IT IS AN ASK ME ANYTHING FRIDAY And now that I'm back from the big Democrat party I can tell you what I really think about any of it.
KAMALA HARRIS KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK LAST NIGHT No, she didn't get specific on anything except her full throated support of Ukraine and Israel's right to defend itself but she was engaging, likeable, and for voters who vote solely on such things she crushed it. It was completely devoid of any substance and rehashed her personal story which had already been laid out multiple times during the very night she spoke. But she crushed what she was sent there to do, which is keep the good vibes going. Compare that speech last night to the rambling mess that Trump gave after the first 23 minutes and there is no comparison. Just so we're clear, I don't want Kamala Harris to be President. I don't trust her policies based on what's she's advocated in the past and the tiny bit of policy she's put out since last week. I think the country will do worse economically under her leadership and she will hasten our insolvency by continuing to wrack up trillion dollar deficits. That being said, she clearly has momentum and the press behind her and Donald Trump is running around whining about AI crowds and other crap that doesn't matter. You can see his screeches into the ether on Truth Social on this X feed.
Republicans have made some critical errors as of late to set up her attack points brilliantly. First off, the Heritage Foundation decided to be a political arm of the GOP and more specifically Trump and delivered Project 2025 to the Dems to demagogue beautifully. It doesn't matter what it actually SAYS because NO ONE is going to read it (much like the massive Obamacare bill) and that allows people like Governor Jared Polis to lie his ass off about what is in it to make it this super scary document that Trump has signed in blood to enact (he has done nothing of the sort, mind you). Secondly, Mitch McConnell decided to send ONE Senator who wasn't up for re election to "negotiate" a bad border bill that didn't actually secure the border permanently and when the rest of the GOP rejected it because it's a garbage bill the Democrats now get to say it's the GOP who are blocking action on the border, which is horse crap. Both of those wounds are entirely self inflicted by people who decided they knew best when they clearly don't. Trump could very well lose this election now because of them both. I'd love to say I have confidence in Trump getting it together and running an issues based serious campaign but I don't think he can, especially as the press has proven itself to be the Pravda of the United States on behalf of the Democrat party.
JUST WHO IS RUNNING THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW? As President Joe Biden is in California for some time off after a weekend at Camp David relaxing after a weekend in Delaware that gave him some time off and we know Kamala Harris is busy. This column asks the question and I don't think we have a good answer. It certainly does seem as if the Democrats have totally crapped all over the rule of law and chain of command and why do we even need a President anyway, amiright? From the column:
Some reports indicate that select elements within the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Security Council — along with prominent outside donor and institutional forces — are calling the shots in the Biden Administration. However, the corporate media and the White House refuse to acknowledge the obvious reality that neither the president nor Kamala Harris is making policy decisions on a day to day basis. So that leaves us in the dark entirely. You would think this would be Pulitzer-worthy material for a go-getter journalist, but today’s Pulitzers are granted to those who act as regime sycophants, not independent-minded muckrakers.
I'm sure our allies around the world must be interested.
REP. LISA FRIZELL JOINS ME TO TALK ABOUT THE SPECIAL SESSION NEXT WEEK As she represents people in Douglas County like me whose property taxes went up like 40%. As a former county assessor she's got special insight here. She's also running for Senate right now and you can support her by clicking here.
AN EVENT FOR THE OVER 65 CROWD I'll talk to Eileen Doherty of the Colorado Gerontological Society about their Salute to Seniors happening tomorrow. Find out all the details and location by clicking here.
DEMOCRATS NOW WRITE THEIR OWN RULES BOTH NATIONALLY AND AT THE STATE LEVEL This story is about how Democrats are having "caucus" meetings behind close doors to talk about the upcoming special session and they won't let anyone else in. As the party with a total majority in both houses anything discussed in these meetings is sure to have a huge impact on what is eventually passed and they can't hide behind the old "it's just party business" anymore. From the Colorado Sun in an article about the Democrats doing business behind closed doors:
In recent weeks, a small group of lawmakers from both parties re-entered negotiations with Gov. Jared Polis’ office and Michael Fields of Advance Colorado in a bid to get the conservative political group to withdraw two proposed property tax measures from the November ballot.
The negotiators — including Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, R-Brighton, and Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver — struck a deal to pass new tax cuts, and Polis called lawmakers into a special session that starts Monday.
