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December 14, 2016 09:48 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Wednesday (December 14)

  • 18 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Canada has lost a great thespian; RIP Alan Thicke. 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). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

 

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► A judge ruled against a request by some Colorado electoral college representatives that might have allowed them to cast votes for someone other than Hillary Clinton, who captured Colorado’s nine electoral votes in November. As John Frank reports for the Denver Post:

Colorado presidential electors who do not vote for Hillary Clinton as the winner of the state’s vote risk criminal charges after a Denver judge delivered the second setback in two days to an effort to block Donald Trump from winning the presidency.

Denver District Judge Elizabeth Starrs ruled that state law requires members of the Electoral College, when the body meets at noon Monday, to vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates who received the most votes in Colorado.

The order also granted authority to the Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, to replace electors who violate the law — essentially ending Colorado’s role in the “Hamilton Electors” movementto keep Trump from the White House.

Two of Colorado’s electors have filed an appeal to the federal judge’s ruling.

 

► President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he has selected ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to serve as Secretary of State. Tillerson’s nomination could face a stiff challenge from the U.S. Senate, where Republicans such as John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Marco Rubio have all expressed serious concerns about Tillerson’s close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) will get an early crack at making a decision on Tillerson; as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gardner will vote on Tillerson’s nomination before he is considered by the full Senate. It is expected, however, that Gardner will just do whatever the oil and gas industry tells him to do.

 

► Donald Trump’s choice for National Security Advisor has been less than secure about handling classified information. As the Washington Post reports:

A secret U.S. military investigation in 2010 determined that Michael T. Flynn, the retired Army general tapped to serve as national security adviser in the Trump White House, “inappropriately shared” classified information with foreign military officers in Afghanistan, newly released documents show.

Although Flynn lacked authorization to share the classified material, he was not disciplined or reprimanded after the investigation concluded that he did not act “knowingly” and that “there was no actual or potential damage to national security as a result,” according to Army records obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act.

Well, that’s awesome. In the meantime, perhaps somebody in the Trump administration could convince the President-elect to actually listen to security briefings at some point.

 

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► President-elect Donald Trump has made a LOT of promises. The Washington Post takes a look at five specific promises from Trump that have still not materialized: 1) Holding a press conference, 2) Making his tax returns public, 3) Details about Melania Trump’s immigration to the United States, 4) Lawsuits against women who accused him of sexual assault, and 5) Explaining his “plan” to defeat ISIS.

On the last item on that list, Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, has said the following: “He certainly has a plan. I’ve heard it.”

Donald Trump’s Twitter Account, which may or may not be making autonomous decisions about the fate of the free world, insists that Trump is definitely going to do some of these things he promised to do at some point.

 

► The editorial board of the Denver Post doesn’t mince words in making its case for Congress to thoroughly investigate concerns about Russian interference in the 2016 elections:

What an extraordinary time for our nation that there would even be a debate over whether Congress should investigate allegations that another nation attempted to influence our presidential election.

After months of warnings from President Barack Obama and the nation’s top spies that Russia sought to make a mess of things, we learn that CIA officials believe that Russian-backed hackers worked to help push Donald Trump to his surprise victory over Hillary Clinton. Perhaps predictably, President-elect Trump says that’s all bunk and that further investigation would be a waste of time. For added measure, the blustery New York billionaire dismissed America’s premiere intelligence agents as hacks in their own right, and politically motivated bumblers at that.

Either way, shouldn’t Americans be granted the opportunity to learn the truth?

Elsewhere, former Independent Presidential candidate Evan McMullin insists that Republican Members of Congress knew all about Russia’s efforts to interfere with our elections but chose to do nothing about the problem. As the Washington Post reports, Russia’s success at interfering in U.S. elections was due in part to institutional failures regarding online security.

 

► Hate speech crimes continue to be a problem in places such as Aurora, where residents have reported at least nine “biased-related crimes” since the election. Police officers are increasing patrols in local areas as a result.

