Colorado Politics' Karlik lets his bias slip (again). Polis sneaking a member of Sierra Club into CPW? Vampires beware: the garlic is harvested and drying.
Colorado Politics' Karlik lets his bias slip (again).
Colorado Politics judicial reporter Michael Karlik is back at it (see the first link below for an earlier post about his reporting).
If it's not using his pen to question the motives of a conservative judge, it's tossing softballs at a liberal judge rather than challenging him. It's framing his questions in such a way as to clearly indicate what the point of the whole endeavor has been.
The Colorado Politics article linked second below is a Q and A Karlik had with retired judge John Leopold** to discuss Leopold's signing an amicus brief about the arrests of Minnesota Judge Hannah Dugan. She was the one who hustled someone ICE had a warrant for out the back door when ICE asked to see him.
Karlik characterizes the brief as arguing that Dugan (quoting the article) "...was shielded by judicial immunity for her actions as a judge, that the government's conduct infringed on states' sovereignty, and that such prosecutions could generate a perception that state judges must make decisions with the executive branch in mind. "
There are a couple of instances where Karlik's framing in his questions quite clearly show what we're all here for (including the interviewee). It's also quite clear from what directions Karlik doesn't go in, but one particular prompt stood out to me like a sore thumb.
I copied the text of Karlik's question in a screencap and attached it as screenshot 1.
Take a look at the highlighting in the picture. "...but they also might face consequences for not behaving in a way that this other branch and other level of government wants them to".
It's my understanding that judge Dugan is up on federal criminal charges for her conduct. I ask you, in the same way I asked Colorado Politics editor Luigi Del Puerto and Karlik in an email registering my objection to Karlik's writing: if I (or you) were up on federal criminal charges would Colorado Politics have said I wasn't behaving in a way the Feds want me to?
Is there any other context than one trying to make a political point where you'd frame a question about someone being charged with a crime this way?
Give me a break.
Given Karlik's earlier work (that first link, go give it a look) I am not too surprised to see his ideology leak into his reporting here. I am surprised that something this tilted got past Colorado Politics' editors.
Maybe they were out for coffee?
**See "Related" content below.
Related:
This is the second time I've seen, though the first that I've posted on, retired judges getting active politically while still working.
They're not working as judges, but they are working as arbitrators/mediators for a group called JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services).
The profile for the interview subject above is linked first below. This is followed by a Colorado Politics article detailing a "rule of law" protest (i.e. anti-Trump) in which a different retired judge participated who is also a mediator for JAMS.
I don't know about you, but if I were conservative/Republican and needed mediation, I'd have (at the very least) some serious questions if they wanted to assign either of these two to mediate/arbitrate.
https://www.jamsadr.com/leopold/
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/courts/legal-community-speaks-about-importance-of-law-judiciary-at-denver-rally/article_f147a07b-366b-403e-9d16-d57800701b26.html
https://www.jamsadr.com/martinez-michael/
Is Gov Polis sneaking a member of Sierra Club into the CPW Commissioners?
The Colorado Politics article linked at bottom is another great example of reporter Marianne Goodland's look at who Polis is appointing to various boards around the state. Sadly she is one of a very few doing this sort of accountability journalism.
The latest Polis appointments to the CPW Commissioners have stirred up some people for, unsurprisingly, their connections to environmentalism and advocacy. The appointee to represent anglers has also been called out for her seeming lack of experience in the fishing industry.
One of the appointees, John Emerick of Redstone, is a retired professor of environmental biology and author. He is also, per the article, (quoting with links intact): "...the current treasurer of Colorado Wild, one of the state's wolf advocacy groups. He is also tied to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project, the main backer of Proposition 114, which led efforts to bring the state’s wolf reintroduction program through a ballot initiative in 2024."
Emerick is also in a relationship with Delia Malone, the wildlife chair for the Colorado Sierra Club. Malone is frequently testifying in front of CPW's commissioners in favor of wolves and against hunting.
The other appointee is Frances Silva Blayney of Colorado Springs who was nominated to represent the outfitting industry.
Her connections to the Sierra Club raise concerns. Quoting again from the article:
"However, some say Silvia Blayney is better known for her 'super volunteer' activism with the Colorado Sierra Club, including serving on a council that advises the club’s board members. Her LinkedIn profile notes she is an 'Experienced Activist with a demonstrated history of working for environmental and education non-profit organizations' and a 'Skilled outdoor enthusiast with emphasis on fly fishing and outdoor recreation.' This is an attempt to 'plant' a Sierra Club member on the commission, one outfitter said."
