February 26, 2015 12:01 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (Feb. 26)

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• by: Colorado Pols

We've installed fresh batteries in the Colorado Pols Quadruple Doppler (with cheese), which is predicting as much as 10 feet of snow today. Or maybe less. 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…

► With one day left to authorize funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Colorado's Congressional delegation remains divided on how to move forward — no surprise, perhaps, given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner can't even work things out inside their Republican majority. And what about freshman Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma)? Here's Mark Matthews of the Denver Post:

Less clear was the stance of newly elected U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner. The Colorado Republican did not agree to an interview. Instead, his office released a statement that spoke less to a legislative solution and more to the actions of Democrats. "Senate Democrats are playing politics with our national security. It's wrong, and they should stop," he said in a statement. [Pols emphasis]

Once again, we remind you that REPUBLICANS HAVE MAJORITY CONTROL IN CONGRESS. Blaming Democrats for this one is like saying it's John Hickenlooper's fault that the Denver Broncos didn't win the Super Bowl. There's no way out of this mess for Republicans now.

► Chris Cilizza of the Washington Post explains how Republicans got into this DHS funding mess in the first place.

► The Colorado legislature took a Snow Day on Monday because of poor road conditions, but not again today; there's plenty of legislatin' going on under the Golden Dome of the State Capitol.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved so-called "Net Neutrality" regulations today. Via Politico:

The agency’s three Democrats voted to approve Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality order, which would treat broadband like a utility to ensure all Web traffic is treated equally. The commission’s two GOP members, Republican lawmakers and the nation’s telecom giants oppose the rules, saying they will dampen innovation and investment. AT&T has already threatened a legal challenge.

► Here in Colorado, House Democrats voted down legislation that sought to penalize communities that attempt to ban or restrict fracking. Are we done now? Seriously — can we stop pretending that Republicans are proponents of "local control"?

► More news from the "Spinning Yourself in Circles Zone" and FOX News talking head Bill O'Reilly. The latest: O'Reilly exagerrated a story about witnessing nuns being murdered in El Salvador in 1980. The story is being questioned because — get this — O'Reilly himself has said that he wasn't in El Salvador in 1980.

► How bad have things gotten for O'Relly? Bad enough that he's now publicly saying that President Obama gets too much criticism. Yes, that sentence just happened.

► A Democratic Congressman from Arizona wants to know if Boulder professor Roger Pielke Jr., a self-described "climate change denier," receives research funding from the oil and gas industry.

► Colorado remains in the bottom tier among states receiving the most financial aid from the federal government.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Governor John Hickenlooper has signed the first pieces of legislation to arrive on his desk thus far in 2015.

► The State Senate took a moment to honor former Sen. Regis Groff, who died in October at the age of 79. Groff served in the Senate for 20 years; his son, Peter Groff, was elected in 2003 to the same seat, and later became the first African-American Senate President in Colorado history.

► Senator Michael Bennet continues his triangulation on the Keystone XL Pipeline, even after President Obama vetoed legislation to authorize its construction.

► At least we're not in Arizona, where the state legislature has gone completely bonkers.

ICYMI

► Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel couldn't win outright re-election on Tuesday, so he heads now to an April 7th runoff with a guy nicknamed "Chuy."

► Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler should probably remove the phrase "dodged a bullet" from his vocabulary — at least until the Aurora Theater Shooting trial is completed.