February 24, 2015 10:52 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (Feb. 24)

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Put down the snowman and get back to work. It's time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here's a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► Today the Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss regulating "unmanned aerial vehicles," more commonly known as "drones." Don't tell Vice Chair Kevin Lundberg, but staff at the Capitol expect to be regaled by testimony from tiny little pilots.

► No Homeland Security funding for you! Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is trying to figure out what to do after the Senate voted for a fourth time to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) because Republicans are still mad that President Obama tried to do something about immigration. Congress has until Feb. 27 to approve appropriations to continue funding DHS. From the Durango Herald:

DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson has warned that an agency shutdown would result in 75-80 percent of staff members being forced to work without pay, as their jobs are deemed vital to national security. An additional 30,000 would be furloughed.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The editorial board at The Durango Herald tees off on "right to discriminate" legislation, firing heavy criticism at two bills being sponsored by Republican lawmakers:

House bills 1161 and 1171 would extend constitutionally protected religious liberties far beyond those that hold them, so much so that such liberties could compromise the safety, health and access to goods and services of others…

…Neither bill is appropriate for Colorado and would be a disheartening retreat from the anti-discrimination advances the state has made in recent years. The Legislature should swiftly and decisively kill HB 1161 and 1171.

► The Senate Judiciary Committee will hear arguments today on whether or not Colorado should ban powdered alcohol, which is still awaiting federal approval to be sold in stores. The State House has already voted in favor of a ban.

► Politicos are still buzzing about Patricia Arquette's acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress at Sunday's Academy Awards presentation. Arquette used her time on stage to speak out against pay inequity in America.

► Freshman Sen. Kerry Donovan (D-Vail) gets an early lesson on the political perils of "triangulation".

► Ace political reporter Eli Stokols is leaving FOX 31 for a job with Politico in Washington D.C.

► After a two-hour meeting in executive session last night, the Aurora City Council emerged with noe decision on whether to get rid of embattled City Manager Skip Noe.

► Tomorrow is the NARAL Pro-Choice America National Day of Action, which comes as Colorado Republicans prepare to debate yet another bill that looks a lot like Personhood.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► If you swallow a watermelon seed, you will not grow a watermelon in your stomach. If you swallow your gum, it will not stay inside your body for 7 years. If you swallow anything, it will not end up in your vagina. Just so we're clear, because Idaho Republican Rep. Vito Barbieri wasn't sure about that last one.

► Guess which Colorado city is asking residents to respond to a "Resiliency Survey?" If you guessed Boulder, well, duh.

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet (D-Denver) and Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) have asked the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to hold a hearing at the Denver VA Medical Center in Aurora. Hopefully the meeting will also address adding more words to the VA center's name. We suggest "Denver VA Medical Center in Aurora, which is in Colorado in the United States." 

ICYMI

► Republican Senate candidate Darryl Glenn needs to work on his definition of a policy statement.

► Alaska is now officially the third state to legally sell recreational marijuana.