TWO SEPARATE ATTACKS TO START THE NEW YEAR One man drove a truck waving an ISIS flag through a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing fifteen before police exchanged gunfire with him and killed him. Another man, a veteran from Colorado Springs, blew up a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Vegas Trump hotel in what obviously seems like a political statement. What the heck is happening? Are these connected? Were there accomplices? Police believe the guy in New Orleans may have been working with someone else, though they are not at all sure about that. The man from Colorado Springs at least only incinerated himself and didn't kill anyone else though people were injured, some seriously. Neither of these used a gun, which will confuse politicians and pundits who reflexively bring up gun control. What has to happen before we can live in a world where we don't have to worry about someone killing us because of some demented view of the world they want to impose on everyone else? And can we talk about how both of these guys are veterans? The two men may have served at the same base according to reports, though there is no indication they overlapped in their service. The AP is reporting that the Colorado man was active duty at Fort Carson. They both rented the vehicles used in the attacks on the Turo app. Our system is failing veterans obviously in crisis, but how are we supposed to know what kind of crisis this is? This is all so awful. Just awful. Senator John Kennedy is already calling out the federal government and demanding that the truth be told when the truth is known.
Oh, and cops in Virginia just found the biggest cache of explosive devices in their history in a dude's house. Pipe bombs, vest bombs and more. Apparently the guy had been using a picture of Joe Biden as target practice. Great. Just great.
CAN WE MAKE DENVER GREAT AGAIN? Today on X.com I saw two different tweets that make me incredibly sad for Denver. First off, we've got this gem, where a Venezuelan (yes, I am assuming nationality but it's a safe guess) "window washer" or as I like to call them "intersection nuisance" was not happy when a man took umbrage with them squirting water on his windshield.
He seems nice. And then there was this guy who shared his letter to his landlord about why they have to leave the house they are renting in the Highlands neighborhood. Read all of it to get the full effect of what's going on.
We all know that the Mayor doesn't see any of this. He simply touts the number of people he's gotten off the streets and into homeless hotels and talks about how THIS renovation of Civic Center park is going to be the thing that brings people back downtown in droves. I'm genuinely not sure what kind of action Denverites could take right now to demand some sort of real action that could positively change the lives of the people who live here. Suggestions? Anyone? Bueller? Taylor Romero joins me at 1 today to discuss.
PSYCHEDELICS HAVE ENTERED THE CHAT And the new law allowing for psychedelic assisted "therapy" is already creating a schism in Colorado Springs. It's pitting a conservative group of politicians and residents against veterans who say it can be transformative for vets with PTSD. Read it here, we shall discuss.
LET'S TALK ABOUT WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT CALLS OUT BAD BEHAVIOR the underlying story here is that a cop turned on his body camera before the SWAT team arrived and then decided to use a racial slur. According to officers familiar with this situation nothing happened to the officer in question because he is well connected at the CBI where he works. This happened in February, and Denver 7 reported on it in October here. The real issue is that the CBI did NOT notify District Attorneys about the situation, even though it could seriously impact this cop's credibility on the stand. Now the guy has taken a desk job, but the reason I brought this all up is it was COPS who reached out to the media to get the story out. Cops who don't want anyone who is racist or appears racist in their midst. We only talk about cops when they do something wrong, so I'm gonna talk about it when they do something right.
NEIGHBORHOODS CHANGE, GET OVER IT This story about how the city is responding to zoning requests is a perfect example of progressives wanting to curtail progress. The notion that neighborhoods should never change demographically is silly. Neighborhoods change and evolve over time and always have, but now "gentrification" has become the new bogeyman by people who believe IF ONLY no one makes any improvements to a run down neighborhood all will be well, which makes no sense. Read this in Denver Post:
Home values in the West Area Plan neighborhoods increased 155%, on average, from 2010 to 2022, a period when home values skyrocketed citywide. But that spike has corresponded with a rapid decline in ethnic diversity in the area.
Those West Area neighborhoods were made up of 70% Hispanic and nonwhite residents in 2010. By 2022, that share had fallen to about 41%, according to data the city rounded up. Median household incomes climbed by 250% between 2017 and 2022.
“I think what’s at risk is we are actually sacrificing the people who already live here in order to make room for the density for the future,” Torres said.
How are we "sacrificing" people? Did we make them homeless or did they just move elsewhere? The people who own those homes benefit by rising home values too, you know. I'm always amazed that people want to keep dumpy neighborhoods dumpy instead of injecting new life into them. I really don't get it.
