June 25, 2019 10:42 AM UTC
Get More Smarter on Tuesday (June 25)
4 Comments- by: Colorado Pols
Welcome to the recreational marijuana market, Illinois. It’s time to “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 a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.
TOP OF MIND TODAY…
► And…we’re back to the “threaten to destroy Iran” stage of Trump diplomacy, as CNN reports:
President Donald Trump threatened Iran with “obliteration” on Tuesday, saying that an attack on “anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force.”
“In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!” the President tweeted.
Earlier Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the White House is “suffering from mental disability” and behaving as “no sane person” in the wake of new sanctions imposed by US this week — partly in retaliation over the downing of an American drone.
Those comments prompted a response from Trump who said “Iran’s very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality.”
It is frightening to see just how little it might take to provoke conflict with the United States under President Trump. All it takes is a couple of childish insults and Trump threatens destruction.
► It’s nearly impossible to know where Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) might appear in person in Colorado. We only ever find out about Gardner’s whereabouts after the fact.
► U.S. authorities are scrambling to deal with a growing humanitarian crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border. From the Washington Post:
U.S. immigration and health authorities, facing what they say is a financial and logistical crush, have scrambled to move hundreds of migrant children out of an overcrowded Border Patrol station after lawyers who visited the facility last week described scenes of sick and dirty children without their parents, and inconsolable toddlers in the care of other children.
The alleged conditions at the U.S. Border Patrol station in Clint, Tex., raised the specter that hundreds of children — some still in infancy — who had arrived unaccompanied or had been separated from their relatives after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are being exposed to additional undue trauma as they languish for days or weeks in ill-equipped Border Patrol stations, lawyers said.
House Democrats are pushing new legislation aimed at delivering emergency aid to the border, though the White House is threatening to veto the bill.
Meanwhile, Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner John Sanders announced on Tuesday that he will resign from his job, effective July 5.
Get even more smarter after the jump…
IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…
► As Westword reports, a new “climate plan” from the Trump administration could end up tripling climate pollution in Colorado:
As federal officials finalize a plan that will guide the next several decades of public-lands policy across eastern Colorado, climate activists are sounding the alarm over its proposed increases in oil and gas drilling — which could triple the amount of greenhouse gas pollution originating from the region’s federally owned lands…
…For years, environmental activists have pressed federal officials to commit to halting or phasing out new oil and gas drilling on public lands, including in the Eastern Colorado RMP. Nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuels extracted on public lands, making BLM land-use policy an essential part of any federal plan to reduce emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.
But fossil-fuel production on federal lands surged even during the Obama administration, and the Interior Department under President Donald Trump — led by former oil and gas lobbyist and Colorado native David Bernhardt — is determined to increase it even further, in pursuit of its so-called “energy dominance” goals. In the draft Eastern Colorado plan released last week, the BLM rejected activists’ calls for a halt to new drilling on climate grounds.
► “The shale gas revolution has frankly been an unmitigated disaster for any buy-and-hold investor in the shale gas industry with very few limited exceptions,” says a former O&G executive. “In fact, I’m not aware of another case of a disruptive technological change that has done so much harm to the industry that created the change.”
► Chris Cillizza of CNN updates the situation in Oregon, where Republican lawmakers are refusing to go to work as a protest against legislation they no longer have the votes to stop. Hillary Borrud at The Oregonian breaks down eight key points to watch in the standoff.
► Campaign enthusiast Casper Stockham will apparently seek to unseat Democratic Rep. Jason Crow in CO-6 (Aurora-ish). The Republican Stockham is coming off of two consecutive hopeless efforts to unseat Rep. Diana DeGette in CO-1 (Denver).
► According to AAA Colorado, the July 4th holiday week is going to be plenty busy:
A record-breaking 841,000 Coloradans will join the ranks of nearly 49 million Americans vacationing over Independence Day – the highest number ever recorded by AAA. Overall travel volume for the holiday will rise 4.1 percent over 2018, and Denver International Airport will rank among the top five busiest locations for rental car pick ups. The vast majority of Americans, 41.4 million, will travel by automobile over the course of the holiday – leading to delays of up to four times longer than normal.
► As Brian Eason reports for the Colorado Sun, Colorado Republican lawmakers are doing their best to harm Census efforts that would be a significant benefit to rural communities:
For each person not counted in San Miguel County, Commissioner Hilary Cooper said they’ve been told they lose about $1,200 a year that could go toward public services. That may not sound like much in the context of a state government that spends more than $30 billion annually. But “for a small county like ours,” Cooper said, even “five to 10 people who are undercounted, that’s a significant underfunding of our resources that are already underfunded.”
