Weds Blogcast: Hate speech; So touching; Space junk; AI and your biz

The political X post I read on air yesterday

A bunch of people have emailed me asking for this so I'm posting it here again. It's really good...which is probably why it has something like 25 million views:

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Just One Thing: Such a "touching" murderer

We learned a fair bit about the man who murdered Charlie Kirk in a press conference yesterday. Perhaps the most interesting information was a text chain between the killer and his boyfriend (who is in the process of becoming his girlfriend), which you can see in the first video below (which should start automatically at 19:20). Oh, the other slightly interesting thing was how the killer thought that he could get away with it, at least if he had been able to retrieve the rifle, telling his boyfriend that he thought he'd left no evidence behind. Pretty weird since he was caught on video, left at least one footprint, and might have left DNA (other than on the rifle where investigators already found his DNA.)

Then, an ABC News reporter decided to remind everyone why so many people simply despise -- or at least ignore -- "mainstream" media...you can see in the second short video below.

I do want to credit the reporter, Matt Gutman, for recognizing his error and trying to explain and apologize, as you can see below his video.

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One More Thing: Stop sending me Charlie Kirk quotes

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Don't let the door hit you on the way out

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Today's Guests

Andy Tomaswick is an engineer and writer. We'll talk about the "Kessler Syndrome", namely the risk caused to satellites from space debris/junk.

Welcome To Andy's Authors Page

A Bi-Directional Plasma Thruster Could Deorbit Space Junk Safely - Universe Today

Kessler Syndrome and the space debris problem | Space

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Jordan Crenshaw is SVP of US Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center. We'll discuss their new report on How Small Businesses are Embracing AI to Grow and Compete: Empowering-Small-Business-Report-2025.pdf

And I don't know that this is a "counterpoint" to the Chamber's AI point, but I think this is mostly right: Stop Chatting With ChatGPT | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

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Other Stuff

The bad news is that Pam Bondi said this and demonstrated that she's willing to let political motivations trump the most basic and well understood constitutional protections. The good news is that so so many people, including lots of Republicans/conservatives, have called her out for this massive unforced error that erodes whatever credibility she might have with normal people. To be fair, she tried to clarify. I'd like to believe her because her clarification, which you can read below, but I think it's really just "wet cleanup on aisle 5."

Why everything Pam Bondi said about ‘hate speech’ is wrong | The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

Also, LOTS of people will see her comment because it's being so widely shared. FAR fewer will see her effort to clarify. One additional downside of her comment is that some conservatives may believe her, even though they wouldn't have believed a liberal who made the same (wrong claim)...a liberal like Tim Walz (about whom more just below.) The idea that a conservative Attorney General would tell people that there's no constitutional protection for "hate speech" which isn't even a real thing as a matter of (at least federal) law, is dispiriting.

I mean, when you're channeling your inner Tim Walz, your inner progressive (i.e. someone who finds the Constitution an annoying impediment to power you wish you could wield over people), you should take a good long look in the mirror, Pam.

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An incredible story...in a way, it's really a business story, so it makes sense that it's in the WSJ: America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In - WSJ

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The tick-tock on TikTok: U.S. Investors, Trump Close In on TikTok Deal With China - WSJ

Exclusive | TikTok deal could face major hurdles fas questions surround billionaires' stakes in China parent ByteDance

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Don't believe everything, or maybe anything, you read on social media: Foreign disinformation about Charlie Kirk's killing seeks to widen US divisions | AP News

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Should the parent(s) have liability in cases like this? (To be sure, every case is different and there isn't one answer that fits all situations, so maybe the question is "should parents have liability in some cases like this?") Attorney discusses parental liability in gun cases after Evergreen High School shooting

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I probably won't talk about this on the air but it's amazing biology: Ant queen gives birth to two different species | CNN

These Ants Found a Loophole for a Fundamental Rule of Life - The New York Times

One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants | Nature

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What do you think? Whole-Genome Sequencing Will Change Pregnancy | WIRED

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I'm really not sure what to say about this. I mean, is it great that they identified that there might be a potential threat, even if they didn't then stop him? Or is it bad that they didn't get far enough to identify the actual name of the threat? FBI investigated Evergreen High School shooter's social media

And: Colorado school teen shooter had an account on "violent gore" site months before shooting, ADL says - CBS News

More here: Evergreen school shooter grappled with victim before final shots

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A few things that I didn't get to yesterday:

These are remarkable numbers, and not in a good way: Metro Denver: Development fees add nearly $68K to new home's cost

Say it ain't so! Are Protein Bars Good for You? What to Know About Nutrition. - The New York Times

I see the pros and cons but overall I'm in favor of this change: Trump renews calls for ending quarterly reports for companies | Reuters

Also, just because a company might not be required to report quarterly doesn't mean they won't. If they think that degree of transparency benefits their stock price, then many will.

I actually don't blame them for this: House GOP stalls stopgap spending bill over security funding | Semafor

Absolutely NO WAY Trump will go along with this, which means no way congressional Republicans will either: Scoop: House Democratic group unveils demand list to stop shutdown

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Crypto for god? Denver pastor barred from selling crypto, ordered to pay back $3.4M

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Today's Videos -- Music videos, actually

This is actually a music video sent to me by a friend. I don't know whether it's trying to be ironically funny about hillbillies (a term I use with love) or whether they're just that darned funny...

And a listener sent this in...a song by her foster daughter

Spotify link: Edges of Heaven - song and lyrics by Deiah Marie | Spotify