President (To Win Colorado) See Full Big Line

(D) Kamala Harris

(R) Donald Trump

80%↑

20%

CO-01 (Denver) See Full Big Line

(D) Diana DeGette*

(R) V. Archuleta

98%

2%

CO-02 (Boulder-ish) See Full Big Line

(D) Joe Neguse*

(R) Marshall Dawson

95%

5%

CO-03 (West & Southern CO) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Hurd

(D) Adam Frisch

52%↑

48%

CO-04 (Northeast-ish Colorado) See Full Big Line

(R) Lauren Boebert

(D) Trisha Calvarese

90%

10%

CO-05 (Colorado Springs) See Full Big Line

(R) Jeff Crank

(D) River Gassen

80%

20%

CO-06 (Aurora) See Full Big Line

(D) Jason Crow*

(R) John Fabbricatore

90%

10%

CO-07 (Jefferson County) See Full Big Line

(D) B. Pettersen

(R) Sergei Matveyuk

90%

10%

CO-08 (Northern Colo.) See Full Big Line

(D) Yadira Caraveo

(R) Gabe Evans

52%↑

48%↓

State Senate Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

80%

20%

State House Majority See Full Big Line

DEMOCRATS

REPUBLICANS

95%

5%

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
August 02, 2005 08:00 AM UTC

Two Million Dollars for C&D

  • 59 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

We’ll concede that this might help explain the Colorado Democratic Party’s paltry fundraising numbers.

Supporters of November’s budget-reform measures pulled in $1 million in campaign contributions last month, eight times the total raised so far by opponents.

The big money, which brings to more than $2 million the total raised by the proponents since April, is in line with predictions that the ballot fight could be one of the costliest in Colorado history.

With the GOP gubernatorial candidates competing with each other for opportunities to bash C&D, think twice before concluding that there isn’t long-term Dem strategy guiding this money.

Bill Owens, Bruce Benson, and Katy Atkinson won’t like hearing that.

Tweet
Share

Comments

59 thoughts on “Two Million Dollars for C&D”

  2. What is the long-term Dem strategy again?  Not to bankrupt our state.  Maybe the Dems are trying to do what is right for our state.  There is a novel concept.  While the GOP wants to stand around and point fingers the Dems are doing what is necessary to move our state forward.

  4. The right sized government moves our state forward.

    There is such a thing as “too small”, and we’ve reached it.  Recent moves by the Community and State College system have reaped significant savings, but only 1/10th of next year’s projected shortfall.  We simply cannot fund state education, transportation, and healthcare needs on the limited budget the recession and TABOR have stuck us in, and the voters have already spoken that they think previous cuts have gone too far in education.

  6. I’m so sick of that line JeffcoGOP.  Passing Ref. C and D isn’t about getting a bigger government.  What it is about is a right sized government that provides basic services into the future like higher education for our kids, a police and fire pension, affordable health care for the poor, and better roads for our state.  Look for yourself.

    All of you “this will make the government huge people” should back up your argument with facts instead of empty claims.  You should point to the “frivilous programs” you frequently cite and actually debate the issue instead of using empty logic to scare voters.

  7. Some in the GOP are all for big government when it is being handed out to their crony friends but ask them to give a dime to help fund colleges so the next generation can enjoy the American dream and they go whinny on us.

  8. Nothing in C or D increases the size of government.

    These two proposals are designed so we can pay for the government we already have. I would also point out that Colorado already has one of the leanest state governments in the nation.

  9. It’s dishonest to repeat the Post’s lie that the Yes on C & D campaign brought in “eight times the total raised by opponents.”  That can only be true if you ignore all the spending by John Caldara’s Independence Institute.

    Caldara has refused to legally register as a state-level issue committee, but every misleading “tax hike” ad you’ve heard on the radio or seen in print to date has been paid for by that group, which clearly has more money than the C & D campaign could hope for.

    How the Independence Institute’s massive ad buys, bumper stickers, and anti-C & D print materials don’t constitute issue advocacy will be a question for our courts to decide soon.  In the meantime, please don’t parrot such distortions as trying to make the Yes on C & D campaign seem rich compared to the real money men on the other side.

