(Images: Getty Image)
REAL ESTATE IS ACHANGIN' And I've got Mike Potarf on today to talk about how and why it's changing. Find out more about Mike and the Madlom team by clicking here.
WHY IS KAMALA EVERYWHERE WITH BIDEN? Have noticed how much time the Vice President is spending with the President? She goes with him EVERYWHERE and EVERYTIME. That is just...weird. The Veep traditionally folds into the background once the election is over, but not Veep Harris. This past weekend she was with him as he went to Atlanta to spread the false narrative that white supremacy is the reason for the rise in violence against Asian people. This is something a POTUS would have done himself previously, but there she was. Why? Is it because he's so infirm that she needs to be there to prop him up? Or do they both know he's not long for the role so she is doing on-the-job training? It's just weird. Oh, and if you missed President Biden's multiple falls going up the stairs of Air Force One Friday, the rest of the world did not. Here's a column reminding everyone of how the media AND BIDEN treated President Trump being careful going down ramps.
HOW DID THE LEFT GET SNOOKERED BY SCUMBAG CUOMO? IT WAS TRUMP'S FAULT And for real that is what this woman is arguing in this stupid opinion piece on MSNBC. It goes like this. The Left decided Andrew Cuomo was the perfect antidote to Trump, so they elevated him to previously unknown heights so they could point out the differences between him and Trump. Then they pretend to find out he's a scumbag, even though apparently EVERYONE in New York knew he was at minimum a bully and an ahole. Then they want to blame their idiocy on Trump. But no one says that people thought Cuomo was God because the media told us he was. Which is the real issue here.
A GOP CONGRESSMAN IS CAUGHT BEING A CREEP And this one happened in 2017 but the woman in question came forward now because she is the military and wants to set a good example for her female troops. She accuses Congressman Tom Reed of being drunk and gross and unhooking her bra and rubbing her thigh. He has now come out and said he will not run for anything in 2022. He says he is an alcoholic who sought treatment for his addiction shortly after this happened, but "I was drunk" is a BS excuse and always has been. He probably shouldn't have been calling for Cuomo to resign as loudly as he has.
IF YOU'RE READY TO TRAVEL, HERE'S WHICH COUNTRIES ARE OPEN My friend Therese Rocca has a cool business helping people learn the Points and Miles game and she is scoping out which countries are open to Americans right now. Here you go, friends!
THERE IS ALREADY PUSHBACK ON THE ILLEGAL TAX INCREASES BEING PUSHED BY DEMS And I know they think they are being clever by calling all these new transportation taxes "fees" but they are taxes and if they pass this giant scam I can bet it's going to be challenged immediately. A big part of it is a new fee per delivery for online shopping sites, and if I'm Amazon, I'm simply refusing to deliver in Colorado until it's repealed. Could you imagine the outcry if Amazon pulled the plug here??? I almost want them to do it just to see.
HAS YOUR JOB EVER ADVERSELY AFFECTED YOUR SENSE OF WELL BEING? JUST SUE. There is a garbage bill in the Colorado Legislature (wow, how many times have I said that recently) that would make it easy peasy to sue your "employer" for pretty much any hurt feelings you might suffer. I'm not exaggerating, you can now sue for having a hostile work environment defined thusly:
For example, the bill defines a “hostile work environment” to include any place of employment that adversely affects any “individual’s sense of well-being or safety.”
If this were the case, is any employer safe? I know my feelings have been hurt at work. Oh, and remember that kid you had mow your lawn last summer? He can sue you now as an "employee". Read more in this Denver Gazette Editorial. The best part? These new protections are specifically NOT provided for state workers.
PIKE'S PEAK SUMMIT IS CLOSED FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS As they upgrade the road, move some boulders and otherwise get ready to open the brand spanking new visitors center this upcoming summer. The summit will be closed until May 23rd.
UNIONS ARE NOW INVADING PRIVATE FARMS
THE DEMOCRAT HEAD OF THE DRAG QUEEN STORY HOUR ORG HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR CHILD PORN And I'm not about to say that every drag queen is a pedophile but it certainly appears this one is. I tried to read the various counts in the indictment and am physically ill from it. Don't do it. Just don't. Read about the arrest of Brett Blomme here. Oh, fyi, he was just elected a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge too after running as the "progressive" alternative.
ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS IN AURORA UNLESS YOU'RE BLACK AND LIBERAL At least that's what the message is by the retention of Harold Johnson on the Aurora Civil Service Commission. Harold Johnson applied to be on the Commission that oversees police officer and firefighter disciplinary issues and indicated he had retired from his last job as a firefighter. He affirmed that in his interview. Now we find out that he was not only fired, he was fired for cause. He should be immediately removed from his post, right? Not so fast. Mr. Johnson is black. When questioned PRIVATELY by Aurora City Commissioners, he said the reason he was fired was racially motivated so the liberal members who honestly appear to hate the police already, gave him a pass. So if you're black, all you have to do is say you are the victim of racism and all is forgiven. By the way, when he was fired, it was for breaking 13 rules of the department he was in.
A NURSE AT HAMILTON MIDDLE SCHOOL WANTS TEACHERS TO LIE TO PARENTS At least when it comes to a child's gender identity. I got this letter from a not-so-happy person, skip down to the Bold part for what I'm talking about:
Hello Hamilton Team,
I hope everyone is well and prepared for what is expected to possibly be a historical snow storm and will be safe and warm with your loved ones!