COLORADO RANCHERS WANT THEIR MONEY Ranchers who have had livestock ripped apart by newly introduced wolves are asking to be compensated by the state, as the law says they should be. The problem is losses are at about $600,000 and the state doesn't have that money. The Legislature, which has ignored the "will of the people" over and over again only budgeted $350,000 next year so paying these claims bankrupts it. Of course it does. Of course.
PHIL WEISER IS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR And he's got to be a pantload better than Jena Griswold so I'm here for him. Actually I'm here for anyone who isn't Jena Griswold. Let's be real, it will be a long shot for a Republican to win this race, especially after Dave Williams tries to win the primary by sending out lying mailers about his opponents so we need to find a palatable Democrat to support and there are a lot worse than Phil. Read his statement here.
COMEDIAN WHITNEY CUMMINGS TOOK OUT THE DEMS ON NEW YEARS EVE And it's so good.
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Her entire riff is here and it's really good.
LOTS OF EGG STORIES IN COLORADO THIS YEAR Because in 2025 everybody is going to know where ALL the eggs come from. There has been a lot of noise about the egg shortages and sky high prices at the grocery store. Yes, avian flu is a thing, but not every part of the country is having an egg shortage. It seems that Democrat lead states who passed laws against certain kinds of eggs are seeing the worst shortages and highest prices. Krista Kafer did a column today asking if paying a dollar or more extra is worth it for "torture free eggs" as she says. I think this is a luxury belief held by many who aren't trying to make too little money buy food for too many people. Eggs are the cheapest form of protein available and for some the ONLY form of protein they can afford that isn't highly processed. I don't just buy cage free eggs already, I buy pasture raised because I can. That being said, I am not in favor of making decisions that prevent poor people from having access to the most important kind of food we can eat. And I've also seen "cage free" chicken houses and they are GROSS. Chickens are fighting and bleeding on each other and it's just gross. Now the other story about eggs, this one about sperm and egg donors for reproduction purposes. Starting yesterday egg and sperm donors no longer have anonymity. They are required to be disclosed to a donor conceived person when that person turns 18, I'm guessing so they don't have to worry about a kid showing up demanding care.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU'RE EXERCISING HARD ENOUGH? It's all about hitting the zone where you are getting the most out of your workout, and that zone depends on your age. Read here how to calculate your maximum heart rate and where you need to be to get maximum benefit.
MAKE YOUR RESOLUTIONS STICK I gave up "resolutions" for "goal setting" years ago as the first always felt punitive to me. This article has ways to stick to whatever you're planning so you can be successful.
ADD THESE TO YOUR TO DO LIST THIS YEAR This is a list of some of most iconic events in Colorado so you can put them on your calendar. I'm mad at how many of these we haven't done yet!
EREBODY IS GOING TO RED ROCKS And now it's the 4th most attended venue IN THE WORLD. That's pretty impressive because it isn't that big.
BROCCOLI IS BAD NOW But only broccoli bought at certain Walmart stores, find out which ones here.
AN AVALANCHE IS A REAL POSSIBILITY RIGHT NOW So if you're headed into the back country for skiing be ready to buried in a mountain of sliding snow, just in case. Read about the elevated danger here.
AI MAKES IT SO WE CAN'T TRUST ANYTHING Watch below or click here.
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A HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW PORTRAIT Because it's a dry erase portrait of Heisman winner Travis Hunter.
THE SMOKE BREAK INJUSTICE This is so, so accurate. Even when I quit smoking I would go out for a "smoke break" and no one said a thing. Watch below or click here.
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE? If you didn't think Russia was evil before, they freaking blew up Santa Claus. Watch below or click here.
ACHIEVE PEACE THROUGH ACCEPTANCE That is really what Mel Robbins is talking about here with the Let Them method. Once you accept who people are it's easy to not get bogged down in emotional nonsense you can't control. Watch below or click here.
THE CUBS SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS YEARS AGO Watch below or click here.
A JEFFCO SCHOOLS MYSTERY ENDS IN DEATH Former Chief of Staff of JeffCo Public Schools is dead in Maryland. David Weiss was fired without much comment other than an investigation was ongoing without telling anyone what the investigation was about. It is speculated he possessed child sexual assault material. He was in Maryland with his family when he died, and that is pretty much all we know except that it is being investigated. What an awful story for JeffCo parents. Gays Against Groomers has some words on this.