I'M AT TRAINING CAMP TODAY! They've never let me come before because they are afraid I will embarrass them and they may be right. (there will be follow up questions as to who "they" are) I'm having ARod find me the best looking Broncos if we can get any players but this should be fun and very distracting so I'm not promising the show today won't be a trainwreck. You've been warned!
COULD NANCY PELOSI SET OFF WORLD WAR III? The Speaker of the House may or may not be landing in Taiwan as she makes her way around Asia doing politics. China is SUPER unhappy with the prospect that the government of Taiwan will be given any more legitimacy around the world while China is trying to figure out how to take it over completely. China says Taiwan belongs to them even though they have NEVER ruled the island nation, Taiwan says nuh-uh and now Pelosi is on a trip that has created quite the stir. The Chinese defense mouthpiece said that shooting down Pelosi's plane was an option, but I just don't see how they do that after the way Russia has been punished by the world for its aggression in Ukraine. But then, the ChiComms are nuts. We'll know later today if WWWIII is on the horizon. By the way, before you get into a lather about her going at all, when Newt Gingrich was Speaker he went there too. It's not unprecedented, though it could be considered unusual. UPDATE: She's landed in Taiwan according to the AP.
ANOTHER AL QAEDA LEADER BITES THE DUST And this is a good one. Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri is DRT (dead right there) after being taken down by a drone strike while he lounged on a balcony in Kabul, Afghanistan. This ahole was involved in the bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, helped plan 9/11, and took over Al Qaeda when we killed Bin Laden. I hope he rots in hell. The Taliban are SUPER upset that we killed the man they were harboring in an upscale neighborhood that probably exists because we built it. They said it was a "violation of international principles" even if harboring the terrorist mastermind of the world's leading terror group is not. I added that last part. The home he was in belonged to a top aide of the President of Afghanistan. I'm so glad we spent billions to help them. It's rather amazing and creepy how quickly drones have been adapted into precision killing machines.
YOUR TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS CHECKS ARE ON THE WAY The sped up refunds REQUIRED by TABOR are on their way and I need you guys to remind EVERYONE that this is not a gift from politicians, it's YOUR MONEY that you are getting back because YOU OVERPAID THE GOVERNMENT. Say it with me, it's OUR MONEY. Don't let this marketing scheme confuse anyone. I especially love this quote from Joshua Bly who is the Senate Republican spokesman:
“We are glad to see our Democrat colleagues have finally come around to embrace TABOR, even if it comes as a response to the affordability crisis their overzealous policies have created. Thanks to the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, the people of Colorado will once again be reunited with their hard-earned tax dollars.”
THANK YOU TO KJ HAMLER The Broncos receiver talked openly about his struggles with depression after an injury sidelined him at the same time his grandmother passed away. He even admitted that he thought about suicide at his lowest points, but he also talked about how he's learned to ask for help and express his feelings. He's in therapy and was open about how difficult it is for a man in our culture to admit that you need help. This is going to save someone's life. Just talking about this stuff makes it okay for others to get help and this may be the most important story in the long run to come out of camp.
OUR ATTORNEY GENERAL IS COOL WITH CAR THEFTS How else can you interpret his statement below that someone has to steal three or four cars over three months before they are kept in jail? Perhaps that's why we have the highest car theft rate IN THE NATION. I'm not paraphrasing, look at this:
He recently blatantly lied to a bunch of senior citizens about crime rates in Jefferson and Larimer counties, telling them that crime had done down when it clearly has not:
George Brauchler has a barn burner column about it here. Just vote for John Kellner and end this madness.
DOWNTOWN DENVER HAS NOT RECOVERED And the numbers are pretty grim Axios grabbed up five indicators via the Denver Business Journal that demonstrate how hollowed out downtown really is. Check them here, but you won't be surprised by any of them if you've been downtown anytime recently.
