WHY DO LEGISLATORS KEEP TRYING TO INSERT THEMSELVES BETWEEN PARENTS AND KIDS? Lindsay Datko has fought for parental rights and notification in schools at the local level and now she's fighting at the state level. There is a move to allow schools to lie to parents about children who want to change their names at schools and it is at odds with stuff already on the books. She joins me at 12:30 with an update.
A DEEP DIVE ON THE JOBS REPORTS IS CONCERNING And the author starts out by asking why Americans seem so pessimistic about the economy when the jobs numbers are so, so good. Why is that? The explanation of the two surveys the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses is very helpful. First there is the payroll, or establishment survey, which asks businesses to respond about hiring and firing. Then there is the household survey which asks households about who is working or not working in the household. As the surveys hit different populations, it would stand to reason that there would be some variation. But there is a LOT of variation as of late. From City Journal:
The payroll survey has reported robust gains in employment over the past five years, as illustrated in the chart below published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. While January’s 353,000–job increase was impressive, it was preceded respectively by 333,000– and 182,000–job increases in December and November, both of which ran well ahead of predictions. All told, the payroll survey tells an impressive story of job growth and resilience in the U.S. economy, especially considering that these gains in employment occurred in an environment of steadily rising interest rates.
The household survey, however, tells a different story. The chart below depicts month-to-month estimates of total U.S. employment based on surveys of consumers and employees. According to that survey, employment actually fell by 31,000 workers from December to January, and by some 700,000 over the two-month period from November to January, compared to the 353,000 and the 686,000 increases respectively reported in the payroll survey. That adds up to a difference between the two surveys of some 1.4 million jobs between November and January. Over the past year, the household survey reported that the economy added 1 million new jobs—2 million fewer than the payroll survey’s estimate.
You really should read the rest here, it has certainly changed how I view jobs number from the BLS going forward. I think I will rely more on the ADP source from here on out.
DENVER'S CLERK AND RECORDER JUST SAYS NO TO BUDGET CUTS And this story needs to be amplified as Mayor Mike Johnston is prioritizing illegal immigrants over taxpayers. He's requested budget cuts from multiple departments along with shutting down rec centers and DMV offices to spend the money on people who have come here illegally. The Denver Clerk and Recorder has declined to cut his budget this year. Read more here, but we shall discuss today.
REC CENTERS AREN'T SO LUCKY If you pay a membership fee to Denver Rec to work out at one of their facilities your workout times are going to be curtailed. See, the Mayor needs more money to take care of a bunch of illegal immigrants that Democrats keep inviting to the city so you're screwed. I'd seriously ask for some of my monthly membership fee back if I were you. Read more here.
BUT APPARENTLY THE CLIMATE CHANGE OFFICE HASN'T CUT ANYTHING Because they are still offering to PAY Denverites to ride their bikes to work. Maybe those people locked out of their rec centers can do this instead.
MORE GOVERNMENT AID TO PAY BILLS GOVERNMENT MAKES MORE EXPENSIVE And I'm talking about power bills in Colorado, which are only going to get more expensive as we push more of our power generation to unreliable renewables that require oil and gas backup systems. But now there is another way to get people dependent on the government with a streamlined new system to help lower income people pay their electric bills. Read about it here. I laughed out loud when I read this line:
“While utility bills are not expected to be near what we saw last winter, natural gas is an international commodity that remains subject to market forces,” said Rebecca White, Director of the Public Utilities Commission, in the release. “As Colorado continues the transition to stable, renewable energy sources, the Utility Bill Help program is intended to support those who need it the most.”
They are only "stable" if you can force the sun to shine and the wind to blow but whatever.
COLORADO SHOULD REPEAL ITS SANCTUARY STATUS Because the slew of bills passed by the Democrats during the Orange Bad Man administration are an open invitation to the illegal immigrants who keep coming here. This editorial has more.
A STUDY PURPORTING TO SHOW A BIG RISE IN GENDER DYSPHORIA HAS BEEN RETRACTED This is interesting. A study that was reported on here but Axios Denver that said that gender dysphoria has skyrocketed in Colorado therefore showing a need for gender affirming care has been retracted. Why? The publisher of the study says, ""Upon review, we determined that the analysis cited in the referenced article was below our standards, so we elected to retract the article." I'd personally like more information on where it failed but okay.
A LAWSUIT TO FORCE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL TO OPERATE ON AN ADULT And of course it has to do with gender affirming surgery. A trans man wants to have his breasts removed to more align with his new identity and he got authorization on the same day Children's Hospital announced it would no longer be providing that care to people over the age of 18, which he was. Now the ACLU is suing the CHILDREN'S hospital to force them to operate on an adult.
