August 07, 2015 01:23 PM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (Aug. 7)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Today is both GOP politico Alan Keyes’ and X-Files star David Duchovny’s birthday! We assume that’s just a coincidence. 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…

► Republican presidential candidates wrapped up their first primary debate last night–check out our liveblogs from the prime-time and “kid’s table” debates respectively. Politico’s Roger Simon recaps GOP frontrunner Donald Trump’s bombastic domination of the main event:

Donald Trump didn’t just steal much of the show at a Republican debate Thursday night, he didn’t just command the stage whenever he chose to — he is an experienced TV performer, after all — but he showed his contempt for the very debate that he was taking part in.

And the audience ate it up.

Time and again, Trump said outrageous and sometimes repellent things and didn’t just get away with it, but often turned boos into cheers.

One of the Fox News moderators, Megyn Kelly, said to him: “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”

“Only Rosie O’Donnell,” Trump retorted.

► Meanwhile, Google News Labs released data that shows Trump is far and away the most-Googled presidential candidate in Colorado. As for the candidate who got the most social media action out of last night’s debate? Apparently that was Sen. Bernie Sanders (D).

► In a move that has supporters of a functioning judicial system in Colorado a bit nervous, Sen. Cory Gardner is ditching traditional bipartisan cooperation and forming his own judicial selection committee instead of working with senior Sen. Michael Bennet.

► Despite an alarmist news report earlier this week that was picked up nationwide by right-wing media, the FBI has no evidence that any families of military in Colorado or Wyoming have been threatened by “Middle Eastern men.” Which didn’t stop Cory Gardner from shamelessly glomming on to the story for his own fearmongering purposes.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► You can see lots of high country from Denver, and Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver wants to preserve another 750,000 acres of it as wilderness. Unfortunately, GOP Rep. Scott Tipton calls it a “nonstarter.”

► Colorado state lawmakers joined with Washington state officials to host a panel on marijuana legalization at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ annual meeting this week. Apparently our example of legalizing weed without the sky falling is being noticed elsewhere.

► Dozens of new laws took effect in Colorado this week, including a felony DUI bill and crowdfunding legislation. Meanwhile, a new report from the Bell Policy Center says anti-discrimination measures like Colorado passed in 2013 do not hurt small business–sorry, Laura Waters Woods.

► A major disaster in southwest Colorado unfolds as a million gallons of heavy metals-laden mine wastewater released during work by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to mitigate contamination at Silverton’s Gold King Mine turns the Animas River an icky shade of orange:

The EPA’s team was working with heavy equipment to secure and consolidate a safe way to enter the mine and access contaminated water, said Richard Mylott, a spokesman for the EPA in Denver. The project was intended to pump and treat the water and reduce metal pollution flowing out of the mine into Cement Creek, he said.

The disaster released about 1 million gallons of acidic water containing sediment and metals flowing as an orange-colored discharge downstream through Cement Creek and into the Animas River…

“This unfortunate incident underscores the very reason EPA and the state of Colorado are focused on addressing the environmental risks at abandoned mine sites,” said David Ostrander, director of EPA’s emergency-response program in Denver. “We are thankful that the personnel working on this mine cleanup project were unharmed. EPA will be assessing downstream conditions to ensure any impacts and concerns are addressed, as necessary.”

Local conservatives have reacted with something akin to glee over the EPA being responsible for this accident, but it’s the EPA’s job to work these sites and clean them up. Gloating over this disaster is…well, it’s definitely not cool.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► The American Cancer Society says Colorado needs to do more to prevent the Big C.

► Everybody hates those new U.S. 36 toll lanes, but we’re apparently using the heck out of them.

► Renewable energy continues to be a job engine for Colorado even as fossil fuel extraction declines–Vestas hiring hundreds of workers.

► Convicted felon tax cheat and TABOR author Doug Bruce is suing ace defense attorney David Lane. This seems certain to end well.

ICYMI

► On the extremely unlikely chance that you don’t know a final decision is near in the death penalty phase of the Aurora shooting trial, here’s a link to the latest. Stay tuned.

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