WEATHER WEDNESDAY AT 12:30 With Fox 31s Dave Fraser. He'll answer your weather questions and give us a heads up about snow this weekend.
LOVE YOURSELF TO LOVE OTHERS My guest today at 1 says loving others begins with loving ourselves and living intentionally begins with defining your values and deciding the kind of life you want to live. Mike C. Young is on to discuss tips on self-reflection, cultivating mindfulness, finding fulfillment, and living a life of purpose. He writes and speaks extensively about creating your own legacy in business and life. Find Mike by clicking here.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS ON TRIAL How? Because scientist Michael Mann believes his own press. He's the author of the famous "hockey stick" graph that showed us all burning to death because of climate change (a graph that has been proven to be false, by the way). He didn't like a couple of columns that called him out for manipulating data and he decided to sue the authors. The case has been around for twelve YEARS but is just now in court and it's not going well for Mann. If you read this account, you'd think he was just a put upon scientist being harassed by climate deniers, but the reality is much different. Mark Steyn, a frequent fill in for Rush Limbaugh back in the day, is one of the defendants, so you know it's got to be entertaining as hell. Here is an article of some of the nonsense that has come out in this trial, including how Dr. Mann disparaged a female critic by alleging she slept her way into her position. Nice guy. You can read a full accounting of what has come out in this trial here, and it's not flattering for Mann. Not at all. Steyn is not alone in knowing Mann is a bad hombre, as evidenced by this column by the outstanding Roger Pielke of CU-Boulder, who wrote about Mann's successful attempt to silence him for veering from the Mann Accepted Dogma with the help of progressives.
REPUBLICANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE PARTY AND TINA PETERS We all know that GOP Chair David Williams supports Tina Peters in her lunatic views that she was saving democracy when she broke into voting machines and shared sensitive information with others in Mesa County. But apparently he's sent out an email asking Republicans to support her as she goes to trial. How about no. That's the gist of this column signed by a whole list of Republicans that Williams will now label RINOs because he's not creative or thoughtful. From the column:
We expect better from the leadership of the Colorado Republican Party, a party in which we have served loyally for years. We are dedicated public servants who take our sacred responsibility and sworn oaths with absolute seriousness. We know many of you at the county and precinct level know the truth and support the work honest election administrators do. We thank you for your continued support and commitment to the truth.
We want to state unequivocally that Tina Peters is not a hero. She is a sadly misguided individual who did not uphold her oath of office and her obligations to the community she served. We ask our fellow Colorado Republican Party members to support your local Republican clerk and recorders, who administer, with integrity, an election system that serves our Constitution and every Coloradan casting a ballot.
They sound awful, don't they? Just kidding, they sound sane.
DENVER POISED TO MAKE A USELESS CEASEFIRE DEMAND And let me be the first to tell them that Israel, and the soldiers currently fighting to exterminate the vermin that are Hamas, don't give a rat's ass what Denver thinks. But I'm sure they will do it anyway. Will Denver's Jewish community show up to remind them why Israel is fighting? We'll see. They didn't show up last week but Pro-Hamas folks sure did. They vote at Monday's meeting.
NIKKI HALEY LOST TO "NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES" IN NEVADA But to be fair, her campaign spent ZERO time in Nevada because it is fully Trump country and she knew is. That being said, Trump didn't appear on the Republican primary ballot either, so the leadership urged Republican to vote for "none of these candidates" rather than Haley. It's petty and small but I don't think Nikki's campaign cares. She's fighting for her campaign life in South Carolina right now.
DENVER IS TRYING TO REPLACE A CONVENTION WE LOST The Outdoor Industry convention was here for five years and brought a big chunk of change to Denver. They left last year and went back to Salt Lake City over affordability and outdoor access (I'm guessing our rampant homelessness at the time played a role as well). Now Denver is trying to host it's own outdoor festival that would bring regular people into the fold. It's going to be at Civic Center Park in June and I'm interested to see what they can pull together.
ANY ARTICLE ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS THAT DOESN'T TALK ABOUT BORDER SECURITY Is truly a waste of time. Which is unfortunate because the Denver Gazette sent two reporters to El Paso to cover the situation and they can't seem to ask ANYONE about border security in the midst of the collapse of the garbage border deal being rejected in DC now. You can read it here but it's just a regurgitation of "Denver needs more federal money" which I'm tired of.
RONNA MCDANIEL IS STEPPING DOWN AT THE RNC And if they were smart they would hire Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the RNC. He stands a chance of bringing in younger voters, he articulates positions well and if you can just rein him in a bit on some of the cuckoo stuff he's be a dynamic spokesperson for the party. Unlike McDaniel, who should have stepped down after the 2022 election year for failing at her job. She's out after the South Carolina primary. If you want to know more about why she needed to go, read this expose of how the RNC has been spending money. I wish I were their florist.
WHOSE FAULT IS THE BORDER CRISIS? As Joe Biden is trying to blame Trump, I'd like to remind you of this little nugget from a Democratic debate in 2020.
Oh how times and polling have changed. Our cowardly dog faced lying pony soldier President is saying this.
Don't let him get away with it.
TED CRUZ IS GUNNING FOR MITCH MCCONNELL At least he's gunning for McConnell to leave his leadership position, which ain't happening without a serious coup in the Senate. He will NEVER step down voluntarily but I hope they can depose him after this disastrous border deal collapse and capitulation. Ted Cruz gave a scorcher of a speech about him, and to say he's not a fan, as McConnell did, is a vast understatement.
MAYBE REPUBLICANS YELLING AT EACH OTHER WILL DO IT Because that is what is happening behind closed doors apparently. As the GOP Senate met behind closed doors to discuss the crap sandwich border bill there was a lot of yelling. Good. Get your priorities straight and secure the border and if Mitch needs to go, boot him.
NO, TEACHING KIDS TO GAMBLE IS NOT OKAY And I'm not talking about Chuck E. Cheese which has replaced most skill based games with gambling machines. I'm talking about the Joe Camel of gambling apps Fliff. Fliff is geared towards kids 13 and up and lets them place bets with fake money on sports. This is NOT okay. Hook em young should not be allowed here. This must go. If your kid has this on his or her phone you need to put your foot down, parents. Who is funding Fliff? I wanted to know too, so here you go:
According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Fliff raised $15 million in investments in August 2022, and its known investors are active in the gambling space. They include Raine, EKG Ventures and Courtside Ventures.
Fliff is the gateway drug to sports betting. Period.
ANOTHER SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY GOES DICTATOR TO FIGHT CRIME Ecuador used to be one of the most peaceful countries in South America until is became an important port for the drug trade. Gangs took over and the murder rate shot up. Then a new attitude and President took over and began using the same tactics as El Salvador used, including mass arrests and incarceration of gang members. The murder rate has dropped considerably and the people are happy but human rights watchers are concerned. Read more here, but I'm telling you, THIS is why the Democrats are soft on crime. They want you to beg for a dictatorship and suspension of the 2nd Amendment.
DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS BOARD GETS DOWN TO BUSINESS I love this column by a woman who has been watching the Denver Public School Board's dysfunction for years about the new board members and how they conducted a recent meeting. I especially love this part:
Board members weren’t waxing poetic about systems of oppression and equity, which ironically tarnishes opportunities to address equity gaps in academic achievement, mental health, and safety. Missing from the board meeting was grandstanding and egocentrism. Missing from the board were board members Micherlle (sic) Quattlebaum and Scott Esserman, and Superintendent Alex Marrero.
Board members in attendance asked succinct questions, and despite only having an hour, Deputy Superintendent Tony Smith and his staff were able to cover in detail the academic performance trends of students across a variety of indicators. They were also able to cover important trends in student safety, discipline, and attendance. This contrasts with many board meetings when time runs out and people are desperate to get out of the room to save themselves from having to hear rambling, incoherent soapbox speeches.
It is amazing what can be accomplished when you remove blowhards from the dias.
YES, THE COLORADO LEGISLATURE IS COMING FOR YOUR GUNS At least your right to carry concealed with the proper license. If their new restrictions pass, you won't be able to legally carry pretty much anywhere. Read it all here.
TWO MINUTE DRILL!
ELON MUSK IS PAYING FOR GINA CARRANO TO SUE DISNEY That is a sentence I didn't expect to write ever but here we are. After Caranno was fired for comparing today's political climate to Nazi Germany (it wasn't a crazy comparison) she was fired from The Mandalorian and cut out of future projects as well. Now she's suing for wrongful discharge and sexual discrimination, as her male co stars were not fired for stating their opinions. Musk confirmed that he's backing her suit with a statement from X:
“As a sign of X Corp.’s commitment to free speech, we’re proud to provide financial support for Gina Carano’s lawsuit, empowering her to seek vindication of her free speech rights on X and the ability to work without bullying, harassment, or discrimination,” read a statement released today by the Musk-owned social media platform’s head of business operations Joe Benarroch.
Good on Elon.
A SOURDOUGH STARTER THAT GOT TIKTOK FAMOUS HAS VOLUNTEERS OVERWHELMED A sourdough starter that allegedly goes back to the Oregon Trail gained thousands of new fans after a TikTok video went viral, which lead to thousands of requests for a piece of Carl's Starter, as it's known.
CREDIT CARD DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD And this is NOT the kind of record you want to break. It increased by $50 BILLION dollars and stood at $1.13 TRILLION dollars at the end of December. Not good. Not good.
WHY ARE OUR SUNSETS AND SUNRISES SO STUNNING? It's called alpenglow and you can find the science of this here. It's nerdy and interesting and I'm glad we have it.
AN ELDERLY WOMAN GETS SCAMMED BY AI And pays out $5000 to the scammers. I was talking about this EXACT THING yesterday with Thomas Frey. PLEASE talk to your elderly relatives about how to recognize or confirm a scam. PLEASE.
COCA COLA HAS A NEW OFFERING And it's Coca Cola Spiced, which is jazzed up with raspberry and some other stuff. It sounds gross to me but we may have to try it on the air just to see.
INCONSIDERATE DOG OWNER GETS POOPED ON But then apparently did NOTHING to clean it up. Unfortunately it was on a full United flight. The flight attendants suited up in hazmat suits and took care of her nasty mess. I think there should be very stiff fines for dog owners whose dogs make a mess on the plane. I'm not anti-dog but I am very anti-irresponsible pet owner.
THE SPHERE IS READY FOR THE SUPER BOWL How cool is this.
THE PRESIDENT SEES DEAD PEOPLE He told a crowd he recently spoke to French Prime Minister Francois Mitterand, who has been dead for some time. Ah, old people.
WHAT UP WITH THIS CLOUD FORMATION? I'll ask Dave Fraser about this.
I'M INTRIGUED BY THIRTEEN MONTHS I've never thought about this but okay.
TUCKER CARLSON IS INTERVIEWING PUTIN And I have no issue with this but I'm interested to see if he goes Mike Wallace on him.
PERSPECTIVE FROM A MAYONNAISE JAR This is so good.