Thoughts On The Shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner - also ICYMI: 6 Stories & a Video
We featured a lot of great, original content this past week. Below are six highlights of columns, one great video from the week.
On Last Night’s Shooting Incident At The White House Correspondents Dinner…
(Since I recorded this we found out the shooter Is from Torrance, and teaches at C2. That’s not a “school” - C2 Is a for-profit outfit that provides tutoring, test prep, and college counseling services.)
I recalled that mid-last year I saw some Pew Research on public opinion about political violence, so I sought it out (it’s here). Below is a chart of interest, and there is more interesting data if this is something that interests you.
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BELOW ARE SIX STORIES FROM THIS WEEK THAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED!
California Anti-Tax Coalition Announces New Statewide Advertising Campaign
You can listen to this post on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It’s available on your favorite podcasting app, or you can find it here. Certain columns, like this one, are made available to all of our readers. Much of our content is reserved for paid subscribers. Find out more
New Report: California Job Growth Lags Nation As High Costs Wipe Out Income Gains
You can listen to this post on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It’s available on your favorite podcasting app, or you can find it here. Our afternoon content is typically for our paid subscribers. Certain columns, like this one, are made available to all of our readers.
Reporters And Political Observers Need To Stop Using Prediction Betting Odds As Indicators Of Trends In Campaigns
Our morning content is free for all subscribers and guests! You can also listen to this post — along with my California Post column — on our podcast feed, So, Does It Matter? SPOKEN. It’s available on your favorite podcasting app. You can listen directly
California Lawmakers Are Reacting To A ChatGPT Suicide Case — But Missing The Bigger Risk
Our afternoon content is usually paywalled or has a special something extra for paid subscribers. But loyal readers know that on some topics, where I am trying to expand my reach, we skip that. Today’s important column is fully available to our many thousands of free and paid subscribers, and you are encouraged to share it!
Top Ten Winners & Losers In California Politics For The Week Ending 4/24 - And Who Had the Worst Week (Video)?
Below is our Top Ten List of Winners and Losers for the Week. This feature is available to all of our subscribers, free and paid. At the bottom of this post is our “Worst Week In California Politics” special feature. It's me, in rare form, on video, going on why someone’s week sucked. It is below the paywall for our paid subscribers, though. Please support my independent calling of balls and strikes, and unlock lots of content by upgrading today! It’s only $7 a month (or $70 for an entire year).
FOMO? There are half a dozen other items that aren’t highlighted above. But you can read them here.
One Video…
My Substack Live analysis of the Governor’s debate! Check it out…
On This Date In 1986…
CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR REACTOR EXPLOSION
On this date in 1986, one of the nuclear reactors at the Chernobyl power plant in the then-Soviet Union—now Ukraine—exploded in what remains the worst nuclear disaster in history.
In the early hours of April 26, Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a catastrophic failure during a late-night safety test gone wrong. A flawed reactor design, combined with operator error and a culture that discouraged questioning authority, created the conditions for disaster. The explosion blew the roof off the reactor building and exposed the core, releasing massive amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
What followed was a slow-moving crisis compounded by denial and delay. Soviet authorities initially downplayed the incident, even as radiation spread across Europe. It was only after elevated radiation levels were detected in Sweden that the world began to grasp the scale of the catastrophe.
The human toll was immediate and long-term. Two workers were killed in the explosion, and dozens of first responders died within weeks from acute radiation sickness. Thousands more have suffered lasting health effects. Entire towns, including the nearby city of Pripyat, were evacuated and remain abandoned to this day.
Chernobyl stands as a stark reminder of what happens when technological risk meets bureaucratic secrecy and political control. It reshaped global attitudes toward nuclear energy and remains a cautionary tale about transparency, accountability, and the cost of institutional failure.
Here’s a quick video explainer:
If you want to go deep on this I have two fabulous recommendations:
The first is a six part podcast (on the fabulous Journey Through Time podcast show) - Chernobyl, The Worst Nuclear Disaster In History
Here is an Apple Podcast link to episode one…
And of course you can’t go wrong watching the actual mini-series Chernobyl, which has cycled out of Netflix for now (it will come back) but you can catch it now on HBO Max if you subscribe, or rent it on Amazon Prime (so worth it). You will binge watch it.
Trailer: