My settlement with the State of CO after they shut me up over Gov Polis and wolves. Watch for and get involved with your Grey Book. Humility squares -- fact or fiction?
I threatened to take the state to court over shutting me up about wolves and Governor Polis.
We have finally approached the end of our settlement.
I won't go into the gory details (if you want more, I linked to Rachel Gabel's contemporaneous op ed below), but back in January of this year, I testified at a Colorado Parks and Wildlife commissioners meeting. I was quite critical of the way that they handled their business.
I was cut off by the head commissioner and then booted from this meeting. Thanks to the Public Trust Institute taking my case pro bono, I was able to do more than just gripe to friends.
I truly appreciate their taking my case, because, outside of Mrs. Gabel and a tiny mention by Shaun Boyd, no one else in the media seemed to care about the loss of my First Amendment rights and a flagrant violation of Colorado Open Meetings law.
And outside of my state senator and the legislative liaison for Dept of Natural Resources (which houses CPW), no one at the state government level seemed to care either.
That is, no one at the state seemed to care until Public Trust Institute took my case and threatened to sue. That got the Attorney General's attention.
Perhaps if I had said I was denied an abortion, it wouldn't have taken this much to get Mr. Weiser to care, but nonetheless ...
Part of the settlement with the AG's office is a change in CPW commission policy about the guidelines for public comment and some training by the board. It will also include something I tried and was unable to find: someone to talk over disagreements about whether or not one was treated fairly with regard to Free Speech issues prior to having to go to court.
I was told that this policy will be migrated to other boards around the state, and I hope it will.
I chose to go before the CPW Commissioners at their 6/12 -13 meeting to remind them of what happened publicly and to remind everyone else at the meeting (and at the state level) that their silence about a violation of my rights and their ignoring my questions about what policies I violated are just as much wrong as my being silenced and kicked out.
If you want to listen to my testimony, look near the end of the 6/13 CPW Commissioners Meeting.
I hope they, along with other government officials took note. Whether or not they like what you have to say, it is your right to say it.
Speak up. If you are denied that right, don't go away quietly.
Fight, and don’t let some closed doors stop you.
Related:
As a quick aside, waiting my turn to testify at the 6/13 meeting I had a chance to hear a lot of testimony about a new rule concerning things like a rancher being able to use night vision scopes to protect their herds.
I was glad (heartened) to hear so many people speaking up. In particular, I liked to hear so many speaking up and sharing their stories of what it's like to actually live with wolves and not just vote them into someone else's yard.
If you wonder about whether or not you should get involved, if you wonder whether or not you can, take the example of the wide variety of genders and ages I heard speaking at the CPW commissioner's meeting and get involved.
If they can, if I can, you can.
Wherever you live, if any of your local taxing districts are doing a grey book, take your opportunity to speak up and get involved.
The state has its blue book where they put an analysis and the text of statewide ballot issues. If any of the local taxing districts you live in are running a tax issue, there is a process to do an analogous book at the local level, the so-called grey book.
I've written in the past about how to get involved in the writing of the blue book (see the first link below if you missed it and are interested), but I want to encourage you to be on the lookout for, and participate in the writing of, your local grey book as well.
I say be on the lookout for, because, unlike the blue book, where you live may not have a local TABOR issue and thus there won't be one.
That's as good a place to start as any: how do you know whether or not there will be a grey book for where you live? How do you know whether or not any of the districts you're in will have a TABOR issue?
Natalie Menten did a guide a couple years back that gives a pretty good guide on how to look into questions like these. I linked to it second below. Some of the links and the content might be out of date, but it does give a pretty good overview.
As for me, I think the fastest and easiest way to go is to just call your county clerk. When you do, ask the following (you might be advised to wait til after July 1 to call because that would be the deadline for special districts to submit ballot questions):
1. What taxing districts am I in and/or how do I find out?
2. Are they aware of an TABOR questions that will appear on the 2024 ballot?
Make a list of any districts you live in and any that will have a TABOR question. Then, make a reminder to double check for TABOR questions in late August or early September by either calling or looking on the web pages of the districts you live in--sometimes the districts don't tell the county and might do their own little ballot.
Whether you find out by the county clerk of by directly looking, if there is a TABOR question, get a copy of it and read it carefully. Think through what you'd like to say about it and write up your comment. Here again, I would point you to Ms. Menten's guide linked second below. She does a great job of giving pointers on what to write and how to focus, especially handy if you've not done this before.
Write your comments and submit them by the deadline. Let me repeat that because sometimes this gets lost in the hustle and bustle of life. Pay attention to deadlines, write your comments and get them in.
Speak up and get involved. If you've been reading this page and seeing me write about various ways to get involved and have been waiting for an opportunity, this is a good one.
Not many people know about these questions and local issues by their nature have fewer people involved so your words have more impact.
Humility squares -- fact or fiction?
That time of the week again, the last post of the day (keep your eyes open for a special Saturday post tomorrow), it's time for something unusual, a curiosity not related to politics.
I was watching a show about philosophy the other day and the lecturer mentioned humility squares. The way he phrased it, they are intentional mistakes put into quilts and other things as a reminder or expression of the quilter's humility before God.
That is, again as this philosopher phrased it, an acknowledgement of the fallen nature of man. As a concept, as a thought, this is something I am on board with. You're welcome to your own thoughts on the matter and do as you see fit for yourself, but I think that I need as many reminders as I can get of my own fallibility and my own imperfections. Good for the soul among a host of other good reasons.
That doesn't really touch on whether this is something actually DONE by quilters (and other things like cross-stitch perhaps?)**. I did some looking on the internet and apparently the idea that they would put mistakes in things on purpose is not universally accepted. Some think they are intentional and some think they're simply errors.
Gave you a couple links to read through if you're interested. They're below and happy reading.
My official position here is twofold:
1. I have no idea if they're purposeful mistakes or no. Barring the ability to ask the maker or documentation, I won't speculate.
2. Any spelling, grammar or other mistakes in anything I write are most certainly intentional and an expression of my virtue and humility.
That's it for now. Back at it Sunday!
**Here I refer solely to quilts that you buy that were made a long time ago; I refer to quilts made where you have no ability to talk to the maker. Given the stories that circulate about humility squares, I have no doubt that some modern quilters have adopted the practice, and thus for them it is genuine.
https://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-stuff-of-legends-part-9-evolving.html
https://patchworksampler.com/motivation-monday-the-humility-block/