SO WHAT HAS THE JAMES WEBB TELESCOPE SHOWN US? Dr Hakeem Oluseyi, the Official Physicist of the Mandy Connell Show, is BACK to talk about what we have learned from the images sent back by the James Webb Telescope. He's also going to chat about how cancel culture came for the man James Webb and how he used his research ability to prove them wrong, to his own detriment. Read his article about James Webb here and he's on at 1 to discuss it all.
STEVE MONAHAN WANTS YOUR VOTE CD-6 As he's trying to unseat Jason Crow in this election cycle. I've got Steve at 2pm today and you can find out more and support him by clicking here.
YOU WANT TO HANG OUT AND SHOOT GUNS WITH ME? I've got Jon Caldara at 2:35 today to talk about the ATF Party for the Independence Institute. In addition to some great sporting clays shooting, there will be booze and cigars and it's a total blast, pun intended. Oh, and I'm the keynote speaker this year. Join it by clicking here.
WHY IS VIOLENT CRIME UP WHILE PROSECUTIONS ARE DOWN? I think I may have answered my own question, but this story does a deep dive into some stats that show it's happening all over the state. Somehow Denver has managed to see huge spikes in crime with NO similar spike in charges and everyone is scratching their heads about why crime is up? Really? Are they dumb or am I missing something? From the article:
The 2nd Judicial District, which encompasses Denver, has had record low numbers of violent crime charges in 2022. Both quarters this year have had fewer quarterly violent crime charges than at any point in the last five years.
Democrats in the Legislature have made a life of crime in Colorado very attractive and the rest of us are left to clean up the mess.
DON'T HAVE TIME TO CHARGE VIOLENT CRIME BUT PLENTY OF TIME TO RENAME STUFF This is what's wrong with Dem priorities. They make renaming stuff that uses the word "squaw" a huge priority but violent crime? Meh. Granted this all came from the Department of Interior and not Colorado Dems, but I'm sure it's because they are trying to figure out how to help fentanyl dealers avoid jail time. Just to be clear, I don't have a dog in the fight over renaming stuff with the word "squaw" in it, so it's more about priorities here than renaming stuff.
GRANT'S PODCAST: ONE PERSON'S TRASH IS ANOTHER WOMAN'S ART MATERIALS And Grant interviewed an artist who works in garbage as her medium, making beautiful works out of discarded items. Listen to the podcast by clicking here!
BEHIND THE CURTAIN AT COMPLETECOLORADO.COM Editor Mike Kraus sat down with Jon Caldara to talk about our own news aggregator and why you should use it.
EDUCATION BUDGETS ARE WAY UP, TEACHER PAY IS NOT And this is a BIG reason people don't want to vote for more tax increases. There is a LOT more money in education since 2000 but it's NOT going into the classrooms. The Common Sense Institute did a deep dive and came up with some very startling and unsettling stuff. From the report:
There is a downward trend in the share of dollars being spent on instruction, and more specifically, on teacher salaries. Operations, school and district administration, and support for students all saw increases as a share of total spending from 2011 to 2021.
The share of total spending being allocated to instruction, which covers teacher salaries, has decreased on average across the state between 2011 and 2021, from 45.4 percent to 39.1 percent.
The growth in central office administrators—which has increased by 132 percent—has far outstripped student population growth over the past 22 years, as well as the growth in teachers. The number of building principals has also grown 73 percent, twice the rate of teachers (36%), and at three times the rate of student numbers (25%).
Read the article here and then find out how YOUR district does when it comes to administrators vs. teachers before you vote to raise your taxes. I did in DougCo and I'm voting yes, even with all that is in this report.
ON OUR WAY TO BILLION DOLLARS IN STOLEN CARS The Common Sense Institute also looked at car thefts in Colorado and the numbers are frankly STAGGERING. From the report:
Colorado continues to lead the nation in motor vehicle theft. Ranked #1 in America in 2021, in the first 6 months of 2022 (January – June), the motor vehicle theft rate increased another 17.2%.
