POPE FRANCIS IS DEAD And this article is a good overview of what he did during his reign as the 266th man to hold the papacy. Now would be a great time to watch the movie Conclave to see what happens next. As he passed this morning we don't know anything about a burial but as Pope Francis eschewed the trappings of wealth associated with the Church I wonder if there will be a huge State funeral. We'll see. He is in his Father's House now. As Vice President JD Vance met with the Pope just yesterday the internet is aflame with conspiracy theories that are ridiculous but would we expect anything less? This is a lovely post mortem on the timing and what it all means.
MAYOR MIKE COFFMAN JOINS ME TODAY AT 1 And we're going to talk about the progress of the new homeless campus and how things are going in Aurora overall. Mostly we're going to do a deeper dive into this report by the Common Sense Institute about homelessness in Colorado. Spoiler alert: it's not good.
WHAT HOBBY WOULD YOU DO EVERYDAY IF YOU COULD? I saw this story out of Steamboat where the resort gave fancy new belt buckles to a small but dedicated group of people who visited the resort every single day during the 148 day ski season. I don't think there is a single thing I like enough to do it 148 days in a row. Is there something you would do every day if you could? Other than work, that is.
MEN SAY COLLEGE ISN'T WORTH IT And I don't blame them but this is going to create a cascade of issues as more college educated women don't want to date "down" (more on my feelings about that notion in a bit). Right now young men are watching YouTube influencers tell them that they don't need a college degree to succeed and that coupled with the outrageous cost of a college education these days men are opting out. As one who dropped out of college in her senior year (I know, I know, my decision making was suspect) I can tell you of the frustration of being overqualified experience-wise for a job but being unable to make it through the first round because of a lack of a college education. That being said, I hope these young men are ready to work twice as hard building wealth because statistically it's going to be harder for them. However, I know a A LOT of men who have built incredible lives for themselves and their families in the trades. We shall discuss the part above about women not wanting to "date down" when it comes to non college-educated men today on the show.
THE APP SPARKING A RELIGIOUS REVIVAL Sitting in church may not appeal to young people, but listening to teachings about the Bible and Faith from an app seem to be hitting the mark. The Hallow app is one of the most downloaded apps around, even though China has banned it and the EU regulations are trying to strangle it. Why? Both of those nations fear a God Loving people. Read more about it here, but I am thrilled that young people are finding out that something is so much bigger than they are.
CHINA PUSHES BACK ON THE BIGGEST PART OF US TRADE DEALS I said this a couple of weeks ago about trade deals being sought by the US government with countries eager to get their goods to the US. China is warning other nations that if they make trade deals with the US that ends up with punitive measures against China in the form of tariffs or other penalties they will fight back. China knows this is the end game of the Trump tariffs. He is going to use trade deals to force other nations to penalize China the way China penalizes everybody else. This is going to be very interesting to see who blinks here and how this all ends up. If it doesn't end up with China being forced to actually live by the rules they signed up for in the WTO the entire exercise is a huge loss for the US. Read more here.
DOUGCO RESIDENTS, WE NEED YOUR HELP! we need people completely unconnected to anyone on the Board of County Commissioners to be elected to the Home Rule Charter Committee should we vote to move in that direction. The current Board, who does not have my trust at all, has lined up a bunch of their friends and supporters to run and we need NORMAL people to counteract that. Find out how to be on the ballot by clicking here, and I promise I will support you if you step up. If we're going to do this, we need to make sure the fix is not in for this Board. You have to turn in your petition with its 25 signatures THIS WEEK so don't delay.
WYOMING DOESN'T CARE HOW WE FEEL ABOUT WOLVES Because if our newly imported wolves cross the state line into Wyoming they can and have been shot and killed. Read it here.
THE SUPREME COURT RULES ON THE SIDE OF DUE PROCESS...OR DO THEY? In a late night unsigned ruling they put the kibosh on Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans. It was not unanimous, with Alito and Clarence Thomas issuing a dissent to the unsigned order, saying it's not clear the Supreme Court even has jurisdiction because the lower Appeals court was still considering the case, and THEY NEVER HEARD FROM THE GOVERNMENT in the hearing. It seems to me that the Supreme Court did not take kindly to the Trump administration crapping all over it's April 7th order and decided to crack back. This makes me unhappy because this is a subversion of due process in a case over due process. If everyone just followed due process this would all have taken care of itself by now.
