Just One Thing: Will he or won't he?
We’re coming up on the first Republican presidential debate, this Wednesday evening in Milwaukee. The first GOP debate in about 8 years since there weren't any in 2020. At the moment it appears that Donald Trump will not participate. There are rumors that he might do an interview with Tucker Carlson instead. It’s a close call but if I were Trump, I think I would not attend. Many people think he wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of attacks all night. I don’t think that’s the issue; I think he’s happy to be the center of attention, even that kind of attention. His path to the election comes from his base and it’s probably clever of him to try to keep his base from watching other candidates just to prevent the possibility of loosely-clinging base voters switching to someone else. This isn’t about self-defense; it’s about keeping his voters not learning about his opponents. And I think it's a reasonable approach despite the risks of being called out for not participating.
UPDATE FROM SUNDAY NIGHT: LOOKS LIKE HE WON'T: Trump to skip Republican debate in Milwaukee (axios.com)
CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments - CBS News
In that CBS story check out the results for "feel like what they tell you is true"
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One More Thing: The real "Oliver Anthony" (of Rich Men North of Richmond fame)
The song "Rich Men North of Richmond" has been a massive sensation over the past couple of weeks. The musician who goes by "Oliver Anthony" (though that isn't his real name) posted a letter that I find more interesting than the song. I understand why the song is appealing to many though I find it just OK. It's interesting how the musician says "I'm not a good musician." I think he's right (though he's infinitely better than I am.) BUT I think that the fact that his limited musical talent is so obvious ADDS to the appeal of the 2023 version of a country-folk protest song in 2023 America. Here is the open letter to the world from "Oliver Anthony" followed by the song itself...just this version of it got 28 million views in 12 days.
Today's Guest
Kelly Caufield is Executive Director of the Common Sense Institute which just released a new report about Proposition HH which will be on Colorado voters' ballots this November. It is the single most cynical reprehensible thing I've ever seen from our state legislature, a complete manipulation of the legislature by the governor, and most importantly it's a tax hike disguised as property tax relief.
PLEASE TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE "NO" ON HH.
Kelly Caufield | Common Sense Institute (commonsenseinstituteco.org)
Proposition HH: The Taxpayer Dilemma | Common Sense Institute (commonsenseinstituteco.org)
From the report: If Prop HH passes, households could lose $5,119 in TABOR refunds over the next decade.
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Other Stuff
Big news for Ukraine: The Netherlands and Denmark will give F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the Dutch prime minister says | AP News
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Remarkable how close we came (and how close may yet come again) to the sweetheart-est deal ever for Hunter Biden as the DOJ tries to protect Joe Biden (who clearly lied to the world about his knowledge of Hunter's international grifts, about which more just below.)
Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal (yahoo.com)
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Check this out: NARA5-26-16emailHBidenJBidenUkrainecall.pdf (justthenews.com)
It's an email from a White House staffer to the account of Robert L Peters, with a CC to, wait for it, Hunter Biden, about a planned meeting between Mr. Peters and the then-president of Ukraine. But here's the thing: Robert L Peters was an email pseudonym for Joe Biden...the guy who claims he never had any conversation with his son about his son's business dealings.
(For the record, I think these sorts of pseudonymous accounts are probably common. Its existence isn't the problem. It's the lies that are the problem.)
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He's right, and it's remarkable how the only guy talking about it is a guy who has no chance of winning as far as I can tell. Chris Christie calls for overhaul to Social Security, Medicare eligibility - Washington Times
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This seems like the stuff of a really bad Lifetime movie but it's real. The story is from England so I'm guessing very few Americans have heard it. In fact, this is the first coverage I've seen in US media (though I suspect I missed some): British nurse Lucy Letby imprisoned for life for the murders of 7 babies and attempted murders of 6 - Washington Times
‘Suspicious’ incidents with dozens more babies in Lucy Letby’s care (telegraph.co.uk)
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Offered without comment: Rebuilding Maui: The incalculable emotional toll of the fires | CNN
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Not just no, but hell no. You might deserve a raise, but not for this. Think the Police Should Wear Body Cameras? That Will Cost Taxpayers Extra. – DNyuz
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A good summary of China's real estate-related economic problems: China is on edge as fallout from real estate crisis spreads - Oman Observer
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What company do you think sells the most sushi in America? America's top sushi seller likely isn't who you expect (axios.com)
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There's a bee-related video below, but this story is quite interesting and it's something I learned when getting into beekeeping. Despite all we've heard for years about bees being endangered, the most common kind of bee - the kind that I and many others have in hives - is not endangered. And some argue that the increasing number of that kind of bee reduces resources available for the kinds of bees that are actually endangered. I don't know if that argument holds water, or honey: The Beekeepers Who Don’t Want You to Buy More Bees - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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The British recognize American woke lunacy: Trigger warning added to EM Forster’s A Passage to India by US publisher (telegraph.co.uk)
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I don't care a lot about baseball but I like stories of sports feats that have rarely (or never) been duplicated: Phillies' Trea Turner accomplishes wild home run feat not seen in 15 years | Fox News
Exactly same comments about golf: Nick Dunlap wins US Amateur Golf Championship, shares history with Tiger Woods (denverpost.com)
One more sports story...I like this one: Battling Lyles the showman athletics needs (france24.com)
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Even though it can spoil over time, I'd be stocking up a little on olive oil if you can still find it at a decent price: Olive oil is in trouble as extreme heat and drought pushes the industry into crisis | CNN Business
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Good for a little laugh since nobody died: Russia’s Luna-25 Spacecraft Crashes Into Moon - WSJ
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This is a lovely story despite what happened to Ward that began this journey:
Dog partially paralyzed after a hit-and-run now wags his tail - The Washington Post
Ward (@ward_the_wunderdog) • Instagram photos and videos
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I agree: Opinion | ‘Silent Cal’ Coolidge sounds pretty good right about now - The Washington Post
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Today's Videos
As a beginner beekeeper, I always like this gal's videos and this one was particularly interesting:
I have no idea what to say about this except that Todd is right
