic compounds, such as psilocybin. However, if you are trying to sell those products in stores or online, having that information on the label/website/social media/etc. puts you at risk. Complicating matters further is that you can't really trust what's on the label of these products anyhow because no one is forcing illicit producers to truthfully advertise. The only way to truly know is to test them.
If you look at the picture of this PolkaDot mushroom bar, it states that it contains non-psychoactive mushrooms like turkey tail, cordyceps, reishi, etc. It also advertises "magic mushroom bar" -- none of the aforementioned mushrooms are considered "magic" -- and "nootropics," which are typically non-hallucinogenic additives. We can't see the back of the label, but how likely is it that a store will carry these if the owner knows it has drugs in it? Perhaps if the label doesn't explicitly say it, then he/she can claim ignorance and the product will more likely make it to shelves. (PolkaDot is also somewhat unique here. Because it has been so popular for so long, there are many copycats on the market. I'm told the only way to get an original one is through Signal.)
Now if you look at the case of Diamond Shruumz, their website originally advertised chocolate bars with "trippy little squares" that contained a proprietary mushroom blend. If you dug through its blog, you'd see it was advertising that the blend contained non-psychedelic mushrooms like lion's mane, reishi, etc. It also previously had test results posted on its site showing they contained amanita muscaria, which is not illegal though it does offer a unique kind of "trip." Well, it turns out there were other things not mentioned on their website including synthetic psilocybin compounds, psilocin, Pregabalin (a prescription drug), compounds from the kava plant and more -- which made hundreds of people sick and possibly killed 3 people.
There are plenty of other companies out there that hide behind the "mushroom blend" language, as well as many who overtly state "this product contains psilocybin." All you have to do is dig a little bit or follow their paid influencers to figure it out, but again you never really know what's in there. At the end of the day, it's a marketing game to try and reach consumers -- however knowing or unknowing those customers might be.
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Nick Ferguson is co-host of Broncos Country Tonight (weeknights 6 PM to 11 PM here on KOA) and a former safety in the NFL who spent most of his career with the Broncos. We'll talk about Sunday's AFC Championship at Empower Field at Mile High (versus the New England Patriots at 1 PM MT.)
Nick on X/Twitter: Nick Ferguson (@NickFerguson_25) / X
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Other Stuff:
Good: Colorado halts wolf releases for 2026 as federal pressure mounts - Colorado Politics
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I love this story: New fossils discovered at Colorado's Dinosaur National Monument
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I don't know what the optimal childhood vaccine schedule is. What I do know is that we should always assume that RFK Jr's pronouncements about vaccines (and most other things) are not based on science. Trump, RFK Jr. vaccine changes pit doctors vs. federal government
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I know that most people don't make this claim but just so you understand what a massive physical advantage boys have over girls, men have over women, in most sports:
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This is the second time that a trial like this has resulted in an acquittal (the first was related to the Parkland, FL school shooting)...and it only took the jury an hour: Uvalde trial: Former school police officer Adrian Gonzales found not guilty on all counts - ABC News
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I remain fascinated by AI:
1 big thing: How you use AI (Axios)
How AI is affecting me as a human (and journalist)
Related: AI and art:
Colorado Springs artist appeals copyright rejection over AI art
Théâtre D’opéra Spatial Review Board Decision Letter
Théâtre D’opéra Spatial Review Board Decision Letter
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It's just amazing how big some of these frauds are and how long some of them were able to continue: Former Zynex execs indicted in massive health care fraud scheme - Denver Business Journal
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It would be surprising but 1) Dems pushed hard to get all the Epstein information out and 2) the Clintons are too old and on their way out for today's Dems to be afraid of them, unless they know about Vince Foster and the many "suicides" of Clinton adversaries. (For the record, that's a joke...I think all the stuff about the Clintons having been involved with people's deaths is conspiracy theory nonsense.)
Inside Democrats' stunning revolt on holding Bill Clinton in contempt
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It's been nice to see Denver become a better food town over recent years: Record number of Colorado restaurants named James Beard Award semifinalists (may require subscription)
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I experienced this recently and didn't enjoy it: Hotels Are Getting Rid of Proper Bathroom Doors and Guests Are Revolting - WSJ
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This means we won't be able to get a reservation and/or the price will now be a lot higher: This Airbnb in Colorado was the 'most loved' listing on social media in 2025
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Today's Video
OK, this is an insanely fat bulldog, kinda like a fatter and uglier version of Agnes but still adorable and awesome: