DROP OFF YOUR BALLOTS OR VOTE IN PERSON TODAY! This primary is going to determine a LOT of seats so get your ballot dropped off or vote in person. Your vote counts VERY much in the primary. Voter turnout is below the last two elections so please participate!
PHILLY OCEAN OF YACHTLEY CREW JOINS US AT 2:30 And if you love the soft, slow jams of the 70s, this band is for you! They are playing at the Oriental Theater tomorrow night and you can buy your tickets here! I'll see you there! Here is a little taste of the fun you'll have.
SIGN UP FOR THE FREEDOM FOUR MILER! This run benefits the Colorado Veterans Project and I've got CVP Board President, Brandy Maranian, a U.S. Army Officer veteran, today at 1 to talk about it. This year’s run will be held on Saturday, June 29, which means it won’t interfere with traditional Fourth of July celebrations. The Freedom 4-Miler is a great opportunity for participants to showcase their American pride while raising funds for local veterans and veteran organizations across the state. Civilians, veterans and uniformed military will run the 1-mile “fun run” or 4-mile run, and to add to the fun, there will be a costume contest where participants will dress in their most ridiculously patriotic attire. In the past we’ve seen the Statue of Liberty, various Founding Fathers and those in head to toe red, white and blue – we have some fantastic photos, too. Join the race by clicking here.
TRUMP HAS DECIDED ON HIS VEEP But he's being tight lipped about it. My prediction is that depending on how the debate goes Thursday night will determine when he announces. If it goes well for Trump, it will be announced after the chatter about the debate dies down. If he underperforms, he will announce Friday. We shall see.
THE PARIS OLYMPICS ARE GONNA BE A HOT TICKET But not as hot for the US Olympic athletes who have announced they are bringing their own AC units to the games. The Paris Mayor has expressed that they wanted to make the Paris games "to be exemplary from an environmental point of view" so there is no air conditioning in the dorms for athletes. That won't fly with the athletes, so the US and many other countries are literally sending air conditioners with the athletes to keep them cool as they participate. I think this is really funny as portable ac units use a LOT more energy than a central system of any kind. Take that, you green dictators.
THERE'S A CHURCH KERFUFFLE IN DILLON and I've read coverage of this from multiple outlets and still can't figure out what is happening here. Apparently there is a church that uses the Dillon Amphitheater for outdoor services on a somewhat regular basis and has done so for 42 years, and now a bunch of Big A Atheists are making an issue out of it. What I can't figure out is whether or not the church pays to use the space, in which case it's none of the business of anyone else. The way this is written I'm guessing no, as the Town Council is now trying to figure out a policy to allow churches and other organizations to rent the space going forward. Leave it to the Atheists to muck everything up.
DENVER WANTS TO RAISE SALES TAXES AGAIN And this would make them the highest sales tax on the Front Range and equal to the mountain towns who soak tourists to pay their bills. The City Council voted to put it on the ballot this November and I'm sure Denverites will vote to raise their own taxes again. They love to raise their own taxes.
JULIAN ASSANGE WILL BE A FREE MAN SOON After he pleaded guilty to espionage in a deal that gave him credit for time served in a British prison, allowing him to return to his home in Australia. This is sort of a lackluster ending to the years of legal wrangling around the man who exposed a lot of embarrassing secrets via his Wikileaks website. The real question is what happens to the next journalist who exposes bad behavior by the government?
DEMOCRATS SOFT ON CRIME POLICIES STILL HAUNT COLORADO This editorial lays out how our reputation as a hotbed of car theft lingers even after the numbers have fallen after changes to the soft on crime policies embraced by our Democratic overlords. Why does this matter? Have YOUR car insurance rates fallen? Mine haven't.
HOW MUCH DO YOU SPEND ON TRAVEL PER DAY? And I'm not just talking about your commute, I'm talking about all the travel you do during the day in your car or on your feet while you're working and running errands and picking up and dropping off kids. According to one study Denverites spent just under two hours a day getting from place to place, which isn't bad in the grand scheme of things.
