The Rock of Talk 'Daily Blast' for Thursday, July 15th, 2021

The Conservative Calendar, Top 10 Links, Local/State News Briefing, U.S. News Briefing, Global News Briefing, and Questions of the Day

GOOD MORNING FROM THE ROCK OF TALK!

ABQ.FM / AM 1600 KIVA Albuquerque / AM 1490 KRSN Santa Fe / FM 107.1 Los Alamos

Don’t forget! Download our app and listen to “The Rock of Talk” and 65 other radio stations 24/7. Get news, weather, commentary, The Rock of Talk TV, and podcasts all in one app! Amazing!

Download The Rock of Talk TV for ROKU, Amazon Fire or Apple TV. Available now by searching “The Rock of Talk” on the TV platforms below or visit https://rockoftalk.tv/apps/.

You can watch here now at www.rockoftalk.tv — or if you already have the ABQ.FM app, you can access Rock of Talk TV! Plays 24/7.

HERE’S THE BLAST!

Reading Time: 7 minutes 50 seconds

Many patients want to be excused for their current predicament because of events that occurred in their childhood. That’s what psychiatry has become in America. Visit any shopping mall or ethnic pride parade and witness the results.

— Dr. Krakower (Sully Boyar), The Sopranos, Season 3, Episode 7 (“Second Opinion”), original airdate 8 April 2001

THE CONSERVATIVE CALENDAR

Forecast from the KIVA Weather Station: Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.

Today is Thursday, July 15th, the 196th day of 2021. There are 169 days left in the year. It is Saint Swithin’s Day, Be a Dork Day, National I Love Horses Day, National Give Something Away Day, National Gummi Worm Day, National Respect Canada Day, National Tapioca Pudding Day, National Orange Chicken Day, and World Youth Skills Day.

This Day in History

In 1799, the Rosetta Stone was found by Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign.

In 1834, the Spanish Inquisition officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.

In 1838, Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not god. The Protestant community was outraged.

In 1870, Georgia became the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the U.S.

In 1916, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporated Pacific Aero Products, later renamed Boeing.

In 1975, the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project featured the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States manned flight.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his “malaise speech.”

In 2006, the first Twitter prototype, developed by Jack Dorsey and Florian Weber as an internal service for the podcasting company Odeo, was introduced.

This Day in Music History

In 1952, 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd recorded "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus."

In 1972, Elton John landed his first No. 1 album as Honky Chateau went to the top thanks to the hit “Rocket Man.” His next five albums also reached No. 1.

In 1986, Run-D.M.C.’s Raising Hell became the first rap album certified as platinum.

In 2012, the “Gangnam Style” video was posted to YouTube.

In 2016, in what they famously described as a “conscious uncoupling,” Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow officially divorced after 13 years of marriage.

Today’s Birthdays

Singer Linda Ronstadt is 75. Jesse Ventura is 70. Actor Terry O'Quinn is 69. Actress Lolita Davidovich is 60. Actor Forest Whitaker is 60. Brigitte Nielsen is 58. Actor Scott Foley is 49. Actor Brian Austin Green is 48. Actress Diane Kruger is 45.

