WHAT CHANGES COULD BE COMING TO HEALTHCARE? I'm talking today with the President and Chief Experience Officer of Pinnacle Advanced Primary Care Travis Bockenstedt about what a new Trump administration could mean for healthcare. If you need affordable healthcare for yourself of your small business contact Travis at Pinnacle Advanced Primary Care can help by clicking here.
ANOTHER DEM BITES THE DUST only in the sense that Senator Chris Hansen, who just won re-election handily in an overwhelmingly red district, is expected to announce his resignation today to take a job in the private sector. Good for him. That being said, we now have ANOTHER member of the Colorado Legislature who will be replaced not by voters, but by a vacancy committee of Democrats. This is the same system that gave us Tim Hernandez and Elisabeth Eppes so to say I am not a fan is an understatement. Read this bit from 9News:
Multiple people familiar with the vacancy process said that there is a behind-the-scenes race to get the vacancy committees filled with people who will vote for their preferred candidate.
Of the 100 state lawmakers serving through the rest of this year, 29 earned their seat at one time by vacancy committee.
2023-’24 State Lawmakers Appointed at Some Point (29)
State House: 18 (14 Democrats, 4 Republicans)
State Senate: 11 (9 Democrats, 2 Republicans)
2025-’26 State Lawmakers Appointed at Some Point (20)*
State House: 11 (10 Democrats, 1 Republican)
State Senate: 8 (7 Democrats, 2 Republicans)
*This number includes the vacancy appointment to fill the seat of State Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch, who won his election to become Douglas County Commissioner, meaning his seat will be filled by vacancy.
How is this good government? Why are there so many people serving who never got a vote? We need to fix this and I'm looking for ideas. Read more about this here.
I'M DECORATING FOR CHRISTMAS AND I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS ABOUT IT I used to be like those people who fought the early decorating but now I'm all in. I'll explain why today and invite you to join me.
CDOT IS COPYING CONCERT TICKET PRICES By using dynamic tolling on the express lanes. What is that? The busier it is, the more the toll will cost so pay attention to those overhead signs if you're on a budget. Read more here.
IF YOU GET THE ENHANCED OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES There is some question about whether or not they will continue. Republicans want to make changes to Obamacare because they have given up on repealing it (thanks to John McCain's famous thumbs down) and what that means for the people with subsidies who make four times the poverty rate we don't yet know. Read more here.
TRUMP WILL LIKELY MOVE SPACE COMMAND OUT OF COLORADO And I sure hope our four new Republican Representatives will work hard to prevent this, but as Colorado was the ONLY state to move to the left during this last election I fully expect it to go. Alabama, a reliably Republican state, will likely be the recipient of Space Force, which isn't a totally illogical step, though very disappointing for Colorado Springs.
COLORADO VOTERS PROVED THEY WANT GOOD POLICING And enough of it to combat crime and lawlessness. They put their money where their mouth is by supporting Proposition 130, which will inject $350 million into law enforcement in the state to recruit and retain officers. We'll see if the Democrats in the Legislature support the police by reinstating some form of qualified immunity so cops aren't afraid to do their jobs. This article from CPR talks about the challenges faced by law enforcement in the shadow of the riots and protests of 2020 over the death of George Floyd. I'm very glad Coloradans had the chance to voice their opinion at the ballot box to let cops know most of us value them and want more good cops on the streets between us and the bad guys.
WHEN WILL YOU GET YOUR TABOR REFUND? And enjoy this one, as it will be the last big one you will get because Democrats have pretty much made sure your tax refund will be given to their pet projects starting next year. Read more here about when you can expect it, though it really depends on when you file your taxes.
THE DENVER DA'S OFFICE IS INVESTIGATING JENA GRISWOLD'S INCOMPETENCE And though I'm sure there are excellent people in the DAs office I am not convinced that politics won't rule any final decisions about this case. They are being tight lipped about WHY they are investigating, and I think that's an interesting thing. The fact Colorado is the ONLY state that moved to the Left fuels theories that something is not right after the passwords were leaked, but I think it's because Colorado is not more liberal than any other state in the union. Otherwise, if there were cheating, Gabe Evans would not have won. So let's let that go.
A POGROM IS UNDERWAY IN AMSTERDAM Last week bunches of Middle Eastern immigrants took to the streets of Amsterdam in search of Jews to beat and even run over with their car. Last week it looked like this.
And this.
Here they are marching with ISIS flags. In Amsterdam.
They come for the Jews first, then they come for the rest. This is why Israel needs to remain the Jewish homeland, so Jews can know they will have one place that will fight for them no matter what. The rest of the world doesn't seem to be capable of doing that.
IS POLITICS DESTROYING THANKSGIVING THIS YEAR? I saw this post on X.com and I don't know why but it stunned me that this is still happening.
I'd love to know if any of you are having this issue. Rioters set a train on fire and police are warning of more danger. This must not stand and we must ask every stupid college student if they support this on behalf of Palestinians. Make them see the side they are on.
