August 20, 2021 09:36 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (August 20)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Happy “World Mosquito Day.” Please celebrate by turning on your bug zapper. Let’s Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of an audio learner, check out The Get More Smarter Podcast. And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter. 

CORONAVIRUS INFO…

*Colorado Coronavirus info:
CDPHE Coronavirus website 

*Daily Coronavirus numbers in Colorado:
http://covid19.colorado.gov

*How you can help in Colorado:
COVRN.com

*Locate a COVID-19 testing site in Colorado:
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 

*Coloradans can now get a COVID-19 vaccine at one of six locations without a prior appointment. 

► MSNBC takes note of Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert’s no good, very bad week:

It’s not unusual for members of Congress to have family members who work in a variety of capacities for assorted industries, many of which relate in some way to federal policymaking. In this instance, the fact that the Coloradan is married to energy consultant is not, in and of itself, notable.

What makes Boebert’s situation controversial are the relevant details: she’s spent much of her first year on Capitol Hill pushing proposals to benefit the energy industry without disclosing the fact that her husband made nearly $1 million through energy consulting.

If you need a refresher on Boebert’s week from hell, you can start here to continue along with the story of her newfound reported wealth. This here is an entirely separate problem than the one involving her husband, Jayson’s, “employment.” Both stories involve potential campaign finance violations, but the issue with her husband’s lavish oil and gas consulting fees is the one that is likely to open up a whole new can of worms for the Rifle Republican.

If you only want to read one story on Boebert’s recent troubles, make it this one from The Washington Post.

► More than 100 people rallied in Denver on Thursday to celebrate “Afghan Independence Day” and bring attention to the needs of incoming Afghan refugees following the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Department of Homeland Security says that Afghan refugees are being offered the COVID-19 vaccine before they travel elsewhere in the United States.

The Denver Post has more on what you can to do help Afghan refugees coming to Colorado.

► Republican State Rep. Matt Soper appears to have been coaching people about how to get involved in Colorado’s redistricting process, unintentionally unmasking the presence of several Republican operatives in the process. As Evan Wyloge reports for The Colorado Springs Gazette:

On the video training, Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, lamented the fact that the independent redistricting commission system is designed to elicit input from non-political, everyday people talking about their communities, and not from incumbent lawmakers who want to keep a safe seat for themselves.

“It’s been really frustrating because throughout the process,” Soper, who led the training, said, “I’ve heard over and over again, they don’t want to hear from incumbents.”

The state constitution prohibits drawing districts to protect incumbent lawmakers.

And here’s where Soper sucks in other Republican operatives:

In the video, Soper also told the training participants that a set of high-profile lobbyists who work for an organization whose donors are secret have been advocating for the GOP lawmakers’ interests, even though the group’s representatives have said they aren’t working for Republicans.

“The Colorado Republican Party, the House Republicans and Senate Republicans hired Alan Philp, Greg Brophy and Frank McNulty to represent our interests,” Soper told the training participants. [Pols emphasis]

Frank McNulty is a former Colorado House Speaker. Greg Brophy is a former Colorado House and Senate member. Alan Philp runs a political consulting firm and is a registered lobbyist for the organization that the three are working under, called Colorado Neighborhood Coalition.

Whoops!

In a response, Philp laughably told the Gazette that he doesn’t know Soper.

The Unaffiliated newsletter of The Colorado Sun has more on this story. We’d link to it for you if there WAS a link, because here’s one of the best parts:

Delta County Republicans were told by GOP officials to “take one for the team,” Soper said during the virtual meeting. “That was just a slap in the face. And it really just shows we’re a divided Republican Party as well.”

► Charles Ashby of The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel has the latest on the massive elections fraud scandal in Mesa County:

It may come down to the courts to decide who has the legal authority to name a temporary designated election official in Mesa County, the Board of Commissioners or the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office.

That legal question has put both elected agencies at an impasse as a result of Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s declaration Tuesday that Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters is unfit to serve because of her alleged involvement in an election security breach. Currently, Griswold’s office, District Attorney Dan Rubinstein and the FBI are investigating the matter, which could lead to criminal charges.

Elsewhere, The Huffington Post picks up the story of “MyPillow Guy” Mike Lindell apparently providing safe harbor in Texas for Tina Peters.

Click below to keep learning stuff…

And Now, More Words…

► As The Associated Press reports, the U.S. Department of Interior is taking another long look at the coal industry:

U.S. officials launched a review Thursday of climate damage and other impacts from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands its scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

The review also will consider if companies are paying fair value for coal extracted from public reserves in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah and other states, according to a federal register notice outlining the administration’s intents.

