Mon Blogcast: Murder in MN; No Kings; Kurt Cambier; Roger Pielke

Just One Thing: Murder in Minnesota

UPDATE: Killer captured Sunday evening: Minnesota lawmaker shooting suspect Vance Boelter arrested in Sibley County | Fox News (Apparently, he was first captured on video feed by a drone and there is some reporting that he may have been tracked by a phone he was carrying. I haven't verified this.)

I will call him a madman simply because his act was that of a madman. A man whose name I won't use (per my policy to avoid naming serial killers, even if targets were not random), murdered the former Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives (and still the most senior Democrat in the State House), Melissa Hortman, and her husband, and tried to murder state senator John Hoffman and his wife. All were Democrats. The police found in the shooter's car what they think is a "hit list" that had about 70 names on it. The killer, who disguised himself as a police officer, complete with uniform and apparent police vehicle, is believed to have had strong right-wing beliefs and to have been particularly anti-abortion and surely the left will make this all about Trump and hate, etc., even though they did no such thing with the young man who nearly assassinated Donald Trump. The killer apparently told a couple of friends that he might soon be dead and that he was sorry if he caused them trouble.

What We Know About the Suspect in the Minnesota Lawmakers Shootings - The New York Times

Senator Hoffman was shot 9 times, his wife 8 times, but as of this writing on Sunday evening both were alive and it was reported that all bullets missed their vital organs.

In one of the most remarkable things I've heard in a long time, it's being reported that Mrs Hoffman saved their 20-something-year-old daughter by jumping on or in front of her.

Wife of Minnesota senator shielded their daughter from bullets in targeted shooting, nephew says - CBS Minnesota

Dean Phillips: Political Violence Just Came for My Friends in Minneapolis

There was a VERY smart decision by someone in local law enforcement that almost certainly saved more lives: When the report of shots fired at the Hoffman home was received, some smart person decided to also dispatch a patrol unit to the Hortman house. It was too late to save the Hortmans but the officers encountered the killer who fled on foot, thus deprived of his vehicle and whatever support items he had in it (which included, apparently, at least 3 rifles and at least one pistol). Without that clear thinking in a time of stress, it's possible, maybe probable, that the killer would have made his way to at least one more target before any interaction with law enforcement.

The arrest

Apparently a picture of the arrest, but I have not verified...who knows what's AI these days?

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One More Thing: "No Kings" would have a lot more credibility if they said the same thing about Democrats

Please read (and subscribe for free to) my Substack: "No Kings" is a deeply American concept

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My exhortation to Israel: Don't stop until the mission is actually accomplished

My thoughts on Substack over the weekend: No Quarter - by Ross Kaminsky - The Ross Report

Israel kills Iranian intel chiefs, strikes deep inside Iran, opens 'air corridor to Tehran'

Another reason Israel should not stop before the mission is accomplished: the Iranian regime is helping Russia.

Trump: Iran will face American might ‘at levels never seen before’ if it attacks US | The Times of Israel

I think there won't be a deal soon, with soon meaning this month, though perhaps the fighting might stop by then.

This is a MUST-WATCH

Douglas Murray is almost always right:

In recent years, Tucker Carlson is almost always wrong: Tucker Carlson splits from Trump, advocates ‘dropping Israel’

Trump says Tucker has it wrong: Trump Says He Decides What ‘America First’ Means - The Atlantic

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10 years ago today

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Today's Guests

Kurt Cambier of Centennial Capital Partners joins the show for a discussion about the potential impact of the Iran/Israel war on global markets and the economy and about why the market has been so remarkably resilient in the past month or so. Is the TACO trade real?

Financial Planning Services | Centennial Capital Partners

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Roger Pielke Jr is professor emeritus at CU Boulder and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. We'll talk a little about "Trump and science" but mostly about the serious risk of a global population collapse.

(2) "The Global Fertility Crisis is Worse than You Think"

This is good too: Whose Experts? - by Roger Pielke Jr. - The Honest Broker

And this: Climate Science is About to Make a Huge Mistake

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Other Stuff

The economics of used cars: The average used car price hit $30,000. Should you just buy new? - The Washington Post

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Seriously? Trump Organization enters phone market with $499 Trump Mobile device | Reuters

So much to say…but what really jumps out at me is their claim that the phone will be built in the United States

Trump Organization announces new ‘Trump Mobile’ phone service

Note that this is a licensing deal. As is usually the case, the Trump Organization is licensing the Trump name, not actually owning the business. And what a great deal for them! They have none of the up-front cost of standing up the business but likely get some ongoing revenue share. Good work if you can get it.