 

► President-elect Trump has selected former Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve as Energy Secretary, which is odd considering that Perry has twice run for President pledging to eliminate the Department of Energy.

 

► A ceasefire collapsed in Syria, putting more than 50,000 civilians in Aleppo at serious risk. Syrian-Americans in Colorado are pleading with the federal government to do more to prevent a wholesale slaughter in Aleppo.

 

► As the Longmont Times-Call reports, Longmont’s city council approved a “non-bullying, anti-fear resolution” on Tuesday despite opposition to the measure.

 

► President Obama signed the “21st Century Cures Act,” legislation co-sponsored by Denver Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Denver) intended to “modernize” biomedical research.

 

► Repealing Obamacare could increase the number of uninsured in Colorado to more than 588,000, according to a new study. That number is more than the entire population of Jefferson County.

 

► All is not well inside Donald Trump’s transition team. As Politico reports:

Insiders paint a picture of constant score-keeping and simmering suspicion within Trump world — one even called it “vitriolic.” And they foresee incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the party stalwart, and chief strategist Steve Bannon, the populist firebrand, headed for an inevitable clash.

 

► Boulder County Commissioners have extended a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the county, as the Denver Business Journal reports. Nearby, residents of Broomfield are up in arms over a proposal to create some 100 new oil and gas drilling sites.

 

► As Bruce Finley reports for the Denver Post, there is growing opposition to a plan from Colorado Parks and Wildlife intending to kill mountain lions and bears in order to prevent them from killing too many deer…at least until hunters can shoot them.

OTHER LINKS YOU SHOULD CLICK

► Every couple of years the same story emerges about former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway as a potential Republican candidate for Governor of Colorado. Elway, of course, never makes any movement toward running for political office, but that doesn’t stop the story from being written. Here’s the latest version from Peter Marcus at the Colorado Springs Gazette.

 

► Colorado Springs City Council Member Keith King wants to use thousands of dollars from his taxpayer-funded expense account to finance a series of editorials he wants to write about his time on the council. Colorado Springs has been dealing with serious budget constraints for years, which makes King’s request all the more ridiculous.

 

ICYMI

► Did Donald Trump “win” the state of Michigan…or did Hillary Clinton “lose” it through campaign gaffes?

 

Don’t forget to check out The Get More Smarter Show. You can also Get More Smarter by liking Colorado Pols on Facebook!

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18 thoughts on “Get More Smarter on Wednesday (December 14)”

  1. Did Trump win or Clinton lose?

    In a very, very tight election, there are any number of stories of what happened. Making a decision on the basis of polling when this year the polling had been shakier than usual is doubtful. Making a decision on the assumption you will be able to "fake out" an opponent is an even riskier strategy.

    The bigger problem is a lack of long-term effort to make issues matter. When I read of people who voted Trump and thought they wouldn't lose ACA; who voted Trump thinking he had the answer on terrorism; who voted Trump and oppose deficit increases; THAT is when I shake my head and say our educational systems, media, and political campaigners have all failed in making an engaged citizenry.

  2. Markos isn't always right, but his prognostications,analyses and strategies have a far superior strike count than most of the DC Establishment, Mold-infused, Purple-state-loving Lifers that have been on a losing streak since at least 2000:

    Yes, this op-ed: 

    Since the election, top Democrats have been almost absent on the national stage. Rather, they have been involved largely in internecine warfare about how much to work with Mr. Trump […]

    (insert picture of fresh-faced, bipartisanshippy senator with BFF's everywhere)

    We have recently learned that President-elect Trump has ethical and business conflicts that seem to violate the Constitution; is skipping his national security briefings while dangerously departing from longstanding bipartisan foreign policy; has criticized union workers and protesters on his Twitter feed; and plans to staff much of his cabinet and high-level leadership with billionaires dedicated to eradicating the very programs they are tasked with overseeing. In the meantime, the most recent reports from the C.I.A. are that Russia interfered with the election.

    The Democratic absence from recount efforts meant that Jill Stein was able to sucker millions of liberals to sign up to her fruitless efforts—a list that will be used to undermine Democrats in future years. 

