SO WHO ARE THE LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS? If you've not heard of this wing of the Republican party, shame on you. This is the group for Gay and Lesbian Republicans and yes, they are a thing and hopefully a growing thing. I've got President Valdamar Archuleta on about what is happening with their organization and why this gay community is GOP. Find out more by clicking here.
I THINK I HAVE MATT TAIBBI TODAY Although I'll believe it when I see him as he stood me up last time. Check out Matt's excellent Substack here where he is doing excellent investigative journalism like we used to see in real newspapers and magazines.
WHO KNEW A SIMPLE FACEBOOK COMMENT ABOUT MY SECOND SHOT WOULD CAUSE SUCH A KERFUFFLE So I got my second Pfizer shot Saturday at 10am and yesterday I made this Facebook post:
Had my second shot yesterday at 10am and other than feeling like I lost an epic round of punch buggy I'm all good. #5Gactivated
Why did I make a Facebook post about it? Because I had expressed confusion and concern about the necessity of the second shot and I had heard horrible things about side effects that made me a bit nervous and I though sharing my story of having only a sore arm might help someone else get over their own worry about the second shot. BOY HOWDY was I unprepared for the poop storm this post caused. Almost 300 people jumped in, many of them saying nasty things about my decision to get vaccinated. Many other people merely shared their stories of post-shot reactions or non-reactions. It was very interesting to me to see the anger expressed by the folks who don't want to get vaccinated. Especially when I told one of them to enjoy his "free ride" because enough other people are getting vaccinated. He did NOT like that, but it's true. If you don't want to get vaccinated more power to you, but don't come at me for making a different choice. But you will be getting a free ride by those of us who did choose to get the shots, the least you can do is recognize that.
YES, THE VACCINES SEEM TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION TOO This from Science Blog about what we've learned from the high vaccination rates in Israel and the UK. Now we have enough evidence to show that the vaccines DO prevent you from shedding enough virus to give it to someone if you get an asymptomatic case (which is entirely possible with EVERY vaccine for EVERY illness) so even if you don't care about getting it for you, maybe think of getting it to protect your loved ones? That article is worth a read.
POLIS EASES MASK MANDATES ESPECIALLY FOR VACCINATED PEOPLE And this is how you get people to get vaccinated! Give them a REASON that benefits them personally and you'll see people begin to move in that direction, even if it's begrudgingly. Now Polis says people can gather together indoors without masks if 80% of them have proof of vaccination. I'm guessing we're going to see a slew of bars and restaurants welcoming vaccinated, unmasked people to their spaces very soon.
TAY ANDERSON REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION And though the complaint filed about his two GoFundMe accounts (and now he's up to three including the one where he is soliciting baby items for his new son) has been dismissed because Matt Arnold didn't give the actual campaign laws he probably violated by creating a slush fund via GoFundMe, he is still facing an investigation by Denver Public Schools for sexual harassment while he worked for a political organization before joining the board. He's not out of the woods yet, and Westword writes it up here.
LIBERAL AUSTIN TEXAS CRIMINALIZES HOMELESSNESS AGAIN And it wasn't even CLOSE. Austin voters turned out at 57% to vote back IN a raft of laws aimed directly at the homeless population that they are sick of dealing with daily. It outlawed camping on public streets, outlawed aggressive panhandling and indeed seems to outlaw ANY sort of panhandling. Denver City Council would do well to pay attention, though they are certain they have complete control so no one will vote them out.
HOW ABOUT SOME TALKING ANIMALS FROM BBC? This always make me laugh!
RACIST TRAVEL BANS NOT RACIST WHEN BIDEN DOES THEM You may remember when President Trump halted travel from China when the virus was just taking hold. You may also remember the howls of racism and xenophobia from Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. NOW, travel bans are about health though, as we see when President Biden halts travel from India. So weird the way that happens.
OUR OFFICIAL DARK SKY PARK IS OPEN FOR THE SEASON! And this is a great article on the Great Sand Dunes park and all the stars you can see there. Just don't bring a flashlight.
AFTER A YEAR OF COVID WHY NOT BRING BACK THE EEPHUS BALL? I like to tell people that when I threw out the first pitch at a few ballgames I busted out my eephus pitch...super slow but over the plate. I catcher told me once that he was sure my pitch would have been a strike because no batter would think a ball going THAT slow would make it over the plate. I took that as a compliment. Now the eephus is back and this column discusses where the name came from in the first place.
YES, YOU CAN TEACH YOUR DOG TO TALK But I'm not sure I want to teach Jinx to talk because she would drive us CRAZY by just standing on the PLAY button ALL DAY. This is cool though and now the speech pathologist who taught her dog to talk has a new book you can use to teach yours.
YES, YOUR EMPLOYERS CAN REQUIRE A VACCINE And I'm genuinely surprised this isn't already happening in places like nursing homes and hospitals. Exemptions may be available for those with deeply held religious beliefs or people with immune issues already, but expect this in industries where there is high contact with elderly people or covid patients. Read more about the legal aspect here.
LOCKDOWNS KILLED BUSINESS AND JOBS WITHOUT SAVING LIVES And this is the kind of analysis that we are going to see more of as we start to move past this pandemic. The states with the strictest lockdowns didn't have a much lower rate of death than states without, but they did kill a lot of business and jobs. Read more here.
WARREN BUFFET SAYS INFLATION IS ON THE MOVE And if you've been grocery shopping or appliance shopping or computer shopping this is not news to you. Buffet says people are raising prices and people are paying them without complaint. How high do they go before we mind? Remember, inflation isn't greed, it's the market responding to the devaluation of the dollar. Keep that in mind.
EVEN IF YOU DON'T TEACH YOUR DOG TO TALK, MAKE THEM PLAY HIDE AND SEEK I love dogs. This is just one reason why. NO PEEKING!