Thurs Blogcast: GOP Rep Jeff Hurd; Indicting Comey?; Oh, that's nice

Free speech and broadcast media - and me on TV

A listener wrote an interesting note to Mandy and me in reaction to our on-air conversations about Jimmy Kimmel being reinstated and about government interference in free speech. I thought about it quite a bit and wrote a detailed reply which I hope you'll find interesting.

Please read (and subscribe for free to my Substack): The cure for bad speech - by Ross Kaminsky

Kyle Clark read my prior Substack and invited me for a conversation on his long-form interview show, Next:

.

The Overton Window

I mentioned this on the show yesterday in the context of Trump being quite good at moving the Overton Window even though the narrator says that politicians really don't do that. (I do subscribe to the maxim that "leaders don't follow polls; they change them."

I note that the concept of the Overton Window was created by Joseph Overton who was a VP at the Mackinac Center, so this is basically coming right from the source:

The Overton Window – Mackinac Center

Thought you might find this brief video interesting:

.

Just One Thing: He should be ashamed (but isn't)

It wasn't all that long ago that cretins like this were ashamed of speaking like this in public forums, but no longer. What does that say about society, or at least about X/Twitter?

This person is reacting to a post of mine...I offer no further comment:

.

One More Thing: Ukraine follows Trump in ramping up the rhetoric

Between this and Trump's recent remarks that Ukraine might be able to recapture territory taken by Russia, this war is ratcheting up to an even more dangerous level. More dangerous does not mean unnecessary, though. The complexities here are massive.

Russian officials must end war or find bomb shelters, Zelensky says

.

Today's Guests

In a Substack note I wrote yesterday entitled Baghdad Bob and the Thought Police, I called on Colorado Republican members of the house to openly push back against the Trump administration's repeated assaults on the First Amendment.

Rep Jeff Hurd (R-CO3) joins me to share his thoughts about the Constitution and politics.

Jeff has taken a principled stand on free speech, one which puts him at odds with so many members of the House on both sides of the aisle...a fact that is very disappointing (about Congress, not about Jeff, whom I applaud for this): Ilhan Omar censure resolution blocked as 4 House Republicans vote with Dems | Fox News

.

The other day I mentioned on the air that I was going to meet a listener for lunch. (We got the awesome "Honey Sting" pizza, Detroit style - though they have regular round style as well - at DTC Slice, which I highly recommend...it's on the south side of Belleview in the fairly large shopping/dining area just east of I-25, on the west end of the shopping center near the Starbucks...)

Anyway David and I talked a bit about his driving for Uber and Lyft which is something I find fascinating...I mean the little insights of just how that business works and how drivers optimize their time use and income. He said he'd be happy to join the show to talk about it, including his explanation (or at least theory) as to why tips for drivers have been dropping.

.

Other Stuff

Three of the four Colorado Republicans in Congress (Boebert, Crank, Evans...not Hurd) sent a letter to Colorado Governor Jared Polis asking him to fix the harm they claim is being done by House Bill 24-1034 that appears to require (in most cases) the government to release back into the community people who are arrested and found incompetent to stand trial.

This story is about a guy who was released through that process. I'm NOT expert enough on this issue to know whether the Republicans' argument is correct. I do note that the bill passed the State Senate unanimously and got quite a few GOP votes in the State House as well. Did those legislators just not understand what they were signing?

Man released from Weld jail over competency spotted with gun on Colorado campus | 9news.com

Republicans in Congress urge Polis to reform Colorado public safety policies | Colorado Newsline

Here's the bill: Adult Competency to Stand Trial | Colorado General Assembly

.

Maybe he was a lonely nihilist like so many young men these days, motivated more by briefly being famous than by deep political belief. Not sure we'll ever know: Dallas Shooting Suspect Had Extensive Online Footprint but Little on Politics - The New York Times

.

I need to get to this story: American Soldiers Don’t Wear American Combat Boots

.

Definitely best to sort this out before you start building a home there: Keenesburg's Wild Animal Sanctuary sues developer

.

There's an immense amount I don't know about this situation -- almost everything, really -- but just based on this article it seems like the city got out-negotiated. Here's one thing I don't understand. If there's an agreement to refund taxes, why would the city complain that they're having refund more than expected after the city raised the tax rate? I mean, don't they end up with zero whether they take in $100 and give back $100 versus taking in $1000 and giving back $1000? I'm going to try to find out.

Manitou Springs involved in lawsuit over tax dispute with cog railway

.

Why turn Comey, whom nobody cares about anymore, into a martyr? Look how Alvin Bragg's attacking Trump with lawfare massively boosted Trump. Look how Brendan Carr attacking Jimmy Kimmel massively boosted Kimmel. Why boost Comey?

I note that they are rushing to beat next Tuesday's statute of limitations deadline.

Justice Department preparing to seek indictment against Comey | AP News

And what kind of banana republic puts a person like this into a very important prosecutorial role...by which I mean a person with ZERO relevant experience? (To be clear, I'm not saying she's stupid; I just don't know. But experience in these jobs is critical.)

Trump’s Pick to Replace Ousted U.S. Attorney Lacks Prosecutorial Experience - The New York Times

.

This is terrible but I don't know how to ban it in any way that would be constitutional and effective: British Billionaire Christopher Hohn Bankrolls Social Justice, Climate Radicalism in U.S. | National Review

It might be that the only way to deal with it is to make sure everyone knows that the organizations who get money from these groups are being funded by enemies of the United States.

.

I think the odds strongly favor that there is essentially no risk from taking Tylenol during pregnancy. But "essentially" is doing a lot of work there. Let's say there is a one in a million risk of some negative impact to a fetus from acetaminophen. If you were pregnant, would you really take the medicine when you don't need it (i.e. no fever or headache) just to make a political point? Seems to me this sort of behavior should disqualify this doctor from seeing patients. Maybe not actually lose a license but if you were a prospective patient would you go to someone who things and acts that way?

.

Worth a try, but just not enough traffic out that way: Lamar pitches itself to Buc-ee’s amid Palmer Lake development concerns

If Buc-ee's decides to "read the room" and drop the Palmer Lake location, maybe they'd look at Fountain again. (That's maybe 15-20 miles south of Colorado Springs, near I-25.)

.

Conservatives rightly despised the Biden administration for this sort of thing but now they're cheering on Trump for proposing the same kind of behavior?

When the Left Censored Speech - WSJ

YouTube to reinstate creators banned over COVID-19, election content

Google to restore YouTube accounts banned under Biden's 'pressure'

.

Offered without comment: Xcel Energy settles lawsuit over Marshall fire for $640M

.

Juvenile and petty...and quite funny

.

.

Today's Video

This made me laugh again this morning...