Tues Blogcast: KT McFarland; What if?; My non-expert Broncos recap

Just One Thing: Broncos Letdown

I'm not the sports guy on this station so I'll keep my comments brief. Why the hell would you pay $250 million for quarterback (for 5 years) and then take the ball out of his hands so you can try a 64-yard field goal attempt when your kicker, as great as he is, has only ever made 1 kick over 60 yards? That was the most incredibly penalty-filled, error-laden, self-destruction I've ever seen by the Broncos, including clock management at the end that was so bad I thought Vic Fangio was still coaching. Luckily it is, for the moment, not a very important game, but still...that was bad playing, bad coaching, bad everything. It's a miracle they almost won. I wish they had but they surely didn't deserve to despite Russell Wilson doing his job, with 340 yards passing, 1 TD and 0 INT, and 101.3 QB rating.

Today's Guests

Randall Munroe is a former NASA roboticist and the creator and brilliant mind behind the wildly popular xkcd, a webcomic about science, technology, and the absurdities of the modern world beloved by millions of readers. Out of this genre-defying series came his multimillion-copy-bestselling books "Thing Explainer", "How To", and "What If?", which spent a staggering 64 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. "WHAT IF? 2" pairs clever research with charming comics to answer questions submitted by people around the world.

What If? 2 by Randall Munroe: 9780525537113 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

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KT McFarland was Deputy National Security Advisor for President Donald Trump. She's been involved in American foreign policy for decades and is one of my (and my listeners') very favorite guests.

http://ktmcfarland.com

Revolution: Trump, Washington and "We the People": McFarland, KT: 9781642934045: AmazonSmile: Books

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Other Stuff

Do you want people to stop moving to Colorado? Do you think there's a role for government in achieving that goal?

Coloradans want you to stop moving to Colorado | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)

Polls (coloradosprawl.com)

This doesn't help housing prices, but I bet that a lot of these people will lose money on their "top tick" purchases. (That's a term from my days in financial markets referencing when someone buys stock at the highest price it trades at during the relevant time period.)

Colorado housing market saw 24% of homes go to investors in 2021 | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)

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You don't reduce homelessness in a place by attracting more homeless people:

Denver approves $2 million for basic income project | FOX31 News (kdvr.com)

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More people need to be reminded that the First Amendment is FIRST

Yeshiva University won’t be forced to recognize LGBTQ club for now - SCOTUSblog

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Not buyin’ it: Opinion | In taking on Trumpism, Biden has already established his legacy - The Washington Post

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Manchin had to know this was coming. ‘Sleazy backroom deal’: Progressives tangle one more time with Manchin - POLITICO

Question now is: will Republicans bail out Manchin if their votes are needed given that the bad part of Manchin's deal is already done and only the useful part remains to be done. As stand-alone policy, most GOP should be in favor of Manchin's push for permitting reform. (That doesn't mean that the overall sell-out by Manchin was ok; it surely wasn't.)

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Fascinating story about what must be one of the world's rarest coins...and how it almost was sold in Denver: 2,000-year-old looted Israeli coin found in Denver is headed home (denverpost.com)

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Politics trumps logic almost every time: British PM Liz Truss announces a cap on energy bills (cnbc.com)

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A very bad story...and seems like a clear (and fatal) error by law enforcement: New videos shed light on Clear Creek County police shooting | 9news.com

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Fun science! Spoons and bowls that use electricity to make food taste saltier to go on sale in 2023 | SoraNews24 -Japan News-

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In sickness and in health: Woman Accuses Husband of Stealing and Selling Her Kidney for Profit (odditycentral.com)

The whole "dowry" thing in that part of the world still seems quite odd though I assume it has some sort of social use. Maybe I shouldn't assume that.

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The thing that really stands out for me is the author's use of the phrase "problematic corporations". Chick-fil-A Says Tweet Was a 'Poor Choice of Words' (gizmodo.com) There's nothing "problematic" about Chick-fil-A or really almost any other company that you can't solve for yourself by just not shopping there.

Today's Videos

Here's to you Jared Polis!

Secret Service hot mic: Joe Biden struggles with his jacket

If you're interested in the Harry/Meghan saga, this video adds a little humanity to the former prince and the family issues that caused him to leave the Royal Family.

Great update by Peter Zeihan on remarkable Ukrainian gains over the past several days. But, he says, do not assume Ukraine will win the war. Anything can still happen, at least anything but Russia returning to being an important global power.