MIKE POTARF IS ON TO TALK REAL ESTATE We are about to enter our traditional buying season (although every season is buying season right now) and it's time to get the skinny from my realtor from the Chad Madlom team. If you want to buy or sell, call him at 303-900-8570.
DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS ISN'T DOING IT'S ONLY JOB The only real job of schools is to educate children. A new analysis of the latest round of testing is showing some really, really bad news. In DPS, just 5% of black and latino third graders are reading on grade level. Lest you think the white kids are blazing a trail, only 30% of them are reading at grade level. This is criminal. This is stealing from taxpayers and parents on a daily basis. If this were a private school it would be closed already. This is shameful and disgusting and instead of attacking this problem with everything they have the School Board has been working to give more power to the teachers unions. This column makes a great suggestion of six weeks of summer school to get this kids caught up with intensive reading help. But it also points out that teachers won't like that so it probably won't be brought up. At what point does the state have to step in?
THE TOWN THAT GOVERNMENT RUINED This is a GREAT column by our pal Jon Caldara at the Independence Institute that lays out the myriad of ways the Boulder government, in their efforts to make housing as expensive as possible to keep the great, unwashed masses out, ruined the town of Superior. He doesn't just talk about housing codes, he talks about managing the grasslands during drought and more! Government is almost ALWAYS the problem.
DAMN STRAIGHT MARIJUANA ENFORCEMENT SHOULD DO ITS JOB Because they sure aren't doing it now. This annoys the crap out of me and I feel like heads should roll but it's government and they never fire incompetent people so maybe this bill is a good start. Two Republican legislators are pushing a bill that would require the Marijuana Enforcement department to actually do their jobs and try to buy pot underage at dispensaries. In 2019 they did 604 underage checks and this year they are track for 50 checks. FIFTY??? In case you were wondering, the efficient folks who do underage checks on booze joints did 2,400 checks! What the hell is going on over there? This is NOT what people who voted for Amendment 64 were promised and I sure hope the Governor does something about this. By the way, in the sorry number of checks that were actually done, compliance has DROPPED, meaning more kids are buying pot at dispensaries.
THE BALLOT FOR CD-8 IS SET And you can read all about who is on the ballot here. On paper the district leans Dem, but in reality we won't know until the ballots are counted. This is a good column that breaks down where it might land.
COLORADO REPUBLICANS, PLEASE DON'T SCREW THIS UP Another great column on why Republicans need to be careful of who they nominate in a year when they could actually make gains at the state and federal level. I'd say that anyone who showed up at the Mike Lindell rally should be disqualified from nomination for a statewide race. This column by Mark Hillman nails why we need to be wary of Republicans running on crazy platforms.
THIS IS WHY CHIEF VANESSA WILSON MUST GO NOW IS OUT IN AURORA! After I wrote this blog entry, I found out that Chief Wilson is OUT, as the City Manager sent out a message to the force this morning announcing the change. This after an audit found more than 2,500 cases that had not been sent to the District Attorney and were in backlog. That number has dropped down to just over 1200 but there should only be about 50 so they are still a disaster. Here's hoping they hire someone competent, not someone who checks the right boxes. If they check a box additionally, great, but it shouldn't be the primary focus. This department needs help and solid leadership.
THIS IS WHY I HATE ROADSIDE MEMORIALS This happened in Florida numerous times before there was a concerted effort to stop roadside memorials. Now a woman is dead after a group decided to meet at the roadside memorial for a fallen friend on the anniversary of his death. Here's the thing: get together to mourn, but do it somewhere else. A roadside memorial is a dangerous nuisance and should never be a thing.
THIS TEACHER IS MAKING GOOD HUMANS I love this so much and I think she is at a charter school in Parker, Colorado so I'm even more happy.
IT'S ALMOST RED ROCKS CONCERT TIME! And though I am officially old and have no clue who most of these people are, I am still excited for the one's I do know. Read the current calendar here!