  10. I personally favor a big corporate run government that is also religiously friendly and picks on subversive groups as their scapegoats for all the problems in society.  Sound Familiar?

  11. I have tried to bring up the legality of John Caldara’s Independence Institute to this website several times with no success.

    Not only are they braking the law they are also doing the bidding for Washington lobbist Grover Norquist.

    Either way you slice it the Independence Institute isn’t looking out for Colorado.

  12. Instead of the democrats having the nuts to actaully CUT spending where we need it, they have the brilliant idea of hey lets just ask the taxpayers to foot a larger bill, that way we won’t have to cut anything.

    In the dem’s defense, the GOP didn’t do anyting either with this budget problem. 

    BOTH parties have failed us on this issue, and passing it off to let the citizens decide is just as dumb.  Hey I’m a state rep, will you do my job for me?

    Before you go flaming me, I’m GOP and I’ll be voting in favor of C & D.

  13. Until the Independence Institute, or any other group says “vote for” or “vote against”, they don’t have to disclose their donors.

  16. The only side using scare tactics in this race are those proposing that we need to keep people’s hard earned money (aka Tax Increase) in order to provide the most basic of government services, which by the way should not include health care.  Colorado Government should take a cue from my family or any other family in this state who knows that when you don’t have enough money, you start cutting the fat out of your budget until you get back on track.

  18. Use the money that purchases dildos to pave roads. When that runs out, cut from other pieces of the pie to pave roads.

    Prioritize is my solution. Recognize how much money there is and then spend it on goods and services that are needed i.e. roads. As long as people argue that the dildos didn’t cost that much we keep spending money on things like dildos.

    If the taxpayers want to self impose a tax increase so the state can buy dildos and the like, fine. But I think we could save some money on dildos with competitive bidding.

  20. common curse – actually because the Independence Institute is tax exempt they do have to disclose donors.  And even if your premise was true then what exactly do you II is doing?  Educational campaign…oh please.

  21. never seen so many republicans so interested in dildos.

    yeah, my mom’s senior center, tat they want to close due to budget cuts? a dildo.

    massive tuition increases because the state keeps cutting higher ed funding? dildo. my kid’s delapidated middle school with intermittent heat? a dildo.

    mile-long line at your county clerk due to staffing cuts? check out this dildo.

    new facilities for the criminally insane, desperately needed? dildo.

    i think the REAL dildo here is Jon “right up yer ass” Caldara…

  22. I might be willing to vote for Ref C…

    IF the state legislature would take a good long look at the state budget each year and make the determination if we have enough money to pay for all the programs that we currently have, and if we don’t, then the directive would have to be to not discuss new spending issues or pet programs until such time that we have leftover money in the budget.

    Until that happens, I can’t say that I have faith in the state legislature to not overspend and have to go back to the voters for additional funds.

    Additionally, I can’t see anything in the Ref C and D that is more than a short term fix to the budgetary problem.  The simple fact is taht if there is a revenue shortfall, then something will always have to be cut.  Until spending is less than the revenue, and we can have a cusion to fall back on in the lean years, we will continue to have this problem.

  23. I believe the II is breaking the campaign finance laws regarding C&D.  Others posting here share that belief.  I don’t have the means to sue II.  When is someone going to do it?  Caldara is the classic “don’t ask permission, ask for forgivness if you get caught” kind of guy.  He’ll keep violating the law until he is told by a court to stop.

    watcher

  24. In reference to Jackson’s comments:
    That analogy, while often-times apt for governments’ budget problems, does not work for Colorado. What our state has experienced is an unprecedented drop in revenue (about 17%), which, by itself, would make an apt comparison to you family cutting out unnecessary items. Where the analogy fails is in Federally mandated increases in Medicare, and constitutionally required increases in K-12 funding (Amendment 23). So when your family’s entire budget drops drastically, yet the two biggest slices (say your car payment and mortgage) go up at the same time, you can only cut so much before you start cutting out the items that really ARE necessary.

