WE'RE TALKING CRIME AND BUSINESS DOWNTOWN WITH THE MAYOR Because things are NOT getting better by most accounts downtown, even as we are trying to bribe businesses to come downtown, pushing new crime strategies to deal with the open air drug markets at Union Station, and the Mayor is asking businesses not to leave. He's on at 1 to discuss.
PM JUSTIN TRUDEAU WENT FULL ON TOTALITARIAN YESTERDAY In trying to deal with the peaceful protests started by truckers who have effectively shut down the capital of Ottawa PM Justin Trudeau isn't interested in speaking to the truckers. Yesterday he had a super weird press conference where he issued a lot of veiled threats in an easily calm voice that completely ignored the truckers he said he had "heard" them. Banks in Canada are watching and reporting people who are donating to the truckers. Canada is monitoring all banking and crypto to prevent the truckers from getting money. By the way, good luck on that crypto monitoring, Canada.
Even the New York Times (!) called out Trudeau for his hypocrisy on "peaceful protests" with a scorching editorial. From the editorial:
We disagree with the protesters’ cause, but they have a right to be noisy and even disruptive. Protests are a necessary form of expression in a democratic society, particularly for those whose opinions do not command broad popular support. Governments have a responsibility to prevent violence by protesters, but they must be willing to accept some degree of disruption by those seeking to be heard. The challenge for public officials — the same one faced by Minneapolis and other cities in 2020 during the protests after the murder of George Floyd — is to maintain a balance between public health and safety and a functioning society, with the right to free expression. Entertaining the use of force to disperse or contain legal protests is wrong. As Mr. Trudeau said in November 2020, in expressing his support of a yearlong protest by farmers in India that blocked major highways to New Delhi, “Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest.”
The convoy has captured an underlying frustration in a broad swath of the Canadian public. Like the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vests) movement in France that clogged the streets of Paris and other cities for months in late 2018 and early 2019, the Canadian truckers are motivated by anger over a wide variety of grievances that cannot be easily resolved through negotiations. Their power lies in their ability to disrupt through social media, using images of a few thousand people immobilizing a national capital and hampering international trade to mobilize global support.
Seems he only supports peaceful protests if they disrupt traffic in OTHER countries. Of course he does.
THE BLOOM IS OFF THE ROSE FOR JUSTIN TRUDEAU And the funniest tweet I saw yesterday called him Vladimir Poutine, which made me laugh really hard. Here are two columnists from the Toronto Sun discussing a riff Bill Maher did.
Even the Quebec Premier François Legault thinks this is a bad idea and has said he doesn't want the new declaration to apply in Quebec, which is kind of a big deal.
SOMEONE NEEDS TO TELL TINA PETERS TO STOP IT RIGHT NOW I have not weighed in on the Tina Peters story out of Mesa County because I have not been able to get a clear picture of what exactly happened. Did she give access to someone who was not authorized to voting machines? Is she the victim of a witch hunt by a Secretary of State who has been selectively targeting conservatives? I really don't know, but I'm inclined to let the investigation by federal authorities wrap up before I have an opinion. However she is forcing me to wade into this by announcing that she, while under state and federal investigation, is going to run for the statewide office of Secretary of State. ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS??? If you are a Republican, I BEG YOU not to support this lost cause of a candidacy. She will NEVER win a statewide race, and Colorado Republicans still running on the "Trump really won" platform need to get over themselves and recognize that Donald Trump is POISON in a statewide race in Colorado. Donald Trump lost this state, which went for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary btw, by a margin of 55% to 42%. That is not even close. He's still wildly unpopular here and I have no clue why any Republican would cleave to him while running for state office. The Colorado GOP MUST move on from Trump, and they must do that NOW if they don't want to much up the midterms. My advice to Ms. Peters is to focus her attention on the multiple issues she is having legally, clear her name completely, and THEN consider running for office.
CHERRY CREEK SCHOOLS IS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE FEDS For multiple violations of Title IX and Title VI which specifically deal with the equal treatment of women and minorities. The fact that there is more than one investigation is telling, but this article outlines one particular complaint by a former Cherry Creek principal who resigned after she says the district retaliated against her after filing a sexual discrimination complaint. She's pretty specific in her claims, and the Denver Gazette said it confirmed her accounts with witnesses even as the school district dismissed them as "unfounded". There are big problems in Cherry Creek that are just coming to the forefront. From the article:
Current principals, teachers, and staff interviewed by The Gazette largely backed up Maccagnan’s assertions and several of the incidents she described. Nearly all who spoke to The Gazette did so only if their names were not used because they feared retribution by the district. Others said they were too fearful to speak at all. Several have worked for more than a dozen years in Cherry Creek and have held a variety of administrative positions. Most said they experienced or witnessed the offensive conduct firsthand and few reported it because they feared retaliation. The Gazette withheld the names of some people accused of misconduct because no official documents identify them. In other cases The Gazette identified individuals because the documentation exists. “It’s the culture of Creek, that if you don’t follow the line, we cover things up, allow white men to dominate leadership roles despite several instances where they violate it,” a current female principal said. “They move on up or they move out.”