DID YOU GET SPAM FROM...YOURSELF? This happened to Chuck last week. He got a spam message via text from his own number. Read more here but don't click the clicky if this happens to you.
DOGS HAVE EVOLVED TO UP THE CUTENESS FACTOR And my dog must be HIGHLY evolved because he expressions are priceless and VERY expressive. It seems that dogs have developed different muscles in their faces to allow them to show more expression, perhaps in a move to become even more lovable to humans. As if they could be any cuter.
THE AMAZING STORY OF THE CARPET CLEANING POLYGLOT A polyglot is someone who speaks several languages, and this guy is a hyperpolyglot. His story is fascinating not just because he can communicate in 37 languages, 24 of them fluently enough to carry on lengthy conversations, but because he knows these languages and doesn't capitalize on them, he cleans carpets and does other blue collar jobs. Read about him here.
WE CAN'T NAME OUR GRANDPARENTS This is sort of odd and bit depressing but upon further reflection I fit into this category. I grew up with a step grandfather, my biological paternal grandfather was not a good man. I didn't know my step grandfather wasn't MY grandfather until my teens when I realized their last name was different than mine. A new poll shows that less than half of Americans can correctly name all four grandparents.
INVITING THE PRESIDENT EVERYONE LIKED BACK WAS BAD FOR JOE You guys, check this sad thing out. NO ONE wanted to talk to President Joe Biden. NO ONE.
BOBBY RYDELL HAS CHA-CHA-CHAed TO HEAVEN The teen idol of the 60s has died of pneumonia at age 79. Read more here.
SELF MADE MILLIONAIRES ARE EMOTIONALLY STABLE AND HAPPY This is not surprising to me in the least and I saw evidence of this last weekend with my brother's friends. You might think that making a bunch of money is the reason, but it may be the RESULT of that personality type. From the article:
Scientists from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) and the University of Münster say millionaires tend to be more extraverted, open, risk-tolerant, conscientious, and emotionally stable than others.
Importantly, these qualities are particularly apparent among self-made millionaires, or people who started out in life with far less and had to earn their wealth.
THE ONGOING IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING THE HUMANITIES I think there are cases to be made against teaching everyone the humanities and classics. Some people are so left brained that they want to focus solely on the hard sciences and field like engineering and forcing them to read Chaucer may not be necessary. But for everyone ELSE, it remains very important and this column tells us why.
WHAT DID YOU GIVE UP FOR LENT? WHITENESS? MMKAY That is actually happening at one church in Chicago, where they are "Fasting from Whiteness" during Lent. I read this and my IQ dropped like ten points so you've been warned.
WHO WILL REPLACE JEN PSAKI? The Babylon Bee has some early contenders.
BICYCLISTS NOW LEGALLY BREAK THE LAW At least when it comes to red lights. I hope this works out the way it's supposed to.
DENVER TACO CHAMP HAS BEEN CROWNED And you can find the entire Taco Madness bracket with the winner Kike's Red Tacos here.
CONGRESS MAY REGRET HAVING OIL EXECS UP TO THE HILL Because they think they are going to rake these guys over the coals about price gouging and the execs are having none of it and giving free lessons on a market economy instead. This as oil and gas companies are simply doing what Congress wanted them to do a few short months ago. Watch this.
THIS IS THE WORST VIDEO I'VE EVER SEEN
EMAIL OF THE DAY! Re: the stupid Cracker Jill thing. From Alan:
Hi Mandy,
I was watching the news this morning with my wife and we see the new offering of Cracker Jill to promote women’s sports and such. Marvelous, all fine and good I think.
I ask my wife jokingly “What’s the difference between C-Jack and C-Jill?
Her shoulders shrugged as she sipped her coffee.
“No nuts” I said.
The resulting Java spew and laughter was epic!
Full disclosure- I checked the Frito-Lay website and Cracker Jill does contain nuts just like Jack. Just like Rachel Levine.
Stay salty!
Alan