Mon Blogcast: Californication; Trump & Ukraine; NFL Draft; Canada election

Just One Thing: Good Goals Needing Better Execution

Please read my Substack note today and please subscribe for free almost-daily notes!

For the Trump administration there are Good Goals but Troubling Execution

(That's a fairly long note with a lot of analysis and I hope you find it interesting.)

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Today's Guests

As the home of the Denver Broncos and the CU Buffs, I was very interested in the results of the NFL Draft last Thursday thru Saturday. We'll have two guests to talk about two different parts of the draft that would particularly interest Coloradans:

Mark Johnson is the voice of the CU Buffs. We'll talk about the incredible draft experience (incredibly disappointing, that is) for Shedeur Sanders.

Shedeur Sanders Expresses Regret for Pre-Draft Actions After Falling to Browns in 5th Round - Yahoo Sports

Mark Kiszla: Shedeur Sanders gets punked by NFL with greatest draft slide in league history | Mark Kiszla | gazette.com (may require subscription)

Why Cleveland Browns drafted Shedeur Sanders and what's next - ESPN

The draft roughed up Shedeur Sanders. The NFL will demand even more | NFL | The Guardian

Seriously? Shedeur Sanders prank call was by Falcons defensive coordinator's son, team says

The Data Behind Shedeur Sanders’s Unprecedented NFL Draft Free Fall - WSJ

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Ryan Edwards is co-host of KOA Sports, weekdays from 3 PM to 6 PM here on KOA. We'll do a quick recap of the Broncos' draft picks, starting with their surprising choice of a cornerback when the conventional wisdom was that they needed help at running back and tight end...and they did draft a player in each of those positions:

2025 NFL Draft: The Broncos' draft picks

Denver Broncos 2025 NFL Draft results picks tracker and full coverage - Mile High Report

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Wayne Laugesen is Editorial Page Editor at the Colorado Springs Gazette. He wrote a truly damning piece about the downward trajectory of Colorado in recent years and how we're seeming more and more like California. (Which isn't surprising given how many Californians have moved here.)

I hope you can read one of these without needing a subscription...

PERSPECTIVE: Dream of Californication | Editorials | denvergazette.com

PERSPECTIVE: Dream of Californication | Opinion | gazette.com

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Other Stuff

Quite a few international stories today...you'll see them throughout today's blogcast:

They say the power will be back on soon: Spain and Portugal hit by major power outage, halting trains and flights and wiping out traffic lights | CNN

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I wonder who will hire him after this: Former Disney worker sentenced to 3 years for hacking into park menus, changing allergen information

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There was a terrible event in Vancouver on Saturday night: Vancouver car attack: 11 people killed; police rule out terrorism | AP News

Vancouver festival attack suspect was 'known' to police, apologized to crowd

Today is the Canadian election.

A stunning reversal of fortunes in Canada’s historic election

Canadian PM Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre make final election pitches after Vancouver attack | The Nightly

Some thoughts in my post here:

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While in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, President Trump met with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The Ukrainians called it productive. Trump seems to be slowly awakening to the concept that was obvious to everybody else already that Vladimir Putin just might not be interested in peace. I hope that Zelensky did what he needed to do to mollify Trump's ego and, more importantly, to move Trump a little towards understanding which side the US should be on here. We should not be neutral nor, of course, should be be on the side of the KGB killer who is a committed enemy of the United States.

Trump and Zelensky hold war talks inside St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of pope’s funeral | CNN

Trump questions Putin's desire for peace after meeting Zelensky at the Vatican

Russia hits Ukraine with massive drone attack, as Trump doubts Putin's desire for peace | CBC News

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This kind of program hasn't worked anywhere in the world where it has been tried. I'm sure at some dollar amount it would work, but it would also bankrupt us even faster (and I'm against it for other reasons: Trump's $5k bonus won't bring more babies — here's what will

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We talked last week about how Phish's winning the fan vote for the Rock Hall of Fame didn't guarantee that they'd get in, but that winning the vote had only not coincided with entry into the Rock Hall one time (the Dave Matthews Band, that did get in four years later.) Now we learn that Phish has repeated DMB's feat: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2025 includes OutKast, Soundgarden and Cyndi Lauper : NPR

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2025 inductees: See who made the list

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Hey look, a bill in the state legislature that actually seems reasonable! I'd forgotten those were possible. Tire Chain Traction Control Device Permit | Colorado General Assembly

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This is pretty nuts: There were active duty members of the US military providing security at an "underground" nightclub in Colorado Springs full of illegal aliens and drugs.

Over 200 people detained, including military members, at unlicensed nightclub in Colorado, DEA says - ABC News

Nightclub raid highlight Colorado's illegal immigration woes | Immigration | gazette.com

And yet: Colorado Democrats ram through radical immigration bill with last-minute amendments - Rocky Mountain Voice

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Not the most important story today but posting because it's fascinating: Hamas' Tunnels of Terror: HonestReporting Launches Interactive Map of Gaza | HonestReporting

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Oops: Iran port explosion: Mourning turns to anger after blast kills 40

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This is good news but I hope he doesn't change his mind. Trump’s Smart Tax Decision - WSJ

And this is a bad idea and I hope Republicans in Congress tell him "no way": Trump floats new income tax cut in bid to ease bite of tariffs

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This is very interesting, though keep in mind that this is a very dynamic situation that can change significantly over just a few days:

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Got one of them at least. A few interesting parts of the story: How did an illegal alien criminal get this close to the Secretary of Homeland Security? How did they catch him? And, of course, why did she have $3000 in cash?

Exclusive | Mask-wearing thief who allegedly stole Kristi Noem’s Gucci bag containing $3K in cash, passport arrested: sources

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If you think it's only the US that has a slow justice system, check this out: It only took 9 years to get to trial: Kim Kardashian robbery suspects to appear in Paris court as trial begins | Kim Kardashian | The Guardian

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Today's Video

This is just silly

This makes me smile...and almost cry