March 1, 2022

Trump Babbles About Russia's War on Ukraine & QAnon Claims Jimmy Kimmel Has Been Arrested & Cloned!

March 1, 2022

Ted Cruz Wows CPAC Crowd with Lively Lib-Owns, Trump's Stolen Documents & America's Most Wanted Bear

February 28, 2022

Gas-powered lawn equipment sales would be banned in parts of Colorado under Democrats' latest

Gas-powered lawn equipment sales would be banned in parts of Colorado under Democrats’ latest climate bill


Two Democratic state lawmakers have introduced a sweeping climate and environment bill that would outlaw gas-powered lawn equipment along the northern Front Range, set new greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and force insurance companies operating in the state to conduct a climate assessment.

Senate Bill 138 also aims to make carbon capture and sequestration easier and ensure the state’s pension system for public employees can weather the effects of climate change.

“I really see this as just a bill that is filling in the gaps,” said state Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat.

Here’s a breakdown of what the expansive measure would do:

Lawn mowers and leaf blowers

The legislation would prohibit the sale or advertising of devices with “small off-road engines” – such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers — starting on Jan. 1, 2030, in areas of the state with air pollution worse than what the Clean Air Act allows.

Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/24/climate-bill-2022-colorado-legislature/

February 28, 2022

How bad would it have to get in Ukraine for Trump to abandon Putin?

by Mike Littwin, Colorado Sun

Republicans are trying to walk a fine line, trying to please Trump by making sure to blame Biden even as they criticize Putin for the world-changing invasion.


Once again, democracy is under attack. And while I could be talking about Russia’s still-shocking, full-scale invasion of Ukraine and its fledgling democracy, I’m actually talking about the ugly rantings of Vladimir Putin’s poodle, Donald Trump.

In the wake of the Russian attack, as I’m sure you know, Trump celebrated Putin’s “genius,” his “savvy” and added a few other words of praise that the Former Guy usually reserves for himself. In his speech to the annual CPAC gathering of right-wing activists Saturday night, Trump briefly praised Ukraine for bravery in the face of “horrific” war. And then he amended his “genius” branding of Putin with this: “The problem is not that Putin is smart … The problem is our leaders are dumb. So dumb.”

Trump did call the war in Ukraine “an assault on humanity.” What he didn’t do, though, was blame Putin or demand that Putin pull back or say what he might have done to stop the war — only that it could never have happened if, you guessed it, the 2020 election hadn’t been rigged.

As I watched what was basically Trump’s 2024 campaign speech, I couldn’t help but wonder whether it’s Trump or Putin who clings more doggedly to his version of the Big Lie.

Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/27/littwin-ukraine-trump-opinion/

February 28, 2022

Colorado's former governor is board chairman for Russian bank now prohibited from issuing shares,

Colorado’s former governor is board chairman for Russian bank now prohibited from issuing shares, debt in U.S.


Former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens is the chairman of the supervisory board of the Credit Bank of Moscow, which has been barred by the Biden administration from issuing shares and debt in the U.S. after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Credit Bank of Moscow is owned by investors and not the state. It is one of Russia’s largest banks.

Owens, a Republican, told The Colorado Sun that the bank has no ties to the Russian government and that it’s listed on the Russian stock exchange. He said that he’s not aware of the Credit Bank of Moscow planning to issue shares or debt in the U.S. regardless of the limitations, and he said he has no shares or debt in the bank.

“CBM has thousands of investors, including one of our largest — the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development,” Owens told The Sun in an email. “I represent these independent investors. … Our board has a majority of ‘western’ directors including two Americans, two Germans, as well as individuals from the U.K. and Finland.”

Read more: https://coloradosun.com/2022/02/25/bill-owens-credit-bank-of-moscow/

February 28, 2022

Utah lawmaker moves to further limit media access to lawmakers at Capitol

A Taylorsville Republican filed a rules resolution on Thursday to limit media access to lawmakers on the House floor — a similar measure approved by Utah Senate Republicans last week.

The measure, HR2, sponsored by state Rep. James Dunnigan, would require credentialed reporters to get the permission of the House of Representatives speaker or the speaker’s “designee” to “conduct and record” interviews with lawmakers in the House chamber, gallery, lounge, halls and committee rooms.

HR2 would also prevent journalists from standing behind a committee room dais without the approval of a committee chair. Photographers and videographers have often stood behind the dais during committee hearings to capture the face of an individual who is testifying for or against a bill.