COLORADO'S ECONOMY IS STRUGGLING As our unemployment rate is over the national average and our job growth has been anemic at best. Weird how that happens when you spend years piling regulations on and passing more and more taxes disguised as fees. This article from 2021 talked about how Colorado had damaged it's business climate because of overregulation and taxes and fees, and this was before we told the oil and gas industry they needed to leave. Y'all, all of this is at the feet of the Democrats who have run our once great state into the ground. We lead the nation in recovery after the Great Recession because of the business climate that is now destroyed and the limits that TABOR put on government growth during the downturn. And now the Democrats are coming for TABOR.
IF YOU'VE EVER WANTED A HOME IN FLORIDA There are deals to be had because there are a crap ton of houses on the market. And they are staying on market for a long, long time. Read it all here.
YES PARENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN And it's been affirmed repeatedly by the US Supreme Court. Independence Institute's Rob Natelson writes about it here.
TURKEY IS PUSHING FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL I am not a fan of President Dictator Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and now less so than before. He is a dictator who has jailed his political opponents and even stripped his rival's collegiate degrees so he can't run for President. Now he's come out full force as wanting the destruction of Israel. Great. Now Hamas has another benefactor.
THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO IS BOOMING this story is just cool. I've always wanted to do this walk.
THE PLANT BASED REVOLUTION HAS PETERED OUT As another plant based food company declares bankruptcy, this one a long time food company started by a Kellogg brother who believe plant based diets were better for health. Read more here.
MOTORCYCLISTS ARE GONNA RUN THE LANE FILTERING THING I have had more motorcycles fly by me on I-25 as of late that I care to count. That is lane splitting, and it remains illegal in Colorado. It seems that motorcyclists are confusing it with lane filtering, which only applies near an intersection. They need to fix it before that gets rolled back in annoyance.
THERE'S A NEW THEME PARK IN ORLANDO And this one is Universal Epic and I will be going NOT in the summer. Read more here. This as Disney is adding Kids Eat Free as a perk for people staying on property. This may be a good year to plan a trip to Orlando.
WHO IS MICHAEL BENNET RUNNING AGAINST? I have to agree with Dick Wadhams that Michael Bennet's announcement for Governor did NOT focus on what Colorado's biggest issues are. It was all about Trump, who is not in charge of a state with the nation's highest inflation and anemic job growth. Read more of the scathing column calling Bennet out here. This tactic may work in the primary, but we need solutions for real Colorado problems, not a proxy war against Trump.
FILM ON THE ROCKS IS BACK And you can find the lineup here.
THE NEW FANTASTIC FOUR TRAILER IS OUT And it looks really, really good.
ABOUT THAT PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA THING
VEEN'S FIRST BIG LEAGUE HOMER This kid is going to be good. Enjoy him while he's here.
NO, WE CAN'T SEND GARBAGE TO SPACE Watch below or click here.
DITCH INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS BY NAMING YOUR BRAIN This goes along with the "say it out loud" method I've used for years but I think this is actually better. Watch below or click here.
CREATIVE WAYS TO GET OUT OF WORK Watch below or click here.
FANS WANT TO FEEL LIKE MAYBE THE TEAM CAN WIN Clint Hurdle is not wrong here.
FARTS ARE ALWAYS FUNNY Even during a press situation.
A TEACHER TEACHES DESCRIPTIVE WRITING And I bet these kids NEVER forget this lesson. This is fantastic! Watch below or click here.
ROCKIES OUT THERE SETTING RECORDS They are just the records no one wants to set.
LIL WAYNE SAYS NO TO SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOWS Because he was snubbed last year for Kendrick Lamar when the Super Bowl was played in Lil' Wayne's hometown of New Orleans. They hurt his feelings and now he's over it...the Super Bowl that is.