HAPPY ST PATRICKS DAY! Considering that less than ten percent of Americans have some Irish heritage why is this such a big deal in some places in the United States? Well it has to do with mass migration and the Irish have always been on the move, additionally, they have always welcomed other people to join in the celebration of St. Patrick, who brought Catholicism to Ireland in the 5th century. There is a story about him driving the snakes out of Ireland, though many believe that to be a metaphor for paganism and probably nothing to do with actual snakes. The funny part is, this is more a holy day in Ireland, honoring the patron saint of Ireland. And in Ireland BLUE is the color of the day, not green. So how did we get here? Read this and this we shall chat about it today. I have lovely St. Patrick's Day memories from Catholic school where our Irish nuns taught us how to do the jig. What we've got now is simply the Americanization of an Irish feast day. Don't forget your corned beef and cabbage today at the Black Eyed Pea! Here is an interesting bit on the difference between Irish and Gaelic if you really want to get into things.
MARCH MADNESS BASKETBALL BRACKETS ARE OUT! And talk about another uniquely American institution, the men's NCAA tournament and the ensuing mayhem is it. Find a printable bracket here. You can see notable teams that didn't make the cut here. What doesn't happen this week? About 13.1 BILLION dollars worth of work, as we spend our work hours filling out brackets and talking about brackets. But that's not all a bad thing, as having an office pool can actually be a great comradery builder unless you work with people who love to taunt others when they pick the ONE Cinderella win that blows everyone else's brackets. From Fox Business:
Based on current private wage and employment levels, as well as estimates that 75 million American workers will spend about six hours of work time on March Madness-related activities during the tournament, U.S. employers stand to lose about $13.3 billion in productivity during this year’s tournament, according to calculations by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
I'd love to know if any of you work for Scrooge's who don't allow fun in the workplace. I also want to find the listener with the most brackets filled out. I worked with a guy once who did like 20 brackets every year and to my knowledge never won any of them.
CU KEEPS HIRING DEMOCRAT REJECTS And they keep getting really, really plush jobs. The latest is Andrew Maycock. From Completecolorado.com:
Mayock, is the former chief sustainability officer under President Joe Biden. He led Biden’s agenda on sustainability efforts.
Biden was not his first role under U.S. presidents, having also served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations.
Under Obama he served as Deputy Director for Management and Associate Director for General Government Programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Under Clinton he worked at the White House and the U.S. Treasury Department. He also served on the steering committee of the Climate 21 Project.
It is the second time in two years that a newly created position at CU has been filled by an outgoing Democrat loyalist. The two positions combined amount for more than $750,000 a year in salary and benefits. (emphasis mine)
Weird, huh? That TWO new positions just HAPPENED to be created JUST IN TIME for a Democrat loyalist to get the job. WEIRD. I've Sherrie Peif on today at talk about it.
WATCH OUT FOR ONLINE LOANS WITH STUPID HIGH INTEREST RATES I've been broke and needing money but thankfully never so broke I had to resort to stuff like payday loans because the interest rates are insane. One local man is sounding the alarm about an online loan program run by an Indian tribe with rates well above what is considered usury in Colorado, where annual rates are capped at 40%. Tribes are not governed by our laws and in this story offered a loan with an interest rate of OVER 500%! I get that people who tap into these kinds of loans are more likely to default but this is just unethical. I'm all for Indian Tribes exploiting their independence but how do you sleep at night doing this? This is one step above those phone scammer when it comes to ripping people off.
LET'S TALK ABOUT MAHMOUD KHALIL FOR A MINUTE This story has created some very interesting discussions about free speech. Khalil came here on a student visa before getting married and achieving permanent resident with a green card status, which honestly, I have no clue how he did so quickly. I'd like to know more about how he shoved his way through that system first. That being said, he's been at the forefront of the anti-Semitic pro-Hamas takeovers at Columbia, acting as lead "negotiator" for students. Now he's been arrested and is being deported. Though I'm super sorry for his pregnant wife and soon to be born child, I'm not sorry for him. We should have the ability to toss people who are agitating here out if they aren't citizens. Period. We don't have to let people who spread hate stay. We just don't. This is so clear to me and those who keep saying it's a First Amendment violation are simply wrong. We must not tolerate intolerance otherwise our tolerant society becomes intolerant, and when we've let you in from somewhere else you have rules to follow or you can go.