THE 16TH STREET MALL IS IN A BAD WAY This story from the Colorado Sun features business owners who are struggling to stay alive during the neverending construction on the 16th Street Mall. In it they lament the impact of the construction, but I think they've got a bigger issue. From the story:
These issues have been compounded by other challenges outside of the city’s control, like the adoption of remote and hybrid work options. In the past year, the office vacancy rate in downtown grew to a record high of 32%, data from CBRE shows. Meanwhile, pedestrian visits are approximately 24% below their pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Downtown Denver Partnership.
These numbers are DEVASTATING and a new doll up of the mall isn't going to fix them. One must wonder what happens to downtown Denver in the near term and how long it will really take to recover.
ONE GROUP SAYS ENOUGH EXTREMISTS And they are putting their money where their mouth is by backing moderate, non crazy candidates in a variety of races for the state legislature. Kent Thiry is part of the group behind this, and they are trying to pick off the most objectionable candidates in the primaries and I like that strategy.
JIMINY GLICK INTERVIEWS BILL MAHER And this is the only time I truly enjoy Martin Short.
THE KOA-KAST IS BACK WITH THE FIRST DEBATE THIS THURSDAY
THE NEW FAUX PAS OF THE OZEMPIC ERA This is a whole story on people asking people who have lost weight if they used Ozempic and how inappropriate that is. The problem with this line of thinking is that whenever you lose weight EVERYONE ASKS HOW. They want to know if you've found the magic thing that can help them lose weight. The issue here is that the perception of these drugs being "the easy way" is what needs to change. If you use a drug to reach and maintain a healthy weight, good for you. If you change your life and habits to lose weight, good for you. I do believe that overhauling your diet is a necessary part of any plan, but if Ozempic can help with that, good for you. If you do not need to lose weight and see someone who has lost a bunch of weight how about just saying "You look great!" and leaving it at that?
HOOTERS SAGS As they shuttered a bunch of underperforming restaurants in five different states. Ownership says the brand is still doing well, but in a time of inflation and higher rents they are focused more on stores that are doing well than trying to keep those alive that are barely breaking even. I am just including this story so I could use that headline.
AN EARTHSHAKING RULING IN ISRAEL Until now ultra orthodox men were exempted from compulsory military service that every other Israeli has to do. The thinking was that they were so focused on religious studies to keep the Jewish traditions strong in Israel that being in the military would somehow corrupt them? The issue I have is that the ultra orthodox party in Israel is also the most jingoistic, and have been pushing for the total extermination of Hamas while not sending their sons to do it. Though I am in favor of destroying Hamas, I think they should have a dog in that fight. Now the Israeli High Court has ruled that those exemptions are to go away and this could significantly impact Netanyahu's government, although I don't know where the ultra orthodox would go.
INFOWARS IS GOING BELLY UP And this could not happen to a more deserving man than Alex Jones. A bankruptcy trustee says he is beginning to wind down and liquidate the assets of the company where Alex Jones slung his hateful conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook and other events. After losing badly to the families he's been lying about for years, Jones now owes over a billion dollars. He says he will continue his show so he can continue to grift by selling vitamins to the gullible people who still follow him.
PEOPLE ARE FLYING LIKE CRAZY And the TSA says it screened a record 2.99 MILLION people in the US yesterday, setting an all time record. If you've been to the airport lately you know this is true. The 4th of July weekend travel may break that record.
WHAT ARE SPENDING OUR MONEY ON TODAY? This cool article from the Wall Street Journal (sorry if it's paywalled) shows the difference between fifty years ago and today when it comes to what we spend our money on. No shocker that housing prices have gone up, but so many other expenses have actually declined I'm shocked! Find it here.
WHEN MEN FANTASIZE ABOUT HAVING PERIODS Because this CLEARLY did not happen and shows a stunning lack of knowledge about basic biology.
THE SCIENCE OF GETTING SLEEP I listened to this entire podcast and it's really good. Watch below or click here. Listen to this entire episode by clicking here.
MILLENNIAL PARENTING IS...SOMETHING Watch below or click here.
A CONVENTION WE NEVER KNEW WE NEEDED I present: Fat Con.
AND NOW, POOP TALK what is normal and what isn't? Now you know. Watch below or click here.
GROWN UP VS TODDLER This is pretty accurate. Watch below or click here.