WATCH THE SHOW 24/7 AT THIS LINK: http://rockoftalk.tv

TOP 10 LINKS: NEWS, COMMENTARY, RESEARCH, AUDIO, AND VIDEO

1. Isotopes could benefit from proposed minor league relief package

2. Health Council launches gun-lock campaign

3. Jal to consider extending RV park moratorium

4. Hurley residents rally to keep community safe

5. New Mexico sees few cases involving Delta variant

6. House Republicans demand answers about Biden family ‘cash-grab’

7. Lawmakers Rally Around Rand Paul’s Call to End Federal Mask Mandate: ‘Put an End to the Nanny State’

8. LISTEN: Debunking The 1619 Project

9. Calling Natural Law ‘White Nationalism’ Is Racist, Period

10. We Can’t Handle The Truth And Don’t Look For It

MAINSTREAM LOCAL/STATE NEWS BRIEFING

FBI agent serving warrant wounded in shootout in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE — Authorities say an FBI agent has been wounded during a shootout Wednesday that left another man dead in northeast Albuquerque. An FBI spokesman says the agent was wearing a bulletproof vest that has struck by gunfire and is expected to survive. The agent was serving a warrant related to a violent crime investigation and trying to make an arrest when the shootout occurred in an alleyway behind the strip mall. The other man was declared dead at the scene. FBI officials didn’t identify the injured agent or the man killed and declined to say if any other suspects were detained or involved.

Opera returns to open-air desert theater with diverse cast

SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Opera is back at its open-air theater in the high desert of New Mexico. The first performance over the weekend included an unmasked cast and a masked audience. State restrictions on performances and crowds lifted last month, but the opera house is still playing it safe. The performance of The Marriage of Figaro was sold out, with some seats empty for distancing. Rehearsals are taking place with masks, another layer of difficulty for opera singers belting challenging music at Santa Fe’s high altitude. Operas around the world are wrestling with ongoing COVID-19 safety concerns and labor negotiations.

MAINSTREAM U.S. NEWS BRIEFING

(Bolded for your attention / analyses)

Jussie Smollett back in court for hearing about his lawyer

CHICAGO — Jussie Smollett has returned to court for the first time in a year for a hearing to determine whether one of the actor’s attorneys should be allowed to keep representing him in his case against accusations that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself. Wednesday’s hearing had nothing to with the charges against Smollett. He’s accused of lying to police when he reported that two masked men attacked him in downtown Chicago in January 2019. The media and the public were not allowed to attend the hearing, so it’s not clear exactly what was being said. Linn will announce his decision regarding Uche at a later date, said attorneys emerging from the private hearing late Wednesday.

Court orders shorter sentence for ‘Tiger King’ Joe Exotic

DENVER — A federal appeals court is ordering a shorter sentence for “Tiger King” Joe Exotic. Denver’s 10th Circuit appeals court ruled Wednesday that the trial court wrongly calculated the advisory sentencing range for Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage. The zookeeper known for his expletive-laden rants on YouTube was sentenced to 22 years behind bars after being convicted for violating federal wildlife laws and a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting his chief rival. He tried to hire two different men to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin. One of his lawyers says he plans to file motions revealing new evidence in the case.

Murkowski camp teases fundraising ahead of deadline

JUNEAU — Sen. Lisa Murkowski hasn’t officially announced if she will run again next year, but her campaign has released fundraising details that an adviser says “strongly positions” the Alaska Republican for a reelection bid. Kevin Sweeney says Murkowski’s focus is on her work in Washington. But he says the fundraising shows Murkowski also is “doing the work to make sure that she’s positioned for reelection, when that time comes.” Wednesday’s campaign statement comes ahead of a filing deadline and days after Republican Party leaders in Alaska endorsed Kelly Tshibaka for U.S. Senate. Tshibaka also recently announced an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, whom Murkowski has been critical of.

911 recordings show panic, disbelief when Florida condo fell

MIAMI BEACH — Recordings of 911 calls after an oceanfront Florida condominium collapsed show disbelief, panic and confusion as people tried to comprehend the disaster. One caller cried “Oh my God!” and told a dispatcher at the Miami-Dade Police Department that the whole building had collapsed. The Police Department released the recordings Wednesday of the Champlain Towers South collapse that killed at least 97 people June 24. The calls came out as a judge approved the sale of the oceanfront property to benefit victims of the deadly disaster. Also Wednesday, Miami Beach officials ordered the evacuation of a small apartment building deemed unsafe.