    What Amendment C does is use a provision of TABOR to ask the taxpayers if they will allow the State to keep excess tax funds. It does not “tinker” with TABOR, and it does not, in any way, alter TABOR. In five years, when C is over and done with, TABOR will still be there, controlling governments growth. The difference is that the starting point for that growth will be higher; approximately at the same level it WOULD HAVE BEEN, sans recession.

  25. Marshall – What does the Independence Institute being a non profit have to do with disclosure?  If anything, they might have to disclose something with the IRS, but not the Secretary of State.

  26. If the state actually knew how big or small its budget is and where its money goes, then it might be able to tell us it needs more money. But the state doesn’t even know the size of its own budget or where its money goes, so how the hell would it know what it needs?

  27. Ok this is complicated.

    United Way = Charity = tax exempt status of 501(c)(3)

    Independence Institute = Think Tank/Campaign front group for Grover Norquist = tax exempt status of 501(c)(3)

    http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=browse_usc&docid=Cite:+26USC501

    Sec. 501. Exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.

    (c) List of exempt organizations

      The following organizations are referred to in subsection:

    (3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals, no part of the net
    earnings of which inures to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.

    See how that works, let me know if you need a Visio diagram

  29. yeah, don’t get non-credible here. II is allowed to spend an “insubstantial” amount (~15%) of their budget for lobbying of this kind.

    they’ve got a $600,000 budget, so they haven’t hit that limit yet (think they’ve spent $30K).

    Caldara has enough shadowy front groups to divert money into when that runs up, too. Keep it real if you want to win.

  30. Actually Ref. C is legislation that the voters directly vote upon as required by Tabor/the taxpayers? bill of rights (which incidentally is not being changed in any way shape or form) as opposed to our elected representatives that vote on the most legislation which does not require direct voter approval.  The only difference is Independence Institute is directly lobbying the voters instead of our elected representatives.  Still illegal and Independence Institute is still getting away with it.  The rule of law means nothing when Washington power brokers like Grover Norquist is involved.

  31. Since when is making “higher education” available to everyone a government function? The world needs ditch diggers too you know. Anyhoot, have you hired any of these recent “higher edumacated” kids lately? I have. It’s scary!

  32. If C&D don’t pass, the State will have to find $500 million dollars next year to balance the budget.  Federal laws and state constitutional amendments prohibit them from taking the money from big-ticket items like Medicaid and K-12 education, so where will the money come from?

    The legislature just doesn’t have much to play with — basically the higher ed, highway, corrections, and state healthcare budgets are all that are left for raiding.  Consequently, according to a letter from Governor Owens’ (R) staffers, the money will come from big cuts in highway funding, higher ed, corrections, etc.  There just aren’t enough dildos to fill the void (pun intended), so they’re going to use real money from programs that benefit all Coloradoans.  You know, like keeping criminals off the street, educating our children so that they have real economic opportunities, and maintaining bridges.

    As for the dildos, who here works for a company that never made a stupid purchasing decision?  Anybody?  I’ve been in the workforce 25 years, and I have yet to work for one.  Come to think of it, I have yet to see a household that didn’t waste money on something I thought was stupid.  Humans make mistakes, and do stupid things.  It would be supremely stupid, however, to throw in the towel and say “get rid all government institutions” because of a handful of minor mistakes.  These mistakes didn’t cause this shortfall.

    Colorado’s population is growing quickly, and all of these new people need roads to get to work, police to keep them safe, jails to confine them when they screw up, and schools to educate them so that we don’t become a third rate economic power.  All of these new Coloradoans pay taxes which could be used to pay for the services they consume, but TABOR won’t allow it.  Instead, the state government must find ways to spread a limited amount of money amongst a larger and larger population.  Something has to give.

  33. In addition to the money spent already on advertising for Ref C&D, how much has Caldera’s group spent on actual lobbying during the Lege session?

    In fact, what does Caldera do with $600,000 if so little of it has gone to advertisement so far?  I can’t believe the activities of so focused a group as the Independence Institute go to anything other than influencing legislation (the budget, Referenda, Initiatives…).

  34. Wouldn’t it be better if the “NO it’s YOUR Dough” campaign received many, many smaller contributions – from those who will vote “NO” than a few “BIG” contributions from a few..??..
      If you like the traffic, congestion, etc – just wait until the “select few” – spend YOUR money!

