*Coloradans can now get a COVID-19 vaccine at one of six locations without a prior appointment.
► The Associated Press reports on landmark legislation approved by Congress to address the issue of hate crimes against Asian Americans:
Congress approved legislation Tuesday intended to curtail a striking rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, sending President Joe Biden a bipartisan denunciation of the spate of brutal attacks that have proliferated during coronavirus pandemic.
“In the midst of a deadly pandemic, our nation has witnessed a horrific rise in violent, racist attacks against Asian Americans,” said U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora in a statement. “Across Colorado and the country, our AAPI neighbors, loved ones, and friends are living in fear of being targeted with racial slurs, physical intimidation, and deadly violence. Today’s bipartisan vote sends a strong message of solidarity with the AAPI community that hate will not be tolerated.”
The measure was approved by every member of the Colorado congressional delegation except Colorado GOP Congressperson Lauren Boebert, of Rifle. [Pols emphasis]
The bill, which the House passed on a 364-62 vote, will expedite the review of hate crimes at the Justice Department and make grants available to help local law enforcement agencies improve their investigation, identification and reporting of incidents driven by bias, which often go underreported. It previously passed the Senate 94-1 in April after lawmakers reached a compromise. Biden has said he will sign it.
► University of Colorado President Mark Kennedy will get a $1.3 million compensation package for resigning from his job leading the state’s flagship university system. As The Denver Post explains:
The agreement outlining the details of Kennedy’s departure from the university presidency after two years on the job passed on an 8-1 vote, with Regent Heidi Ganahl, an at-large Republican, voting against the deal.
At the end of the virtual meeting, Kennedy wished the university system well and said he will continue to support CU.Wednesday’s special board meeting began with an hour-long private executive session followed by a motion presented by Regent Chance Hill, R-Colorado Springs, which asked the board to vote to allow Kennedy to carry out his original employment contract, which, if not renewed, would have ended in the summer of 2022.
Hill’s motion failed on a 3-6 vote with Hill, Ganahl and Sue Sharkey, R-Castle Rock, voting in favor.
Discussion around Kennedy’s departure included Republican regents arguing that CU was hostile toward conservatives. Kennedy, a former GOP congressman, was hired in 2019 on a split, party-line vote by the board, which was controlled by Republicans at the time.
No doubt $1.3 million will make a guy feel a lot better about people being mean to him. But the real treasure of this story is this unbelievably ridiculous statement from CU Regent Heidi Ganahl, who really hopes you don’t blame her for Kennedy when she runs for Governor:
Ganahl said: “I don’t think we should trouble ourselves with the illusion that Mark Kennedy’s firing was a great failing or fundamental error in leadership. Mark Kennedy is being fired for the high crime of not being a Democrat or left-wing academic to a new board majority who many days forget they serve the students of CU and not the (Democratic National Committee). In this case, their need to grind partisan axes will cost taxpayers and students millions of dollars.”
Denver7 reports on a bill we’ll call “marijuana potency 2.0.”
More political (and coronavirus) news is available right after the jump…
And Now, More Words…
► Perhaps we are living in a multiverse where there are multiple copies of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. As The Washington Post explains:
It’s six years later, and the California lawmaker is in trouble again, after declaring his opposition to bipartisan legislation, negotiated by a trusted deputy, to create a commission to look into the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“Dozens of Republicans are privately considering voting for the Jan. 6 commission — which McCarthy himself said he opposed earlier Tuesday, even after he deputized one of his allies, Rep. John Katko of New York, to strike a bipartisan agreement on the proposal,” they wrote. “In a sign of momentum, the bipartisan House Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Katko is a member, formally voted to endorse the legislation Tuesday evening..”
As Jennifer Rubin writes separately for The Washington Post, McCarthy’s recent actions have served only to prove the point put forward by Rep. Liz Cheney about the GOP’s leadership struggles.
►As The Washington Post reports, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has come out in opposition to creating a task force charged with investigating the January 6 insurrection. But according to CNN, there could be significant defections from other Republicans on creating the commission.
► As Colorado Newsline reports, Colorado’s Independent Redistricting Commission has a better understanding of the initial data that they can use for drawing new maps.
► As readers of Colorado Pols well know, Republican State Rep. Richard Holtorf has a gift for making horrible and ill-considered comments. The Colorado Times Recorder reports on the latest batch of word vomit from Holtorf at a recent meeting of the Jefferson County Republican Men’s Club.