This week, during Hamilton's LPD Club (GSA), our students were talking to Flipse, Joel and myself about their various "stories". Our students are so incredible and vulnerable with us, and I can't tell you how much I cherish the time I get to spend with these young scholars!
There is growing evidence that over time the experience of being called by an unwanted name contributes to adverse mental health outcomes and isolation. Research shows that the more contexts or settings where our students were able to use their preferred name, the stronger their mental health was. We’re fortunate to be in an environment where many of our students feel safe enough with us to use their chosen names at school vs their given names at home. Many are also sharing with us that they would like us to use their preferred pronouns, too.
It is critical in order to avoid unintentionally revealing the student’s transgender status to others in violation of the student’s privacy rights. A transgender or gender nonconforming student may not express their gender identity openly in all area of their lives, including at home. Revealing a student’s gender identity or expression to others, even unintentionally, may compromise the student’s safety. Thus, preserving a student’s privacy is of the utmost importance. A transgender student’s right to privacy does not restrict a student’s right to openly discuss and express their gender identity or to decide when or with whom to share private information. Which for our students, often the school setting is a safest space for them to express their gender identity. A student does not waive his or her right to privacy by selectively sharing this information with others.
In a study published in Sept 2017 by the Journal of Adolescent Health, researchers interviewed transgender youths ages 15 to 21 and asked whether young people could use their chosen name at school, home, work and with friends. Compared with peers who could not use their chosen name in any context, young people who could use their name in all four areas experienced 71% fewer symptoms of severe depression, a 34% decrease in reported thoughts of suicide and a 65% decrease in suicidal attempts. This same study showed, transgender youths report having suicidal thoughts at nearly twice the rate of their peers, with about 1 out of 3 transgender youths reporting considering suicide. (Just think, this was before the pandemic and it's effects!)
This study noted the importance of having even one safe space in which a chosen name could be used was associated with a 29% decrease in suicidal thoughts.
With all of this said, we also need to be extremely thoughtful when we talk to our transgender & gender nonconforming students’ parents. As many of us know, after a short amount of time, one becomes accustomed to a student’s preferred name and/or pronouns. Due to it becoming second nature, we need to be MINDFUL to not accidently “out” our students to their parents, families or guardians when we talk with them. When our students ask us to use their chosen names and pronouns, this is a great time to ask them if their parents know if they are using their preferred name or pronouns.
It is our duty as teachers & staff to privately ask transgender or gender nonconforming students at the beginning of the school year (or now… as the case may be) how they want to be addressed in class, in correspondence to the home, or at conferences with the student’s parents. Once we do that, we must follow those preferences to ensure our student’s safety.
In addition to preserving a transgender student’s privacy, referring to a transgender student by the student’s chosen name and pronouns fosters a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment. To ensure that transgender students have equal access to the programs and activities provided by Hamilton & DPS, all members of the school community must use a transgender student’s chosen name and pronouns, but we must be aware if the parent or guardian is also using the them. Hamilton & DPS has safeguards, to reduce the possibility of inadvertent slips or mistakes, particularly among student’s family members and temporary personnel such as substitute teachers.
If you would like more information, please feel free to contact Joel, Flispe, or myself. You can also reach out to Levi Arithson, Program Manager, LGBTQ+ Equity Initiatives for DPS.
Stay safe and warm this weekend!
So as the school affirms whatever gender the child wants to be at that moment, they are actively working to keep parents from knowing and possibly intervening. This is horrific. And I'm sure the policy at ever DPS school. Parents, you've been warned.
THIS IS ONE WAY TO GET PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS This Russian video shows a security guard beating a friend of his to send a message.
THE GAME BASED ON CAPITALISM IS CHANGING TO APPEAL TO ANTI-CAPITALISTS I just made an assumption here, that woke folks are anti-capitalist, but it's not a crazy leap. Now the game that extolls the virtues of capitalism is changing to reflect the times. Gone are the Community Chest cards about beauty pageants and holiday funds and now Monopoly has cards about recycling or rescuing kittens or something. Whatever.
I THINK A FEDERAL HOLIDAY BASED ON THE EMANCIPATION OF SLAVES IS A GREAT IDEA And the idea of making Juneteenth a Federal holiday has some legs. Why do I think this is a good idea? We don't have a holiday in June, first off. Kidding. I think it would be a great thing to remind people every year of what our country put itself through in order to end the scourge of slavery. People need to be reminded that we fought a Civil War where tens of thousands of people, a vast majority of them white, died to free black people. I'm all for it.
THE ASTRA ZENECA VACCINE WORKS AND DOESN'T CAUSE BLOOD CLOTS And we sort of talked about it last week. The FDA is poised to give emergency authorization to Astra Zeneca for its vaccine. It is a more traditional style vaccine using technology that we have used for a long, long time, with a dead version of the virus given to kick in autoimmune response. It should be here too, and the FDA found ZERO reports of blood clots in the US from people who have gotten it. ZERO.
HOW DID THEY MAKE THOSE SOUND EFFECTS FOR OLD DISNEY FILMS? This is super cool!
THEY COULD HAVE JUST HIRED THIS GUY INSTEAD
AMERICANS ARE WILDLY MISINFORMED ABOUT COVID HOSPITALIZATION RATES And I mean WILDLY. Much like the media has people thinking unarmed black people are killed by the thousands each year by police (spoiler alert, they don't), they now have them thinking that half of the people who get covid are going to be hospitalized. The real number is between 1% and 5%. When will anyone try to hold the media accountable for their scare tactics on both issues? Hahahaha, that will never happen.