March 27, 2015 12:16 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (March 27)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Stop telling your out of state friends and family about our perfect weather, they’re moving here too fast! It’s time again 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…

► Former Taliban prisoner Bowe Bergdahl charged with desertion, but the story has some twists that could complicate things quite a bit if true:

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told the military he left his unit in eastern Afghanistan in July 2009 intending to walk to the nearest U.S. military outpost to report wrongdoing, believing he could not trust his own commanders to deal with his concerns, according to sources familiar with the Army investigation. It is the clearest indication yet of the motive behind his decision to leave his post.

Bergdahl was planning to report what he believed to be problems with “order and discipline” in his unit, a senior Defense official tells CNN. A second official says Bergdahl had “concerns about leadership issues at his base.”

This information is part of the report presented to General Mark Milley who this week decided to charge Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. This information outlines what could be a key part of Bergdahl’s defense, which the army is already aware of.

► In Washington, D.C. political news, iconic Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada will retire in 2016.

► Early 2016 states may be giving Ted Cruz the stink eye.

► Turning to Colorado, Rep. Gordon “Dr. Chaps” Klingenschmitt’s latest outrageous–possibly most outrageous ever—remarks about the horrific fetal abduction case in Longmont last week are sending his fellow Republicans running for cover.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► A new story about Mike Coffman’s 60th birthday seems to downplay U.S. Senate bid scuttlebutt, with much talk about holding CD-6 in 2016.

► Colorado responds today to the lawsuit filed by Oklahoma and Nebraska seeking to impose their puritanical flatland buzzkill on us. Toke up and exhale eastward if that’s your thing.

► A bill making life easier on our trangendered neighbors passed its first House committee with bipartisan support.

► The Senate Education Committee voted 8-1 to allow students to opt out of “required” assessment tests.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Google Fiber files to do business in Colorado–but don’t hold your breath for your own connection just yet.

► A Fort Collins traffic signal is awfully rude.

► And the latest on the Germanwings air disaster.

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