But rank-and-file Democrats now say they feel backed into a corner by a negotiation that they and their constituents weren’t allowed to have a say in. And at a Thursday caucus meeting — this one open to the public — a number of House Democrats complained about the lack of transparency, saying they don’t even know who was sitting at the table when the deal was struck.
But who will stop them? Does anyone know exactly WHICH Democrats decided to elevate Kamala Harris to be the nominee? No ballots were cast, no open meetings were held, no public discussions took place, she was just CHOSEN by a group of...who? Too bad the national press is not the LEAST bit interested in who is choosing the potential President behind closed doors or the closed door meetings that will likely determine our property tax policy. None of this is okay but the vaunted Fourth Estate is too busy taking selfies at the DNC to ask any difficult questions.
PBR HAS MOVED, AND THAT'S NO BULL The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has pulled up stakes in Pueblo and moved to Fort Worth, Texas, they say to be closer to the biggest events they have on their calendar. They've been a part of Pueblo since 2007 and say they've met the job promises they made when they relocated there from Colorado. I guess that the First Gentleman of Colorado with his obsession with animal rights may have made the move more appealing but we'll never know.
ABOUT THAT MASSIVE JOBS NUMBER CORRECTION In Colorado we "lost" 72,000 jobs overnight when the Bureau of Labor Statistics realized they had overstated the jobs numbers by a THIRD. That is a 2.4% decrease for us here in Colorado.
NO DEMOCRATS ARE NOT THE PARTY OF FREEDOM Unless you want to end the life of your baby in the womb that is. Read this column for more.
NERDY POPULATION FACTS FOR YOU I just find this stuff so interesting.
MOST CLIMATE POLICIES DON'T WORK According to a new study of more than 1,500 policies in 41 countries that showed just 63 of them actually did what they say there were supposed to do. Read it here. The good news is that 63 did work and could be used in the future to set policy elsewhere.
THE TALIBAN BIDEN EMPOWERED SUBJUGATE WOMEN And NO ONE is surprised or they shouldn't be anyway. Even after there were empty promises made after the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal that armed the Taliban with a trillion dollars worth of our military equipment about protecting women's rights, we all knew it was a matter of time before women were shoved out of the public square permanently and now it's here. From the new Virtue laws:
Article 13 relates to women. It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short.
Women are obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.
Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, threatening an already fragile Afghan media landscape.
Article 19 bans the playing of music, the transportation of solo female travelers, and the mixing of men and women who are not related to each other. The law also obliges passengers and drivers to perform prayers at designated times.
Thanks, Joe Biden!
MORE GOOD FOOD AT DIA I have to say that for all it's quirks Denver International Airport has really good food options and I love that they are locally based and more than just cheap Chinese food. We just got three more, read it here.
EPIC OR IKON PASS? For you avid skiers you probably already know your preferred pass but if you're thinking of dipping your toe into the annual pass game here is a great explainer of the difference between the two biggest annual passes around.
LOTS TO DO IN COLORADO THIS WEEKEND And you can find some of the high notes here.
ASKING KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTERS ABOUT WHY SHE HAS THEIR SUPPORT And it's everything you think and more.
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ASKING KAMALA SUPPORTERS ABOUT POLICY POSITIONS
JOHN STOSSEL GIVES US KAMALA UNFILTERED
POVERTY AND PARENTS EXPLAIN THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP This is something that is of course DUH. A child's parent or parents and their socioeconomic status and level of educational attainment themselves are the best predictors of student success. You know what else matters? An intact family unit. Read this:
Half of White and Asian students are growing up in families in the top 30 percent in income, while 19 percent of Whites and 24 percent of Asians are in the lowest 30 percent. By contrast, more than half of Black and Hispanic students come from families in the bottom 30 percent, only 17 percent in the top 30 percent.
Family structure is related to poverty: 93 percent of Asian students and 86 percent of White students live in two-parent households, compared 48 percent of Black students. However, Hispanic families, though nearly as poor as Blacks, are much more likely (79 percent) to have two parents.
It's just another argument that supports the notion that kids need two parents. Period.
CHICK FIL A IS ADDING A NEW PRODUCT TO THE LINEUP And it is not at all food related. Watch below or click here.
POLIS MADE THE TOP CRINGIEST MOMENTS FROM THE DNC Watch below or click here.
VIBE CHECK: RNC VS DNC Watch below or click here.