Just One Thing: The value of political courage
Look, I know that we’re not Argentina. Our primary language is still months away from being Spanish. We’ve never won a soccer world cup. Our inflation rate at its worst in recent years was 8% in 2022 whereas Argentina’s inflation rate last year was an insane 211 percent. Argentina has defaulted on its debt 9 times. We’re also different in that while all countries are full of cowardly politicians, Argentina has one truly brave man in their new president, Javier Milei. So while Republicans and Democrats alike are doing almost nothing to fix America’s impending financial disaster, President Milei came in and immediately slashed government spending. The result: After his FIRST full month in office, Argentina reported its first monthly budget surplus in 12 years. If only the US were more like Argentina in that way.
(Yes, I know that the Argentinian president has authorities that the US president doesn't have, but we don't even have a candidate for president who would push for the kinds of spending cuts that the US needs...even though they're small compared to what Milei just did (in terms of economic impact on the country even if not in terms of absolute dollars.)
Argentina Sees First Monthly Budget Surplus In 12 Years | Barron's (barrons.com)
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Ultimate Nerd
Here's some of the stuff I bought at an auction from a place that used to do repair of helicopter avionics/electronics systems. My intent is to resell the stuff. I have almost no possible use for it. The 400 Hz stuff is apparently for airplane and/or helicopter systems where 400-cycle power is (or was?) common.
The last two devices are very cool voltage calibrators. they go to 19.999 volts in increments of .001 of a volt. However, one of them is probably broken. I paid $75 for the pair. I suspect they're worth a few hundred dollars each (at least) if working. I'm tempted to keep the broken one if it's mostly working, i.e if the 2nd decimal place doesn't adjust properly but the rest works.
Today's Guests
Realtor Ed Prather is a show partner and my go-to source for understanding the dynamics of the Denver Metro real estate market.
We'll talk about this: Denver has the hottest housing market in the nation: US News | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
And Ed's site, if you're looking to sell your home: http://edprather.com
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John Fund is National Review’s national-affairs reporter and a fellow at the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. He's been a fixture in the world of political reporting and election analysis for almost as long as I've been thinking about politics. He just put together a fascinating report for the Committe to Unleash Prosperity: Them vs. U.S. The Two Americas and How the Nation’s Elite Is Out of Touch with Average Americans
Follow John on the Twitter machine: https://www.twitter.com/JohnFund
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THIS CONVERSATION WILL BLOW YOUR MIND
Jerry Kaplan is a serial tech entrepreneur, lecturer on AI at Stanford, and author of Generative Artificial Intelligence: What Everyone Needs to Know (which was just published on Monday)
Jerry Kaplan | FSI (stanford.edu)
Jerry's recent op-ed for the Journal: Your Chatbot Concierge Will Expect a Tip - WSJ
We'll talk about the upsides and risks of Generative Artificial Intelligence (meaning forms of AI that "generate" output like words or images.)
More here, including a talk by Jerry and then a video about the latest (as far as making big news) in Generative AI, OpenAI's "SORA" video generator
Sora's AI-generated video reaches scary levels of realism - and this is just the start (msn.com)
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Other Stuff
I don't think too many people will miss these names: 20 Once-Popular Baby Names Now At Risk of Disappearing
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A lot of topics I didn't get to yesterday:
A young generation: 1 big thing: Inside Gen Z's mind (Axios)
An older generation: This Year, More Americans Than Ever Turn 65. They’re Redefining Retirement. - WSJ
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Senate race stuff:
Here are 6 Senate races to watch in 2024 (axios.com)
This is good for the GOP: Montana Rep. Rosendale drops US Senate bid after 6 days, citing Trump endorsement of opponent | AP News
This is also good for the GOP: Hogan leads or ties major Democrats in Maryland Senate race: Poll | The Hill
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This stuff makes pro-lifers happy and is a political disaster for Republicans in key races around the country: Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos are children, imperiling IVF - The Washington Post
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I sure hope the real story isn't as bad as this looks: Inside Mayor Adams' migrant debit card boondoggle — no-bid bank gets $50 million, border crossers up to $10,000 each (nypost.com)
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Denver.
One improvement: Denver homeowners could pay flat ride sidewalks fees under law change (denverpost.com)
And one ridiculous waste: New program to pay $1 per mile to bike-riding Denverites | outtherecolorado.com (denvergazette.com)
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The stuff that makes me support the death penalty: Two charged with murder in Kansas City Super Bowl shooting | AP News
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I sure hope colleges are done with this nonsense, by which I hope they're done caring when snowflake Gen-Z students claim to be offended by either facts or opinions. College reinstates biology professor who was fired after teaching sex is determined by X and Y chromosomes (msn.com)
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I don’t know if she’s a Chinese agent but I sure don’t like this: It's 'unbelievable' Chinese immigrant Kelly Wong sworn in on San Francisco's Elections Commission: Top Republican warns Xi Jinping is playing 'long game' as 452 Chinese used the southern border to illegally infiltrate the U.S. in just the past three days | Daily Mail Online
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This is kinda funny (as long as nobody got hurt): Waymo issues recall after 2 of its vehicles strike the same pickup truck - ABC News (go.com)
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And this is kinda interesting: Study: Where Coloradans moved to in 2023 | FOX31 Denver (kdvr.com)
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Today's Videos
First, I think it's a lovely serenade. Second, I don't know why whoever has the camera keeps pointing it at the plate of food.
Yup
So, this video is only slightly amusing. The crazy thing is that it has almost 32 million views.