Has CPR's news policy changed? I see the same language in different articles. The Assembly Special Session starts today. How you can get involved. And a day in the life of Ivan Denisovich.
Two things notable about the CPR article below.
One, it is, as I have mentioned about other examples of CPR's work, an attempt at creating common sense, and, two, it points to something that I think conservatives, if we're to have a hope of gaining or maintaining political power need to reckon with.
If you recall my post from last week about CPR's environmental activist Samuel Brasch's work, the language you'll see in screenshot 1 attached (from the article by CPR"s education reporter Jenny Brundin) will look familiar.
The words aren't the same, but the tone is. That idea that these things are a certainty and that everyone knows it. I dispute both claims.
Still, having seen this now from two different CPR reporters, I have to wonder whether or not this is a concerted effort by those at CPR or a coincidence.
In other words, is this sort of language in articles policy now? Are editors pushing it? Or are they allowing it and this is just editorializing by the reporters leaking through?
I was curious enough to send an email to the folks at CPR News that I thought would be most likely to know (editors Wertz, Dale, and Villegas) to see. That email is attached as screenshot 2.
I've thus far gotten no response. Given that by now it's been more than a week, I don't think I will. If I do, however, I'll update.
In the meantime, do not allow yourself to be influenced by propaganda devices like these. It is most assuredly still reasonable to question whether climate change is an existential threat, and, no, not everyone thinks this way (with you a lone kook).
Still, I think that there is an elephant in the room that bears discussion here.
It is simple reality, whether you agree with them or no, that many people (young people especially) do feel as though climate change is an immediate and existential threat that we need to deal with or we'll all die.
Given that we share political power with these folks, I think it is wise then for conservatives and Republicans to begin to do something other than deflect and/or deny climate change if they want to remain in power.
I'm not saying that we need to agree and join the panic. I am saying that there needs to be an open acknowledgement of the problem (to whatever degree you see it) and then some sort of policy platform that addresses the challenge.
Not doing so would alienate more and more potential voters and push Republicans further from power.
Not doing so would continue to let the media and liberals dominate the realm of "common sense".
https://www.cpr.org/2023/11/07/colorado-students-want-climate-solutions-education/
The General Assembly's special session for property taxes starts today. How can you get involved?
Testifying and/or watching bills during a special session is no different than any other time of the Assembly session, the only wrinkle is the timeline. It will be much tighter.
Below are a list of tips on what to do and where to look if you want to be involved.
I do urge you to give it some serious thought; we've seen what happens when we the people speak up (Prop HH's spectacular failure), the same can happen here. Stand up for your rights under TABOR and let the elected officials know what you think.
--A good first step is to contact your state rep and/or senator to let him or her know what you think and what you'd like to see. The Assembly page to find your rep or senator is linked first below if you don't already know. Once you have found yours, the contact info is on the right (see screenshot 1 for an example using my state senator).
--Your state rep or senator would be a good resource to help you know what bills are coming in case you'd like to testify. We'll get more details about the actual bills once the session starts, but there are some drafts out in circulation now. That's the second link below. As you can see if you check the link, few of the proposals so far have anything to do with property taxes. As we've come to know, Progressive Democrats will use any excuse they can to do social engineering. Right away this gives me the idea of signing up for any bill not relating to property tax so I can ask the simple question of the committee: what does this have to do with my property taxes?
--The process for testifying will be just like during regular Assembly sessions but the schedule will be much tighter. Instead of watching every couple days, might be worth watching every couple hours today. The third link below has the process and tips for how to testify and/or watch legislation.**
**A quick reminder: if you, like me are testifying by telephone, there will be extra steps involved. You sign up for remote testimony and when you get your confirmation email, use the email address there and send an email saying you will be testifying by phone to get the phone number and to let them know. Extra steps I know, but that's the price for using older technology I suppose.
https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator
https://leg.colorado.gov/2023-special-session-bills-authorized-sponsors-pre-release
https://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2023A/commsumm.nsf/signIn.xsp
Related:
A late addition appended to the above. Most recent article I could find at time of writing re. the proposed bills.
https://www.coloradopolitics.com/news/colorado-house-senate-democrats-property-tax-relief-special-session/article_abe07312-84c4-11ee-b1b1-bf26d7b42eb3.html
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...
Hit that point in the week again. It's the last post til Sunday and thus it's something interesting and not related to (current) politics.
I am not sure if you've heard of either the writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn or his (likely) most famous work "The Gulag Archipelago", but that series has been on my list for a while now. I included a link to the Wikipedia page on the work first below if you'd like to brush up or if you're not familiar.
I have to be honest, when I've considered starting in the past, the idea of a 3 volume series is a bit intimidating right now. I think (hope?) that I'll eventually get around to it, but not right yet.
If early Soviet history, the Cold War, Stalinist Russia are an interest for you too, and you, like me, are kind of intimidated by a 3 volume history, I'd like to offer you an alternative. A way to learn without the big investment.
Solzhenitsyn wrote a much shorter book on the topic titled "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" and I'm reading it right now. It's a single book, pretty short, and focuses in on one day in the life of a prisoner* in a forced-labor camp in Russia around the time of WWII (see the second link below for the Wikipedia page).
It gives you a real sense of what it meant to be "reduced to camp dust" as Stalin ruthlessly drug Russia into the modern age. The fact that the Russians survived Stalin is a real testament to their strength as a people.
One last tidbit: in the introduction to the book it mentions that (surprisingly) its publication was allowed by the Soviet government. Quite a thing when you consider that it was published in 1962, hardly the age of Glasnost.
Khrushchev allowed it, however,** and we're all the better for it. Highly recommended.
That's it til Sunday. Have a good Friday and Saturday!
*If you can believe it returning Russian POW's were often sent to camps because only someone suspect or disloyal would allow themselves to be taken prisoner by the Germans. Could also be that the influence the Germans had on them ruined them for communism.
**There is a period of Soviet history after Stalin's death when things freed up considerably in the country. It was called The Thaw (see the third link below). Things closed back down, but there for a while there was in the country considerable hope of freedom and less gov't repression.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchev_Thaw