Beyond such concerns the article also lays out serious questions about how much fishing and guiding Blayney has done. She has little professional history in fishing, starting a fly fishing outfit in 2023 that other outfitters seem to be completely unaware of, bolstering the claim that Ms. Blayney is a plant.
The irony here is that Gov Polis touted these appointees as a way to bring down the temperature and politicization of the CPW board.
Beyond the obvious note that the way to tell Gov Polis is lying is to see when his mouth is open, I don't think these appointees would quite fit the bill here. You know who might actually meet Polis' stated criteria? Perhaps someone with the opposite history to his appointees thus far. Someone who has had a decades-old outfitting business and no ties to radical environmental groups.
Someone who, and I recognize this is a novel thing for Polis' CPW appointees, doesn't have an association with groups pushing wolves.
I know it's not realistic, but a fella can dream can't he?
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/colorado-parks-and-wildlife-commission-appointments/article_a3a98706-a54a-4a17-bc2d-abc9ca15e8af.html
Related:
I was happy to get on the Pro Ag podcast with Rachel Gabel to talk about how activists are trying to put in a fur ban by the back door using CPW.
Bringing in the garlic.
That time of the week again. Been a short one, but it is the last post til Sunday and thus it's time for something for fun. Something not related to politics.
I brought in my garlic during my recent break from posting. It was time: one of the cues you watch for is the leaves dying from the ground level up. When 4 leaves have turned brown and crispy, the clove is ready.
I was disappointed, but not entirely surprised at the small heads. I'd seen the thickness of the stalks and figured it'd be a sad year for garlic. I normally grow tit in the bed with my perennial herbs, but I wanted that bit of ground to sit fallow for a season. I'm not sure what happened. I'm not going to worry too much about it this season, however. This November, I'll plant the seed garlic back in the usual spot. If a year from now the problem persists, I'll start investigating.
Last October, I planted the garlic in a weird quadrangle corner of one of my main beds. As you can see in picture 1, I did get a head for every clove planted last Fall, but they're relatively small. If you can't tell from the scale now, stay tuned for the following pictures.
The heads are currently curing out back, giving my patio a heady aroma (it'd be even more fragrant if I used the fish-juice fertilizer I sometimes use). Drying garlic is pretty straightforward and doesn't require any special tools or expertise. The over all idea is to make sure the garlic doesn't get any sense that they're close to dirt or moisture. Do so and they won't sprout for a long time, even in extended storage.
You begin curing by cutting the roots off as close as possible and then hanging bulbs in warm shade for a couple weeks. See pictures 2 and 3 for those (and in picture 3 you can get a real sense of how the heads came out small by contrasting the tinies next to the others which look big but are actually the same size of what you get in the store).


A careful look shows that I didn't clean off too much of the clinging dirt, and also that there's still some bits of root left. That's intentional. As the heads dry and cure, that wet dirt will too. It'll be much easier after curing to flake off the bulb and from between the root stubs that remain. Then I'll trim the roots to the bone and put them in the house. If I was too fastidious at this stage, I'd risk accidentally peeling off some of the garlic skins from the clove which I don't want to do.
After that second dust off and trim, I cut the stalk with plenty of room for the bulb (leaving perhaps an inch or two). Again, the theme here is to keep the heads dry and not thinking it's time to grow.
Post-garlic, I like to plant some sort of legume. This year is soybeans. Pictures 4 and 5 show the beans being sown and then covered, watered, and mulched (critical for success when sowing a seed in July on the Plains--the soil's certainly warm enough, but the heat and wind wick away moisture too quickly without it).


I find that planting legumes after early-harvesting produce like grains and garlic is a great way to double crop while helping the soil. It's, at the very least, a pretty good bet: legumes are nitrogen fixers which will help add back to the soil, they grow quickly, and so even if I don't get a harvest by season's end, the soil will get some refreshment.
If you're tempted to garden and haven't ever tried garlic, give it some thought. It's a really low maintenance crop, and it gives you a sense of having done something real when you pull the bulbs, dry them, and eat off your garlic later through the winter.
One thing to be aware of: do not just plant the ones you buy at the store. They may not be the best option for Colorado because they may not have been grown here. Go online and buy seed garlic. Done right (saving one of the bigger heads to break up and plant in October) it might end up being the last you'll ever have to buy.
That's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your (hopefully vampire-free) Friday. Back at it Sunday!
Glad for the garlic...we have been bled dry by the Polis Democrats aka Communists