March 05, 2015 11:18 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Thursday (March 5)

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• by: Colorado Pols

Did you give up $4 million in salary this week? It's time to Get More Smarter with Colorado Pols. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here's a good example).

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce announced its opposition to so-called "Right to Discriminate" legislation being pushed by Colorado Republicans. This will put a dent in the GOP argument that businesses should be allowed to discriminate for financial reasons.

► As the Colorado legislature nears halftime, 9News reporter Brandon Rittiman takes a look at what to expect in the coming months. Colorado Senate Democrats talked up their mid-session accomplishments yesterday. “We said we would fight for middle class families, and that is what we have done," said Senate Democratic Leader Morgan Carroll. "While we have had several partisan defeats, we are not deterred."

Get even more smarter after the jump…

SHOULD YOU FIND YOURSELF STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner both voted in favor of overturning President Obama's veto of the Keystone Pipeline. The Senate still didn't have the votes to override the veto, however.

► Aurora Sentinel editor Dave Perry explains why nobody should have the right to scare the hell out of everyone else.

► Hey, that sounds just like Congress! Colorado House Democrats had to be the grownups in the room, again, when Republicans in the state legislature used the budget process for public safety spending to block stuff they couldn't defeat through legislation. Colorado Republicans are apparently not paying attention to how well this went over in Washington D.C.

► Republicans on the Joint Budget Committee led the way in rejecting Gov. Hickenlooper's request to add $30 million to a college scholarship fund.

► Colorado legislators spent a good deal of time on Wednesday debating the meaning of various words while discussing a ban on "Palcohol," or powdered alcohol.

► New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was not high himself when he suggested that Colorado's marijuana legalization is the cause of a small rise in violence in New York City.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Aurora is the only city in Colorado with its own informal oil and gas committee. The more you know, you know?

► Colorado is eligible to compete in a federal grant program worth $1 billion, says Gov. John Hickenlooper. No, we are not allowed to seek a grant to give Peyton Manning more money.

► Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, facing an April runoff election against a guy named Jesus (really) admits that he might be a little brash at times.

► Prison makes you gay, says a guy who will probably run for the Republican nomination for President.

ICYMI

► Does Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg have to pee in a cup before he gets his federal handout?

► Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Jefferson County) is pushing an amendment to evaluate the effectiveness of train horns, or something. From a press release:

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (CO-07) successfully authored an amendment to H.R. 749, the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Federal Railroad Administration's (FRA) 2005 rule on the use of locomotive horns at rail crossings.

“It's time to update and modernize train horn regulations to allow flexibility for new technologies and innovations,” said Rep. Perlmutter.  “Establishing a Quiet Zone can take years of work and cost millions of dollars delaying important safety investments in our communities.”

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