LET'S JUMP INTO THIS YEAR RIGHT! As we all work from home because the omicron variant is racing through Colorado right now. I feel like everyone I know had it over Christmas break. BUT THIS IS OUR YEAR, AMIRIGHT? AMIRIGHT??? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
THOMAS FREY THE FUTURIST IS ON TO TALK ABOUT COOL FUTURE STUFF And you can always find Thomas and listen to his REALLY GOOD and really smart podcast by clicking here.
WE'RE TALKING PROPERTY INSURANCE AND LOSS WITH FARM BUREAU INSURANCE TODAY After the devastating Marshall Fire and the damage it caused I thought it would be good to check in with a property insurance specialist to see what we as homeowners need to do BEFORE we get caught in a wildfire. That's at 2pm.
I GUESS I THOUGHT SHE'D LIVE FOREVER But Betty White has left the building. Her assistant revealed she died peacefully in her sleep. Good for her, bad for the rest of us. RIP, SueAnn!
BUT SHE CAN HANG OUT WITH JOHN MADDEN NOW As the Man Who Was Football as this article calls him, passed away as well.
THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET DICEY AT KING SOOPERS As the workers there have overwhelmingly decided to strike starting I think this Saturday, as that is when the existing contract expires. The union is asking for BIG raises ($6 an hour) and they don't want to see those raises eaten up with higher health care costs. This one is going to be really tough for King Soopers as the labor market is so tight they will have trouble getting warm bodies in to rub the store. If I'm Safeway, Sprouts and any other market I'm running ads NOW talking about being fully staffed. Considering grocery store workers have been the workhorses of this pandemic, I think they have a good bit of leverage right now. We'll see what happens this week.
EREBODY IS GETTING THE RONA RIGHT NOW I made a brief mention of the fact that everyone I know has Covid right now. I was flat on back yesterday sick with something but I'm fine today. We're setting new records for people testing positive, but the GOOD news is that omicron has NOT lead to a huge spike in hospitalizations or deaths anywhere it's already raged. Perhaps this is the end we've been hoping for.
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS MISSING GIRL She's fourteen and probably made a bad choice to sneak out of her house in the middle of the night but keep an eye out in Aurora for her.
THE WARNINGS FROM CALIFORNIA WE SHOULD PAY ATTENTION TO As Democrats in Colorado rush to do whatever California is doing, check out some of the stats in this National Review article:
For most, the reality on the ground is increasingly challenging. The state is now the second-most unaffordable state for home-buyers, a particular challenge for Millennials,and it suffers the highest rate of “doubling up”— only our friend Hawaii does worse. California has the largest gap between middle and upper wage quartiles in the nation, and it has a level of inequality greater than that of Mexico and closer to that of Central American countries such as Guatemala and Honduras than to such “progressive” developed counties as Canada and Norway. According to the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, 20 percent of state wealth is held within 30 zip codes that account for just 2 percent of the population. Less than 33 percent of state wealth is held within 1,350 zip codes that house 75 percent of Californians.
That bit about income inequality definitely caught my eye. Read the rest here, it's worth your time.
THE DRUMBEAT AGAINST MARRIAGE CONTINUES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES It seems that until every foundational system in this country is destroyed we will be treated to columns like this one. In it, a newly single woman shares the benefits of not being married. What she should have written about is why she picked a bad marriage in the first place. She uses the biography of an artist who chose a marriage of convenience with a bad man as an example to gird her point. This is nonsense. I am sick to death of these self absorbed people writing self absorbed articles about how happy they are they left their marriages, whether or not children are involved or not. As if it doesn't matter. I feel sorry for her and anyone else who feels this way.
IT'S TIME TO STOP DONATING CLOTHES FOR FIRE VICTIMS And this is what happens after EVERY disaster, trust me. Well meaning people donate used items for people who have lost everything, which is nice, but where does all of that go? One car dealership in Broomfield has been so overwhelmed with clothing donations they can't sell cars. I know that in my area people are collecting water (still needed) and toiletries and diapers, but I would advise you to donate CASH if you can. Cash fits everyone and requires no storage space. Check the article I linked if you NEED help, there are so many people trying to make this better for you.
TOYOTA IS ABOUT TO UNSEAT GM As the biggest carmaker in the US. They've been nipping at GM's heels for some time now and they are about to overtake them as the company that sells the most cars in the country. GM says it's about the shortage of microchips they've been dealing with and to not expect this to continue. What they don't say is that they let Toyota catch up to this point in the first place by not building cars as good as Toyota does. Just saying.
REHOMING CHILDREN IS HAPPENING IN THIS COUNTRY AND IT'S HORRIBLE My sister spent several years at a boys and girls ranch in Texas taking care of mostly adopted children whose parents decided that they didn't want them anymore. I had no clue this was a thing, but it happens ALL. THE. TIME. 60 Minutes Australia did this story on it. It's heartbreaking.
I WONDER WHY OUR UNIVERSITIES ARE ECHO CHAMBERS OF PROGRESSIVE NONSENSE This story may explain it. It's about eight college professors who spoke against the current established dogma and faced ridiculously severe consequences.
HERE ARE SOME REAL ESTATE PREDICTIONS FOR THE UPCOMING NEW YEAR And they seem to point to more stability in pricing, but rising interest rates too. Read more here.
PATTON OSWALT IS A SPINELESS WEASEL And normally I wouldn't comment on that, but his recent groveling apology for posting a photo with his friend of 34 years Dave Chappelle is so sniveling, so craven, that I must. Oswalt is a comedian known for playing losers and also being an outspoken progressive who hates all things Republican on Twitter, and now he's added horrible friend to that list. Read the story here, I'm too disgusted to encapsulate it.
WANT TO DODGE A HEART ATTACK? EAT SOME GRAPES This is one of those nutritional studies that will have Americans looking for grapes in pill form, but you really only need to eat two servings of grapes to see an impact on things like your bad cholesterol and gut health, both very good things.
IT'S NATIONAL SPAGHETTI DAY! And I had no idea this was a thing but you can read all about the long history of spaghetti here.
NEED AN AT HOME COVID TEST? THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT And they are apps that track the actual stock of certain stores. Read about how you can see when tests are restocked here.
THE BABYLON BEE IS MAKING PREDICTIONS FOR 2022 And I think they nailed it except for the "third conservative joke" prediction, that's just ludicrous.
A LOOK AT A CLASSICAL EDUCATION This is a good article on a book at the Socratic Method, which is simply a way of having a civilized disagreement over an issue, or a DISCUSSION as we like to call it. We need more of this in our public debate.
TWINS BORN A YEAR APART You know the older sister is NEVER going to let her younger brother live down the fact she was born in 2021 and he was born in 2022. Just fifteen minutes apart, mind you, but still. I would refer to him as my "baby brother" forever.
HOUSTON LETS ALLEGED MURDERERS OUT ON LOW OR NO BONDS SO THEY CAN KILL AGAIN And I'm not exaggerating one bit on this. A local victim advocates group has found 150 people who are dead because someone accused of a serious felony was let out on low or no bail. This is what bail reform really looks like. It seems to me that we can find a way to make sure poor people don't languish in jail on misdemeanor charges without letting someone accused of murder out with no cash bond. This is insane.
LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE STILL TRAPPED ON A SNOWY HIGHWAY IN VIRGINIA TODAY And here is an article about what to do if this ever happens to you. If you don't have a winter emergency bin in your car you need to do that today. Don't be that person.
IF EVERYTHING IN LIFE WAS A TRICK SHOT
KITTY TO CAT AND BACK AGAIN
HUSKIES MAKE GOOD BABYSITTERS