Thinking of those who have lost so much in California
The scale of destruction is hard to imagine, even for those of us who remember the Marshall Fire here in Colorado several years ago.
TOPSHOT - In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, homes burned from the Palisade fire smolder near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California on January 9, 2025. Massive wildfires that engulfed whole neighborhoods and displaced thousands in Los Angeles remained totally uncontained January 9, 2025, authorities said, as US National Guard soldiers readied to hit the streets to help quell disorder. Swaths of the United States' second-largest city lay in ruins, with smoke blanketing the sky and an acrid smell pervading almost every building. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)Photo: JOSH EDELSON / AFP / Getty Images
Somehow you (or I) just don't think of houses right next to the ocean burning down...
MALIBU, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: An aerial view of destroyed homes along the beach as the Palisades Fire continues to burn on January 09, 2025 in Malibu, California. Multiple wildfires fueled by intense Santa Ana Winds are burning across Los Angeles County. At least five people have been killed, and over 25,000 acres have burned. Over 2,000 structures have also burned and almost 180,000 people are under orders to evacuate. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Go Broncos!
I'm very excited and also rather nervous about the Broncos playoff game in Buffalo (or, more precisely, Orchard Park) this weekend.
3 Reasons No Team Wants to Face the Broncos in the Playoffs
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Advice for Dragon
Try some of these: Try traditional Colorado afternoon, high tea in Denver, Boulder, more
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Today's Guests
The day after his "State of the State" speech, Colorado Governor Jared Polis joins me in studio to discuss key issues for our state. (The video of his speech is below and I recommend that you watch it around 1.25x speed or a bit faster...it's about 55 minutes long.)
All of the pop culture references from Gov. Polis' 2025 State of the State | FOX31 Denver
The governor frequently said "the free state of Colorado". I sure don't see us that way. Sure, we're mostly free on social issues like gay rights and abortion but it sure seems like freedom is losing ground in many other ways.
Speaking of gay rights, I note this: Anita Bryant, pitchwoman who crusaded against gay rights, dies at 84 - The Washington Post
Jared mentioned the Sundance Film Festival a couple of times...I guess it's looking for a new home and Boulder is in the running but do we really need taxpayers to subsidize it? Legislation offers $34 million incentive for Sundance Film Festival
Of course the argument will be that there's a significant economic gain that exceeds the subsidy: 2024 Sundance Film Festival Attendance Recap and Economic Impact Report
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Scott Lincicome is VP of general economics and trade at the Cato Institute and author of the Capitolism newsletter for The Dispatch. We'll discuss tariffs and "national security" objections to foreign companies buying American companies. (Hint: Usually the excuse is not true.)
Capitolism - A Newsletter from The Dispatch
Scott Lincicome | Cato Institute
The Last Refuge of the Politician - The Dispatch
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Voice of the Broncos Dave Logan joins me for a few minutes to preview Sunday's playoff game against the Buffalo Bills.
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Ilya Shapiro is Director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute and author of the book (to be released next week) "Lawless: The Miseducation of America's Elites" (Note: as an Amazon Associate, I may earn a little if you buy a book through my link.) We'll discuss today's hearing at the Supreme Court regarding the TikTok ban that is supposed to happen on January 19th (the day before Donald Trump's inauguration) if TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, does not sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner (which will not happen.)
Ilya Shapiro | Manhattan Institute
The TikTok Ban Heads to the Supreme Court Tomorrow. Here’s What to Know - WSJ
Some of the bigger TikTok accounts in Denver: Top Denver TikTok accounts - Axios Denver
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Other Stuff
I thought this could go either way. It required at least two "conservatives" to side with the three liberals to say the sentencing could go ahead...and two is what happened: Supreme Court refuses Trump’s request to block Friday’s criminal sentencing
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Democrats know that illegal immigration and "migrant crime" are a major reason they lost the presidential election. That leads to votes like this...but the final vote on the final bill will not be this lopsided, I expect: Senate advances Laken Riley Act in bipartisan 84-9 vote - CBS News
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I'm reminded of my maxim that "the actual minimum wage is $0" by which I mean that minimum-wage employees may be happy about politicians raising their pay but need to remember that they are not guaranteed a job and at some price they are not worth employing. The more that politicians raise costs (or prevent revenue) in order to pander to certain groups or perhaps out of true good intentions, the more likely there will be negative unintended consequences such as a minimum-wage employee getting fired or businesses that rely on minimum-wage workers simply shutting down. (This is happening with restaurants in Denver, for example.)
What reminds me of this is the stories about homeowners insurance in California. The regulators there refused the insurance companies' requests for significant hikes in premiums to cover risks so some big companies simply canceled policies and said they will not insure in that market anymore. Many of those homeowners then got dumped into a state-run plan that's expensive (and I don't know how good the coverage is) and now there are questions about whether the state plan has the financial capability to cover claims. State regulators are now moving to make it easier for insurers to charge based on expected future losses rather than past losses. I realize there's some risk there to consumers of future losses being overestimated but this is an extremely competitive market which I think would tend to keep premiums in line with honest actuarial assessments.
Los Angeles wildfires burn at least 10,000 structures as new blaze spreads | AP News
Part, but only part, of the problem is how regulations make the cost of building so high which raises the cost of insuring property:
This could be the beginning of the end for fire insurance in California - POLITICO
California Was Already in Home-Insurance Crisis Before Los Angeles Infernos - WSJ
As of this morning still minimal containment of the Palisades Fire and no containment of the Eaton Fire...those are the two biggest fires burning around LA right now: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection | CAL FIRE
California passed a massive bond measure EIGHT YEARS AGO to help with water storage (including for fire-fighting purposes) and so far approximately NOTHING has been built: Skelton: GOP claims about Prop. 1 water projects mostly off base - Los Angeles Times (The writer's tone, defending politicians and the bureaucracy, is sickening even as he does let us know that they've all failed.)
But, hey, as long as the fire department is diverse and run by a lesbian, it's all OK, right?
LA's first LGBTQ+ fire chief is fighting the Palisades fire
By the way, I want to be absolutely clear that from all I can tell the Fire Department has done
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Just because it's easy to criticize him doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it: David Muir roasted for styling jacket with clamps during live hit from LA
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I owe you this story from earlier in the week: Banished Words | Lake Superior State University 2025
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There are a lot of these stories lately and I don't like them. Sure, some CEOs (esp in Big Tech) who might rationally fear the Trump administration are sucking up a bit, such as by donating to his inauguration fund. But when you're talking about lots of big companies moving away from "woke" policies, it's nonsense to claim that they're doing it because of Trump. Trump is an effect, not a cause. These changes are another effect from the same cause: the public has turned rapidly against the excessive of the far left in such things as DEI and "cancel culture". The CEOs Who Are Tearing Up the Policies Trump Hates - WSJ
Presidents are temporary even if a Biden or Trump administration can feel like an eternity. Businesses think longer-term than that (at least smart ones do) and are making decisions based on consumer/customer response not political response. Don't give Trump or any other politician more credit than they are due.
One more, this probably due in large part to Charlie Gasparino's book, "Go Woke, Go Broke." BlackRock Withdraws From Climate Coalition, Backpedaling Again on ESG - WSJ
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Do you think this is right? Wealthy wife, unhappy life: Men are sadder when their wives earn more than them, study finds | Daily Mail Online
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I wonder if Colorado drivers are getting worse because more of them are from California: New Study: This U.S. State Has the Worst Drivers in the Country
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Today's Video
I'm offering only one today, because I hope you'll watch it twice. H/T to the great Nellie Bowles of The Free Press for this one.
This is an immigrant from Cuba seeing Costco for the first time.