Multiply that across the state, and supporters argue that by spending $6 million, the state could potentially bring back tens of millions of dollars from Washington, to invest in public services like transportation. And — adding to the stakes — Colorado is among a handful of states expected to get a new congressional seat based on estimated population growth since the 2010 census…
…But to statehouse Republicans, who voted almost unanimously against the proposal, it was an example of the sort of thing state taxpayers have no business paying for in the first place. Why spend $6 million to help the federal government do its job — with no guarantee that Colorado will get back any money at all?
“We’re creating an incentive program to get people to fill out more paperwork,” remarked Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, during an April floor debate. “It’s an embarrassment of bureaucracy.”
► Whether or not TABOR was a well-intentioned idea in the first place, there’s no denying that it created a host of other problems for Colorado.
► The Associated Press reports on a new poll showing that most Democratic voters aren’t really closely following the candidates seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2020. We’re not surprised — it’s still pretty early for the average voter to start paying attention.
► Colorado Republicans have a familiar new problem: Grady Nouis. The far-right and openly racist Nouis is running for State House in Weld County after losing a similar race to Democrat Tracy Kraft-Tharp in Arvada in 2018.
► There’s a battle underway in Denver over the potential sale of land that was formerly the Park Hill Golf Course.
► Denver7 takes a look at a controversial ballot measure in Lakewood that will soon be decided by voters.
► Classy guy, Rep. Duncan Hunter.
► New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is prepping for this week’s Democratic debates by pretending to have a very well-edited conversation with his son via text message. The comments here are brutal:
► President Trump has selected Stephanie Grisham, a top aide to First Lady Melania Trump, to serve as White House Press Secretary.
Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
► The Mueller Report is being turned into a star-studded dramatic stage play in New York. Because of course it is.
► Vice President Mike Pence is launching a “Latinos for Trump” campaign as part of the Trump/Pence 2020 re-election effort, though it is unclear if there are really a sizable number of “latinos” who even like Trump.
ICYMI
► Full written summaries from the shooting at a STEM school in Highlands Ranch were released last week by law enforcement officials, confirming again that a “good guy with a gun” theory is complete nonsense. From the Associated Press:
The document also revealed that a hired school security guard responding to the gunfire accidentally shot a female student. According to the record, several officers reported that the guard fired twice at a Douglas County Sheriff’s lieutenant.
The guard said he saw “a muzzle” come around a corner. The record said one of the guard’s shots wounded a female student inside a classroom.
“Bullets Both Ways” just gets more people shot.
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The Trump Sad!-ministration is naming Stephanie Grisham to be Press Secretary — and Director of Communications. Melania Trump's tweet announcing the move says "Excited to have Stephanie working for both sides of the @WhiteHouse." — so I wonder if she will continue to have responsibilities in the Office of the First Lady, too.
Short version — in the 90 years of a White House Press Secretary and the 50+ of a Director of Communication, I can't think of a time when someone did both jobs. Ron Nessen, who was Press Secretary for Pres. Ford, has written "And the problem is that the communications director’s job ought to combine all the things that the Press Secretary does…. One person can’t do those two jobs and it should be one person.”
It's not like the job entails many duties — sort of like the White House fact checker.
Debate watch parties coming up:
Denver Press Club – Wednesday, $8 for non-members, free for members. I am nostalgic about the DPC – Dad used to take us there as a treat. I associate it with Shirley Temple drinks.
There's a Bernie debate watch party.
There's a Warren debate watch party.
I'll probably go to either the Press club or the Warren party. If you know me, message me and we can meet up.
Now that former Mayor Wellington Webb has jumped into the battle to save Park Hill Golf Course, it's looking less likely to me that Westside Investment Partners is serious. Stalking horse to get Arcis to raise their bid? PR stunt to gain brownie points?
Nothing stops Clayton Trust from selling, but with Arcis still having first right of refusal, they can match any offer Westside puts on the table. Maybe that's why there is no dollar amount announced, even though they were sure of the July 11th closing date.
If and until Arcis decides to step aside, there cannot be a sale to anyone but Arcis. And if they do walk away (with a tidy settlement), Westside must have some extremely powerful backers confident they can get Mayor Hancock and enough of the council to defuse the nuclear bomb of the conservation easement, not to mention ignore the open space classification in the new Blueprint Denver guiding document in the inevitable zoning battle to follow.