ARE PARTIES DEAD? I've loved throwing a party for SO LONG. I get this gene from my mom, who is an excellent entertainer. We threw a massive party for Chuck's 60th birthday this year. But I'm kind of out of the party game, because honestly no one else has parties and I'm tired of being the only one. That being said, I am not alone, as we are simply not throwing parties anymore. From WaPo via MSN.com:
But the vibes are off, people say. Ever since the pandemic, parties are not what they used to be. Instead of flitting from table to table, some guests cower with their phones in the corners — if they show up at all. People seem more excited to stay home than go out; a viral TikTok meme celebrates the relief, and delight, of plans getting canceled at the last minute. In nightlife hotspots like New York and London, clubs are shutting down. Champagne sales are tanking, according to CNN (and those threatened 200 percent tariffs probably won’t make things better). In a rather on-the-nose development, Party City, once the go-to spot for party-phernalia like themed hats, paper napkins, goody bag stuffers and shimmery banners, is going out of business.
It's time to bring back the party! We shall discuss.
LADY LESSONS FOR YOUNG WOMEN This kind of stuff is a lost art and it's important. Watch below or click here.
WHEN CASH BECOMES NATIONAL SECURITY the Nordic countries of Norway and Sweden have gone mostly cashless. They have the least amount of cash in circulation of any nations and almost all transactions are done electronically. Now that has become a civil defense issue. Read it here.
NO, OAT MILK IS NOT HEALTHY If you're lactose intolerant you may want to skip this if oat milk is your favorite sub, but if you choose oat milk because you think it's "healthier" you may want to read this because it's not.
DEMOCRATS UNPOPULAR WITH *CHECKS NOTES* DEMOCRATS It seems Democrat voters are not in a mood to compromise and they are super unhappy that Democrats voted the Crap Sandwich CR into being. The party is at the lowest levels ever in terms of popularity right now, but don't count them out, they will figure their messaging out at some point.
ARE WE HEADED FOR STAGFLATION? There is far too much uncertainty in the business world right now and we know markets hate uncertainty. The Fed is meeting this month and is looking at economic indicators on inflation and jobs and growth and it's not good. Read more here.
AOC AND BERNIE ARE COMING TO DENVER AND GREELEY And if you want to hear this duo you can find more details here. It's during the workday, something they obviously think their fans don't need to worry about.
DID PALMER LAKE SCARE OFF BUC-EES? Buc-ees has pulled an annexation request for land in Palmer Lake and this is a big blow if they don't refile. They say it was a technical issue but lots of folks in Palmer Lake pitched quite the fit about it.
NUCLEAR IS GREEN ENERGY IN COLORADO NOW Assuming the Governor signs the bill adding to the list of green energy sources in Colorado. This is a good move for us and could mean nuclear energy comes to Colorado.
THREE CANDIDATES FOR GOP CHAIR ANSWER QUESTIONS And again, I usually don't care about political party stuff but this election is so important for not just the party but the state going forward. Read the questions from the Rocky Mountain Voice here.
FEMA HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DENVER SPENT MONEY And this should be good. They are demanding details from how a pantload of FEMA money was spent.
CRAZED LEFTY ATTACKS CYBERTRUCK Because nothing says RESIST more than vandalizing a private citizen's car. Read it here.
WHERE IS DENVER'S BEST PIZZA? The Denver Gazette has a bracket here, but I've not tried most of these so I need your help.
THIS SEEMS SHADY when journalists make a blatantly political statement.
NEW SCAM ALERT! Watch below or click here.
GREAT, NOW ALUMINUM FOIL IS BAD Watch below or click here.