You really need to read the article to see how bad it is.
COLORADO PROGRESSIVES JUST REALIZE SALES TAXES ARE REGRESSIVE And in this case they want to do away with the taxes on feminine products and diapers. I have no issue with this, because things that are non-negotiable necessities for life should all be sales tax free. I'll take it two items at a time.
HEIDI GANAHL RIPS THE GOVERNOR'S ELECTION YEAR CRIME PLAN A NEW ONE Our Governor is facing re election, which is the reason he is ALL OF SUDDEN laser liked focused on things like high fees that he signed into law, and the out of control crimes that has made downtown Denver a shell of what it once was. Heidi, who is running to unseat him, is having none of it. She holds him to account in this column.
SAVE YOUR PENIS! GET VACCINATED! A new side effect from a case of covid? A smaller penis. For real. It's a thing. Read more here.
AVOIDING ALZHEIMER'S REQUIRES A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP Sleep is critical to good health and especially long term good health. I'm so screwed on this as a lifelong insomniac. A new study shows that sleep is necessary for your brain to avoid the kind of plaque build up connected to Alzheimer's disease. Good to know, now I need a nap.
THE BIDEN ADMIN HAS BEEN HIDING FLIGHTS TAKING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY And now they have been busted, but we still don't know how many illegal immigrants have been deposited around the country, unvaccinated and untested for covid. Minors are being released around the country, but no one can tell us to whom they are being released. This is the most shameful thing the media is covering for the Biden Administration on by far.
A JUDGE THREW OUT SARAH PALIN'S CASE WHILE THE JURY WAS DELIBERATING And this will FOR SURE lead to an appeal and I'd love to see the Supreme Court get a bite at this apple. The issue is that the New York Times has completely lazy and incompetent people writing editorials who engage in "unfortunate editorializing" according to the judge. We will follow this through the appeals process.
THE ACADEMY PRETENDS TO LOVE HOI POLLOI Because they are adding a "Fan Favorite" category that will be culled directly from Twitter users to their broadcast no one will watch. You can "vote" by using the hashtag #oscarsfanfavorite and they will announce the winner at the show no one watches. The movie doesn't have to be nominated for anything and I'd love to see Spiderman win. That would make their head's spin at the Academy.
WHO'S ON FIRST REACTION VIDEO
A PRIEST RESIGNS AFTER YEARS OF BAPTISM DECLARED INVALID And I get where the diocese is coming from, but perhaps they could ask for a pass on this one word. The issue is "we" instead of "I" and a priest who messed it up is out. Additionally lots of parents are trying to figure out if their children have been baptized properly.
THE US IS DROPPING SHARPLY ON THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM INDEX And the last year of covid restrictions, inflation and supply chain issues are a big part of that. We dropped down below the UK and right above Georgia. The index is actually pretty cool and the website that I linked right before this has lots of cool graphics and info for you to poke into.
WOULD YOUR DOG REALLY HAVE YOUR BACK? And protect your home against an intruder? This news story is fantastic.
EILEEN GU VS THE CHAINED WOMAN AND WHICH IS THE REAL CHINA This is a great column on the double standard fully on display in Beijing right now, as American born Eileen Gu has apparently been given dual citizenship (which is strictly forbidden in China) so she can compete for China is the Winter Games and is celebrated, and yet a woman videotaped chained to a wall is censored by the CCP. I hope Eileen Gu has a realization one day of how she let herself be used by a repressive regime and is filled with deep regret. One can only hope.
IF RUSSIA CHEATS AGAIN, DO WE EVER LET THEM IN ANOTHER GAMES? The story of the 15 year old figure skaters who just found out she failed a drug test from Christmas (seriously? This took THIS LONG?) but was allowed to compete anyway is really aggravating. Not that she was allowed to compete as the appeal is underway, but that Russia has been given a fake suspension and yet their athletes are allowed to compete AT ALL. This is a massive fail by the IOC and now they've got this huge mess on their hands and no one to blame but themselves.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT CELEBRATES THEIR OWNERSHIP OF THE NBA By celebrating the firing of Enos Kanter Freedom, the lone NBA player with a spine who was willing to call out the human rights violations of the Chinese government. The Chinese banned the Boston Celtics from broadcast in their country, and the snivelling money grubbers at the NBA took care of the problem by sending him out of the league. The Chinese thanked the NBA for releasing the "virus". I'm not even making that up.
RUSSIA ISN'T GOING TO INVADE UKRAINE...MAYBE? The brinksmanship on Ukraine's border may be coming to an end...unless it doesn't. Maybe Putin means it when he says he wants to talk, maybe he's just hoping Ukraine lets it's guard down so he can rush in. Who knows. Read about it here.