  35. It’s time to challenge the un-funded mandates at the federal level. It’s a harder battle but if it doesn’t start now it will continue to suck the life out of the state budgets. A major stumbling block is that many in the crowd believe government should be in every aspect of our lives. Cha Ching!

  36. and Jon Caldara’s group raised $100,000 from only 1 donation.  ONE GUY.  And still Lynn Bartels quotes Caldara every single day in her article.  Why?  This guy represents one rich Republican.  He is in the MINORITY of the MINORITY GOP and is AGAINST the Governor.

    Bartels needs to stop talking to him.  Ref C & D will pass.  Just like the Jail did.

  37. I don’t think any of the Pro C & D crowd gets it. I work in an industry that got hit hard by the 911 recession. I took a 20% decrease in earnings in 2002 and didn’t get back to my 2001 income level until last year. Did I go bankrupt? Loose all my friends? Did my kids starve? No. My wife and I just didn’t go out as much and we missed a bunch of movies. I leared how to fix things around the house, the kids developed an affinity for mac n cheese and our vacations were spent here in CO on the cheap.
    I’m going to vote against C & D because the legislature can’t be bothered to do the same thing my family did. Instead we get a legislative session devoted to nannie state laws needing new cash to monitor and enforce.
    I’d rather keep the money TABOR would give back because I had to tough out the lean times by myself. A lot of us did. And for those of us who actually work in this economy, instead of feeding off of it, things are getting better. Romie and Fitzie can have my cash next April, like they always do.
    Then, in two years they can crow about the big surplus the working populace of Colorado earned for them. Like they always do.

  38. Well said Taxpayer.  When you take in less money, you spend less money, and you prioritze that spending.  It’s true that the GOP controlled house didn’t do much in that direction, but using that as an excuse to start shaking down Colorado families is just wrong. 

    Besides, “essential services” is a label being thrown around a little too easily these days.  A capuccino machine in the teachers lounge doesn’t qualify as essential in my book, and it certainly doesn’t help educate any kids.  Maybe we should stop and ask ourselves if education is really a matter of the monetary value we put on education, or a matter of the societal value that we put on it.  I bet we could better educate kids by having more involved parents, and a better reward system for students who make the grade, then pretending that paying our administrators more money is going to make any third grader a stronger reader.

  39. Well Said CoTaxPayer!!!

    Until they stop adding in new spending requirements when we don’t have enough to pay for the ones we already have, then I will say thank you and keep my money.

    I don’t see where ref c and d address anything on the spending side, so it appears to me that this will only be a “fix” for the next 5 years or so.

    Simple math:
    Revenue – Spending = 0 is OK
    Revenue – Spending > 0 even better
    Revenue – Spending Well Said CoTaxPayer!!!

    Until they stop adding in new spending requirements when we don’t have enough to pay for the ones we already have, then I will say thank you and keep my money.

    I don’t see where ref c and d address anything on the spending side, so it appears to me that this will only be a “fix” for the next 5 years or so.

    Simple math:
    Revenue – Spending = 0 is OK
    Revenue – Spending > 0 even better
    Revenue – Spending

  40. Response to post from Chris Beatty.

    I agree that I would have preferred the budget issue be handles in the legislature also. That IS what we send there for.

    However, because the of the provisions of the TABOR amendment, and solution to the budget problem has to be voted on. This is one of the fundamental concerns I had over TABOR back in 92. When a measure like this is put into the Constitution vs. the statutes, it requires another vote of the poeple to do anything about it. As much as we may want our legislature to handle it, they simply are not permitted.

  41. CoTaxPayer:
    Very well put, but once again, I think you are oversimplifying the issue. The government HAS made extensive cuts to nearly every area of the budget, excepting K-12 and Medicare. In the same way that your family has done, the state has trimmed a lot of fat. I’m all about small, unobtrusive government, but I still believe that government serves a purpose in providing things like roads, prisons, and public education.

    There’s no question that I’m against the “spirit” of C&D; that is, more government spending. However, given the current state of affairs, I very much prefer C&D to criminals walking the streets and un-drivable roads. Referendum C is an “evil” to conservatives, to be sure. But given the irremovable increases in certain parts of the budget, it is an unfortunately necessary evil.