► Remember, friends: Rep. Ken Buck (R-Greeley) is an actual attorney who practiced law for a long time. In other words, Ken Buck SHOULD understand that this is not how the First Amendment works:
My Analysis: Big tech ignored the 1st Amendment and openly censored any story anti-Biden during the 2020 election.https://t.co/MLqT6zXcWw
► The FBI is investigating hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal campaign contributions that may have found a way into the campaign coffers of Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
► This happened literally hours after John Lee announced his 2022 campaign.
► “Is our children learning?” Dana Milbank of The Washington Post worries that Republicans are intentionally trying to sabotage bipartisan efforts at strengthening school civics classwork; it’s easier to get away with breaking Democracy if fewer people understand how it is supposed to work.
► Don’t miss the latest episode of The Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an interview with Jake Williams, Executive Director of Healthier Colorado, on why you should be excited about the big health care bill moving through the state legislature:
Don’t forget to give Colorado Pols a thumbs up on Facebook and Twitter.
Yeah, socialism has no compatibility with our republic. But I’m telling you, the Democrat Socialists are moving that way. They are migrating that way. They are taking this thing incrementally in that direction, and they’re even doing it faster now.”
Technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels needs to be replaced without delay. There is reason to hope that humanity at the dawn of the 21st century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities. #LaudatoSiWeek
What kind of thinking goes into engaging in planetary sabotage?
A reminder that plenty of people have been engaged in this kind of planetary sabotage came last week in a remarkable paper by Harvard’s Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes. After analyzing nearly two hundred sources, including some internal company documents and “advertorials,” they concluded that Exxon officials had embraced a strategy “that downplays the reality and seriousness of climate change, normalizes fossil fuel lock-in, and individualizes responsibility.” And the authors found a model: “These patterns mimic the tobacco industry’s documented strategy of shifting responsibility away from corporations—which knowingly sold a deadly product while denying its harms—and onto consumers. This historical parallel foreshadows the fossil fuel industry’s use of demand-as-blame arguments to oppose litigation, regulation, and activism.” As Supran explains in a long Twitter thread about the research, “ExxonMobil tapped into America’s uniquely individualist culture and brought it to bear on climate change.”
“Boebert was the only member of Colorado’s congressional delegation to oppose the anti-hate crime legislation.” When you’re a Republican and you’re on the wrong side from Buck-pedal and Lamebrain.. Shall we change her nickname to “One-term Tootsie?”
Who'd have thunk? Hijack the message love and care from the brown-skinned immigrant who couldn't speak English, repackage him into a white, gun-totin', gay-hatin', poverty-shaming prophet of prosperity, and then wonder why half of our Millenials think it's all bs?
The study also found that overall, younger Americans are significantly more likely than the two previous generations to embrace horoscopes as a guide and Karma as a life principle, to see “getting even” with others as defensible, to accept evolution over creation, and to view owning property as fostering economic injustice.
On spiritual matters, Americans younger than 55 are far more likely to distrust the Bible and to believe God is uninvolved in people’s lives.
May 19, 2021 11:14 AM UTC
7 Comments
Here's a nice interactive map to show the level of vaccinations at the county level. My beloved Yuma County is checking in at a whopping 15%. <sigh>
At Least 30% of Rural Residents Have Completed Covid Vaccination
Richard, Richard, Richard…
If it weren’t for Democratic Socialists rural Colorado would be a barren wasteland. Where do you think Y-W Electric, headquartered in Akron, came from? The coal fairy? Who do you think passed those pesky renewable mandates that are sparking the development of billions of dollars in investment into your district? (hint: it wasn’t the boot-strappin’ Republicans).
"without delay"
It's almost as if these CEOs don't have grandchildren?? #ExxonKnew
The Particular Psychology of Destroying a Planet
What kind of thinking goes into engaging in planetary sabotage?
Insert Exxon each time they mention coal and you have it…
“Boebert was the only member of Colorado’s congressional delegation to oppose the anti-hate crime legislation.” When you’re a Republican and you’re on the wrong side from Buck-pedal and Lamebrain.. Shall we change her nickname to “One-term Tootsie?”
Who'd have thunk? Hijack the message love and care from the brown-skinned immigrant who couldn't speak English, repackage him into a white, gun-totin', gay-hatin', poverty-shaming prophet of prosperity, and then wonder why half of our Millenials think it's all bs?
43% of millennials 'don’t know, don’t care, don’t believe' God exists: study