7 thoughts on “Friday Open Thread”

1. Outside money in Denver Mayor's race means something to me. The stuff below is from a March 7 Colorado Sun story, so numbers might be out of date by now. I think basically Brough's money is from developers and realtors, and Johnston's is from Kent Thiry and hedge funders. Don't know who's funding Herod's PAC.

   • A Better Denver has spent more than $563,000 supporting Brough. The group is running ads and also canvassing on her behalf.
   • Advancing Denver has spent $380,000 supporting Johnston.
   • Ready Denver has spent more than $122,000 supporting Herod.

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   1. Don't live in Denver so I can't vote against Brough, but I've been telling my Denver friends to avoid Brough, Johnston, and Hansen.  Though some of them had already turned thumbs down on them.  Not expecting a good outcome, though.  

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      1. Also don’t live in Denver, but finding this race interesting. I’ve pointed out polls showing large numbers of undecided respondents, and now I get it because I’m having a tough time choosing a favorite.

         I’m not pure Pollyanna when it comes to dark money, but it speaks to the expectations of the donors. No fan of Thiry, wish he’d stick to his business interests and step back politically, but also not psyched about a developer/realtor funded Brough who got the coveted Gazette endorsement.

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         1. The last thing Denver needs is a Chamber of Commerce CEO at the helm, the good old “run government like a business” types that have no comprehension that governing is harder than running a business.

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2. Business expenses and charity contributions on tax forms always make me wonder how much money Americans spend in taxes to fund other American's businesses and how many non-profits are essentially government funded. It seems like it would be a lot.

   I'm sure libertarian fiscal conservatives don't put business expense or charity contributions on their taxes cuz they are self sufficient and responsible with government spending… :rolleyes:

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   1. Virtually all non-profits with .501(c)3 tax classifications, including those supporting progressive causes, are taxpayer funded, if you look solely at the issue of tax deductions. 

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3. Somebody Explain History to Republicans from Mahablog.

   Good survey of long-term stupidity in US Foreign policy.

   I am reminded that we’re nearing the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Spencer Ackerman has a retrospective at The Nation, The Unlearned Lessons From the War in Iraq. “You’ll drive yourself crazy if you try to view US foreign policy through a lens of logical consistency rather than according to its signature mix of material interest and exceptionalist fantasy,” he writes.

   U.S. foreign policy has been more about what sells at home and what helps win elections than about what’s really best for the U.S. and the world for a long time. Consider the Republican Party. Way back when, before Pearl Harbor, U.S. conservatives were isolationists. Some of them even admired Hitler. Then after World War II they flippy-flopped to being proactive hawks ready to send troops anywhere to fight the Commies before they attacked us.

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