TWO BIG SPENDING DEMS SAY THEY CARE ABOUT WORKING FAMILIES NOW One of our family mottos is "Deeds, not words" and this CLEARLY applies to this story about two Democrats from Colorado running for Congress. Brittany Pettersen and Yadira Caraveo are running for Congress on a platform of "improving the lives of working families" but as Colorado Legislators, they did anything but. They voted to raise taxes and fees over and over again, raising the cost of everything in the process. Don't fall for it, read this column instead.
I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS If you missed the interview on competitive eating yesterday, Bryan Beard mentioned his friend who did The Big Texan challenge in just 15 minutes. The challenge consists of Shrimp Cocktail, Baked Potato, Salad, with Roll, Butter, and of course the 72oz Steak. She did it in 15 minutes and you have to see this.
FORMER DENVER MAYOR WELLINGTON WEBB IS SICK OF BEING NICKEL AND DIMED TO DEATH And I read this and just wanted to yell PREACH because it demonstrates how taxation becomes death of a thousand cuts ten dollars at a time. He's not wrong on any of this.
DOUGLAS COUNTY MAKES A SMARTER WATER MOVE After the nonsense around the ridiculous San Luis Valley water project that everyone but the investors and one member of the county commission hated, Douglas County did the right thing and pivoted to a more reasonable, less controversial project to bring water to the county. The RWR project seems to be totally dead, as the money that would have been spent towards the study of that project is likely to be allocated to a project Parker Water has been working on that isn't controversial and makes more sense.
IF YOUR RELATIONSHIP IS STRUGGLING, TRY THE 2-2-2 RULE This is a really great idea if you're finding yourself in a rut or a downward spiral in your current relationship. It's very simple. Make sure you have a date night every two weeks, a weekend away every two months and a week away every two years. It's really about just spending time with the person you love, as time together translates to intimacy and that is definitely something to aspire to. Read more here.
AFFORDABLE PLACES TO LIVE WHEN YOU RETIRE IN THE STATES Are getting harder to find, but check this list for some surprises.
HOW TO HANDLE THE MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK IN A FEW EASY STEPS As monkeypox is running through the gay or bi male communities in California, New York and Illinois, let me say how this needs to be handled. We take whatever vaccines we have to the cities and states with the largest outbreaks and do a huge public service campaign asking gay and bisexual men to get vaccinated FIRST, and anyone who is not having sex with other man or sex with a man who has sex with men to wait until later to get the vaccine. We vaccinate all of those men, and then spread the vaccine to other areas with outbreaks. Prioritize the people most at risk, make them the priority and nip this thing before it gets out of hand. That's how public health is supposed to work. It's not homophobic, it's the opposite of that.
BRAD PITT WORE A LINEN SKIRT TO A MOVIE PREMIERE And when asked about it later, he could have just said, "I'm Brad Pitt, that's why" because that's remarkably similar to what he really did say.
HOW TO FRY AND EGG IN THE MICROWAVE I had no idea this was a thing until right now.
POOR KIDS WHO GROW UP AROUND RICH KIDS DO BETTER And this is something that is apparent if you've read books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad where Robert Kiyosaki explains that his own dad didn't teach him to be rich, a rich friend of his had a dad who did. Access to information about the possibilities of money is important for kids to see, plus access to opportunities that come from knowing wealthier people is also super important. The New York Times does a deep dive here.
GOT VERIZON? YOUR 911 SERVICE IN COLORADO IS LACKING BECAUSE OF THAT Sometimes when a company makes a choice it's easy to understand why they made it. This choice by Verizon confused me, but I don't think I have the real information as to why they would do this. Other mobile phone providers have enabled a feature that allows your location to send your 911 call to the right department rather than the department where your phone is registered. This saves precious time in an emergency, but Verizon has just said no. Again, I'm not clear as to why.
THIS BISON SOUNDS JUST LIKE JINX WHEN SHE SLEEPS And any Saint Bernard owner knows what I'm talking about.
DO WE REALLY NEED A ROADHOUSE DO OVER? The only answer is NO because the first movie is perfection. But here we are.