February 08, 2022 10:50 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Tuesday (Feb. 8)

• 2 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Thursday is the NBA trade deadline; cross your fingers that you don’t end up in Cleveland. 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 

► Several states are rolling back mask mandates as COVID-19 cases decline. From The New York Times:

Several Democratic governors announced plans on Monday to roll back mask mandates for schools and indoor public spaces, citing a drop in recent coronavirus infections and highlighting how even local officials who installed sweeping safety measures early in the pandemic are now preparing to live permanently with the virus.

“This is not a declaration of victory as much as an acknowledgment that we can responsibly live with this thing,” Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, a Democrat who imposed some of the nation’s toughest pandemic-related mandates, said on Monday. Under Mr. Murphy’s new policy, which will take effect the second week of March, students and school employees in the state will no longer be required to wear masks…

…Shortly after the New Jersey announcement, the Democratic leaders in California, Connecticut, Delaware and Oregon separately said they would also end some mask mandates.

New York State, meanwhile, is keeping its mandates in place for now.

Here in Colorado, COVID-19 cases are leveling out, though deaths are still rising. From The Denver Post:

Colorado’s COVID-19 numbers are no longer unprecedented, but they’re still high enough that it’s wise to keep masks handy for a while, a member of the state’s modeling team said Monday.

The state reported 21,268 new cases in the week ending Sunday — near the high point of the fall 2021 surge driven by the virus’s delta variant. At the worst point of the current omicron-fueled wave, in early January, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported more than 90,000 cases in a single week.

COVID-19 deaths continued to increase, however, approaching levels seen at the peak of the delta wave in November. So far, the state has reported 258 deaths from COVID-19 in the third week of January, and that number could increase as late reports come in.

► Republican gubernatorial hopeful Hiedi Heidi Ganahl can’t seem to do anything right as she helms what is likely the worst statewide campaign in the country in 2022. 

► If you missed the Republican Senate debate in Weld County last Thursday, we’ve got you covered with another “Debate Diary.”

► The Colorado Sun’s “Unaffiliated” newsletter looks at the political dominoes at the State Capitol following the resignation of Senate President Leroy Garcia, who is leaving to take a new job at the Pentagon:

Senate Democrats will meet just after 8 a.m. Wednesday to select Garcia’s successor. His resignation is effective Feb. 23.

The departure has left a power vacuum in the Senate, with several Democratic senators vying to be president, including Senate President Pro Tem Kerry Donovan, a Vail Democrat who has launched a social media campaign as part of her bid. It appears, however, that Senate Majority Leader Steve Fenberg, a Boulder Democrat and ally of Gov. Jared Polis, has enough support to cruise into the job.

Sen. Dominick Moreno, a Commerce City Democrat and the vice chair of the Joint Budget Committee, seems like Fenberg’s heir apparent. Moreno initially appeared to be wavering about his interest in the position, but said Monday that he will run to be selected by his colleagues to be one of the four most powerful lawmakers in the Capitol.

Since Moreno sits on the Joint Budget Committee, there will be a race to replace him on the powerful panel. Interested are Democratic Sens. Rachel Zenzinger, Julie Gonzales, Jeff Bridges and Robert Rodriguez.

► The Mesa County School Board appears to be following the lead of the Douglas County School Board in trying to oust the district superintendent. In Douglas County, meanwhile, students are walking out in protest of last week’s firing of Superintendent Corey Wise; a lawsuit has also been filed alleging that Douglas County violated open meetings laws before deciding to fire Wise.

Click below to keep learning things…

Check Out All This Other Stuff To Know…

► Senator Michael Bennet (D-Denver) is making a renewed push to designate the Amache National Historic Site as an official part of the National Park System.

► For $11,600, you can get your photo taken with former President Donald Trump at a Mar-a-lago fundraiser for Republican Rep. Lauren “Q*Bert” Boebert on Feb. 17.

