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TWO GOOD MOVIES WITH MIKE ROSEN TODAY Although I don't think Mike liked them I enjoyed them both immensely. We're reviewing Tina, the new Tina Turner documentary from HBO and The Father with Anthony Hopkins which you can rent from Amazon. That's at 2pm
THE BOOK OF QUESTIONS GIVES US OUR 1PM HOUR And you can buy your own copy by clicking here.
HEIDI GANAHL THREW OUT THE FIRST PITCH YESTERDAY But it was different than all other first pitches because of covid. I'm talking to her for a hot minute at 12:35 about what the whole experience was like.
WHY WON'T THE GOVERNOR ALLOW COUNTIES TO DO THEIR OWN MASK MANDATES? The Governor has announced that he's extending the mask mandate for 30 more days, but with all these caveats about how if your county meets certain requirements or is the right color it MIGHT be lifted or something. This is just stupid. Lift the statewide mask mandate, give advice to all the counties and let the chips fall where they may. This is just getting dumb. Texas and Florida and other states who have lifted statewide mask mandates still have cities and counties that have a mask mandate. Let them choose.
GOOD AND BAD NEWS ABOUT STATS DURING THE PANDEMIC And the best news is suicides actually DECREASED last year. This is shocking but very good news. The really bad news is that we lost WAY more people to drug overdoses last year then the year before. WAY more. Overdose deaths hit 88,000 last year. Maybe we should make illicit fentanyl and heroin illegal? Oh wait.
MORE THAN HALF OF ADAMS 14 FRESHMAN FAILED TWO OR MORE CLASSES THIS YEAR And this is the kind of stat that spells real trouble. Many studies have shown that one of the big reasons kids drop out is that they get behind and lose hope that they can ever catch up. Now more than HALF of the students in Adams 14 are officially behind. This is a big deal.
OWN RENTAL PROPERTY? HOW ABOUT GUARANTEED RENT? This is a very cool concept. A dude started a property management company that guarantees income when between renters. It also gives renters flexibility to move between properties without penalty. I love when people see a problem and come up with a creative solution.
WESTERN COLORADO UNIVERSITY'S INTOLERANT STAFF FAILED TO GET THE PRESIDENT FIRED This story is nuts. The President of Western Colorado has been under attack for an email he sent out condemning the January 6th attacks on the Capitol, which he did in the strongest possible terms. So what's the issue? He also had the NERVE to point out the riots that sprang up from protests last summer. The faculty took umbrage and DEMANDED the man get fired. What did he say?
“Over the last year, rioting, burning, looting, and violence have emerged from protests across our country – resulting in seemingly endless confrontations, destruction of entire cities, properties, serious injuries, the public’s overall sense of security, and deaths,”
The faculty wanted him fired because "entire cities" were not destroyed. I'm not kidding. The riots last summer did over a BILLION dollars worth of damage and lead to the deaths of 25 Americans. But they want him fired because he engaged in hyperbole in saying "entire cities". Before you send your kid to Western Colorado you should really know who is going to be teaching your kids.
THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH CU-BOULDER Where the faculty has had knives out for President Mark Kennedy since BEFORE he was hired because of his past service as a Republican Congressman. They are cooking up a censure motion directed at Kennedy for not meeting the diversity and inclusion standards put forth by the university. But the Denver Gazette took the wind out of their sails by publishing an Editorial recounting all the ways Kennedy has worked to make the lily white campus more diverse. From the Editorial which you can read here:
At CU, Kennedy has never neglected his promise to support and promote diversity. Under his leadership, the goals of the university’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Collective comprise 25% of CU’s Leaning Into the Future strategic plan. Kennedy also:
• hired 14 women and five ethnic minorities to serve among his closest advisers.
• hired CU’s first chief diversity officer
• convinced the CU Foundation to allocate $5 million for CU Boulder’s Inclusion, Diversity and Excellence in Academics program
• direct $2 million for CU Denver to attain Hispanic Serving Institution status
• provided $1 million to match the Charles J. Blackwood Endowed Scholarship Fund for minority medical students
• invested $400,000 to support a collaboration to encourage minority undergrads to pursue doctoral degrees in business
• seeks in-state tuition for out-of-state members of Indian tribes with historic ties to Colorado
• supported naming two buildings in honor of Hispanic and Black leaders
• supports establishing the Center for Health Equity at the CU Anschutz medical campus to promote better health for minorities
• supports the expansion of the Multicultural Office for Student Access, Inclusiveness, and Community at the Colorado Springs campus
Seems like he's been doing plenty. If I were him I'd send a letter to the Faculty Senate demanding that 25% of white professors step down to make room for professors of underrepresented groups. See how well that goes.
A DOG AND A PARROT ARE BESTIES
HOW ABOUT SOME LIVE PANDA CAM FOR FRIDAY?
THIS MATT GAETZ STORY KEEPS GETTING WEIRDER AND GROSSER And since everyone on both sides is alleging they are working with the FBI, we should know SOMETHING about it as some point. After it was leaked that Republican Gaetz is being investigated for having sex with a 17 year old girl he allegedly brought over state lines, Gaetz claimed that he was being extorted and is working with the FBI. Now CNN is reporting that Gaetz has shown naked pictures of women he allegedly slept with to other lawmakers. Gross. The New York Times has a big story today about Gaetz using what seems to be "sugar daddy" websites where sex is exchanged for gifts or other considerations. Gaetz is strongly denying all of this. I am not a fan of this guy, and frankly he reminds me of the worst kind of never-grow-up-frat-boy ever. We'll see if I owe him an apology when the rest of the story comes out. I would like you to note how few of his fellow Republican lawmakers are coming to his defense. That is very telling.
DEMOCRATS THINK BLACK PEOPLE ARE JUST STUPID The lawyer who filed suit against the Georgia voter law posted this on Twitter:
To be clear, he thinks black people are too dumb to know that "DL NO" is before a number that appears on a drivers license. Read the comments to that tweet and you'll come away thinking Democrats must be the dumbest people around as they all agree that this is JUST TOO CONFUSING for black people.
THE STATE'S BEST BEEF SALESMAN STANDS AGAINST THE GARBAGE PAUSE INIATITIVE The ballot initiative being pushed by radical animal rights activist does NOT have a friend in the Governor. After running afoul of one of the state's largest industries with his Meat Out day, I guess the Governor decided that a bill which bans commonly used animal husbandry practices was too much. He's come out strongly against it.