    YoungRep:
    C is not a temporary fix because it resets the revenue base on which the TABOR formula is based. It keeps TABOR alive and well while allowing Colorado to reach the spending base which it would have been at had 9/11 not occurred.

  42. Galo,
    Unfortunately C doesn’t appear to have an impact on the ratcheting effect, which in the case of a new economic downturn would put us in the same position as today.  In that case it seems only a temporary “fix” to me.

    A perfect fix would be something along the lines of:

    1. Get Spending under control (ie no new pet projects until all of the other things are paid for)
    2. Fix the TABOR ratchet
    3. Fix the problems with Amendment 23.
    4. Eliminate Spending provisions from new ballot issues.

    Just my simple minded thoughts

  43. One other thought….

    I have a hard time believing that 9/11 caused more issues in the economy in Colorado than the bursting of the internet bubble and the proliferation of Telecommunications companies in Colorado.

  44. CoTaxPayer: Your family also had savings that you could fall back upon in hard times an exercise in fiscal responsibility that isn’t allotted to our government because Bruce is obsessed with starving our government to death.

    Republicans had control of legislator for how many years and they didn’t address any of these issues you bring up.  They just continue to point fingers and we hae zero accountability for the situation our state is in.

    Something that is also different from CoTaxPayer example is that as some point your company invested for the future, money spent now for future returns.  Well if C and D does not pass you can kiss Colorado higher education system goodbye.  The investment that we make in the next generation will be another one of those evil government expenses that we will no longer have to worry about.  I am sure your loving kids will pat you on the back and thank you for not investing the FUTURE of our country and ensuring the future generation get to enjoy the American Dream.

    The whinniest generation could care less if the next generation get to enjoy the same  opportunities given to them.

  45. Well if we swallow Ref C for the sake of “Higher Education”, then will you people quit trying to give in-state tuition to every illegal immigrant?

    Talk about a waste of tax dollars, funding additional education for someone who snuck into this country.

    And before someone flips out not to punish the child for the acts of their families, answer me this.

    At what age can you do the following 2 things:
    1. Register for Selective Service?
    2. Apply for a Citizenship if you are not a citizen?

    and:
    What is the average age of most Freshamn College students?

    If you can’t be bothered to Register for Selective Service and Apply to be a Citizen, then obviously you have no long term benefit to this nation and are not worthy of my tax dollars.

  46. Wow good job changing the topic, that is what Republicans did for years before the voters got sick of the sandbagging and kick them out to give the Democrats a try at solving the budget problems in our state.

    Why don’t you try blaming the gays, that seems to be a Republican favorite when they don’t have an argument.

  48. Yes, when times are tight the family trims the budget and goes without.  But when times get better, most families go back and take care of the things that had to put off (that new roof, the trip across country to visit aging relatives).  That is the point of C&D:  the state is taking in a little more money now and needs to use some of it to take care of things that have by necessity been neglected.  This is called responsible government.  It is just plain silly to claim that I can manage my money better than the government can when what is needed is repairs to the roads I drive on or the roof in a rural school.  These are things that I value and cannot address as an individual.  You can call me a values voter.

  49. Amendment 23 is not a “problem” – it’s a solution.  It’s a solution to all the years where the Republicans neglected public school funding and paid out the rest of their TABOR-alloted funds, sinking our school system from 2nd-highest funding to 49th (now back up and holding at 34th).  And it’s a solution approved by the voters, who are convenient to point to when they agree with you, and convenient to ignore when they don’t – and I mean that of all sides.

  50. Phoenix,
    Show me one documented case where throwing more money at education is a solution to poor education.

    The truth is that unless parents get more involved, more money doesn’t make a difference.  While we are at it, explain why more money goes to schools and we always hear more about budget cuts in schools.  Is it that more money to schools does not equate to more money in classrooms?

  52. maybe the colorado GOP needs to get behind C and D instead of continued party splitting.  why is it that the vast majority of our state legislature supports it but the boneheads at GOP central can’t get it?

    I am calling on the republican machinery to get a clue and support c and d!!

