July 20, 2021 10:26 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (July 20)

• 6 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Bucks in six? 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. 

► Holy fucking shit, Texas! As The Huffington Post reports:

In a new political low in Texas, the Republican-dominated state Senate has passed a bill to eliminate a requirement that public schools teach that the Ku Klux Klan and its white supremacist campaign of terror are “morally wrong.”

The cut is among some two dozen curriculum requirements dropped in the measure, along with studying Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the works of United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez, Susan B. Anthony’s writings about the women’s suffragist movement, and Native American history…

…Senate Bill 3 — passed last Friday 18-4 — drops most mentions of people of color and women from the state’s required curriculum.

That includes eliminating a requirement that students be taught the “history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong.”

Honestly…we don’t even know what to say anymore.

► A federal judge on Monday issued an 8-month jail sentence for Paul Hodgkins, the first person to be sentenced for a felony conviction for his part in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

► As Saja Hindi reports for The Denver Post, confusion over DACA is causing very real problems for many people in Colorado:

After a Texas federal judge’s decision late last week, thousands of Coloradans in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are facing uncertainty — again — about their legal status in the United States.

The Biden administration said it plans to appeal Friday’s ruling that requires the federal government to stop processing new applications for the DACA program, which helps immigrants whose families brought them into the U.S. as young children temporarily avoid deportation and become eligible for work permits and Social Security numbers.

The latest court ruling leaves immigration attorneys scrambling to figure out how best to help clients who planned to apply for DACA. Current DACA recipients — people like 25-year-old Estéfani Peña Figueroa, who says she feels like she’s been on a “roller coaster” since 2017 — worry what this could mean for the program long-term. And advocates say it’s past time for a permanent solution.

Peña Figueroa says that, “I don’t feel like I can plan for my future.”

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper announced that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has accepted their invitation to visit the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management in Grand Junction on Friday. The BLM is reviewing a decision from 2019 to move the agency’s HQ to Western Colorado. Colorado Public Radio has more on Friday’s visit.

Click below to keep learning stuff…

And Now, More Words…

► As Greg Sargent writes for The Washington Post, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is hoping his selections for the Jan. 6 select committee will torpedo the whole damn thing. One of his selections, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, straight up announced that he plans to sabotage the proceedings.

► Colorado Reps. Jason Crow (D-Aurora) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County) introduced a resolution on the House floor today to dedicate July 20 as “National Heroes Day.” From a press release:

July 20th is the date of the horrific shooting which took place on July 20, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. at a movie theater in which twelve lives were taken, seventy were wounded and hundreds suffered emotional trauma. The tragedy brought to light incredible heroism by the first responders and medical teams whose tireless efforts saved lives, those who carried the wounded to safety, and those who sacrificed themselves to save others – specifically Jonathan Blunk (26); John Larimer (27); Matt McQuinn (27); and Alex Teves (24) whose lives were taken while shielding others during the shooting.

The resolution was first introduced last year on July 20, 2020 and sought to also recognize the everyday heroes who came to the aid of others during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as medical professionals; law enforcement; emergency responders and the National Guard; frontline workers and essential personnel; food and grocery workers; teachers; journalists; and small business and community leaders; and thousands of individuals whose family, friends and loved ones were taken by the pandemic. As we emerge from the pandemic, this year’s resolution also recognizes those who developed and administer the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines…

…The goal of the resolution is to designate every July 20th as National Heroes Day to serve as a reminder for all of us to exhibit the same spirit of courage and service shown by everyday heroes by performing good deeds and engaging in community service or other charitable activities.

► Senator Michael Bennet (D-Denver) believes that the child tax credit program he has long championed will eventually become permanent, as The Colorado Sun explains:

Bennet said Monday that he’s confident the one-year expansion of the federal Child Tax Credit will be made permanent. But the Colorado Democrat conceded that he’s not sure when that will happen.

“The question is going to be how long will that take and how much fighting will there be,” he said during a virtual Colorado Sun event.

Payments began last week under the expansion, which was part of the American Rescue Plan, the massive coronavirus aid bill passed by congressional Democrats in March. Bennet has been pushing for the expanded credit for years and made it a key pillar of his unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign. …

…“I think over time, what you’re going to see is that Republicans in Washington are going to come around and support this,” he said. “The reason I believe it will be permanent is that it is enormously popular with American people and I think it will become even more that way. We’re going to fight very hard to get it done.”

► Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is coming to Colorado Springs in two weeks to be the featured speaker at the annual fundraising dinner for the El Paso County Republican Party. The problem for the El Paso GOP is that nobody seems to want to be seen anywhere near MTG — including State Party Chair Kristi Burton Brown.

If you can’t wait for this shitshow to take place, head to Grand Junction this weekend, where Rep. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert is bringing Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan to town to raise money for the Grand Junction Republican Party.

► The Denver Post reports on how the City of Denver plans to use its share of money from the American Rescue Plan.

The Colorado Sun, meanwhile, has more on how the State of Colorado will use ARP funding to improve services for the disabled.

► Colorado will soon become the first state in the country to require base standards for Internet accessibility.

► Guess which industry spent the most money lobbying state lawmakers in 2021? Big Pharma!

► Chris Cillizza of CNN explains why Democrats should actually be feeling pretty good about their chances of maintaining control of the U.S. Senate in 2022.

► State Rep. Dylan Roberts announced that he will seek the State Senate seat being vacated by the term-limited Kerry Donovan.

► Fox 31 Denver reports on a new study that finds — unsurprisingly — that political anger is contagious. Wearing a mask probably won’t protect you.

► POLITICO reports on the race to finish an infrastructure bill in the U.S. Senate:

The Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure negotiators are hustling to finish their bill even as hope for a breakthrough dims ahead of an Wednesday test vote that’s likely to fail.

The bipartisan group is slated to meet Tuesday afternoon, after a two-hour Zoom session Monday night with the White House. Though participants reported progress on that call, some in the group privately say the talks are likely to drag into next week given the size and scale of both the potential bill — with nearly $600 billion new spending — as well as disagreements over how to pay for it.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has set up a Wednesday vote to advance the bill, but GOP leaders signaled Monday evening that Republicans wouldn’t support even beginning debate on legislation that remains unwritten. Schumer insisted on Tuesday it is “not a fish or cut bait moment,” but added that the Senate needed to start the process this week in order to finish the legislation before the August recess.

► Meg Wingerter of The Denver Post has the latest on COVID-19 hospitalizations in Colorado. 

► As Denver7 reports, Front Range school districts are still undecided on whether to require students to wear masks in classrooms. A leading pediatrics group is recommending that students nationwide continue to wear masks.

► 9News examines why the air quality sucks in the Denver Metro Area.

► Another rich dude went to space and came back.

Say What, Now?

Congressman Ken Buck (R-Greeley) reaffirms his belief that facts are dumb:

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► The chairperson of the Florida Republican Party, Joe Gruters, is under investigation for alleged sexual harassment.

► Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene got another 12-hour suspension from Twitter for promoting anti-vaxx nonsense.

ICYMI

► Congressperson Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert (R-ifle) gets fact-checked into oblivion once again.

► This week on The Get More Smarter Podcast, we examine the alternate reality that Republicans are trying to establish ahead of the 2022 election cycle:

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