ROSS CAN HANDLE THE HALF HOUR SHOW As the Rockies take over at 12:30. This gets me a little more vocal rest, which matters a lot these days! And by the way, the Rockies have been playing some really good baseball since the All-Star break, just saying.
YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO GRANT'S PODCAST WITH CHUCK AND HELP ME OUT Father Mike is one our dear friends and he's been on Grant's podcast a TON, so I need you all to listen to this one so it has higher numbers than any episode of Father Mike's so Chuck has bragging rights, k? Find it here.
THE MAYOR SWUNG BIG AT HOMELESSNESS YESTERDAY After reading more about his announcement to declare a state of emergency and what he plans to do about using the "housing first" approach that requires zero accountability or sobriety from the people he is going to gift homes to, I believe this is going to lead to two things: the same number of homeless people dying of drug and alcohol overdoses and an increase in the number of homeless people. Once the word it out that you can get a free place to live in Denver we will get more of the same. Again, I hope so hard I am wrong about this.
READ ABOUT THE FAILURE OF THE HOUSING FIRST APPROACH HERE Because we've been doing this for twenty years now and homelessness has only increased dramatically. From the article, which has tons of links to the underlying studies on this:
In one randomized-control trial in Ottawa, the homeless put in PSH had higher rates of substance use, mental illness, and death than people simply left on the streets.[11] We’ve seen similar results for mental illness. A chilling documentary on PBS showed that for many people with mental illnesses a permanent apartment increased social isolation.[12] More concerning, a survey of all PSH studies from the National Academies of Science found “that there is no substantial published evidence as yet to demonstrate that PSH improves health outcomes.”[13] Thus, PSH, on its own, is not an effective or cost-efficient tactic for improving the lives of the chronically homeless.[14]
We are just getting people out of sight and asking for MORE homeless people with this strategy.
THIS IS PEOPLE LIVING IN A HOTEL FOR THREE YEARS HAVEN'T MOVED ON This story is a perfect microcosm of the failure of the Housing First approach and it's right here in Denver. A hotel that has been leased since 2020, so three years ago, for homeless people is ending the contract and those people, who have had THREE YEARS to get themselves together, say they have nowhere to go. I know they've had access to these vaunted "wrap around services" that we hear so much about, but they are just demanding "bridge" housing now. Funny they know the lingo to get more free housing but they can't do anything to move to somewhere they have to pay for.
A ONE LINE REVIEW OF THE NEW BARBIE MOVIE This is what I got from Krista Kafer, who saw the movie last night: "Barbie is a woke, angry, feminist rant." I think I'm going to wait until it comes out on streaming and hate watch it just because.
IS THE BLOOM OFF COLORADO'S BUSINESS ROSE? It is according to CNBC which dropped us out of the top 10 states for Business rankings for the first time since 2007. Why? This article digs in:
Colorado, for example, fell from No. 1 to No. 9 in workforce. While the CNBC rankings didn’t offer in-depth explanations of its ranking shifts, an accompanying story did state that Colorado’s worker training programs “lag.” The state fell from 11th to 21st in rankings within the overall rankings that looked specifically at its education system, and it plummeted from 11th to 32nd in its overall economy, with its 2.8% unemployment rate appearing offset by GDP growth that is lower than most Western states. While Colorado’s marks for infrastructure and access to capital rose significantly, the state continued to lag in the cost of doing business, ranked 38th as rent, labor costs and property prices continue to rise.
Good thing we elected a businessman who has made doing business here much more expensive as Governor!
THE REACTION FROM THE LEFT TO 303 CREATIVE HAS BEEN ABSURD And Ari Armstrong writes about the overreactions here beautifully. By the way, I agree with Armstrong's feelings that it is bigoted to not want to make a gay wedding cake but that Lori Smith has every right to exercise that bigotry in a free society. I would choose to do business with someone more inclusive, but I will defend her right not to be forced to support something she doesn't support with every fiber of my being.
JASON ALDEAN HITS A NERVE WITH HIS NEW SONG Here is the video for his new song Try That In a Small Town:
I'm not a huge country music fan and I think the song is okay as a song, but I wholly agree with his message, being from a small town and all. CMT, the station that sometimes plays country music videos, has banned the video from its airwaves because they say it incites violence. Contraire, CMT, it is a warning to NOT bring violence to small towns. That is much different.
DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IS AT AN ALL TIME LOW IN LEADERSHIP And I should put "leadership" in quotes because what the school board and hapless overpaid Superintendent are doing is NOT leadership. Alan Gottlieb writes about the case of McAuliffe Middle School principal Kurt Dennis, who spoke the media about the unsafe practices and lax security in the district after the East High shootings, being fired here. Dennis told the media that he had a kid who had been accused of murder removed from his MIDDLE SCHOOL and the district said NO. So they fired him and fabricated some trumped up charges about him disciplining black and brown kids disproportionately in the hopes that the racially based charges would stop people from asking questions. This board needs to be bounced and this incompetent Superintendent needs to be fired.
MORE FOOD THAT WILL KILL YOU FROM THE IOWA STATE FAIR And I'm not gonna lie, I'd try almost all of this stuff.
MAYBE THE PHRASE SLICKER THAN YOU-KNOW-WHAT IS MORE ACCURATE THAN WE KNEW Because a truck leaking fecal material caused a massive pile...er pile up on a Connecticut highway. Ew. Read more here.
I THOUGHT THEY USED MACHINES FOR THIS For real, this is talent.
ARE WE LIVING ON STOLEN LAND? This is a good take, one that I agree with. It's not stolen land, it's conquered land. I can say that while also recognizing the failed promises and horrific treatment of native Americans by government since they were conquered.
THE WOMAN WHO GOT THE UK TO BAN THE USE OF PUBERTY BLOCKERS FOR KIDS This story has been going on for a couple of years now, but without the work of this journalist which exposed the shoddy science, what science there was, behind gender affirming care for children these kids would still be being experimented on. Beri Weiss did a long interview with Hannah Barnes, the award winning journalist whose work has forced the United Kingdom to change its entire protocol for gender dysphoric kids. Find it here.
WONDERING IF YOU'RE DATING THE RIGHT PERSON? here are twelve "green" flags to help you know for sure. These are really, really great. Chuck checked them all.
IF YOU CAN DONATE BLOOD, PLEASE DO SO! Summer is tough as school blood drives aren't taking place and lots of people need blood as there is an uptick in trauma incidents during the summer. If you're type O, that is especially needed.
NEW SIGNS TO REMIND SMOKERS OF THEIR BAD CHOICE COMING SOON If the over NINE DOLLARS PER PACK isn't enough to dissuade you from smoking, new signage is about to be prominent near cigarette counters soon. The signs will remind smokers that smoking is bad for you. If you don't already know that, I'd love to be as oblivious as you are. If I were going to make the signs they would just say, "Why do smart people continue to do dumb things that hurt them like smoking?" My next question is when do the signs go up around the soda coolers talking about how bad soda is for you and that complications from obesity are the leading causes of death in the US? Just asking.
Don't be counting your billion yet, the government wants their cut and it's significant. You're going to end up with less and half a billion if you take the lump sum, which is the smart play anyway, because half a billion invested wisely for thirty years will far outstrip the annuity payments in the end. Read more here.
HOW MUCH WILL UNCLE SAM CLIP IF YOU WIN THE POWERBALL LOTTERY?
EVEN OUR CANDY WAS MEAN TO GEN X This is so accurate.
AND NOW AI ELVIS SINGS I LIKE BIG BUTTS I'm telling you this stuff is super creepy but this is wild.