WHY JACK SMITH'S RUSH TO TRIAL IS ABSOLUTELY POLITICAL The author of this piece is an unabashed NeverTrumper so I was genuinely surprised at his ability to look at the prosecution of Donald Trump by Jack Smith with such an unbiased legalistic approach. This column is worth reading if for no other reason than to drive home that the Justice Department should NEVER bow to any sort of political pressure from ANYONE ever. Unfortunately that isn't happening here.
THE AMERICAN RIGHT'S EMBRACE OF A DICTATOR I don't understand the new fascination and elevation of Vladimir Putin by important voices on the Right. He's a despot who murders journalists, and yet Tucker Carlson can't get enough of him. This column does a good job asking the same questions I have, but it spawned another question in me. If both the Left and the Right decide they despise America who is left to defend her?
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DEFINE YOUR VALUES BY THE OPPOSITION This is a deep thought column about the danger of deciding your values based on being the opposite of what the OTHER team does. This is is a great column about it.
ISRAEL IS RUNNING THE BIGGEST TEST EVER OF MDMA TO TREAT PTS Using drugs to assist in therapeutic treatment is not new, but it's not widely accepted or even legal. There has been a strong push to use MDMA, which is commonly known as the party drug Molly, in therapy but there aren't enough studies on the subject for regulators to feel comfortable. Now the biggest study of its kind is taking place in Israel where hundreds of traumatized victims of October 7th will use MDMA and group therapy to see if they can overcome the trauma. It's in The Intercept, which is an unabashedly anti-Israel newspaper but it's worth your time.
HOW TO MAXIMIZE DOPAMINE AND MOTIVATION With Andrew Huberman who is super smart.
RETAIL SALES TUMBLED IN JANUARY And if you read the story above about the job numbers disparity this might make sense. Read more here but we'll have to wait until February's numbers come out before we worry that this is a trend.
THE DEMOCRAT STRATEGY ON THE BORDER IS WORKING With the media's help, of course. They are now going to hammer Republicans for killing the really bad Senate bill and pretend like they want a secure border when CLEARLY they do not. And the media will help them, just read this.
HOW A PLASTIC BAG BAN IS WORSE THAN PLASTIC BAGS New Jersey is ahead of us because they banned plastic bags first, but everything in this article is going to be true here in Colorado. Those "reusable" bags sold at stores are FAR WORSE for the environment than plain old plastic. Read this:
A new study published by Freedonia Custom Research confirmed that New Jersey’s law, which went into effect in 2022, backfired badly. While the state’s ban — which, unlike those of other states, also prohibited single-use paper bags — led to a more than 60 percent decline in total bag volumes, it also had an unintended consequence: a threefold increase in plastic consumption for grocery bags.
How this happened is no mystery.
The massive increase in plastic consumption was driven by the popularity of heavy-duty polypropylene bags, which use about fifteen times more plastic than polyethylene plastic bags. “Most of these alternative bags are made with non-woven polypropylene, which is not widely recycled in the United States and does not typically contain any post-consumer recycled materials,” the study explains. “This shift in material also resulted in a notable environmental impact, with the increased consumption of polypropylene bags contributing to a 500% increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to non-woven polypropylene bag production in 2015.”
But it's the thought that counts, right?
TWO MINUTE DRILL!
IF YOU'VE GOT TICKETS TO A SHOW AT THE SOILED DOVE You are going to be getting a refund, as all shows have been cancelled through May as ownership settles a nasty family squabble over money. You can read more here.
A COLORADO BOURBON WINS ACCOLADES Whiskey Magazine has awarded several Colorado distillers for their bourbons in the latest edition of the magazine. Read who won what here.
YOU CAN STREAM THE ROCKIES GAMES THIS YEAR As they launch Rockies.tv where all the home games will be streamed with the help of Major League Baseball. If you get the MLB.tv package they will be in that too. It will cost you $19.99 a month and the jury is out on whether it will be worth that this year.
RACHEL DOLEZAL IS BACK IN THE NEWS As the former black woman has been fired from her teaching gig over her OnlyFans page. What is it with teachers and OnlyFans pages? I know they don't make a lot of money but come on.
DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS LAUNCHES ITS SUMMER LINEUP And this is a great place to see a show. Find out the whole list here.
MORE ON THE HURKLE DURKLE TREND Have you heard about hurkle durkle? It's apparently all the rage in Scotland where people love to lie in bed far after they wake up for the day. It's allegedly good for you, according to this story.
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