Just One Thing: Let the criminals go free, but only if they're crazy
The Colorado state legislature, being run by the furthest left gang we've ever seen in this state, has passed more than its share of bad bills. It's one thing when people with bad ideas pass bills that enact those ideas. It's another thing when they're so daft that unintended consequences of their poor thinking and poor drafting make a law turn out even worse than they had intended.
One example is the AI law that Gov Polis should have vetoed but didn't. But even more dangerous to public safety was HB24-1034 Adult Competency to Stand Trial | Colorado General Assembly brought to you, unsurprisingly by a Boulder Democrat.
In short, the effect of this unbelievably boneheaded bill is that if a criminal defendant is found to be mentally incompetent (by even one "expert") to stand trial, charges are dropped and the criminal goes free, even if he or she has been charged with a violent crime.
This has to be fixed. NOW. Our second guest today, Kristi Burton Brown of Advance Colorado, will discuss their new report, "Mandatory Dismissal, Predictable Harm - Advance Colorado"
More here: EDITORIAL: Colorado’s criminal suspects game ‘incompetency’ - Colorado Springs Gazette
We've known for a while how bad this is: Republican lawmakers deliver signatures in push to change CO competency law
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Today's Guests
State Senator Jeff Bridges represents Greenwood Village in the Senate and is Vice-Chair of the Joint Budget Committee. He's also a candidate for State Treasurer.
We'll have a brief preview of the upcoming legislative session with particular focus on the budget, including this recent news:
Colorado taxpayers may not get a TABOR refund this year. Here's why
No TABOR refunds this year, as Colorado Gov. Polis warns of tight fiscal outlook - Colorado Politics
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I mentioned Kristi Burton Brown above...
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Darrell Watson represents "the fine District 9" on the Denver City council. His district includes RiNo and we'll about this long-delayed occurrence:
RiNo lands Denver's first common consumption site - Axios Denver
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Other Stuff
Some of the topics here are ones that I didn't get to yesterday because we talked about strange foods and "sink water"
Good riddance. I actually didn't know he was still alive: Aldrich Ames, C.I.A. Turncoat Who Helped the Soviets, Dies at 84 - The New York Times
CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who sold US secrets to the Soviets, dies in prison at 84
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This is interesting (about Colorado politics): Primary challenges surge as Colorado lawmakers head into 2026 election cycle - Colorado Politics
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This is simply not a thing that pro-life folks are willing to be "flexible" about: Conservatives balk at Trump’s calls to be ‘flexible’ on abortion coverage in health care talks - POLITICO
Meanwhile, here in CO it’s now OK for gov’t insurance to pay for abortions: Abortion, cell phone repairs, bison among topics of new Colorado laws
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Is Colorado “The New Jersey of the West”? Ugh: Colorado seeing a big increase in residents moving out of state
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I realize that to some degree Trump plays the same game Putin does: the "He's just crazy enough to do it" schtick. Who can really say that Trump wouldn't try to take Greenland by force, not that anyone other than the small number of mostly poor residents of Greenland would likely fight back. To be clear, Trump isn't wrong about the strategic importance of Greenland but he sure does have a way of angering everybody, especially our allies. Conservative radio host Erick Erickson calls it "dickhead diplomacy".
Greenland war powers vote could be heading to Senate floor - Live Updates - POLITICO
Rubio Told Lawmakers Trump Wants to Buy Greenland - The New York Times
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Speaking of dickhead: Opinion | Pete Hegseth whiffs in going after Mark Kelly - The Washington Post
Actually, it kinda applies to both of them.
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On the one hand, I get that these folks had theoretically temporary permission to be here and temporary has to mean something. On the other hand, as a matter of domestic politics, it's quite a thing to try to deport approximately all of them. How many of you know a Venezuelan who is here in the US, has been for a long time, and works hard to, as George W Bush said, "put food on the family"?
600,000 Venezuelans face U.S. deportation after Maduro raid
Speaking of Venezuela... This gets complex, as international affairs and war or near-war often do. Trump's goals for Venezuela, including reducing the flow of drugs, increasing oil production (not really our business, but not a bad goal), and getting them to stop allowing our enemies to use Venezuelan territory as an operating base, are all valid. So how do we achieve them? It might not be crazy to leave the current regime in place temporarily even though it's not a great look to topple a socialist anti-American dictator and leave the female version of the exact same kind of person still running the country. It's a worse look to make it seem like it's all about the US getting (stealing?) Venezuelan oil for recompense for past nationalizations of American-owned assets. Again, not a bad goal but is this really the purpose of the American government and military now? Trump has turned into someone whom his base probably doesn't recognize.
Dan Flynn of the American Spectator puts it this way:
Heel Turn Alert! Donald Trump Unmasks to Reveal George W. Bush
If politics were professional wrestling (and it is), then we would call Donald Trump’s sudden fondness for exploding bombs and regime change a “heel turn.” The current Republican president took off his luchador mask to reveal his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush. Maybe politics is also Lord of the Rings. Now that Trump wears the ring and calls it “precious,” the exercise of raw power in places where our concerns remain low to nonexistent suddenly becomes not so bad, after all. To witness MAGA morph from Smedley Butler-style anti-interventionists to ocean-to-ocean, pole-to-pole, John O’Sullivan-style imperialists over the course of one weekend bespeaks the lack of principle undergirding our politics. When one man, rather than many shared beliefs, unite a movement, it fluctuates between forward, march and to the rear, march. In the end, those in the midst of the movement confuse the contrasting commands as progress. In truth, all that chaotic movement merely puts us back in the same spot. Every conservative not committed to becoming John McCain eventually becomes John McCain.
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Many Amazon Prime members are getting refunds, but they may be as little as less than a dollar: $2.5B settlement over Amazon Prime: How to file a claim
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Interesting to try to balance the benefits of competition with the benefits of only having to deal with one contract and one provider. I gotta say I really don't like the mention of "equity" as one factor in why the winning company won: Denver plans to end contracts with Lime, Bird
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There may be legitimate reasons to veto these bills but there's absolutely no way those were Trump's reasons. Trump is doing absolutely everything he can to hurt Colorado including the news yesterday of pausing funding for TANF for Colorado and four other states.
House will vote Thursday to override Trump veto of two GOP-backed bills - Live Updates - POLITICO
U.S. House weighs override of Trump veto on Colorado water project - Colorado Politics
Earlier news: US Rep. Lauren Boebert calls for override vote after Trump vetoes bipartisan Colorado water bill - Colorado Politics
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How a Colorado court decision could set back a push to label gas stoves like cigarettes
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I don't know much about Edgewater except that on the rare occasion that I read about their city council enacting some new ordinance, it almost always seems like left-wing lunacy. Finally a story about them getting one right: Edgewater’s tipped workers won’t get a wage increase. Here’s why
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Why exactly does RFK think we should be more like Denmark? More importantly, even though this is just a recommendation it should be accompanied by plenty of scientific data. As always with RFK, it isn't. He's a liar and a grifter and it's a shame that he has any role in our government.
RFK Jr. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark's in unprecedented move
Opinion | RFK Jr.’s vaccine schedule overhaul sidesteps scientific review - The Washington Post
RFK Jr., CDC reduce number of recommended vaccines for children
And this good note from the WSJ about RFK making lawyers richer: There RFK Jr. Goes Again . . . - WSJ
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Today's Video
Nerd out with me:
See, with stuff like this I don't know if I should ever post it because on the one hand it's creative and funny and on the other hand, it's AI and simply fake.