WE'VE GOT A WHOLE BUNCH OF NEW ELECTION DENIERS Who I'm sure will be called totally reasonable by the same media that called anyone asking questions in 2020 a Conspiracy Theorist. I kind of love this one though, where Elon Musk stole the election using satellites. Nice.
WHAT NOT TO DO BEFORE YOU BUY INSURANCE Whether it's life insurance or long term care insurance, you want to put off ANY testing that shows you may be prone to a long term illness or disease. Case in point, the man in this story whose father and grandfather had ALS. When his brother was diagnosed, he took a DNA test to see if he had a propensity for the disease, which made it highly unlikely that any insurer would cover him. Fair? Probably not, but insurers don't stay in business by selling products to people are more likely to need them. As genetic testing becomes more available, buy insurance NOW to avoid a problem like this one.
TRUMP'S CABINET PICKS SHOW HE LEARNED A LOT IN HIS FIRST TERM Remember when Trump brought in a bunch of people from outside government as Cabinet Secretaries and they all crashed and burned? He's learned. From tapping Senator Marco Rubio as Sec of State, Rep. Elise Stefanik for UN, former NY Congressman Lee Zeldin to head the EPA, he learned that outside skill does not work in government. I love that environmentalists are freaking out about Zeldin, by the way. Here is a list of things they are panicking about that the Trump administration is likely to roll back. The new Border Czar Tom Homan is already talking about deportations, though I think in part to urge people to self deport. By the way, that works. I'll explain how I know.
MSNBC AND CNN'S VIEWERSHIP HAS CRATERED And I wonder if it's because their viewers are beginning to realize they are being lied to consistently. Or maybe they are all so freaked out that they are hiding under their beds. The numbers are bleak. Like really, really bleak. Check this out:
Thursday’s total average daily viewers on Fox News came in at 2.6 million and 375,000 in the coveted 25-54 age demographic, according to Nielsen data. Meanwhile, MSNBC brought in only 596,000 total viewers and 71,000 in the demo. CNN brought in 419,000 total viewers on Thursday and 91,000 viewers in the demo. Fox News was up some 60 percent year over year for the day, while MSNBC and CNN were down 23 and 40 percent – respectively. In prime time the news was even more bleak for CNN and MSNBC as they shed 30 percent and 54 percent of their viewers, respectively, compared to the same day last year. MSNBC host Alex Wagner had her lowest-rated show ever in terms of total viewers, while Chris Hayes’s show brought in its worst numbers since May of 2016.
Those numbers are not enough to pay the bills and keep these networks going. I'm interested to see what happens next. Even Chris Wallace is skipping out on CNN and had this to say:
The 77-year-old, whose TV career spans half a century and multiple news networks, says he’ll look to independent platforms like streaming or podcasting for his next stop, as that’s “where the action seems to be,” he told The Daily Beast
Ouch. That's got to hurt.
TRUMP BROKE THE LA TIMES But the owner isn't going to take this lying down. He praised a letter criticizing the paper's left wing bias and then indicated big changes to the editorial board while making this promise:
Read the whole story here but when a businessman buys a paper, he's going to find out why it's underperforming and work to fix it. That hasn't happened to newspapers before and they don't like it, but if they want to survive they need to fix it. To be clear, I desperately want them to survive as the 4th Estate, but this current version is woefully inadequate.
LET'S LEAVE MICHAEL STRAHAN ALONE Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. ABC's Michael Strahan stood respectfully during the National Anthem with his hands crossed in front of him and now it's a huge deal that he didn't put his hand over his heart. I was taught that is perfectly fine during the anthem and as his father served for decades in the Army I hardly think he's some sort of anti-American leftie. We just have to find stuff to be mad about these days, don't we? Mind your own business how about.
THERE'S A GIRL'S FOOTBALL CLINIC THIS WEEKEND And you can find out more and register your tween or teen by clicking here.
SNL TALKS ELECTION RESULTS And this is actually kind of funny. Watch below or click here.
MARK CUBAN FORGOT ABOUT THE WAYBACK MACHINE And he got busy deleting tweets supportive of Kamala Harris's bid to be President. He says he's always deleted tweets and this is no different. But why though? I have old tweets on my timeline that without context seem really bad (they are often sarcasm relating to a news story of that day) but I leave them up because I think it's bush league to deny what you said before. Own it, and move on.
DISNEY SPREADS MAGIC, BUT NOT ASHES My friends who worked at Disney told me once that people spreading the ashes of their loved ones was a huge problem. I believed them, but this story showed me how much of an issue it is, even now. Even Ariana Grande, whose mother wants her ashes scattered there, has been told a firm no.
THE FAMILY OF FOUR INCOME MAGIC NUMBER That's the number needed to live comfortably. This story shares that number as well as the most affordable places to live. We are the 6th Most Expensive State to raise a family, btw.
THE NEW AIRPORT RULES YOU NEED TO KNOW If you're traveling anytime soon and you should know them.
AND NOW, MORE DOGS JUMPING INTO LEAVES Because why not?