    The Democratic absence from pretty much everything else means that once again, liberals are left wondering who will stand up for them and basic notions of American democracy. We won the popular vote in both the White House and Senate, we won the battle of ideas, we won fucking everything that should matter in a democracy. Yet Democrats prefer to act like losers, lest … who the fuck knows why. 

    Imagine the situation if things were reversed, and Trump had lost the election while crushing the popular vote? 

    In 2009, Republicans set out to undermine everything President Barack Obama did even though the president had a 70-percent approval rating. Here we are, with a genuinely illegitimate and terribly unpopular Russian puppet ready to take the helm, and Democrats are silent and meek. That shit needs to end, and it needs to fucking end now.

    Ummmmm, yeah.

      1. Well, he may be a lightweight, V., but he is right.

        The first thing we need to do is call these people out for the traitors they are. Then we need to get our asses busy…

        I am going to re-enter Democratic Party leadership at the local level…I have resisted the call for years. I can no longer.

        1. I'd love to see you do it.   Democrats need a Western Slope presence, as well as  a revival in Eastern Colorado.   But as this election reminded me, politics is a heartbreaking pastime.

          1. The losing major party this election was destined to go through a realignment. While the popular vote indicates it should have been the Republicans, it's going to be us. So we get a head start; the inherent woes with today's Republican Party remain, temporarily masked by their control of Capitol Hill and the White House. Trumps final ten seconds of his lavish praise yesterday of Paul Ryan was telling "…as long as you go with me. If not, I take it all back."   Get stocked up on your popcorn.  Trump has a 41% approval rating (lowest ever of a modern-times incoming President). The first time he tries to take Paul and Mitch hostage for a big spending bill it's going to be entertaining. 

             

          2. I have already committed to seek a committee chairmanship in our local party and was chatting at the Blues Jam last night about running for city council. One of our saxophone players happens to be a city councilman.

            As to the heartbreaking part…it only hurts if you care…and I do.frown

            2. angelMore power to you, Duke.  In theory, I'm a PCP where I live, but my county Dem organization only hits me up when they want money.  They ostracized most of the Bernie people, and see where it got them.

              1. We are about to fix that.

                BTW. Received our certificate of occupancy today for KWSI LP 100.3 FM in Grand Junction. We start resetting broadcast equipment Monday of next week…

                1. smiley

                  My community is also trying to come together around a community project. We are trying to save a historic 100 year old movie theater house, by re-imagining it as a place for local performing arts and gatherings. The premier event was tonight. My own students, and many local musicians, shared their talents to make it a memorable evening.

                  I know that, just from the demographics (older white people) and my county’s electoral makeup that most of the audience were Trump voters. But I can picture diverse events happening in this lovely old venue – debates, discussions, movies, forums. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

                  1. I am on the Board of the Friends of the Paradise Theatre in Paonia, which led the effort to crowdfund money to renovate our historic (1922) theater and do the digital conversion, and are raising the money to finish purchasing the building. Good luck. You can send me a note if you want to connect on this Mama.

        2. Good for you, Duke. Not to pick a fight with you, but as much as you complain about the leadership on your side of the Divide, not getting involved is kind of like "Didn't vote? Don't bitch."

          1. No offense taken skinny. I have been involved for years . I just haven't been willing to tussle with the Blue Dogs that have run this county organization forever. 

  3. Reversing Course, E.P.A. Says Fracking Can Contaminate Drinking Water

    The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that hydraulic fracturing, the oil and gas extraction technique also known as fracking, has contaminated drinking water in some circumstances, according to the final version of a comprehensive study first issued in 2015.

    The new version is far more worrying than the first, which found “no evidence that fracking systemically contaminates water” supplies. In a significant change, that conclusion was deleted from the final study.

    “E.P.A. scientists chose not to include that sentence. The scientists concluded it could not be quantitatively supported,” said Thomas A. Burke, the E.P.A.’s science adviser, and deputy assistant administrator of the agency’s Office of Research and Development.

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