Additionally, the proposed rules resolution says journalists would need to get approval from the House speaker to enter House committee rooms, according to the measure’s text. Alexa Roberts, a spokesperson for the Utah House, clarified that media access to House committee rooms would not change as “committee rooms are public spaces.”

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2022/02/25/utah-lawmaker-moves/

February 28, 2022

Gov. Spencer Cox bans Russian-branded products from state liquor stores in executive order

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gov. Spencer Cox issued an executive order on Saturday to remove all Russian-produced and Russian-branded products from state liquor stores.

The executive order will also require the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to review state procurements for any other economic relationships with Russia, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

Russia launched its attack on the Eastern European country early Thursday, and the governor condemned the attack in a Tweet posted from his official account earlier this week.

https://twitter.com/SpencerJCox/status/1497730008202170368

“Russia’s ruthless attack on a sovereign nation is an egregious violation of human rights,” Cox said in the release. “Utah stands in solidarity with Ukraine and will not support Russian enterprises, no matter how small the exchange.”

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/02/26/gov-spencer-cox-bans/

February 28, 2022

Former polygamous community on verge of 'renaissance' after years of isolation, trauma

LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. (AP) — A small, remote northern Arizona town where a polygamist group used to be dominant makes few headlines these days. But that doesn’t mean it’s been entirely forgotten.

Mohave County officials have decided to support a project to assess and address the long-isolated community’s health needs, Today’s News-Herald reported.

County Health Director Denise Burley said her department will benefit from new data and work with community members to create strategies to address residents’ needs.

The process will largely be conducted by the community itself, Burley said. “It won’t be our staff or county staff who will be working on this,” Burley said. “The community members themselves will come together and do the work.”

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the sect that long dominated the Short Creek area that includes Colorado City, was run by Warren Jeffs, but he’s now serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides.

Read more: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2022/02/21/project-assess-needs-former-lds-polygamous-polygamy-colorado-city-ariz-utah-community-warren-jeffs/6880740001/

February 28, 2022

Federal judge: Cowboys for Trump must disclose donors

February 17, 2022
By Matthew Reichbach


A Donald Trump-supporting political group run by a controversial New Mexico county commissioner must disclose its donors, a federal appeals court judge ruled Tuesday, affirming a lower court’s previous decision.

The judge ruled in a case where Cowboys for Trump challenged the constitutionality of New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act, after the Secretary of State ordered the group to identify who funded the group.

State Attorney General Hector Balderas heralded the decision.

“All elected officials and dark money groups in this nation must follow election reporting requirements in order to protect the public interest, and no one is above the law,” he said.

Cowboys for Trump is run by Couy Griffin, an Otero County commissioner who traveled throughout the country in support of former President Donald Trump.

Read more: https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2022/02/17/federal-judge-says-cowboys-for-trump-must-disclose-donors/

February 28, 2022

Groups Call On Lawmakers to Investigate Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Sen. Ivey-Soto

Several dozen New Mexico advocacy organizations have signed an open letter urging state Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe; President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque; and Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen to investigate allegations made earlier this week by lobbyist Marianna Anaya of sexual harassment by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque.

“The very fact that this is where we are, in 2022, having to ask that a full and timely investigation be initiated, clearly shows that the existing policy system of reporting such abuses within New Mexico’s Legislature is extremely flawed and weak,” reads the letter, signed by Equality New Mexico, NM Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Common Cause New Mexico, NM Native Vote and many others.

Several groups also issued individual statements, such as NMSCAP, which described itself as “disappointed in Senator Ivey-Soto’s responses to the sexual harassment and abuse allegations. The Senator has engaged in behavior best described as “DARVO”, a term coined by Dr. Jennifer Freyd, is a tactic frequently used by people who have been confronted after doing harm. The accused denies that the behavior occurred, attacks the individual(s) accusing or confronting them, and reverses the roles of victim and offender.”

Equality New Mexico called out Ivey-Soto’s reference to Anaya’s sexual identity as a lesbian, noting that “sexual misconduct, harassment, and assault in all of their forms are about power— and they always have been. And LGBTQ Americans experience harassment in the workplace, and outside of it at very high rates.” LGBTQ New Mexicans, the statement notes, “deserve access to justice when we are wronged, Marianna Anaya is due this, at the very least.”

https://www.sfreporter.com/news/morningword/2022/02/25/groups-call-on-lawmakers-to-investigate-sexual-harassment-allegations-against-sen-ivey-soto/
(Santa Fe Reporter) (no more at link)