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My thoughts on Saturday about the parade celebrating the Army's 250th birthday (which also happened to be President Trump's birthday)

Trump hater Max Boot (a man who I just can't abide...so much that even though I read his biography of Reagan I decided not to have Mr Boot on the show) agrees with me about the parade: Opinion | A military parade worth watching - The Washington Post (may require subscription)

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A sad story, perhaps with a lesson: Who was Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, Salt Lake's ‘No Kings’ protest shooting victim? - Hindustan Times

‘No Kings’ demonstrator dies after being shot at Utah protest, police say | Utah | The Guardian

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What I'm most interested to see is whether King Sooper's workers go on strike while Safeway workers are on strike: Colorado workers at 4 Safeway stores and a Denver distribution center go on strike - The Colorado Sun

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Douglas County voters have their ballots and have until a week from tomorrow to cast them on the question of "home rule" for DougCo. It would be the first vote in a two-step process. I don't have a strong opinion about this and I don't live in DougCo so I haven't researched it a lot, so here are a few thoughts:

• Probably almost anything that gives some independence from a very left-wing state government is a good idea
• If it were that easy, there would be more than two counties that have gone down this road, one a very liberal county (Pitkin) and one very conservative (Weld). Why only two? And why wouldn't Boulder have done it when we had a conservative state government?
• I think the proponents are overselling the upside. For example, it's NOT true that home rule would allow DougCo residents not to comply with state gun laws
• The home-rule county cannot override state law in areas that are of "statewide concern" or even "mixed concern".
• This person argues in favor: Webb: A ‘yes’ vote for Home Rule is a vote for Douglas County’s future - Rocky Mountain Voice Again, I think the claim about, for example, overriding state "sanctuary" laws and having more coordination between county law enforcement and ICE, is not true (even though I'd be happy with that.)
• Former DougCo Commissioner Lora Thomas (whose various disputes with current commissioners have for years been highly personal in character) questions how the various "unfunded mandates" the commissioners are talking about will be paid for, and also notes that most of what the commissioners want to do could already be done simply by changing the county charter. SPOTLIGHT on Douglas County Government--in the SHADOWS!
• Home rule has the potential to do what the name implies: give a little more freedom from the state. But it could have the downside of concentrating power in the hands of county commissioners, such as by allowing them to appoint other county officials rather than have them elected. (I believe the current commissioners say they don't plan on doing that. But it's a consideration worth noting.)
• Colorado voters tend to vote "no" on issues they don't understand. For that reason alone, if I had to bet on this I'd bet that it fails...but I offer that with low confidence and I have not been paying close attention.

Douglas County Commissioners want to create a home rule charter. What is it, and why?

This is a primer on home rule. Typically home rule cities benefit much more than home rule counties in terms of additional legal flexibility: r20-540_issue_brief_on_home_rule_charters.pdf

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I like this story: MI6 gadget chief becomes first female spymaster

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Colorado jury to begin deliberations today: Defamation trial against MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in Denver jury's hands

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Trump has a way of turning a point or policy that many or most Americans agree with and turning it into range-farming base-pandering insanity. And he still has some sort of mental glitch when it comes to capitalization.

Maybe he did that because some of the fringiest part of his immigrant-hating base got made at him when he offered sanity:

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For baseball fans: Ohtani set to make Dodgers pitching debut ... TONIGHT

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If the self-defense case is so strong (and I believe it probably is), why did they charge him to begin with? Stephan Long files lawsuit against Denver Police Department | News | denvergazette.com

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Perhaps why the school my kid is applying to (out of state) is asking for a lot of information: Scams to steal college financial aid are using AI for identity theft | AP News

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Well that seems like a bad decision: Novo Nordisk's Canadian Mistake | Science | AAAS

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Never ever trust RFK Jr on anything related to science. He is not an honest person. He's a grifter who shouldn't have his current job. That's not hyperbole.

Kennedy’s HHS Sent Congress ‘Junk Science’ To Defend Vaccine Changes, Experts Say - KFF Health News

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CO teachers union wants "partially effective" teachers to have fully job protections. Not just no, but hell no. Appeals court rejects challenge to teacher eval. system | Courts | coloradopolitics.com

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Today's Video

Thanks to listener Greg for sending this along

J.J. Spaun wins a soggy US Open golf tournament near Pittsburgh with an amazing putt