Just One Thing: The Hegseth hearing
Hegseth Weathers Fiery Senate Hearing, Putting Confirmation on Stronger Footing - WSJ
Pete Hegseth Gets a Senate Pass - WSJ
Some quick thoughts on Hegseth:
Joni Ernst was scared by MAGA activists (see below) and will vote for him so at this point it seems very likely that he’ll be approved.
One issue that Hegseth talked about that I’m very supportive of is doing a REAL audit of the DOD. They always fail their audits. They really seem to have terrible fiscal controls while spending massive piles of taxpayer money. If Hegseth can get that done, it will be a great achievement. It’s the kind of thing that will test whether his lack of relevant managerial experience allows the system or the swamp to thwart him.
Brad Meltzer is a best-selling author of both fiction and nonfiction. His latest, co-authored with Josh Mensch, is nonfiction: "The JFK Conspiracy." It's an easy read telling the story of how close JFK came to being killed...before someone else eventually did kill him. To me some of the most interesting parts are the law enforcement part of the story and how crazy it is that I've never heard of this story before.
The JFK Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Kennedy―and Why It Failed: Meltzer, Brad, Mensch, Josh (note: this is my Amazon Associates link so if you purchase through the link I'll earn a little bit of money. Of course you can buy the book another way if you object to that.)
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Kat Gayle is the chief legal counsel at IntegrityMatters, one of the groups suing the city of Palmer Lake over the city council's decision (and the process of making it) to annex some land near I-25 to provide a place for a new Buc-ee's travel stop/gas station/convenience store. (The picture for today's blog is of a Buc-ee's recently opened in Texas that is apparently the biggest convenience store in the world.)
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Admiral James Stavridis is a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, CENTCOM Commander, and best-selling author of both fiction and non-fiction. His newest book, the first novel in a series that will take place over decades following the lives of US Navy sailors mostly during wartime, is "The Restless Wave." What you need to know: My wife loved it, and that's high praise indeed. We'll discuss the book and also some of the key geostrategic challenges and opportunities facing the incoming Trump administration including, believe it or not, Greenland.
Home - Admiral James Stavridis
Trump Is Right: Greenland Is Vital to Defending America - Bloomberg
Amazon.com: The Restless Wave: A Novel of the United States Navy (Scott Bradley James): Stavridis,J (As with above this is my Amazon Associates link.)
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Other Stuff
Interesting timing: Biden administration announces plans to remove Cuba from state sponsor of terrorism list | CNN Politics
I note that deep into the article it basically makes it sound like this was a trade: the US removes Cuba from the list and Cuba releases a bunch of political prisoners. If true, it will make it a little -- but only a little -- tougher for the Trump administration to put Cuba back on the list.
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Didn't get to this yesterday: A.J. Brown's sideline book skyrockets to top seller on Amazon - ESPN
INNER EXCELLENCE: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible life: MURPHY, JIM: 9781734654806: Amazon.com: Books (that's my Amazon Associates link so I'll earn a little bit if you use it to buy the book.)
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Gross! USDA documented insects and slime at Boar's Head plants, records show | AP News
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He’s even beaten my dad: World’s most frequent flyer who has travelled 24 million miles reveals what you need to do to get an upgrade
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Makes sense to me: Americans Are Tipping Less Than They Have in Years - WSJ
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Only two Democrats voted for this: House passes ban on transgender students in girls sports - CBS News
I don't know if it applies to K-12 or just higher education...I'm trying to find out.
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Do you have one of these Stephen King books? Four legendary Stephen King books could be worth a small fortune if you have them lying around
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Mayor Johnston gets one right but it’s the latest example of a city that wants to turn itself into Seattle or Portland and has learned nothing from the past several years: Denver mayor vetoes expansion to needle exchange program | Government | denvergazette.com
Mayor Mike Johnston vetoes new Denver needle exchange measure
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I understand that first (or second) responders don't want civilians in the way but I don't support preventing citizens from protecting their own property from damage and looters. The Armed Homeowners Defying the Rules of L.A.’s Burn Zones - WSJ
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This was a very experienced back-country skier: Colorado man who died in avalanche near Red Mountain Pass was found by wife after he didn’t check in as planned - The Colorado Sun
I note this: "Along with the rescue transceiver he was also wearing an avalanche airbag backpack, but it did not deploy..." Sounds like a big lawsuit by his widow.
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I owe you this from Monday:
The New Cancel Culture: The FTC's "Click to Cancel" Rule | Insights | Holland & Knight
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Thinking about the effects of the rollback of DEI. I don’t think that any “minority”, even if hired out of DEI, should be at risk unless they’re just not good at their jobs in which case they should go.
I think this Axios note is a little too pessimistic. I sure hope it is too pessimistic. Axios Markets
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I suspect the petitioners (those against the law) will lose, but it's an interesting question. The state does have a legitimate interest in protecting kids from access to pornography: Porn Sites, Age Verification, and the Supreme Court - WSJ
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A fascinating story for int'l econ nerds. Not sure if you'll need a subscription for this; I don't have one but am able to read it: The China commodities supercycle is over. Will there be another?
Key quote:“The scale of Chinese appetite for steel has been epic. As China built up its cities, according to government data, the country consumed twice as much of the metal in the two decades from 2000 to 2020 as the US did during the entire 20th century.”
Now that China needs to export steel rather than use it domestically, it’s even more of a reason to allow the Nippon Steel purchase of US Steel. In its current form, the latter will surely not be able to compete against China in exporting steel.
And now the demand will shift to materials, primarily metals, used to build out electricity grids and so-called “clean energy” (rather a misnomer) products. Those are materials that the US very much wants as well. With China so dominant in mining and processing of many key minerals, the west generally and the US specifically are going to have to work smart and fast to get more sources of these things and to create processing capacity outside of China.
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Not sure I'll have time to get to this today but noting here anyway: Laken Riley immigration bill will cost $83B, Democrats project | Semafor
I assume the Dems' cost estimate is too high BUT that doesn't mean it's not a legit concern. If there are limited resources for ICE to detain and deport illegals (and resources are limited, even if they increase under Trump), is it a good idea to spend those resources on someone who committed shoplifting? Also, I do have a concern with focusing simply on people who were charged rather than convicted BUT I also note that liberal states could easily decide to drop charges or allow a plea to a different non-deportable crime just to keep the illegal from being deported.
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Today's Videos
Bulldogs are awesome.
This lady has a whole TikTok channel of her singing songs that her child requests...and wow can she sing