Britney Spears allowed new lawyer in conservatorship case

LOS ANGELES — An attorney of Britney Spears’s choosing has been appointed to represent the pop star in her conservatorship after a hearing in which the singer tearfully spoke about the case’s impact on her life. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny on Wednesday approved Spears hiring former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to represent her. His appointment was cheered by Spears fans outside the courthouse. Spears spoke for the second hearing in a row, at one point calling the acts of the conservatorship that has governed her personal and financial affairs since early 2008 “cruelty.” Spears spoke rapidly while addressing the court, breaking down in tears near the end of her remarks.

MAINSTREAM GLOBAL NEWS BRIEFING

(Bolded for your attention / analyses)

Plan to vaccinate teens triggers large protests in Greece

ATHENS — Thousands of demonstrators have protested in Greece’s two largest cities against plans to make coronavirus vaccines available to children 15 and older. The protests took place Wednesday outside the parliament building in central Athens and in the northern city of Thessaloniki. In Athens, protesters chanted “Hands off our kids.” Greek authorities have blamed a recent increase in confirmed virus cases on crowded entertainment venues. Under new restrictions, leisure facilities will only be open to people who are vaccinated. Starting Thursday, people as young as 15 will be allowed to book a vaccination appointment with parental consent.

‘I was in tears’: South Africans take stand against rioting

JOHANNESBURG — South African police and the army are struggling to bring order to impoverished areas of South Africa rocked by weeklong unrest and days of looting sparked by the imprisonment last week of ex-President Jacob Zuma. More than 200 violent incidents happened in poor areas of the Kwa-Zulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces overnight, the government said Wednesday, a week after the protests started. The deployment of army soldiers to assist police has been dramatically increased to 25,000 after rioting in which more than 72 people have been killed and 1,234 arrested. Many of the deaths were caused by chaotic stampedes as thousands of people ransacked shops, stealing food, electrical appliances, liquor and clothes, police Maj. Gen. Mathapelo Peters says.

Russia and China try to end Bosnia’s international overseer

Russia and  China have circulated a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that would immediately strip the powers of the international high representative overseeing implementation of the 1995 peace agreement that ended the devastating war in Bosnia. It would eliminate the position entirely in one year. The draft resolution, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, states that the powers given to the high representative at a conference on implementing the Dayton agreement in 1997 “are no longer required given the progress achieved by the Bosnian parties.” Whether the Security Council can close down the Office of the High Representative remains to be seen.

After bad hiccups, Bolsonaro may need intestinal surgery

RIO DE JANEIRO — After 10 straight days of hiccups, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a hospital and might need emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction. The president’s office initially said Wednesday that Bolsonaro was only being examined for the unshakable bout of hiccups and was “feeling well." But later, officials said he would be transferred from a military hospital in the capital of Brasilia to another hospital in Sao Paulo. There, he is undergoing tests to determine if surgery is needed. The president has undergone several operations since being stabbed in the abdomen during his 2018 campaign.

Pope Francis returns to Vatican 10 days after surgery

ROME — Pope Francis is back at the Vatican after being discharged from a Rome hospital 10 days after intestinal surgery to remove half of his colon. En route home, the 84-year-old pontiff stopped at St. Mary Major Basilica to pray and gave thanks for the success of the operation. Francis always visits the basilica after returning from a foreign trip to pray before a beloved icon of the Virgin Mary. The Ford sedan carrying Francis stopped briefly at the side entrance to Vatican City, where Francis emerged from the passenger seat with the aid of a bodyguard to greet some security guards. He then got back in the car and proceeded through the Perugino gate.

‘ROCK OF TALK’ QUESTIONS OF THE DAY FOR OUR COMMUNITY (PLEASE ANSWER IN COMMENTS)

1. Do gun locks reduce suicide deaths?

2. Do you respect Canada?

3. Is Jesse Ventura a buffoon?

4. Should the federal government bail out minor-league baseball teams?

5. Do you love horses?

6. Will Boeing ever return to being a great company?

7. What’s an appropriate penalty for what Jussie Smollett did?

8. Are you a dork?

9. Is Lisa Murkowski the worst GOPer in the U.S. Senate?

10. Do you have a Twitter account?