► Last Friday, the Republican National Committee voted to officially disown Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for the crime of not being enthusiastic about the Jan. 6 insurrection. The RNC meeting went on to basically declare the insurrection as a legitimate political discourse. Colorado Republican Party Chair Kristi Burton Brown appeared on right-wing radio in Colorado on Saturday to declare that the RNC event in Salt Lake City was a “great meeting.” 

► If you’ve ever thought to yourself, Lauren Boebert sure reminds me of Jesus, then you’re not alone! Boebert thinks so, too! 

“I believe as a Christian, that frustration we feel on the inside of us sometimes is really just God’s motivation to send us to where we need to be part of the solution,” Boebert said on a recent appearance on Newsmax where she talked with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), another Republican with a reputation for callousness.

Huckabee responded that she is “not afraid to speak openly about your faith and how it defines you.” he said she’s “not timid” but then asked what she thinks about unnamed people who “sometimes are wanting you to say just tone it down a little bit.”

“You know, I think people would love if I would tone it down,” Boebert replied. “But, you know, we had our Lord Jesus certainly didn’t tone it down for anyone. We had the Apostles who carried this message of the Gospel and even the leaders in their days, they said, you know, it’s fine, you can pray but just don’t do it in the name of Jesus.”

“And now here we are in another cycle of cancel culture, but this is nothing new,” she remarked. “Cancel culture has been around since the beginning of time. Cain canceled Abel. We had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that were thrown into the fiery furnace. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to cancel them but there stood another in the midst of them and He was the son of God.”

“And then they tried to cancel Jesus but you can’t cancel God!”

► As The Colorado Sun notes in its “Unaffiliated” newsletter, a top contractor for the State GOP is breaking Party bylaws by also working for Rep. Lauren Boebert, but officials at the State Republican Party are shrugging it off:

The Colorado GOP’s highest-paid contractor is also working for U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s campaign.

Shana Banberger, a former executive director for the state party, earned nearly $87,000 from the Colorado GOP in 2021. And her fundraising consulting firm, MadPax, received nearly $128,000 from Boebert’s campaign and joint fundraising committee. Banberger also signed several Boebert fundraising emails last year…

…Party bylaws prohibit officers or officials from the party from taking sides in competitive primaries.

Joe Jackson, executive director of the Colorado Republican Committee, told The Sun that Banberger’s consulting role with the party doesn’t involve candidates or conflict with her work for Boebert and therefore does not violate the bylaws.

► What if the Marshall Fire in Boulder County had turned south and reached Rocky Flats? The Denver Post worries about this very scenario.

► Jefferson County Public Health Director Dawn Comstock announced her resignation on Monday. Anyone who served as a public health director during the COVID-19 pandemic deserves some R&R.

► Let’s check in on the state legislature:

Lawmakers are pushing an idea to provide free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 students in Colorado.

The state legislature is also considering a bill that would make it illegal for employers to fire employees for off-the-clock marijuana use.

And here’s a story about a bill intended to limit maximum contributions to school board candidates.

Axios Denver runs down a list of 10 “intriguing” bills under the Gold Dome.

► As Charles Ashby reports for The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the state supreme court ruled that a family leave law approved by the legislature does not violate TABOR.

► President Biden’s top science adviser is resigning after multiple reports that he was kind of a dick.

► At least you don’t live in Florida.

Say What, Now?

I’m rubber, you’re glue…

Your Daily Dose Of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

► Some Republicans are now pushing the idea that Democrats might try to overturn the 2024 election because…um…well, they’re still working on that.

► This headline from The Onion is not implausible, sadly.

ICYMI

► Oscar nominations were announced today. Winners will be announced on March 27 in a presentation that nobody will watch. 

► The Ohio Supreme Court rejected Republican gerrymandered maps for a second time.

► Absolutely, positively, do NOT miss the latest episode of The Get More Smarter Podcast, featuring an hilarious and informative interview with House Speaker Alec Garnett:

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