Coal combustion for electricity remains one of the top sources of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, even after many power plants shut down over the past decade because of concerns over pollution.

Almost half the nation’s annual coal production — some 250 million tons last fiscal year — is mined by private companies from leases on federal land, primarily in Western states.

► As Westword reports, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County) believes he has the support to pass legislation allowing legal marijuana companies to have access to banking services. For more on this issue and many others, check out this week’s episode of The Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an interview with Rep. Perlmutter.

► As The Pueblo Chieftain reports, Rep. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert is, for some reason, defending a recent Tweet in which she wrote that “The Taliban are the only people building back better.”

► Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Denver) was one of three U.S. Senators to announce a positive COVID-19 test on Thursday. Hickenlooper says he is only experiencing mild symptoms but is following the advice of physicians and self-isolating.

► The Aurora Sentinel picks up a story thread from earlier in the week about the effectiveness of Colorado’s “red flag law” intended to temporarily get guns out of the hands of violent and unstable people.

► Jesse Paul of The Colorado Sun reports on an effort with strong roots in Colorado revolving around trying to get the FDA to regulate CBD:

Balanced Health Botanicals…CEO Chase Terwillinger thinks that every CBD producer should be required by the Food and Drug Administration to follow the same strict protocols and implement tracking in case a recall is needed.

But the federal agency has so far declined to regulate the manufacturing practices for CBD products, which are touted as being able to do everything from calm people and pets to alleviate pain. Congress legalized hemp production through the 2018 Farm Bill, prompting an explosion in cannabidiol’s popularity.

► Colorado hospitals are starting to see a noticeable rise in COVID-19 patients. This news comes alongside new concerns about the potential extent of infections in younger patients.

► The State Health Department is adopting new CDC guidelines in order to minimize quarantines resulting from COVID-19 infections in Colorado schools.

In related news, a Colorado Springs school district is REFUSING TO REPORT COVID-19 CASES in its schools because of freedumb, or whatever.

► As was expected, Douglas County Commissioners are trying to opt-out of mask requirements for schools. From The Denver Post:

Douglas County’s board of commissioners voted Thursday to opt out of the Tri-County Health Department public health order that requires masks for kids ages 2-11 in schools and day care facilities, though the county’s school district can maintain its own mask policy.

The unanimous vote came after four hours of public comment, during which dozens of parents — who sometimes cried at the podium — expressed their dismay at a public health order that many referred to as authoritarian and infringing on their freedoms.

The Tri-County Board of Health voted Tuesday to require students ages 2-11 and teachers and day care staff who work with those children to wear masks in schools throughout Adams, Douglas and Arapahoe counties, starting Monday.

Yet another case of performative obstruction from Republican elected officials.

► Economists often say that the more accurate job-related statistics are not unemployment numbers but the statistics indicating the number of people who WANT a job but can’t find one. As Fox 31 Denver reports, there are still a lot of job openings in Colorado and around the country that employers just can’t seem to fill.

► A controversial proposal to reduce the number of cars on the roads in the Denver Metro area has officially been killed off by Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission. You may not be able to breathe, but at least you can suffocate in peace now.

► For those of you who don’t have real problems to worry about, you can always go shake your fist at efforts to rename a handful of geographic locations in Colorado.

► The Texas Supreme Court becomes the latest legal body to reject attempts by a Republican Governor to proactively prohibit local mask ordinances.

► Colorado’s Department of Local Affairs is looking into complaints from several mountain towns about ethics issues regarding relationships between tax officials and a lawyer representing several hotels.

► Infrastructure improvements to I-70 and Vail Pass make the top 10 list of biggest needed transportation fixes in the country, according to The Washington Post.

Say What, Now?

CNN is helping the Taliban conduct mining operations in Afghanistan, or something…

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► If you’ve ever idly wondered what would happen if the trains at Denver International Airport stopped working…here’s your answer.

► What is…the shortest tenure for a Jeopardy host in show history.

► This former Republican leader gave his life to “own the libs.”

ICYMI

► As POLITICO reports, all of those calls from Republicans to cut off expanded unemployment benefits didn’t ACTUALLY do a damn thing to increase employment numbers.

► This week on The Get More Smarter Podcast, Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County) returns to discusss some of the big local projects being funded with federal dollars in Colorado…so long as your Member of Congress is a Democrat, apparently. 

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