    Darrin Coe
    Chair HD 60 republican central committee

  53. Money is never *the* solution, but when you’re ranked second-last in the nation, you’re behind some pretty pathetic states in the education game and you need to re-consider…  I agree with you – we need to get parents more involved, and we need to continually evaluate the state of the art in teaching.  But without the cash, it doesn’t matter how good the system is.

    There was a rant/post (I think it was here) the other day.  I’ll paraphrase…

    If you know a teacher:
    * ask them how much of their own money they spend on supplies.
    * ask them how many hours they work at home every night after they’re done at the school.
    * ask them how much time they spend going to training to keep their skills up to date.
    * Now ask them how much they get paid.

    TABOR was in fact approved by voters; Amendment 23 was approved by voters to direct the Lege to spend more cash from their limited TABOR pot; and Referenda C&D will be passed because voters can see that the State genuinely needs this money to provide the basic services they want from their government.

    PS – thank you, Darrin.

  54. Darrin,
    The vast majority of the state legislature supports the proposed tax increase because they want to spend it. I don’t know of anybody that doesn’t want to spend mo money.

    Phoenix- right again, money is not the solution. Vouchers are.

  55. Yes on C but no on D.

    Why must we spend another $1.3 billion on roads?  What about public transportation?  If we are all looking for ways to cut government spending, and claiming that we are able to tighten belts in our own families’ budgets, why are we still out buying SUVs that get horrible gas milage and do the most damage to the roads.  Maybe if people didn’t always have endless miles of pothole-less roads to drive on, they would be more interested in looking to public transport as an alternative.  I understand that the bus or light rail isn’t as cool as a new SUV, but it certainly is more community friendly.

  56. I think the Independence Institute is violating both its 501(c)(3) exemption AND the Colorado Fair Campaign Practices Act by sending out blatantly anti-C&D bumper stickers like the one I got in the mail yesterday and by refusing to disclose the donors for its anti-C&D campaign.

    There are good, principled reasons for voting against C&D, but Caldara and his backers like Grover Norquist and Marc Holtzman’s rich daddy focus on stuff like dildos and lesbian sheep – and now, even worse, race-baiting “your money will go to illegal immigrants” tactics. How morally and intellectually bankrupt can you get?

    The Independence Institute has every right to oppose C&D, but not without paying taxes like the rest of us, and not without disclosing its list of donors. It’s ironic how on the one hand they trumpet their anti-government fervor, yet on the other hand they go running to hide under the skirts of government and their precious 501(c)(3) exemption while doing so.

    Caldara is an unprincipled hypocrite, as is his ally Tom Tancredo: that supposedly anti-Washington “common man” who broke his term limits pledge so that he could keep feeding off the taxpayers’ trough in Congress forever. God, I wish there were more principled conservatives out there like Bob Shaffer (who kept his own term limits pledge), Hank Brown, Bill Armstrong and Joel Hefley, instead of these neo-con, chicken-hawk hucksters like Caldara and Tancredo.

    Until the Independence Institute releases its donor list, the public has every right to assume that it’s not really “Independent” at all, but is instead cravenly beholden to and bankrolled by a small handful of fatcats like Grover Norquist and Marc Holtzman’s dad – and worse, to judge from its latest desperate, shameful, race-baiting pandering, by far-right hate groups akin to the Klan.

    Prove the rumors wrong, Independence Institute: comply with the spirit and letter of the law and release your donor list – unless you really do have something ugly to hide.

  60. Did Boebert Know About Colorado Clerk’s Criminal Plan Beforehand?
    by: Heidi Beedle 10/10/2024
  61. Colorado GOP Peeing Its Collective Pants Over Trump Visit
    by: Colorado Pols 10/08/2024
  62. Trump Calls His Own Bluff On Aurora
    by: Colorado Pols 10/08/2024
    63. SEE MORE

    Posts about

    Rep. Lauren Boebert
    SEE MORE

    Posts about

    Rep. Yadira Caraveo
    SEE MORE

    Posts about

    Colorado House
    SEE MORE

    Posts about

    Colorado Senate
    SEE MORE

    62 readers online now

Newsletter

Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!