Updating an earlier story on Polis. Counterpoint on Initiative 138, school choice. Nuclear History Buff? Learn about Uravan.
Updating an earlier story on Polis
I posted earlier about a fact check on Gov Polis' speech during the DNC. I saw an update to that article recently that gave the governor's response and thought it only fair to share.
The first link below is the same story about the Polis fact check as before, but updated with his responses. For what it's worth.
But I want you to put this article next to the NY Post op ed about Polis' comments re. the gang troubles in Aurora (which is linked next to the update).
This is my political speculation, but it's been interesting to see how things are changing for our governor. During COVID he managed, even with a lot of national outlets to be his usual "everything to everyone" self. Perhaps it could be argued he was even more successful at that with national outlets.
It seems that the winds are changing slightly as our governor start to (obviously) take on more of a role as a cheerleader for the Democrat political presidential campaign. This side-taking seems to open him up more and more to criticism. Criticism he hasn't seen before.
It's been fun to see him squirm a little with the unfamiliar contentious interviews where his usual avuncular chuckling and meaningless answers are openly called out and questioned.
He's mostly practiced enough to not be KO'ed by any of it--he still manages to get those talking points in--but seeing him back on his heels once or twice is fun.
All the more so for how few times you see it in our local news or have seen it in the past.
https://www.denver7.com/news/politics/fact-check-gov-poliss-dnc-attack-on-project-2025-included-false-claims-about-documents-contents
https://nypost.com/2024/09/02/opinion/gov-jared-polis-gaslights-on-tren-de-aragua-takeover-of-aurora-colo-apartment-buildings/
A different perspective on Initiative 138, school choice.
Gave Polis a chance to offer his perspective after getting fact check above, and thought I'd stay on the topic of different perspectives for the second post.
Your ballot this November will have an initiative which bills itself as enshrining school choice into our state's constitution.
A worthy effort if you ask me. It would not be possible for me to be more in support of school choice.
But, Mr. Armstrong makes some cogent points about the initiative itself that give me some pause about the METHODS (but not intent) in this particular effort.
I think his concerns are worth consideration, so I present you his op ed in that spirit.
https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2024/08/27/armstrong-initiative-138-threatens-school-choice-in-the-name-of-protecting-it/
Nuclear History Buff? Learn about Uravan, another of Colorado's own native contributions to the effort.
That time of the week again, time for something historical (in this particular case) and not related to (current) politics.
I heard about an interesting podcast I thought I would share with you because it sits at an intersection of Western Slope Colorado history, and Cold War/nuclear history.
It's about the town of Uravan, CO and the role it played in securing uranium for our nuclear weapons.
I am not sure if you knew, but the area around Moab, UT is rich in Uranium and there was quite a boom during the times when our Federal gov't was in the market for all of it they could get their hands on.** Uravan is right there in the mix. See the map.
Of course, the knowledge about how to handle radioactive materials was not as widespread or refined then as it is now, so the town itself has been shut down and fenced off due to widespread contamination.
They didn't have the same level of concentrations there as in, say, Rocky Flats (it was not enriched or put in a reactor for plutonium), but the ore was already pretty high in uranium already and I think there were plants to concentrate the ore.
The article linked below is a KUNC story interviewing the reporter who did the series (interesting in its own right). You'll find the link to the podcast itself embedded therein.
I am still trying to see if there's a way to get this on my old MP3 player (you can listen online but that means smartphone--which I don't have). Until then, I've been listening here and there at my computer. If you know how to download for free, and without a membership, please speak up!
What I've managed to listen to so far is pretty good. Something I recommend you add to your list if this is an interest of yours.
That's it for today! Have a good Saturday and back at it Sunday.
**There is a family connection here. My dad grew up in Canon City, CO and his father, my grandfather a quarryman, would sometimes take my dad prospecting with a scintillator for radioactive minerals when my dad was a kid.
https://www.kunc.org/podcast/inthenoco/2024-08-23/a-new-podcast-unearths-colorados-forgotten-uranium-boom-town
Mega secret extra bonus content not on the label!
Apropos of nothing,
I was out back and thought I heard a killdeer in the trees. Killdeer are not unheard of up here, I've posted about seeing them before.
One in my backyard would seem odd. But I could easily see where the sound was from, and this was not a killdeer but was instead a blue jay.
A blue jay mimicking a killdeer!
I'm used to hearing and seeing and reading about them mimicking a hawk to scare away other birds and get at seeds out back. Why a killdeer though? Ain't nobody afraid of them!
Maybe just for fun? Maybe just to see if she could?
I looked it up to see and there were some scattered stories on the internet that showed jays mimicking other birds. There's a video linked at bottom of a jay mimicking an owl.
So there ya go.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2677974732454486