At the current rate of 4,007 thefts per month, motor vehicle thefts are on pace to exceed 48,000 for the year—an all-time high. The estimated total value of these stolen vehicles is between $468.1M and $848.3M, on the road to nearly $1B.
Arrests are not keeping pace with theft. The arrest rate per motor vehicle theft is 9.4%, down from 15.5% in 2019.
Cars are being stolen from those who can least afford it.
6% of vehicle thefts are vehicles valued at $24,999 or less.
5% of vehicle thefts are vehicles valued at $14,999 or less.
So far in 2022, four Colorado cities rank in the top ten in the United States for motor vehicle thefts (out of 185 cities), including Denver (2), Aurora (3), Westminster (8), and Pueblo (9). These four cities combined, account for 53.3% of the vehicles stolen statewide in the first quarter of 2022.
According to Commander Mike Greenwell with MATT, “97 percent of the people who have been arrested in the last three years for auto theft have multiple arrests for auto theft.”
The number of secondary offenses related to motor vehicle theft has increased more than six-fold since 2008. Drug crimes involving motor vehicle theft have increased 1,110%, violent crimes involving motor vehicle theft 521%, and property crimes involving motor vehicle theft 583%.
More motor vehicles are stolen from Denver International Airport than any other location in Colorado and account for nearly 3% of all motor vehicles stolen statewide.
Read and please remember this on election day.
FIVE THINGS TO DITCH FROM YOUR RESUME And a couple of these are good to know.
WANT TO RELIEVE STRESS? FIND SOME NATURE This has long been my go-to for stress relief and now scientists have actually proven to change your stress markers in the brain after just a 60 minute walk in nature. I love this so much.
ARE YOU AGING FASTER THAN YOU SHOULD? There are signs but you have to pay attention to them. Find them here. The good news is it is NEVER too late to change your diet and begin to exercise to roll back those years.
JOB HOPPERS ARE SEEING HUGE PAY INCREASES Depending on your field, getting a new job may likely be the best way to get a salary increase. Job hoppers are seeing increases of 30% in some cases, although there are risks with getting a new job. In the economy slows more, last hired may be on the chopping block, although I've found that if you kick ass at your job and show flexibility and an eagerness to learn, you stay. Read the longer story here.
GREEN POLICIES LEAD TO STARVATION And this isn't hyperbole, it's already happening. John Stossel has more.
WHY IS ONE 2004 QUARTER WORTH TWO GRAND? This is kind of cool and now I'm going to be looking for these quarters.
THIS PUP IS READY FOR FOOTBALL Find him here if he doesn't load properly.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES RIDING CARNIVAL RIDES SO MUCH FUN Because there is always the chance something like this happens. Luckily no one died.
THE LAST PHOTOS OF THE QUEEN ARE LOVELY And they are from this past Tuesday as she greeted new PM Liz Truss. Look at how happy she is. What lovely photos to be her last.
Photo: Getty Images
WHY CHILDREN NEED TO LEARN TO BE BORED This is a great piece on teaching kids how to be bored and how important it is.
THEY FOUND A VAMPIRE GRAVE IN POLAND At least they THINK the woman was a vampire because she was buried with a sickle across her neck to keep her from rising from the dead. We spend a lot of time worried about people rising from the dead it seems. Read more of this weird story here.
WHAT YOU CAN'T HEAR IS ONE OF THEM YELLING "DON'T TELL MOM"
HALLOWEEN IS COMING SO HERE'S A LITTLE APPETEASER
THAT GUY AT FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTS This is so accurate and one of the reasons I don't play fantasy football anymore.
AND NOW, SOME SUPER CREEPY DAYTIME EXPERIENCES And some of these are really creepy and believable by the reactions the people admit they had, which aren't always flattering.
BY REQUEST THE LOVELY STORY ABOUT THE QUEEN MEETING AMERICANS IN SCOTLAND
ONE MORE LATE ADDITION This is the live version of the animated music machine I shared yesterday and it's freaking amazing.