Reporting on Colorado ... from Montana? Denver Democracy Summit at DU: not education, an echo chamber. Assembly TLRC forwards "soft on crime" towing bill and to make you pay for transit passes.
How do you report on Colorado ... from Montana?
Take a look at the attached screenshot. It comes from the bottom of the article linked below.
Have you ever seen this? How does someone report on an incident in the Colorado mountains from Montana?
I read the article. I don't have an issue with anything in it, I just wonder how on earth this happens and what if any policies the Associated Press has about it.
I did email, but as of this writing have heard nothing back.
If you've seen this in other articles and/or if you have any ideas on it, please share in the comments.
https://www.cpr.org/2023/10/30/police-say-armed-man-killed-himself-instead-of-carrying-out-apparent-plan-to-attack-amusement-park/
What would an attendee at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies (University of Denver) hope to gain at the 2023 Denver Democracy Summit?
I hope he or she would not hope for a full picture of what American Democracy means. I hope he or she wouldn't seek education or enlightenment. Despite the lofty title, the different panel discussions I perused (and watched at length), were mainly what Democracy means to Progressives and Democrats.
I happened upon the playlist of panel discussions from the summit I link to below in one of my wanderings around the internet. I stuck around and watched some of the different discussions and then looked at the names on others (watching snippets).
If the purpose of education is to broaden the mind and spur thought, I'd have to say I am not so sure about the job that the Josef Korbel School is doing.
Watching the videos and/or seeing who appears easily gives the impression that what they are after in the colloquia are giving a Progressive, Democrat take on what Democracy means.
These panels and moderators are so one-sided, it's a wonder that they don't tip over!
Where is the counterpoint? Where is the idea that you need to encounter ideas that you might disagree with to have a full discussion?
An opportunity wasted, and a look at what some would consider education but would be more aptly titled an echo chamber.
An update on the Transportation Legislation Review Committee (TLRC): what bills the committee forwarded to the coming Assembly session.
In an earlier post (here) I wrote about what the TLRC was up to. I had asked my state senator (Sen Byron Pelton) to update if he had news to share about the committee and he was kind enough to do so. I thought I would share the update with you.
In the first link below, you'll find all the bills that the committee did (and did not) forward to the Assembly for consideration. Reading this page can be a bit confusing so I attached a screenshot (#1) to help guide you. Column A has the links to the version of the bills that got forwarded with the sponsor's names, and column B has the fiscal notes.
Some of these I covered in my earlier post (see link embedded above), so I will take this post to focus in on the two that I didn't: Bill D and Bill E.
Bill D is yet another towing regulation bill, but this one goes much further. The bill's fiscal note makes some fairly innocuous statements about the bill in its summary (quoting): "The bill creates new regulations for towing carriers." The actual language in the bill presents a different picture, quite a radical change from existing law in fact.
Take a look at screenshots 2, 3, and 4. I'm not a lawyer, but if you look at what is struck through and added, it sure seems to me as though towing no longer happens at the vehicle owner's expense (rather at the expense of the property owner), and further that the owner pays nothing until after 30 days (though he or she can get their car back at a reduced price by signing a paper).
I ask you this: do you foresee any problems here?
Unless and until someone complains, towing companies will not be able to remove cars parked against the rules. So if someone parks in your spot, and you don't know who the towing company is, I suppose you call the building management and hope that they get the message ... sometime? Further, do you suppose they're likely to snap right on it given that they are on the hook to pay? Exactly.
Yet more Progressive Democrat policy sneaking in that completely and totally rewrites the incentive structure on the basis that people never behave poorly and thus aren't responsible for their actions.
Turning now to the other bill, the one on transit, Bill E. Direct your attention to screenshot 5. This particular bill offers a tax credit of 30% off your any transit passes purchased for the relevant tax years of the bill (so, for example, if you buy a $100 transit pass next year, you can get $30 back from the state).
We might debate whether this is a fair discount, we might debate whether or not this will do anything other than subsidize those who already use public transit, but I don't think there is any debate about the fact that programs like this increase the size of government and costs to taxpayers (beyond the lost tax revenue).
Look at what I circled in red. The estimate is that this little adventure will be adding 8 full time jobs to the state roster in year 1 which will drop to 6 in the second fiscal year (presumably due to efficiencies and less work after the startup is done).
I want to remind you too that this growth in government is against the backdrop of now-unionized state employees which are costing more and more each year.
Lastly, take a look at the sponsorships on the bills. None are bipartisan. None got sent to the Assembly on a bipartisan vote. That is no Republicans voted for to send these along (ah what are we to do now if we want to claim bipartisanship with Priola a Democrat??).
Growth in government. Increased spending. More intrusion into the market. Removal of personal responsibility. Yep, ticks off all the Democrat boxes we've been seeing the last four years of state Democrat control.
As I hear more about these bills, I'll update. I don't own any towing companies nor do I get my car towed (because I pay attention to where I park it), but that towing one sounds like one I think I may take the time to testify on.
**Just a reminder, when reading draft bills, anything in all caps would be an amendment, an addition, to existing law. Strikethrough text denotes language currently in law which would be removed.
https://leg.colorado.gov/content/itlrc2023alegislation